MARIANNE'S GARDEN

I am not a gardener but my wife certainly is. of course I enjoy her garden very much. The foliage of the leaves and the ferns show a variety of patterns and textures. I have been interested in the landscape photographs of the nineteenth century so here I have created an image similar in flavour to the toned photographs of that era.

WATERFRONT, NORTH BAY

The flower beds along the waterfront here in North Bay are just beautiful this year. So first a thanks to the volunteers who created the flower beds and then of course the damp weather we are having these last few weeks is just excellent for a spectacular flower display.

SUMMER, NEAR VERNER, ONTARIO

I have driven by this house on the Cache bay many. I have even photographed it on occasion but a few days ago the light was just right for this Summer impression.

NURSERY, RICHMOND, ONTARIO

This weekend we visited a great nursery in Richmond near Ottawa. Of course the gardeners in my family were very busy looking, discussing and in general behaving like all avid planters and diggers. I enjoy a beautiful garden but I am not that interested in working the landso to speak. My interest is photography. Looking around I saw the patterns and lines of the display areas which contrasted with the scenery outside.

AFTERNOON, WOLFE LAKE, ONTARIO

Wolfe Lake is one of my favourite spots. The lake is not over run by motor boats or any other loud noisy machines.The occasional fisherman is all you will find at this spot. This makes it ideal for picnics or just simple realxing.

LUNCH

Today was just beautiful. In the Summer My wife and I always eat lunch outside, weather permiting of course. I noticed the two forks with the reflection of the umbrella and the sky but I think it was the position of the two spoons which I thought symbolized togetherness.

ABANDONED FARM, NEAR OUELLETTE, ONTARIO

I passed this abandoned farmhouse near Ouelette on Hwy 528. I am always attracted to this type of subejct because of the strong textures of the wood. The house it self was not that interesting, eventhough I took quite a few pictures. What makes this images is the hole for the stove pipe which forms a nice contrast to the texture of the wall.

FLAX FIELD, WEST NIPISSING, ONTARIO

Driving through the farming area near Sturgeon Falls I noticed that many farmersswitched from growing canola to flax. The beautiful blue colour of the flowers made quite a few cars stop because they were curious what the crop was.

SOUTH SHORE, LAKE NIPISSING

I did not get out to take photographs this week but one evening I went out for a short while and eventhough I did not get many pictures I took this view of the lake at sunset. I think this picture worked or maybe it was just the mood I was in because normally I don't take many images of sunsets. They are a little too easy.

STORMY DAY, LAKE NIPISSING, ONTARIO

It rained most of the day today. It cleared later in the afternoon but a very strong wind whipped up the lake water making it look like the ocean. It was quite pleasant walking along the beach.

FERNS AND HOSTAS

The garden is showing its most exuberant full Summer beauty. Every season I just have to photograph shapes and textures of the various plants and flowers. I liked the abstraction of the black and white negative image of ferns and hostas.

FIRST AVENUE, NORTH BAY, ONTARIO

This morning I went out to do some pictures downtown. Over the years this has been an ongoing project. I enjoy walking around the the downtown core to photograph the various
buildings. The houses in this area date back from the early to mid 20th century. The owner of this house tried to turn the house into an Italian villa I guess. It did not work as well as he probably thinks it did. Judge for yourself.

EVENING, LAKE NIPISSING, ONTARIO

An evening picture of Lake Nipissing. This lake offers me an unending source of images. Every time the light is different which changes the feeling of the lake.

WALL, TORONTO, ONTARIO

Obviously the ivy had been removed from this wall leaving a very interesting pattern. Just a few adjustments in photoshop and another abstract image.

RAINY DAY, OTTAWA, ONTARIO

Today is a very sad and tearful day for Ottawa. The Ottawa Senators were soundly defeated by the Anaheim Ducks. Thats why I thought it appropriatye to post this rainy view of downtown Ottawa taken from the top of the Peace tower.

