The Essence Of Summer

    

      I miss them. Were the summers of my childhood and youth really as savoury/sweet as I remember them? There was a feeling that I've found hard to recapture as an adult, especially as an older adult. It's an ethereal feeling that somehow the season was meant just for me. Days were long and languid. I grew up in a northern town that had a long beach along the lakefront. I remember the feeling of cool water flowing against my skin as I swam and ducked under the waves. I remember the taste of French fries liberally doused with salt and vinegar and served in a conical paper cup. 

    I remember walking along a lakefront where summer sunsets seemed to last forever. Evenings spent with like- minded creative friends. The anticipation of summer travels. The coolness and light of beautiful summer mornings.
    

     Maybe  I am viewing the past through the rose coloured glasses of nostalgia. Perhaps I've enjoyed so many great summer experiences that I've become a little inured to them.

     No two summers are going to produce identical experiences. The old saying, while ridiculously trite, is still valid. "The only constant is change."

    However, photography is a great tool for portraying the nostalgia of a season or scene. It lends itself to that other trite old saying, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." I can't tell you how often I've experienced a feeling of déja vu the instant before I pushed a shutter button. 

    All this is a very long preamble to the age old back to school first assignment, "What I Did During The Summer". At least I get to include some (hopefully) interesting pictures with the assignment. Take that you other kids!

     The beautiful community of Paris, Ontario where I make my home, has had its downtown core under construction all summer. (The Downtown Dig) I decided to embrace the chaos. Most of my cameras have the capacity to render a photo with just one colour leaving the rest of the frame in monochrome. (black and white) The predominant colour on a construction site is orange for safety. I went with it!

    

      

    

        Of course summer is a lot more than construction projects. There are always festivals and interesting shows to see. This year we attended two plays during the Hamilton Fringe Festival.  We also attended The Barton Village Festival, and took a day trip up to Alliston, Ontario for the Alliston Potato Festival.

   This year marked the tenth anniversary of the last concert of the Tragically Hip.  Earlier in the season we attended "It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken", a musical featuring the songs of the Tragically Hip. More recently, at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, CBC presented a screening of the Hip's last concert in celebration of the band and the amazing Gord Downie. Unlike millions of other Canadians, I had never seen the footage of the last concert. Needless to say, for me, it was a moving experience. 

    I wrote a blog post about the passing of Gord Downie in October of 2017   https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2017/10/for-mr-downie.html 

    "Illusions of somedays. Cast in a golden light. No dress rehearsals. This is our life."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8ffSi2dPtw 

                                                        ...more later

    

    

   

           

 

Kindness

by: Gord Barker

    Maybe it's because of the "51st state" rhetoric emanating from the orange blob in charge of things south of the border, but I've noticed that, here in Canada, we seem to have accentuated our legendary niceness.

    I noticed it the other day while riding on public transit in Hamilton, Ontario. Yup, in steel town, "the Hammer", arguably one of the toughest cities in Canada, people say, "Thank you." or, "Have a good day!" when getting off of the bus!  

    Patting dogs, holding doors, being kind to strangers, giving up seats on the bus for the elderly or disabled, tipping at the local coffee shop, dropping a looney to a busking street musician, simply smiling and striking up a chat with someone in a public space. It seems that the nastier and more divisive "they" get, the kinder and gentler we get!

    Okay, Refractive Reasoning is a blog about photography and photographic life. What does this have to do with life behind the camera? Just this, it's always easier to make a photograph of someone when they are happy and smiling. It's also easier for the photographer to create a cool image when they are in the right frame of mind.

Yellow Glasses Guy This gentleman kindly consented to having his picture taken while he was waiting for the bus. James St. N., Hamilton Ontario

Boy and "Dog" Barton Village Festival Barton St., Hamilton, Ontario

     

Barton St. "Shootout" Barton Village Festival Hamilton, Ontario

Steel Drum Player Locke St., Hamilton, Ontario

     Closer to home, Paris, Ontario is undergoing its second Summer of downtown construction. The  "Downtown Dig" has been a substantial disruption for business owners and residents alike. Local business owner, Emery Silva, decided to do something to promote business in the downtown core by sprucing up the buildings on Mechanic St. where her own shop, Bird & Bee Vintage               https://www.birdandbeevintage.com/ is located in Le Petite Marché. https://www.facebook.com/p/Le-Petit-March%C3%A9-61575548461219/

    Businesses along Mechanic St. are receiving a new coat of paint in bright colours in a bid to help overcome the frustration and monotony of traffic having to take a detour through the downtown core. (Mechanic St. is part of the detour route.) Making the best of an adverse situation makes things nicer for everyone.

