ROOF OF OLD CABOOSE, NORTH BAY

Yesterday I revisited the site with the old trains. To my surprise I noticed that the first steps have been taken to restore the old trains and obviously this caboose. Actually this morning I had to stop for  a large transport, which was moving the caboose to the ONR workshops. I liked the unusual view of the old caboose roof. The sky by the way was dark with the occasional sun appearing between the dark clouds. it mad for a dramatic but quite abstract image.

ANOTHER VIEW

 Another view of the new Education Centre Library here in North Bay.

NEW LIBRARY

Last week the new North Bay Education Centre library was officially opened. The old one was definitely insufficient and needed to be replaced by a very modern new facility. Today we visited the brand new building and it is impressive. So here is the first picture, I will be posting a few more to give you my impressions of this new library.

NEEDS SOME RENOVATION

As I said in yesterday's posting, we like subject matter with character. Well when you walk around the older areas of downtown North Bay, you will see  a few houses in this rather decrepit state of neglect. You will also see quite a bit of renovation going on and it is nice to see people moving into the downtown area and restoring these old homes.

NEAR ARNSTEIN, ON

Driving along Hwy 522 I noticed the old car sitting near an abandoned house. I guess, as photographers, we are attracted to this kind of subjects because visually it shows the textures and patterns which add to the character of the old house and car. Again I preferred to make a black and white image. Colour for this scene is nice but it lacks  the strong impact of the monotone image.

STORE WINDOW, NORTH BAY FLEAMARKET

nostalgia might be a better title for this picture. Its a display of two very iconic figures from the 1950's I felt the image should be in black and white reminiscent of the photographic style  from that period.

OUR FRONT GARDEN

Today a simple image of our front garden, or more accurately, I should say my wife Marianne's front garden. I am not a gardener, although I enjoy it very much, but all the credit has to go to Marianne. Of course like all gardeners, she redesigns every year. This season is no exception. The part of the front I did not photograph she is going to make some radical changes. She is a true artist working on the canvas of the garden, except it is of course never finished.

OTTAWA RIVER NEAR TEMISCAMINGUE, PQ

It has been awhile since my last posting. I have been busy but I did make a  little tour into Quebec. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. Did not trake many pictures though. This scene interested me because of the empty bilboard  frame, which gaave me the idea for this image. Using an action I turned this picture into avintage image and then masked the inside of the frame turning thee picture into a look in the past and the river today.

RAINDROPS

The last few days have been cold and wet. I did not go far to take pictures but I liked this image of the hosta covered in rain drops. By accident I had the built in flash on when I made it but I liked the effect of all the glitter on the wet leaves.

POOLTABLE, SPRUCEDALE, ON

On another little photo tour yesterday, we stopped off for lunch at the Sprucedale Hotel (established 1899). It was an interesting place typical of the small town inns. Actually there were quite a few customers who were enjoying a more liquid lunch. We enjoyed talking with them while eating good pub fare. All in all it was a good little trip.

WAITING TO BE RESTORED

You are right Bob, I can't understand why things have to be so mindlessly  defaced and worse destroyed. But When this part of the Waterfront project is finished, I am certain that we will see these machines restored to their original version. I am looking forward to that.

CLOSE UP ENGINE 503

I could not resist posting another picture of the old train engine. These old steam train engines were magnificent machines even when, like this one, they have not been under steam for decades and been negelcted all this time.

SCRAP BIN

Walking around the construction site of the next phase of the North Bay waterfront development, I made this image of the richly coloured and textured scrap bin. By simply reducing the colour of the background and changing the contrast, I emphasized the shape of the bin.

ENGINE 503, NORTH BAY

This morning we took a walk around the construction area for the further development of the waterfront. The people who had the dream about the North Bay waterfront can be very proud. It will look stunning when everything is finished. Part of the plan will be a display of the North Bay railway past. So here is an image of the magnificent steam locomotive number 503.

LANDSCAPE, LORING, ONTARIO

Yesterday we drove through the town of Loring. I had noticed these small buildings a few weeks ago but was not able to take pictures at that time. What the purpose of the buildings is I don't know. They are too small for cottages so I suspect that they are simply sheds used for a variety of purposes.

FLEAMARKET, NORTH BAY

This place has hardly changed since we arrived in this city. when I took this picture last week, my first idea was that this would make great black and white picture but when I started to work with the file I liked the idea of the very subdued colours reflecting a nineteen thirties feeling of this cityscape.