UPPER CANADA VILLAGE, MORRISBURG, ONTARIO

On the weekend I visited Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg with my family. Of course I took a variety of pictures. I decided to keep the flavour of the museum by recreating an old nineteenth century image. Hope you like it.

SNOW IN JUNE

I just arrived home this afternoon when the rain turned to heavy wet snow. It is all very strange. Last Thursday the temeperature here in North Bay broke all records. Now it is 1°C and snowing. I made a few pictures with this one my favourite.

SIGN, OTTAWA, ONTARIO

Hockey fever is still high in Ottawa but so far the Anaheim Ducks have the upper hand. Lets wait and see what happens tonight when the third match is being played here in Ottawa.

MIRVISH VILLAGE, TORONTO, ONTARIO

I visited Toronto last weekend. It rained but I did get a chance to walk around some of my old favourite neighbourhoods. One of these araes is the Mirvish Village right behind the famous Honest Ed store. It was quite colourful as you can see in this image.

TEEPEE, CANADORE COLLEGE, NORTH BAY

Canadore College here in North bay has many first nations students. This teepee is used by the students for a variety of events and ceremonies.

REFLECTION

It was Victoria Day weekend. In Canada we still celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. It is also the weekend when the avid gardeners start their pilgimage to the nurseries. I walked through the garden ornament section with all the various ornaments, sculptures and pots. I liked the reflective sphere and the flower pots. A simple image of colour contrast and circles. I think what makes the picture is the reflection.

MAPLE TREE SEEDS

I photographed these seeds yesterday in our backyard.

CONTAINER AND CARTS, NORTH BAY

went shopping for plants and noticed this container with carts waiting for customers. It is still a litte cold but this weekend the place will be packed with eager gardeners geting their fix.

MAKING BREAD

Its a very wet and cool day. So I made some bread this morning. I always have to cut one slice and try it of course. I love the tast of freshly backed bread.

SASKATOON BERRY

This Saskatoon berry in our backyard is in full bloom. Just a simple celebration of Spring, which I had to photograph.

GARDEN PLOT, DOWNTOWN NORTH BAY

This empty spot on Mainstreet North Bay is a garden plot maintained by volunteers who grow vegetables for the foodbanks. This week I think the beds will be made ready for the Summer. I will post another image in a few month time to show you the changes.

CROCS

I see them everywhere. Adults and children are wearing the latest fad in shoes, crocs. I think they are fun and are quite convenient.

SPRING GARDEN, NORTH BAY

Yesterday was the first day of the photo manifestation "Camera Frontera" here in North Bay. Many of the exhibits are very good. I one of the galleries I could not resist photographing the garden with the first signs of the season. Its still early here but I think this week the trees will all of a sudden start showing theier leaves. It is a lovely time of the year here in Northern Ontario.

NEAR BRADFORD, ONTARIO

Yesterday we visited the McMichael gallery in Kleinburg to see an exhibition of the BC artist Takao Tanabe. The show is very good even though I think it could have been better curated. His landscapes from Alberta and BC are impressive. Large panoramic views of the prairies and the Pacific coastal areas. Driving back home I kept thinking about his work and reducing the landscape to very simple but visually strong elements. That is what I try to bring into my own pictures.

CLOUDS AND TREES

The clouds and trees made for a good contrast between the stark lines of the trees and the free shaped forms of the clouds. The image works best as a high contrast black and white picture.

SPRING HAS ARRIVED

I guess its time for some less comfortable images. I took this picture last week just before going on the trail to Duchesnay Falls. I think it shows that the concern for our environment is not as great as we believe because this is just one tiny example of what people leave behind. Most of the garbage is coffee cups, water bottles and plastic bags. Maybe people think that it is other peoples responsibility to look after the planet but I guess we have to start doing our own personal bit.

BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY

Today turned out to be a very beautiful Spring day. We have had some cold and rainy weather but when I felt the sun this afternoon I had to go out and look for pictures. I did not get many images but just walking in the country was a great pleasure after the dark wintery days.