Le Petit Painteurs L-R  Emery, Mia and Hannah Mechanic St. Paris, Ontario

  

Emery In Action Mechanic St., Paris, Ontario

    And finally, it's the little acts of kindness I see that make the difference in daily life. Like watching Liz Spanjer, Community liaison with Navicon Construction, assist Paris, Ontario resident, Emily, to navigate the construction matts across the Downtown Dig.

Liz and Emily Grand River St. N. Paris, Ontario

   

 Despite everything, human kindness conquers all.

                        ...more later

    As usual, if you like what you see here, feel free to share it on the media platform of your choice.

 

Wabi-Sabi? by: Gord Barker

    Have you ever looked at an image that may be slightly imperfect, but it grabs you anyway?   

  The concept of Wabi-Sabi is the act embracing beauty, inclusive of any imperfections.

    The paradox of it, in photography, is that composition in the craft teaches us to crop out that which is imperfect or detrimental, to create work that is good. 

    Sometimes you can't crop it out. Is it reason enough to abandon the shot? Sometimes the strength of the image  resides in it's innate beauty despite its flaws. Sometimes it's the flaws that emphasize the beauty of that which is presented.

     Without the modern SUV parked in the above photo, you would almost think that the picture was taken decades earlier. However the SUV doesn't necessarily detract from the picture simply because it provides a means of dating the photo in a given timeline. In fact, it's inclusion in the frame creates the paradox that helps make the image work.

     I'm not advocating the inclusion of imperfection as an excuse for haphazard, substandard work. I will always be a proponent of shooting with intent. Decide what is important in the frame and use whatever photographic tools are available to emphasize the subject.  Make the photograph be about something!

    But, doing so does not necessarily mean rejecting what might be a mundane or less than stellar subject or scene. Just as "A rising tide lifts all boats." Beautiful light illuminates all subjects, even the most mundane ones.

    

    There is a great deal of creative freedom to be experienced when one foregoes the constant need for  perfection in composition and subject selection. In my opinion, photography's greatest strength as a form of creative expression is its speed and immediacy. The only constant is change. Quite often the spirit or essence of the scene is lost while I'm attempting to portray it using conventional "rules" of composition. Digital photography provides me with far more opportunity than I had in the days of film. I have thousands of frames available to me on  a given SD card compared to the usual maximum of 36 exposures on a roll of film. Modern cameras respond quickly and have amazing potential to capture the decisive moment. 

     My new mantra is "Just get the shot!"  Try to capture what attracted my eye in the first place. The colour, the scene, the juxtaposition of the subject within the frame. I can play around with various visual elements later. Sometimes, in overthinking the shot in the moment of its creation, its very essence is lost. 

    This change in approach marks a change in style which, hopefully, might allow for the creation of more dynamic images. Stay tuned. This could get interesting!

                    ...more later

    

    

    

    

The Cotton Factory By: Gord Barker

      "I see the work of gifted hands that grace this strange and wonderous land."  - Rush, 2112

 

     I can remember my mother once commenting that one of the main drawbacks to rail travel is that, in addition to passenger service, railways also serve industries. As such, quite often one's first impression of a city is it's less than idyllic industrial side. Since that time, when traveling through a city's industrial area I've often wondered if some of the abandoned factories and warehouses could be repurposed for different uses. Enter (quite literally) Hamilton's "The Cotton Factory".

    The Cotton Factory is a collection of creative spaces that is housed in an old, (turn of the last century) cotton mill. It is a collection of art studios, galleries, workshops, music, dance, and photo studios. It is an amazing creative community of artists and craftspeople. I had visited the place about a year ago with my significant other and was determined to write a blog post about it. We went again this year. Both visits were during Hamilton Doors Open.   https://www.doorsopenontario.on.ca/hamilton-1/cotton-factory

    The building itself is a photographer's paradise. It is built in the old style wherein the primary source of light was daylight through large windows. That window light combined with the preservation of its old school architectural detail, makes it a great place to make photographs. (Or create almost anything!)

