BILLBOARD, NORTH BAY

It was pretty cold today, about -20º C, but I decided to go out to make some pictures anyway. well it was not long before I returned home but I managed to make this picture of a billboard on the side of the local papers building. I saw this billboard last week and thought that it would make an interesting image so thats the only picture I made. Hope you like it.

CHRISTMAS SLEIGH RIDE

Its that time of year again so yesterday we had our season sleigh ride. It was a wonderful afternoon with our family and friends. It was the first ride so the horses were rather frisky. The set off at a very fast pace which made the trip quite exciting for the children in our group. The trip included a break around an outdoor fire with hot chocolate and hotdogs, the horse calmed down so we had a more leisurely trek back to  the farm.

So let me wish everyone who faithfully followed my blog a Very Happy Holiday and of course a wonderful New Year.

PARKING GARAGE, NORTH BAY

With all the preparations for the season I still did not get a chance to go out and make some new images. Last night I was looking through some of my old pictures and came upon a few images of the municipal parking garage. What attracted me was the perspective and the converging lines of the roof and the demarcation lines on

the dirty floor. I had never posted it so I thought its a pity just to leave them in my files.

WINTER LANDSCAPE WITH PLANE

As I explained yesterday I have not had a chance to go out to take pictures so I am browsing through my files looking at Winter images from past years. It is interesting to see some of the pictures and wonder what attracted me to photograph specific scenes or subjects. I made this picture last year just outside of the village of Arnstein about 100 km from North Bay. It was a bitterly cold day. The strong contrast created by the sunlight and the white snow accentuated the feeling of a very cold Winter day. The picture is visually better in black and white than colour.

GETTING CLOSE TO CHRISTMAS

Only ten days before Christmas so I don't have much time to spend on going out and take pictures. This is the time we finish our last minute shopping and making the final preparations for the season. So here is a picture I took almost a year ago. I prefer the black and white because it really reflects dark snowy days before Christmas.

WINTER LANDSCAPE

I took this picture a day or so before our first snowstorm last wee. These split cedar fences are disappearing rapidly in this part of the country, you can still  see them in the more southern aprt of the province. So these are  remnants become almost archeological remains of the past.

WASI RIVER, CALLANDER ON

It was -10º C yesterday morning. It was cold especially when I went through the ice and got very wet feet but I did get the pictures I was looking for. The water of this fast running stream does not freeze over for most of the Winter except on the edges. The water has a very high iron content so I felt black and white would me the strongest way of interpreting my subject. 

WINTER TREE

A great sunny day today. It was cold but a very nice  change after all the dark gray weather of the last few weeks. The Winter for me is the time for great very graphic black and white images but the only way to photograph this tree was in colour.

SNOW COVER

The storm has moved on but it left quite a bit of snow. Time to go ouside and shovel all the white stuff out of the driveway. Of course the snow covered trees look great in a photograph.The Winter is a beautiful time to make great image.

FIRST WINTER STORM

The Winter has arrived. We are right in the middle of a big snowstorm, which is raging all over the Eastern part of the continent. Not a day to venture out to take pictures.

OLD MAPLE TREE

Over the years I have made quite a few pictures of this old maple tree. It is still standing, which is surprising when you see how this tree survived the damages done in time.

WINDOW, GEISLER BUILDING, POWASSAN

Yesterday I went back to see if I could take some more images of the Geisler building. I noticed the window with the reflection of the Winter sun  and refection of the trees across the street.

WINTER FEED

Roles of hay, an old truck and the gray snowy day all ingredients for a beautiful Winter image.

WINTER HAS ARRIVED

Winter has arrived in our area. Yesterday my friend Dan and I went on a photo trip again but this time we experienced our first snow of the year. It still was not much but it turned into a very beautiful day and we photographed many quite old fashioned romantic landscapes.

SMIRLE AVENUE, OTTAWA, ON

 Dominique enjoys images with strong design aspects. Well I tend to look for a similar view to my images. In this image, which I took on my last visit to Ottawa, I enjoyed the contrast between the small tree against the geometric shapes and strong colours of the background. Poetry plays an important role in my approach to photography.