DUCHESNAY FALLS, NORTH BAY

Its very wet today but for the gardeners I guess welcomed the rain. I decided to go out to make some pictures at Duchesnay falls, a very popular hiking spot. Today was quiet so a good time to photograph. I like taking pictures in the rain. it makes the colours much more vivid.The only problem is trying to keep your camera dry.

CHINATOWN, OTTAWA

Chinatown in Ottawa is quite small but its one of my favourite spots to visit when I am in town.

SPRING, OTTAWA, ONTARIO

Thanks James for your posting. Here is a simple picture celebrating Spring and to remember a very enjoyable weekend.

NATIONAL GALLERY, OTTAWA

The main reason for my visit to Ottawa was to see the exhibition of the work by the Australian artist Ron Mueck. The show was great and could have offered an opportunity for some very interesting images but of course taking pictures was not allowed. The building however always impresses me and I can't resist taking pictures even though I have visited the place numerous times. I have learned though that a subject never appears the same, that is why trying to redo a picture is nearly always impossible.The walkway into the museum is very impressive. The play of light and shadows made a great abstract image. I posted this image image because I thought it worked better in black and white than colour.

SOMMERSET, OTTAWA, ONTARIO

Visiting Ottawa this weekend. I noticed this sad face peeking from behind an old container. I guess the eye and then the colour of the scene attracted me to the subject.

COLLEGE RESIDENCE

Today I photographed the very effective logo for Canadore College on one of their residences. I thought that this image is a good excuse to again promote my artsperience course on how to realize the full potential of your digital pictures with Adobe Elements 5.0. You can check out the link for Artsperience or simply email me for additional information.

REMNANTS, CALLANDER, ONTARIO

Just aslightly different view of the last remnants of the old dock.

OLD DOCK, CALLANDER, ONTARIO

This morning I took some pictures of the remains of the old spurline in Callander. In the early part of the twentieth century, trains would bring coal to the area. The coal was loaded onto boats and delivered at the various sawmills, plants and ,I guess to other communities.

A QUIET DAY

Its a very wet, cold and windy day. Actually a good day to do some chores I should have been doing awhile ago. So I cleaned off my computer by burning my saved pictures to disc. Then this afternoon I started to read a book on Modigliani. Just a nice quite day.However I did not make any pictures except this one of the book. Hope you like it.

WRAPPED

A new hotel is being constructed here in town. The plastic sheeting protects the workers from the wind, snow and rain. To me it looks like an artwork by Cristo.The combination of textures and shapes are just right for a visually interesting image.

HIBISCUS FLOWER

The flowers start to wilt and drop off the plant. I liked the structure and the texture of this flower.It looks as if it is a very delicately paper construction.

SURPRISE !

Well I guess everybody thought Spring was close but imagine the surprise this morning. Lots of snow greeted us when we got up. Lets hope it does not hang around for too long.

ROCK FORMATION, BEACH LAKE NIPISSING

Thanks Kent John Johncox for your posting. Here is a different view from the rocks on the beach of Lake Nipissing. At this time of the year these rock formations are much more visible because of the low water level.I like taking pictures of these beautiful textured rocks.

NORTH BAY, LAKE NIPISSING

A cold snap is still leaving us a little longer in Winter weather. The balmy weather last week gave a feeling that the Winter had retreated but I guess we were wrong.

MORE NORTH BAY EASTER

my friend Rob posted a picture of the fully decorated house in North Bay. I took a closer look and here is an image showing the very iconic symbols of our modern Easter.

EASTER MORNING, NORTH BAY, ONTARIO

Happy Easter from North Bay

COLOUR , NORTH BAY

I was Just looking for a little colour when I noticed this new building going up in the centre of North Bay. The bright orange, blue and yellow was just what I was looking for.

A RAINY DAY

This image is for Ian Patrick McAllister. Ian Patrick is a terrific artist just look at his blog on my page. Today was a very rainy day but it beats shoveling snow. I just welcome these signs of Spring.