     I was admiring a display of paintings that featured the juxtaposition of interesting things within the hallways and architectural detail of the building itself. In an alcove that led to a stairway, I came across the scene below; 

    

    There was a  lady with a cup of take out coffee seated on the piano bench. I asked if she was the artist who had created the painting and she said yes. I asked if I could take a picture of her which included the painting. She agreed and I took a few frames . Her name is Najmeh Baghishani and up until recently she was the artist in residence at the Cotton Factory.

https://www.najmehb.com/ We had a nice chat about the juxtaposition of things from one's past as subjects in  contemporary scenes.  I couldn't believe my luck in getting to meet the artist who created the work in the very scene depicted in the painting. After that, "juxtaposition" became the word of the day! 

    As we wandered through the complex we found ourselves in an outbuilding called the Mill Arts Building which houses the Mule Spinner, a venue for live music and recording. 

https://www.themulespinner.ca/

     They were just setting up to do a live video recording session when I managed to get this shot of the guitarist from Brown-Hawkins-Stanley warming up and doing a sound check.

 

    

      My last post to this blog was a bit negative. Fundamentally it was about my leaving a photographic group that I had founded about seven years ago. I was feeling a little lost in regard to my own creative journey.    https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2026/03/wanting-better-bygord-barker.html  

    Perhaps a trip to the Cotton Factory was just what was needed. I wanted a chance to talk with artists who put their creative sensibilities out there. At Doors Open, The Cotton Factory, I met and chatted  with artists and craftspeople from many disciplines. From woodworkers, painters and printmakers to sculptors, weavers, pottery and ceramic makers, musicians,  photographers and videographers. 

    The discussions were erudite and informative regarding whatever field with which they were involved. There was a passion and sense of commitment to their creativity. It really provided me with the motivation I needed to keep on cranking out my own stuff. 

I'm gonna keep on keepin' on!

                                        ...more later

        

Wanting Better by:Gord Barker

    

     Perhaps the most interesting aspect of my photographic journey is that I'm never completely sure of how things will turn out. I founded the Paris Photo Collective in 2019.  About a month ago, I walked away from it. 

       I don't feel any direct animosity towards the members of the group. I have always maintained that the group's direction and reason for existence should always be dictated by the group itself. Perhaps I've been wrong in that approach. Although I  offered up the position of administrator of the group on a regular basis, no one else seemed to want to take it on. So without a clear direction for the group to follow, it has stagnated. It really has become nothing more than a social club with a lackluster bi-weekly photo contest.

    Can we get past the smug sophomoric approach to photography which dictates that "I like my pictures and that's all that matters." I think that it's the second part of that statement that irritates the most. I mean, if you don't care how your images are perceived by others, why are you part of a photo group? 

  Perhaps even more irritating is the statement "I don't look at other people's pictures." Why? Are you afraid you might learn something? The acknowledgement of others' work as significant does not diminish the potential for one's own work to be considered valid or even great.

    Furthermore, whenever I have proposed any educational aspect to the meetings, perhaps bringing in a guest speaker or when I have offered to teach a little about basic camera controls, the ideas have been met with vehement opposition. It would appear that I headed up a group that had no interest in expanding their skills or knowledge base.

   I want to talk with photographers who want to expand their potential within this medium. I truly want to see their vision. I have been making photographs for over 57 years and I still want to learn more about the craft. Someday I hope to get good at it! 

    If I am to be a member of a photographic group, I want it to be a group that wants better!  That's all.

         ...more later

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First Blog Of 2026 By; Gord Barker

     Wow! We're almost at the end of January already. (It's January 29th as I'm writing this.) Earlier this year, I decided to return to my old schedule of publishing a blog post on the last Saturday of every month. The vacation from publishing at least once a month has been nice, but I really need to return to some form of creative discipline. It really is about getting the work, (photographic or written copy) out there. 

