THE LAVASE PORTAGE CONSERVATION AREA REVISITED

I could not resist posting another image of my Lavase Portage trail walk. This time a colour image, which I had made in the morning. What interested me first was the little"water trail' made obviously made by by beavers because on shore you could see the clues of the willow brushes, which they had dragged down.  

THE LAVASE PORTAGE CONSERVATION AREA

Yesterday I visited the Lavase River Portage Conservation Area. It has been awhile since I walked the trail and discovered that quite  a few improvements have ben made to the trails. It was a beautiful walk with a few hesitant signs of the coming Fall. In the afternoon it rained a bit but cloudy sky was exactly what I needed to get some beautiful landscapes. My original idea was to work in traditional black and white and here is one image I thought reflected what I had in mind.

ROSE AND SALLY

A few days ago my wife met these two ladies at the Powassan Treasure Mill They became instant friends so she brought them. Both ladies have joined our family. This morning our very young friend Avery named then Rose and Sally, which we think are beautiful and fitting names for these ladies. 

LANG STREET 1911, COBALT, ONTARIO

Last Tuesday, Dan and I visited Cobalt. we took quite a few pictures. It is a very interesting small town with a rich history. In the early 20th century silver was discovered in Cobalt, which created a "silver rush" you can call it. At the height of all this mining activity the town had about 200 active mines. Now it is a very quiet place but you can see the history reflected in a variety of murals, like this image of lang Street in 1911,  all across town. its definitely worth a visit.

KINSMAN TRAIL, NORTH BAY

We had not walked the Kinsman trail since last Fall. Part of the trail had been closed for some time because extensive upgrading of the trail. Imagine our surprise when we saw this part of the trail. It is very beautiful and this nature preserve is right downtown the city. Really amazing and I think we should applaud the North Bay–Mattawa Conservation Authority for creating this truly wonderful trail. It is a great asset to our city.

SUMMER LANDSCAPE WITH BEEHIVES

When driving along Hwy 520 I saw this old trailer with fifteen beehives on the roof. Pretty ingenious because it certainly will keep the bears away. 

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE SUMMER GARDEN

I could not resist posting another image of my wife's garden. This is a view of a small corner of our back garden. As I mentioned before the garden is predominantly rich in various textures. The garden is at its peak but the dry conditions are taking its toll. Luckily it rained a little this morning but it is still not enough.

RETRO TRUCK, HWY 520

Every time I drive Hwy 520 I have seen this old truck, but never stopped to take photographs. Last Sunday, after returning from a very enjoyable trip to Magnetawan I decided well lets make a few images. The truck is at the beginning of a drive way however I did not want to include the house  so this was the only angle to isolate the truck, which I think is probably from the early fifties. 

SUMMER TEXTURES

Summer and my wife's garden is at its peak. She loves textures so of course I love taking pictures of all these rich colours and textures. Here is a view of just one small area in the front garden. I think its an appropriate image to celebrate this Summer civic holiday. 

ANOTHER VIEW OF LAKE NIPISSING

What makes this lake so unique is the feeling of space. The light changes offer an unending  interesting images and like this picture, the landscape is a composition of simple elemental components, sky, water and rocks. 

A SAD PLACE, DOWNTOWN NORTH BAY

Downtown North Bay has become a very sad and depressing area. On our walk yesterday I noticed how quickly the place has deteriorated. Its very neglected and dirty. Then, to top it off, walking back to the car we noticed this swastika prominently displayed on an apartment window. Having been born in occupied Holland, whose parents have lost family and friends during that horrible time, this symbol creates some very strong emotions in me. 

TRAIN ENGINE 503, NORTH BAY

It saddens me to see the old steam train engine deteriorating in one of the cities storage areas. This train should be placed at the museum because otherwise I am afraid that soon this piece of history will be lost.

APPROACHING THUNDERSTORM

Turning into our street after returning from lunch this afternoon I saw this magnificent cloud formation over the summer landscape. It looked quite spectacular so of course I had to stop and take some pictures. It definitely called for  a black and white image to emphasize the great cloud formation.

DRAMATIC SKY, LAKE NIPISSING

This morning I was looking through my files looking for an image wanted to work on when I came across this picture, which I took last October. It looked interesting so I thought let me work with this picture. So here it is as a composition its very simple but the sky gives it drama. 

ASSEMBLING THE WATERFRONT SCULPTURE, JULY 1991

Yesterday I promised to post a picture from my photo story on the making of the waterfront sculpture. It took more than thirty area workers to make the various components for the artwork. Here Michèle Lapointe and René Rioux are hard at work finishing their sculpture.

LE DROIT À LA DIFFÉRENCE (DETAIL) , NORTH BAY

What a beautiful day we had today. So this morning we decided to go for a walk along the waterfront. The clouds were simply monumental and when we got to the sculpture on the waterfront we realized that this Summer it was exactly twenty five years ago that we met the artists MichèleLapointe and her partner René Rioux. During that Summer we had a wonderful time together discussing art and politics of course while enjoying good food, wine and chocolate. I took many pictures and I might post some of them in the coming days.

PINK, BROCKVILLE, ONTARIO

Rain today, something we or I should say the garden  needs very badly. So a good time to look at some pictures I took a few weeks ago in Brockville. I love wandering through the streets of towns and cities. The urban landscape is a subject which fascinates me. This is a simple reflection in a store window. The juxtaposing subjects can create some very interesting effects, which are open to the viewers interpretation.

POND, LAURIER WOODS

Noon on a Summer day is not the best time to take landscape photographs. The light is harsh creating strong contrasts in the scene. But that of course is the challenge to still make a visually interesting image. In this case I concentrated on textures, colour and reflections. I don't know if it really worked but for me it has the feeling of a warm Summer day.

LAURIER WOODS, NORTH BAY

Yesterday I took a walk through the Laurier Woods, a conservation area in the the city of North bay. It had been a long time since I visited the trails. The weather was glorious and I simply enjoyed the walk. I met a few hikers and even a group of mothers who were enjoying a picnic with their children on the trails.This conservation area is definitely worth a visit.

WATSON'S GARAGE, CUMBERLAND, ONTARIO

In this image I wanted to recreate a vintage picture of the nineteen thirties. An impression of a Summer day in less busy times. of course it is only a nostalgic impression of  an imaginary peaceful time.