SOUTH RIVER RAILWAY STATION

Another place I visited last week was South river. It has been quite some time since I took pictures in the town. The railway station is one of my favourite buildings because so many of our station have disappeared or are in dire need of Restoration. They are a relic of the past when the railway, especially in the North was the main means of transportation. But what is also important is the various styles of architecture. So I am glad that communities preserve these historic buildings.

LOOKING EAST, DOWN RIVER

Looking East from the position I took yesterday's picture, I saw a very different view. It is quite a tranquil scene, which made me think of landscape pictures made in the early twentieth century.

SOUTH RIVER, NIPISSING VILLAGE, ONTARIO

Yesterday was a great day for going on a picnic and of course taking pictures. We stopped at many of our favourite spots like this one along the South River near Nipissing Village. The water was like a mirror. The tree in the water made a nice focal point in the composition. I made a black and white version, which looked great but in the end I preferred the coloured image.

OLD SAWMILL NEAR MUNSTER, ONTARIO

Last week, when taking pictures during our little photo trip , we stopped to take some pictures of this interesting old building. A man stopped his truck and asked me if I knew what I was photographing. Well, I told him, I thought it was an old barn but he said, no, its a remnant of an old local sawmill. he explained that the farmers in the area would bring their trees there to be cut. over time of course these sawmills disappeared and all that is left are the last remains like this old building. 

MOSAICANADA150, GATINEAU, P.Q

On the 2nd of July, which was a wonderful sunny day for a change, we visited the Parc Jacques-Cartier in Gatineau. A spectacular exhibiting 33 horticultural sculptures.depicting  Canada's ten provinces, three territories and  as Quebec's and Labrador's first nations. All I can say is if you are planning to visit the Ottawa area this Summer, you have to put this exhibition Mosaicanada 150 on your itinerary.

THE JOCK RIVER, ONTARIO

Last Monday our granddaughter and I went on a little photo trip near Ottawa. It was a dark, rainy day, which has been almost the norm this Spring and now early Summer.. It was actually good weather if you were interested in some fine dramatic black and white images. We stopped to take some pictures at this river, which our granddaughter told me was part of the Jock river also known as the Mighty Jock. 

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.