     

    The truth is that I'm the world's worst procrastinator. Without a hard deadline, self imposed or otherwise, I really don't get much done. That being said, here's the first blog post of the year, created during one of the coldest, snowiest winters we've had for a long time.

 

    It can be hard to make photographs outdoors in harsh winter conditions. If I'm not moving, I'm freezing and photography often involves waiting for just the right conditions,

lighting, action etc. to make a decent shot. Generally, you need bare hands to operate a camera. The thinnest of gloves will help, but still do not always successfully allow working camera controls.

 

    Winter can also be a terrible time to be the proud owner of a pro grade metal bodied camera. Metal at -25 degrees C. is no fun to handle and don't even think of working with analuminum tripod! Batteries, the elemental power source for all digital cameras, are not nearly as efficient at sub zero temperatures. I always have spares  and try to carry them in an inside coat pocket. 

    But, it can be fun to do cold weather street photography. People generally are not expecting to see someone out making photographs when the weather is chilly. 

  

     Then again, maybe this guy has the right idea. Just stay inside and play a good game of chess!

                                        ...more later

    

 

      

     

Art Appreciation and the Human Connection, The Play "3 Hours, 10 minutes"

     In July of this year, I was in Hamilton, Ontario and had the pleasure of attending three performances that were part of the Hamilton Fringe Festival. https://hftco.ca/hamilton-fringe-festival/ 

    Of these performances, the one that had the greatest impact on me was a play, "3 Hours, 10 Minutes" written and directed by Raymond Beauchemin.   https://www.raymondbeauchemin.com/

    I recently attended a repeat performance of the play presented as part of the Art + Music + Food Festival at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. https://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/ What can I say about this play? I liked it so  much, I saw it twice!

                         With Playwright/Director Raymond Beauchemin,  "3 Hours, 10 Minutes" at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

    The essence of the play revolves around a New York Times article which challenged the readers to spend 5 to 10 minutes looking at a piece of art rather than the usual average of about 15 seconds. A man, responding to this challenge, becomes so engrossed in a piece of art, In this case, the Lawren Harris piece, "Grey Day in Town" that he spends 3 hours and 10 minutes looking at the painting in a gallery. He is eventually joined by a woman who starts viewing the painting as well and they strike up a conversation. 

Actor Mark Gamache, "3 Hours, 10 Minutes" with the painting "Grey Day in Town" by Lawren S. Harris, at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

With Actor Melissa Murray-Mutch "3 Hours, 10 Minutes" at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

 

     I don't think that I'm giving away too much  when I say that the conversation transcends the discussion of a painting and becomes very human. The appreciation of the painting, in a way, becomes analogous to our appreciation of one another as humans. 

      At the Art Gallery of Hamilton presentation of the play, there was a discussion and q&a session complete with the original painting in the room. Before the session began, Raymond Beauchemin (playwright and director) and Melissa Murray-Mutch (actor in the play) were discussing a detail in the painting and at one point Raymond had his hand out pointing to said detail. I should have had my camera ready! It would have been a cool shot!

    I laughed as I said to them that after writing and directing the play, as well as performances and endless rehearsals, they should know that painting better than any two people in the world. Yet here they were, still discussing details about it! I'm not sure if this was a case of art imitating life or life imitating art!

      The play hit home for me on a number of levels. In one way, I could almost consider myself it's target demographic. I mean, as a photographer and creative, I present my vision in both digital and printed form. As both a creator and consumer of content, I'm more than well aware of the attention span of most people looking at images or reading written copy in this digitally deluged world.

    I liked how the play made the connection between art and humanity. While 3 hours, 10 minutes may seem like an excessively long time to spend gazing at a painting, it may well be what it takes to really come to know and appreciate the piece. Similarly, it requires more than a quick glance and a   passing acknowledgement to come to know and appreciate a fellow human being. Perhaps the way that we appreciate art has a direct correlation to our appreciation of one another.

    If you get a chance to see this play, I'd definitely recommend it. It may change the way you see and appreciate art. Hell, it may change the way you see and appreciate humanity! In the words of "the man" character in the play, "It's really something!"

