RAIN_CLOUDS, LAKE NIPISSING

Well, I guess we have had more than enough rain in the last few weeks. Only the grass is of course quite happy but I hope that we will see some sunshine before our Summer ends.The skies have been magnificent. A few days ago walking along the waterfront I had to take some pictures of the dramatic cloudy sky. Some one had made some rather unimaginative inuksuk on the rocks, which made an interesting focal point in the image. 

ANGEL, NORTH BAY

On one of my walks a few days ago I saw this angel sitting between the junk at one of my regular places I go just to see what is new. This poor angel was obviously a new arrival, wondering why she deserved being stuck in this place. 

NORTH BAY MUSEUM

Yesterday I posted a picture of a section of Oak Street. But right across from the store i photographed is the North bay museum. Originally  this building was the old CPR railway station here in North Bay. But with the disappearing of the passenger trains this building was renovated and became our museum. The building is very significant in the history of this city. However the surroundings show a lack of imagination. Creative landscaping could turn this barren area into a great people place.

A QUIET SUNDAY AFTERNOON

The Spring has been and still is very wet, But the weather did not stop me from going on a little walk downtown to make a few pictures. I have been remiss in posting lately. So time to show some new images. Just before the rain started aI managed to shoot this view of Oak Street on a very wet quiet afternoon.

ALONG THE KINSMAN TRAIL, NORTH BAY

Again it has been a long time since my last posting. Well, the weather has not been very good but the main problem was the trouble I had with my computer. Its all fixed now so back to making images. Yesterday Dan, Kirk and myself went out to take a few pictures. Again of course it rained. But walking along the Kinsman Trail, it felt good to be out and about looking for some fine images. I am still interested in black and white and I liked the result of this final print. Its rich in textures and reflected the mood of the dark rainy day.

LANDSCAPE WITH LARGE ROCK, COLOUR VERSION

When I posted the black and white image of this landscape, I think nostalgia won and I posted the monochrome version. However I liked the colour picture because the big rock had, in addition to the rich textures, quite a lot of colour. 

LANDSCAPE WITH LARGE ROCK

It has been and still is, a very grey, wet week. So not at time to wander around, but I returned to the Callander waterfront to photograph this large rock. I had photographed it earlier but I was not happy with the results. It definitely needed the flat grey light rather than the bright sun. I like the dark mood of this disturbed  landscape,  

VARIATIONS ON A BENCH

Boy I have really neglected my blog, so here an image I created of a few pictures I took of a bench on the Callander dock. I liked the movements of the bench and shadows. 

EARLY SPRING MORNING LIGHT

What a glorious Spring day it was yesterday. So, of course, John, Dan and I had to go on a little photo trip. Walking onto the beach I was struck by the intense blue colour of the shadow on this little part of the beach. It had just a hint of the warm colour from the early morning sunlight. An excellent beginning of the day.

OLD DOCK, STURGEON FALLS, ON

Yesterday my friend  Dan and I went to  Sturgeon Falls and the village of Field to take some pictures. The weather in the morning was very nice with quite a bit of sunshine but just when we stopped off to have our lunch, it clouded over and then the rain started. We managed to get a few interesting pictures along the lake before returning home. All in all we had another satisfying little photo excursion. 

ANOTHER LANDMARK GONE

On this beautiful early Spring day another North bay landmark was torn down. The old Thorn's farm on our street was demolished. it was actually not unexpected butt it was still sad to see the building quickly disappear. It has been there for a very long time and I made some wonderful photographs of the old place. 

SPRING HAS FINALLY ARRIVED

Spring has finally arrived, well I hope so because you never know. But this weekend was simply glorious. I took this picture yesterday morning on the waterfront in Callander. The colour of the scene and the chair simply symbolized the Spring and the promise of Summer.

CAN THIS BUILDING STILL BE SAVED ?

Many people, who saw my posting yesterday, wondered if this old station could be restored. Well of course it is possible but at what cost. I know there are people in Mattawa who are trying to save this historic building. This morning I tried to find images of the station in its glory days and found an interesting picture on the Saskatchewan Archival Information Network. In its hey'day it was quite a busy place.So lets see what happens.

MATTAWA RAILWAY STATION, ALMOST GONE

This morning Dan and I drove to Mattawa to take some pictures. The light was pretty flat on this early Spring day. Actually the correct light for photographing the remnant of the Mattawa railway station. 

The condition of the building could be expressed in one word, sad. I don't think this station could be saved because the cost would be prohibitive. It definitely looks like a symbol of the end of the railway era in Northern Ontario.

LOOKING FOR SPRING

Last week I thought I found Spring but then I lost it somewhere in the streets of Montreal. On my search to find it again, I found this tree, which at least could always remember Summer when looking at the wall.

WALL, MONTREAL, PQ

Walking past an old building being demolished in the old part I had to photograph this texture rich wall. It was the right time. A streak of sunlight added drama to this image, which reminded me of the beautiful pictures you see of the universe. The image fits nicely in my ongoing project of photographic abstractions.

CHAGALL AND MUSIC EXHIBITION

We just returned from from seeing the exhibition Chagall and Music at the Montreal Museum of Art. It was simply a wonderful experience. It is a very large show with 340 works of art ranging from large paintings to drawings, etchings, sculptures, pottery and especially a wide variety of costumes and set designs from various opera productions. All I can say is go and see the great show. well worth a special visit to Montreal. 

FIRST LIGHT IMAGINED

First I like to post this picture. for Dave and Dianne, who like my abstract images. This last few days I have been working on a series of abstracts. I am always interested in the quality of textures, patterns and lines. Maybe its my interest in art ad especially painting. The American abstract artists have always been the artist I greatly admired. Now I started to get interested in,what I refer to as street art. 

STREET ABSTRACT, OTTAWA

Street art, graffiti or murals, is a subject which always interest me when walking around cities and towns. I also like looking for interesting patterns and textures found in cracked walls or pavements. Walking down a street in downtown Ottawa I photographed this richly textured and patterned damaged wall. 

FIRST SIGNS OF SPRING

What a wonderful early Spring day or at least it started to feel like Spring.  Our small harlequin was ready to take his dog for a walk after being cooped up inside these last cold and snowy weeks. Even though we can expect some more Winter weather, we know Spring will soon be here.