CHRISTMAS DAY 2015

From a very green North Bay I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and a very happy Newyear.

GARDENING ANGEL

It has been a long time since my last posting. The re are a variety of reasons for my tardiness, first of course the weather, it has been very grey and dull but another reason of course is getting ready for the holiday season. Today I had to make a card for an avid gardener and I liked the result so i decided to post it. I am getting quite interested in photo illustration. aso expect a few other examples. For those of you interested in the process, I used four different images and combined them using Photoshop and onOne Perfect Photo Suite 10.

THE SIDEKICK, TORONTO

I returned to my iPad to experiment more with some of images. I took this picture very early on Sunday morning in a coffeeshop on Queen Street in Toronto. By the way, the coffee and breakfast was excellent and a bonus was that in addition they also sell comics. But back to the picture. I liked the sunlight which created some beautiful shadows. The picture worked well in colour and black and white but then I decided to play with this picture using a variety of image apps. Some people might be interested in my workflow. So first I transferred my original picture to the iPad then into the app Snapseed. Then I used a wonderful app called iColorama. The next step is turning a copy of the image into a drawing using Photosketch Then on to Laminar Pro to combine the copies and add some effects. Learning to use these apps takes time of course but the result can be very interesting.

DRAGON

I send cards to our grandsons, which they enjoy. I guess we all like getting actual snailmail, cards and letters, rather than bills and printed advertising. I made this card after we visited the Royal Ontario museum and of course they liked the dinosaurs but I transformed the picture into a mythical dragon. Maybe the the skeleton of Smaug, the famous dragon from the "The Hobbit" or the dragon slain by Sir Lancelot.

POMPEII EXHIBITION, ROM, TORONTO

Another exhibition we visited was the Royal Ontario Museum Pompeii exhibition  Its an excellent show which we really enjoyed. The story about the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum is of course well known but seeing all the different art works you simply have to marvel not only about the superb workmanship but also the magnificent creative aspect of the displayed art  objects.

THE BEACHES, TORONTO

On our trip to Toronto we had rented a house close to the Beaches. Its a very nice area, which has a very nice board walk and of course we went for a walk along the lake. The adjacent park was lovely and to my surprise still had lots of Fall colour. For this picture I liked the Autochrome effect which gives the image an almost historic feeling.

J. M. W. TURNER EXHIBITION

We just returned from a very pleasant stay in Toronto, where we visited the J.M.W. Turner exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It was a wonderful experience. Most of the pictures were from the Tate gallery collection in London. So if you are planning to go to Toronto you definitely should go and see the show by arguably  the greatest British painter of the nineteenth century.

OLD MAPLE TREE

We have had some very nice Fall weather these last few days. walking past an office building downtown I made some pictures of this old very textured maple tree. The windows behind reflected a pattern of bare branches. I did not like the colur of the original image, which was quite blue so I turned it into a toned black and white image but brought back some of the colour of the tree to create a stronger visual contrast.

ABSTRACT STREET ART, POWASSAN, ONTARIO

I always am looking for textures and colour. the concrete surface of the overpass had a very rich colour palette ranging from a very light ivory to deep brown and charcoal black with beautiful textures. I reminds me of an early sixteeth century Chinese landscape painting.

RAILWAY OVERPASS, POWASSAN, ONTARIO

Yesterday we had a very unusually warm and pleasant Fall day. We walked around the town of Powassan. When walking you see so much more of your surroundings. A good example is the CN railway overpass in the downtown area. Normally you simply drive by and you will not see all the intricate textures, shapes and details. So I made quite a few pictures and this morning worked a few images using the new On1 Photo 10  photo editing program. I have to say I just love the program and will be exploring it over the next few weeks.

UMBRELLA, NORTH BAY

Just a simple subject but quite interesting visually. I liked the overall colour quality but what got my interest in the first place was the umbrella in the window.

HALLOWEEN FRIENDS

Tonight we will be celebrating Halloween. So her is a picture of some of my Halloween friends, who are looking forward to this great scary party. Happy trick or treating.

RIGHT OF WAY MINE, COBALT

Last weekend we visited Cobalt. It has been a few years since I visited the old mine sight and it was actually a pity it rained quite a bit that day.I did however get a few images and I liked this black and white of the old Right of Way mine, which is a prominent landmark on the the Heritage Silver trail.

FALL, LAKE NIPISSING

I like the Fall season not only for the brightly coloured landscape but also for the great dramatic skies. Especially the light which creates beautiful textures and patterns on the lake surface.

FALL TRAIL, NORTH BAY

What a romantic view. Taken along the popular trail along lake Nipissing. It was a very grey day, which is the best time for taking these type of colourful landscapes. I was not so much interested in the bright colours associated with the paintings of the Group of Seven but rather in the rich golden colours so reminiscent of the late eighteenth and nineteen century British landscape painters.