                   ...more later 

  

    

    

Remembrance Day 2025

    It's been a while since I've written a Remembrance Day blog.  The last one I published was in my old blog, Multifarious Musings, https://multifarious-musings.blogspot.com/2012/11/remembrance-day.html 

    It was a cold grey November morning as I put the trash and recycling boxes to the curb. Then, I remembered, it's Remembrance Day. It's my day off. Did I really want to spend a good chunk of the day standing in the cold at the local Cenotaph? The short answer was an emphatic "No!" I even almost convinced myself that one of the things my Dad fought for in the Second World War was the freedom to choose to not attend. But I try to make a point of attending when I'm not working.

    After mulling it over, while enjoying a second cup of coffee, I finally ended up giving myself a much needed psychological kick in the butt.  After a quick cleanup, I grabbed my camera bag and went out the door. 

    The main street in town, Grand River Street, has been under construction for quite some time. As I made my way up the street, I noticed that the construction workers, in their neon yellow vests, had stopped working and were making their way up to the Cenotaph area. There would be no construction noise during the service.

    As I got to the Cenotaph the weather got worse, there was a cold wind and flurries of wet snow. I wandered about the area and made some photographs. Of course, fool that I am, the camera that I was using was not one of the weatherproof ones that I own. No matter. When I wasn't making photos, I shielded it from the snow as best I could with my arm and wiped it with a cloth that I had in the camera bag. It, like me, survived the inclement weather.

   

  And maybe that's what it's about. I'm always amazed at Remembrance Day services. The people, everyone from elderly seniors to young school children, will brave the invariably bad November weather to pay homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It's kind of symbolic. In paying tribute, we endure an hour or so of adversity  so that, ultimately, we can appreciate the freedoms of our existence. It's part of being a Canadian. We always have to say thanks.

    We will remember them.

    As the Remembrance Day ceremony ended and those in the parade were leaving the Cenotaph area, a flight of Canada Geese lifted off from the river and flew over the crowd. 

                           

    It doesn't get much more Canadian then that.

                                        ... more later

     

Thanksgiving Colour At The Dam by: Gord Barker

    I've got it pretty dam good right now! Okay, a bad pun is probably not the best way to start a blog post. But, here's the thing. I live ridiculously close to Penman's Dam in Paris, On. The Penman's Dam area is beautiful all year round, but in Autumn, it is one of the most beautiful spots in Southern Ontario for fall colour photography. I know this to be true. I photograph it a lot. So much so, that it has become a running joke within my photography group, The Paris Photo Collective, to claim that I own the spot!  Okay, I don't really own it,  but, as a photographer, I'm clearly not above taking full advantage of my proximity to it! Due to a very warm dry September, the colors haven't really peaked yet. Stayed tuned! I think it's going to get better!

      It has become a tradition for me to post "Autumn At The Dam" photos every year at Thanksgiving. After all, living so close to such a beautiful spot is one of the things for which  I'm very grateful. So without further ado, here is this year's crop.

     

     

 

 

    

                                   

     While I do feel a profound sense of gratitude for being able to live so close to such a beautiful spot, what I am most thankful for is the love and kindness of family and friends. They truly allow me to live a life of fulfilment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

                ...more later

The Blog

     I've been writing blogs for quite a while now. I wrote my first post in  "Multifarious Musings" in October of 2011. For the past several years, I've been publishing a post in "Refractive Reasoning" on the last Saturday of every month. 

   Sometimes it has been difficult to write a post to a set deadline. Sometimes I feel that I'm just cranking out content to meet said deadline and not creating good content about a subject about which I'm passionate. 

      To remedy the situation, I've decided to do away with the "Last Saturday" deadline as well as not making every post photography related. This will probably result in fewer posts but hopefully better content about a wider range of topics.

     I'd like to express my gratitude to the loyal readers who read my posts at the end of every month. Rest assured, I will still be writing blog posts and sharing my photos but, hopefully, in a much better way. 

        ...more later 

             ( Yeah I'm still keeping that tag line. )

Spring

     I saw a heron this morning. Although I know that robins are the traditional birds of Spring, for me, it's the heron. I think that it has something to do with the heron being a bit of a totem creature for me. It is a bird from which I learned a lesson many years ago. Perhaps I will tell the full story in a future post. Ultimately the lesson is patience. Wait until the time is right and then strike like lightening!