VOOR JURGEN

Wat een verrassing om een email te ontvangen na zoveel jaren. Ik zal je over een paar dagen een meer uitgebreide email terug sturen dus deze posting is allen om je te laten weten dat ik je brief ontvangen heb.

Yesterday we received the first bit of snow this Winter. It started to melt in the afternoon so not much is left. This picture was taken at the mouth of the Lavase River wher the river enters Lake Nipissing. Normally this would be covered in snow with ice covering the lake. This warm weather is very unusual at this time of year.

REVISIT OLD SCHOOL, RYE, ON

Last week I revisited the old abandoned school house in Rye, an old ghost town near South River. This was my second visit in about six weeks both my friends Gerry and Dan were curious about the place, which they heard about but had never visited. I made some new images some of which I really liked.

GIESLER WORKSHOP, POWASSAN

Not only are new boats being built but also repairs and even restorations of old boats are done in the workshop as well.   

WORKBENCH

I enjoyed the various benches with an accumulation of  personal items, tools, various boxes and papers. My wife thought this would make a great image for a jigsaw puzzle.

GIESLER BOATBUILDING, POWASSAN, ON

Last week, on our photo excursion to Powassan, we visited the Giesler Boat building workshop. Giesler has been building boats since the mid twenties but in the next year or so will be moving to another location. I hope the new shop will be as visually interesting as this place but of course these premises  reflect the rich history of the boat building art in Powassan. Over the next few days I will show some more of my images of this interesting business.

OLD DOOR, POWASSAN

 This is a side door on the old Powassan tavern. I combined a colour image with a black and white to emphasize the abandoned state of the building.

EAGLE LAKE, SOUTH RIVER, ON

A very gray day but the light was perfect for this simple image of rocks along the shoreline of Eagle Lake. Surprising how strong the colours are with this flat light.

FOR DAWN

Last night we returned from another Ottawa visit. During the weekend I reconnected with an old student of mine, whom I had not seen for many years. You know how things go in time we lose contact with each other but thanks to the internet she found my blog and so we got together for a chat. Dawn, by the way, is co owner of a nice boutique on Wellington Street in Ottawa called "Heavens to Betsy". During our conversation she mention how she liked the old general store in Powassan. I know I posted a picture of this store before but last week I made this picture so here it is. Hope its the right store Dawn. Enjoy.

END OF AN ERA, POWASSAN, ON

These two buildings are slated for demolition. The  building on the right was the old Powassan hotel and tavern.  Sad to see it go. Next week when I return I will post more pictures of our little photo trip to Powassan.

CABOOSE, BONFIELD, ON

Time for another picture. I have been busy preparing some pictures for the annual Winter show in Callander. Again I will be gone for most of the week so I will not be able to post during that time. To make this rather simple image visually a bit more interesting, I decided to combine a black and white copy with the original colour image. This gave the picture a hand coloured look.  

TRACKS

I just returned from our visit with our friends in Welland. It was very enjoyable even though  I did not take any pictures. This image was made on one of my photo trips around the area. The picture was originally in colour but I liked the black and white better. The contrast emphasizes the texture better and also the starkness gives the image impact.

FALL TRAIL

For the next few days I will be away so I won't be able to post until the weekend. I hope to come back with a few good images to share on the blog.

NEAR AU CLAIRE, ON

The Fall is a great time to be outdoors. I enjoy just being outside before Winter arrives. Of course I do enjoy the Winter season which has its own beauty.

FIRST SIGN OF WINTER

Early morning, ice has formed at the edge of streams and lakes. I preferred this image in black and white rather than colour. The pictures is reduced to strong texture of the ice and the deep black of the reeds, almost like a japanese or chinese ink painting.

ALONG THE ROAD FROM BONFIELD TO AU CLAIRE

This old asphalt covered house looked abandoned but, judging by the bars on the window and the hydro meter, I suspect that it is still in use as a hunting camp maybe.I just liked the pattern of the asphalt siding in contrast the the texture of the natural vegetation of the landscape.

BRIDGE, BONFIELD, ON

Today was another of our photo trips. One of the spots we visited was in Bonfield, a small town East of North Bay. I liked this black and white image of the little bridge just outside the town. The picture has a rather gothic feel to it, which is probably the reason I enjoy it.

