SNOW

Yesterday we received our first serious snowfall. So I decided to return to Champlain Park to see what the landscape would look like in the snow. I was a little disappointed because I had expected the sandbank to be covered in the white stuff but no the wind was quite strong, which had blown the snow off the surface but the water was very textured of course which I liked. So here another dramatic black and white of the same landscape I posted yesterday.

CHAMPLAIN PARK, NORTH BAY

This image is for all my friends who love the classic quality of black and white photography. Yesterday was a dark rainy day, just the type of weather I like to take black and white pictures. I love the landscape photographs by Bill Brandt, Robert Frank and Josef Koudelka. Too many landscape photographs done digitally are technically superb of course but as David Hockney said in an interview they are boring. In other words they lack soul. I like the traditional images with all its deficiencies like grain for instance. 

A GLORIOUS FALL DAY

It was exceptionally warm yesterday. So of course I made a little walkabout around the lake. The water level was quite low so I walked onto the large sandbanks and took some pictures with the intention of turning them into some black and white images, but after I looked at the results, the colour images were definitely stronger. I especially liked this photo because of the strong impasto quality of the foreground texture.

BLOWING WIND

Last Friday , walking along a trail along the lake, I made a series of pictures of the strong wind blowing from the lake. This image was my favourite showing the gusts of wind seemingly blowing from different directions creating interesting patterns and textures.

COLOURS OF NOVEMBER, FOR DAVE BROWN

This picture is for Dave Brown, who loves this place but since he is living in southern Ontario, makes it a little bit more complicated visiting this wonderful place on Lake Nipissing. So when you come again to North Bay, we can go out there and take some more great images Dave. I titled this picture "colours of November" because this month has a very special quality, which is unique to this part of the year. The colour hues are browns, grays and some dark reds. 

TOTEM POLE (detail), MUSEUM OF HISTORY, OTTAWA

This is a black and white picture I took on our last trip to Ottawa. Most of the museum is under renovation for next year's celebration of Canada's 150th anniversary but I still enjoy seeing the large totem poles in the great hall. These magnificent and monumental sculptures definitely belong to the great works of art.  

NOVEMBER, SUNSET COVE, LAKE NIPISSING

Yesterday I made a trip to my favourite little cove on the South shore of Lake Nipissing. It was a nice early November fall day. Not much colour left just the brown tones of the pine needles. It was a very quiet day, which i enjoy. All in all a nice satisfying day wandering around and making some nice images.

STORE WINDOW, OTTAWA

Walking along Dalhousie Street in Ottawa, I saw this installation showing images of famous and not so famous women from prehistoric times to the present. I found it interesting because a few years ago, in the National gallery, I had seen a similar but a much larger installation made with news and advertising  photographs. So maybe that art work was the inspiration to this display.

CITYSCAPE, OTTAWA

We just returned from a very enjoyable tie in the Ottawa region. I like to photograph different cityscapes. Not the great buildings but the alleys and obscure backstreets. What attract me are the textures, colours and perspectives in scenes like this nondescript passage. The day was quite grey and dreary just the weather I quite prefer because the colours are quite rich and the reflections add some great textures.