    As a sign of Spring, the heron needs open water to catch fish. It signifies an end to temperatures cold enough to freeze over a river or pond. 

    I went out for a walk this morning. The river is running dangerously high from several consecutive days of rain, snow and snow melt. The weather today is cold grey and rainy.

 South of the border, a narcissistic lunatic is threatening the sovereignty of my homeland as well as the economic well being of the entire world. But, later, I was walking  on a street downtown.

 A couple was walking in front of me. The lady opened an umbrella and moved a little closer to her partner to hold it over both of their heads. It was a simple act perhaps. But one that proves that love, caring and kindness still exists in a cold, grey, rainy world.

    And I saw a heron this morning.

                    more later

What I Want From A Photograph

    What I'm doing when I look at a photograph is basically a feat of  reverse engineering. I want to look at the picture and be able to look into the lens, through the camera out the eyepiece or screen and into the eye and mind of the photographer when he or she took it. 

    It was American photographer Dorothea Lange who said, "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera." That quote implies a certain emotional investment in the creation of the image. For a photograph to be successful, it is not enough to simply create an image of the subject or scene in front of the camera. Essentially, what I am trying to do when I make a photograph, is not simply make an image of the subject but portray my reaction to it or experience of it.

    Doing that involves a bit of self examination. How do I feel about the subject? What about the subject appeals to me? After answering these questions either literally or instinctively, the next question is, "What visual elements, line, shape, colour, form etc. can I use to emphasize the aspect of the image or scene that appeals to me?" This is where shooting with intent comes into play.

    An architectural shot of a building is a collection of shapes and lines. A photograph of an Autumn scene is a pallette of warm toned colours. A portrait can consist of  the abstract shapes of facial features or simply a warm inviting smile. 

    For the viewer to like a photograph, it has to appeal at a visceral level. Achieving that requires an emotional investment on the part of the photographer and a level of skill in bringing it out. Anything less is not a photograph, but just another picture. 

            ...more later

 

    

Coffeeshop Philosophy

    There's a fine line every that photographer walks. It's the subtle line of simultaneously being in the moment enough to appreciate it, while having enough presence of mind to capture it and do it well.

 

    This duality of mind can be a bit of a burden in that sometimes the urge to capture a moment overwhelms the joy of simply experiencing the moment. The urge to be a photographer capturing life can overpower the urge to be a human just experiencing it.

     One very real aspect of being a photographer is recognizing the need to step away from the camera long enough to experience the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfjkiTB1fHQ

   However, one of the greatest joys of being a photographer is having the camera as an excuse to experience any given moment in the first place!    

    Case in point;  The Mulberry  Coffehouse https://www.mulberrycoffeehouse.com/ (one of my favourite coffee shops in Hamilton) has a counter at the front windows that face on to James St. N. It's a great place to relax, sip a great coffee and just watch passersby on the street. While passing by the window, I was struck by the line of faces as I walked by on the street. I wanted a photo of it!

     However I didn't want to intrude on the patrons sitting there who were just there to have a cup of coffee. I did what to some street photographers is the unthinkable. I went inside and talked to my subjects. I walked down the line of people at the counter and explained who I was and exactly what I wanted to do. Maybe the Fujifilm X-T1 camera (Thanks Tom) slung around my neck leant me a little street cred, but, to my surprise, everyone I talked to was agreeable to the photo. "What do you want us to do?" Answer, "Nothing. Enjoy your coffee. Chat with each other. Whatever you were doing before I got here."

    I initially tried to shoot the photo using the panoramic setting on the X-T1 but that didn't work out very well. Eventually I did a quick lens change (from 35mm f2 to 16mm f2.8 wide angle) to get all of the front windows into the frame. 

    Here's the result.

    Not exactly the shot I had in mind. (I might try shooting it again.) But It's a pretty cool shot nonetheless.

    For the record, this isn't the first time I've made a photo at the Mulberry Coffeehouse. I don't know. Street photography and coffeeshops just seem to go together!

    I guess that what I'm saying is that being a photographer has allowed me to live my life with an intensity I would have otherwise not thought possible. Let's face it, the camera is the ultimate tool to capture the moment. But, sometimes it's best to put the camera down and just live in the moment.

            ...more later