CACHE BAY, ON

It is always interesting for me to photograph old abandoned mine or industrial sites. I remember reading a book about archeological sites of early Victorian mills and plants in Britain. Ever since I photograph these old sites in Canada.

NEAR WOLFE LAKE

This waterfall is well hidden in the bush. People had told me about it but I never discovered it until last week when Dan and I discovered it about a 50 metres off the road. Its a very nice fall surrounded by lush vegetation.The best time to photograph here will probably be late Spring or early Summer. Its a romantic spot so I made the picture into a Victorian black and white image.

RAPIDS NEAR MAGNETAWAN, ON

On a rainy day last week I photographed these rapids near Magnetawan. It was very wet and dark but I did get some good images from these little waterfalls.

REFLECTIONS, GARDEN VILLAGE, ON

On our last photo trip we took pictures around the bay in Garden Village just outside of Sturgeon Falls. I simply liked the gold and blue colours of the water and reeds.

FUNGI, RESTOULE PARK, ON

Hiking in the park in Restoule, I photographed these fungi growing on an old log along the trail. It was the colour of the wholesetup which I liked and with the irregular shapes of the fungi it made for a nice composition.

STORAGE SHED, CACHE BAY, ON

Yesterday my friend Dan and I went again on a photo trip. We came on to this abandoned industrial site on the shores of lake Nipissing in the town of Cache Bay. I liked the blue toned door but I also used the shed and the landscape to make an image, which could be a great subject for a painting by Christopher Pratt.

LANDSCAPE NEAR VILLE MARIE, QC

Driving along the rural roads in Quebec you will find this type of traditional crosses. This type of shrines are very typical along the provincial roads.

MARINA, VILLE MARIE, QC

The marina is empty waiting for Winter. It was late in the afternoon when I took this picture under a dark cloudy
sky with just the sun appearing very briefly through the clouds.

BIRCHES

Last Saturday my wife and I had to go to Hailybury. After lunch we drove on to Ville Marie in Quebec. It was avery wet day with some snow, which you can expect at this time of the year. I noticed this stand of birches, which together with the dark gray sky and textured fields, was a good subject for an interesting  landscape picture.

ALSACE ROAD, POWASSAN, ON

There is an area on Alsace Road near Powassan, which always attracts me. maybe its the quietness of this area or simply the abandoned farm landscape but I return there periodically to photograph. I took this picture of the last bush still in full colour. I have no idea what kind of bush it is but I just loved the almost perfect round shape.

OLD MAPLE

The coloured leaves are all gone. The only trees with bright yellow colour are the tamarack. It has been a short but beautiful start of the Fall season.

EARLY MORNING, TEMISCAMINGUE, QC

early morning along the Ottawa river near Temiscamingue in Quebec.

CHEVROLET, POWASSAN, ON

This ttime I decided to make this  image black and white. It is sad to see the old car slowly disintgrating but it makes for an interesting picture.

FALL, LAKESHORE LAKE NIPISSING

Walking along the shoreline of the lake I was interested in the play of the light and textures of water and beach.

THANKS JAMIE

Thanks Jamie for your information about this production. Anyone interested in the details of the movie , please check Jamie's comment on my last posting.

MOVIE SET, POWASSAN, ON

This Fall has been a very active movie production season here in North Bay and area. This image shows a fake gas station built by a movie company in the Powassan area. I liked the starkness of the scene with just this lonely structure in the landscape.

FORT TEMISCAMINGUE, VILLE MARIE, QC

The fort is closed for the Winter so all the displays are wrapped in plastic to protect them from the elements during the Winter season. It looked like some humorous  modern art installation or maybe a strange ceremony by alien visitors.

FOR DAVE

It is obvious to me that Dave misses North Bay quite a bit, especially at this very colourful season. So I thought he would appreciate this image which I made last Tuesday on Alsace Road in Powassan. Its a pity that the colours last for such a short time but I am certain Dave will keep remembering this area.

BURNING BUSH, RESTOULE, ON

It appeared as if this bush was on fire. I couldn't resist taking the picture.The image reminds me of the abstract work by the Canadian artist Jean-Paul Riopelle.