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.

ESCAPING THE SPIDER

I think what really fascinates me, as a photographer, is the surreal quality of the place. Every time I  visit the site I get some very surrealistic images. When I was working on this image I could think about a variety of titles, which, ever time, would change the meaning of the picture. 

MR. PUMPKIN, ESQUIRE

One of the guest to arrive to arrive early is the esteemed Mr. Pumpkin, Esquire. He simply loves these annual Halloween parties and certainly would not miss this biggest event in the city.

GETTING READY FOR THE PARTY

Halloween is less than a week away but here the guests are already arriving. it looks like its going to be quite a bash. In the next few days I will be publishing some images of some of the distinguished guests.

FALL STILL LIFE

Just before getting in the car in the Killarney provincial park I saw this still life of leaves and fungus. I made a couple of pictures but I thought the colours were a little too strong so I reduced colour, which placed more emphasize on the rich textures.

FALL COLOURS, KILLARNEY PROVINCIAL PARK

Yesterday we made a Fall colour trip to Killarney. It was a magnificent day and the colours were certainly at their peek and ever since  the park has been made famous by the Group of Seven, the area has been immortalized by numerous artists and of course photographers. I took this picture on the shore of Lake George but I simply wanted to have another colourful Fall image. The clouds, the reflections and the colours reminded me of some of the work by the very popular American illustrator and painter Maxfield Parrish, who worked in the early and middle of  the twentieth century. 

FALL GARDEN ABSTRACT

It rained today and of course every photographer knows that the rain will really intensify the colours. Walking in the garden, which is preparing itself for the Winter, I made a series of images of the decaying plants. It simply was a richness of colour and patterns forming some beautiful abstract compositions. 

RUST DEMON

On our last little photo excursion we found this old truck quietly decaying underneath some trees. On top of the rusting hood we saw this small  figurine mounted on the hood,surrounded by rust and smiling triumphantly while raising his fist. I named him the rust demon. 

DRAMATIC SKY, LAKE NIPISSING

Yesterday's black and white image of Lake Nipissing was quite popular. I still miss working in my darkroom. Seeing the print appear in the development tray is very magical, but I adapted to working on the computer I learned that you can still get that magical feeling when working with an interesting image. I made this picture last Sunday afternoon at Sunset Park. The sky was very dramatic so I hope you will enjoy this picture as much as yesterday's posting.

CLOUDS, LAKE NIPISSING

Yesterday afternoon we walked along the waterfront trail. It had been quite some time since we had been there. I took quite a few pictures of the lake. For me it is quite an inspiring landscape and the interesting view was almost monochromatic. The only colour was the blue of the sky, which, visually, did not work for me so turning it in a strong, almost abstract, black and white  image with strong patterns of clouds and textures of water ripples was the final result.  

FALL COLOURS, POWASSAN, ONTARIO

It was a wonderful but busy Thanksgiving weekend but last Friday a few of us made alittle photo trip to the Powassan area. Surprisingly the colours were still not at their peek but of of course we made some fine images. I consider the Fall colours and sunsets the low hanging fruit for photographers. Every year you have to go and enjoy this natural colourful spectacle. The big problem is trying to approach the very familiar subject from a different visual angle. I like the early nieteen century British landscape painters, whose work  inspire me when I make my Fall landscape images.

FALL, KINSMAN'S BEACH, NORTH BAY

Have been busy the last few days but here is a picture I took last Monday along Kinsmans Beach. it was a glorious day so I took a stroll along the beach and saw this little branch with bright yellow leafs floating in the water. It made a nice image with strong textures and colours.