DOLL, THE POWASSAN TREASURE MILL

Yesterday I visited The Powassan Tresure Mill. It is a wonderful place full of hidden treasures. I like this store very much because you never know what unusual and interesting subjects you discover.This little doll for instance, you simply have to wonder first of all who would design something like this and secondly, who would buy this scary doll for a child.

REFLECTIONS,DUSK

Sitting in my favourite chair enjoying a nice glass of wine, I had to make a picture of the reflections in the window. Reflections are interesting because you see what is behind you and what is in front. The image is quite startling like this picture with the various shadows and textures, resulting in a mysterious final image.

OUR GARDEN

The weather on the weekend was just fabulous. The colours really at their peak. This morning however it rained. Of course as a photographer I like that because the colours were very rich. So first thing after breakfast I took some pictures in our back garden before going to the trails along the lake. Surprisingly the colours in the city were definitely not at their peek. The reason being I think is that we live on a ridge where its always a little colder and the leaves change colours earlier.

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND, 2015

It's that time of year again, the glorious Thanksgiving weekend. Besides the turkey, it is also the time we take photographs of the Fall colours. Actually the colurs have not peaked yet but this is what colours look like in our back garden. 

"THE SEAGULL" CALLANDER MUNICIPAL MUSEUM

Thanks for your comment David. I thought you might like to see one more model. This time it is a model of the well known boat The Seagull working for various lumber mills around Lake Nipissing. What intrigues me is, who made these models. Noone has been able to answer that question. There is one more model of the Seagull  and I think that all were made by the same person. So maybe someone can provide me with a name. I am certain the museum would love to know.

NORTHERN BELL, CALLANDER MUNICIPAL MUSEUM

Today another image from my ongoing regional museums project. This is picture is one of the fine boat models at the Callander Municipal museum. I simply like these miniature boats, which are excellent examples of true folk art.

BOAT YARD, KILLARNEY, ONTARIO

Looking around  the waterfront in Killarney I made a few pictures of sailboats in a boat yard, which are being repaired. I like taking pictures in closeup preferably with a wide angle. This allows me to get images with a unusual perspectives and angles.

THE KILLARNEY EAST LIGHTHOUSE

Last Friday a few of us avid photographers went on a little photo excursion to the picturesque town of Killarney. It was a beautiful Fall day and we had a great time.  One of the points of interest was the killarney east lighthouse. When photographing a subject like this lighthouse I look for some interesting angles and details. I particularly liked this image rich in colour, textures and shapes.

DOWNTOWN GARDEN

Yesterday I discovered this beautiful garden right in the centre of town. No you can't see it from the street because its hidden. It is completely enclosed and actually very small. But what an oasis of peace and quiet. It truly is a wonderful secret garden and I plan to go back to take some more images.

EMPTY HOUSE

Visited our friend Susan yesterday. The door of her very colourful birdhouse was open. Obviously the birds had already left on their migration south.

DRIFTWOOD, PEI

When searching my old negative files I discovered quite a few images which I had never printed. It is interesting that in time you discover pictures you initially overlooked. This image was one of a series of negatives I made on a piece of driftwood on a beach in PEI. It looks like the bleached bones of some prehistoric animal.

LOBSTER BOAT, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

This is an old picture from my archives. The reason i am posting this is that many years ago when I had printed this image, I had promised a copy to one of my friends and co-worker Brigid. I confess I forgot all about it but she just reminded me about my promise. Actually I am not even sure this is the actual image and actually, after seeing the print again, I still like the strong shape of this lobster boat.

YELLOW HOUSE, OTTAWA

I have been busy the last week and I confess I did not have had time to spend on my photography. So this time another image I made a few weeks ago in Ottawa. I named it the yellow house. Its a bit too cute for my taste but this urban scene  worked well in this photograph.

JUST FISH

Simply fish. I saw them swimming and with the very busy reflection thought it would make a good image.

TYPOGRAPHY

Walking past a display window and seeing the lettering, shadows and reflections, it brought back some memories of my early art training. I always enjoyed typography.

SUMMER EVENING LIGHT

A simple image but I liked the quality of the light. The composition is dominated by the shadow of the tree which contrasts with the pattern of vertical lines on the right side of the picture.

VERTICAL GARDEN, OTTAWA

Walking downtown Ottawa I simply had to take a picture of this house with what looked like a vertical garden. I guess it will be quite colourful in a few weeks when the leaves of the Virginia creeper start to change colour.

MARINER 9, NGC OTTAWA

We just returned from a very enjoyable time in Ottawa. It was mainly a family visit but we still found time to visit the National Gallery, where we saw some excellent exhibitions. We especially enjoyed the Marc Chagall exhibition .On our tour of the gallery we saw this great video installation called Mariner 9 by the Canadian artist Kelly Richardson . She is one of the foremost artists working with digital technologies. It is a magnificent thought provoking  video installation well worth a visit to the National Gallery.

NEW GRAFFITI, DOWNTOWN NORTH BAY

On my photo wanderings I had not visited downtown for awhile, so I was very pleased to see these new graffiti along one of the downtown walkways. A visit to Bob Morton's Photodyssey Blog I learned that a group of young Thunderbay artists had created the graffiti earlier this Summer. These artists are young members of the Thunderbay art collective called Die Active. Just click on this link to learn more about this very wonderful collective and definitely go and have a look at their art.

THE OVERPASS

The early morning light was just right for this composition of various shapes and textures.

TRANSITION

Last night we visited friends, who were staying at a cottage on Trout Lake. I decided to take an old camera with me, which I had not used for a few years. I was curious to use it again and surprisingly enough it work very well. We left when it started to get dark and standing on the deck I took a few pictures. The exposures were quite long but I wanted to try and see what the final result would be. I liked the mysterious quality of this image. The transition from evening to night.

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Textures more than colour attracted me in this detail of some graffiti. I always enjoy looking at this urban art. Of course I have to take a few pictures. but this time a black and white interpretation is much more intriguing than the colour version.

KINSMEN BEACH, NORTH BAY

This morning it rained when I went to Kinsmen beach to take a few pictures but the light was just right. I like photographing on overcast or even rainy days. The light is very soft and you can get some very romantic photographs , reminiscent of the 18th century landscape paintings.

SUMMER SKY

Yesterday was a great day if you like spectacular Summer skies. Occasionally it rained but when I saw this landscape near Powassan I just had to photograph this not so interesting scene, which the beautiful clouds and light changed into a dramatic view.

COMMANDA MUSEUM, COMMANDA, ONTARIO

It was a truly beautiful Summer day, so with my two friends Bob and Rob, I continued my little project of visiting the small local museums in the area. This time we went to the Commanda Museum, which is a wonderful restored general country store. Of course they have all the very similar artifacts you will find in every other small museum, but what sets this one apart is interior. Its definitely worth a visit and you can have simple country lunch.

IMAGINARY BEASTS

No, in this city and, I guess in most small communities, you will not find many examples of great graffiti art. Most of the graffiti here are simply inarticulate scribbles. But sometimes you will find some images, which inadvertently have some artistic quality. When I photographed this detail of spray painted scrawls, they reminded me vaguely of some prehistoric rock paintings.

OLD COMPASS, NIPISSING VILLAGE MUSEUM

Another interesting object I photographed on my recent visit to the Nipissing Village Museum. I was told that this compass was found in a farmer's field. It is a beautiful instrument, which makes you wonder, who would lose something like this.

CASH REGISTER, NIPISSING MUSEUM

This picture is for Moremiles, who was wondering about pictures from the Nipissing Museum. well yesterday I made a trip to the museum and had a nice tour of the three buildings. The museum is full of artifacts dating to the late 19th century till after the 1960's. Of course I had to photograph this very ornate cash register. it was surrounded by a lot of other artifacts so I decided to make a black and white image with the register in colour otherwise everything would have blended together losing the visual impact of this Rococo style register.

ROOSTER

Last week we were visiting our friend Susan. She loves rooster and has quite a collection of roosters. You find them everywhere around her  house. I saw this one in the kitchen and simply had to take a picture of this rooster tucked away in a corner.

AT THE WATERS EDGE

I made this picture at the boat launching ramp at the waterfront. It reminds me of the image I did last week of the empty store with the flat rectangular shapes and the strong primary colours. In this image its the contrast between the strong geometrical shapes and the painterly textures of the water which gives this picture its interesting visual impact.

OLD BARBER SHOP, CALLANDER MUSEUM

Yesterday I visited the Callander Ontario Museum to take some pictures for my photo project on the small museums here in North Eastern Ontario. This display is the original Dufresne barbershop from circa 1900. It was the barbershop of Eugene Dufresne, whose son Alex Dufresne dnated the shop to the Callander Museum. Photographing this display posed a slight problem because of the large mirrors. Also the space is small so I made a composite image. I did not remove any of the objects because I wanted to preserve the view visitors would have of the shop as it is on display.

LICHEN

Texture, lines and perspective are the main elements in this image of lichen on a rock outcrop along the shores of Lake Nipissing. I prefer  the black and white version over the colour image. Colour was distraction of the basic elements I wanted to emphasize.

GARDEN WITH WINDOW

Last week I passed a garden in the downtown area and saw this interesting window with what looked like a collage of different abstract landscapes. I asked if i could go into the garden to photograph this window. It was difficult because the vegetable and flower beds were right underneath the window but I liked the added effect of the branches, which added another interesting element to the overall design.

VINTAGE CAR, NORTH BAY

I can't resist photographing antique and vintage cars, so when I passed this fine Meteor parked in front of a house on one of the downtown streets. I liked the wide angle image the best.

SUMMER, PINK LAWNCHAIR

The pink chair on the pink coloured patio is what attracted me to this outdoor still life.