Waiting For Spring (an impatient rant)

      So It's April and spring is supposedly here, although you'd never know it by the weather. As I write this, there is an ice storm blowing outside with freezing rain warnings in effect. Paris held their annual Maple Syrup Festival today. When I went downtown to acquire some  necessities of life, I noticed that they didn't draw much of a crowd. Probably had something to do with the freezing rain and ice pellets driven by gale force winds! I know, I know. I have a marked propensity to start these posts with a mini weather report. Ah well, so be it. 

Part of my commute to work.Taken in more pleasant conditions.

     I did manage to photograph some spring crocuses that were blooming beside the trail that I use on my way to and from work. You know that you you live in a small town when your commute to work involves a "trail". 

The aforementioned crocuses.

                                                                                                                                      

                                           I'm almost beginning to hate the crocuses and the false hope that they inspire!  The lying little bastards!                                                                                                               

The steps leading down to my home tonight. April 14, 2018.

                                                                                                                                                                 I mean This is ridiculous! It's Springtime! I want to photograph daffodils and tulips. I want to photograph apple blossoms and the infinite variations in the shades of green as the trees burst into leaf. Dammit! I live in Southern Ontario not Tuktoyaktuk!

     Oh well. There's always the stuff that no photographer is ever caught up on. I have  files that I need to print. I have a lot of files that I need to back up to a separate hard drive. And of course there's always editing.... There's ALWAYS editing.

    Spring, I mean REAL Spring will come soon enough. I mean it will come....RIGHT? 


                                                   ...more later

       As always, thanks for reading the stuff that I crank out here. If you like what you see, don't be afraid to hit "like", share it to the media platform of your choice, or leave a comment in the space below.

                                   ...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
 

A Day In Toronto

     Okay...Okay. Guilty as charged. I neglected to punch up a blog post for the month of February! I guess that I went through a bit of a  creative dry spell. The mid winter blahs hit me a little harder this year and I couldn't come up with any ideas that I thought were worthy of sharing in the blogosphere. But spring is coming. Although you wouldn't know it by the weather this morning. I just stepped outside and it's freezing out there with nasty wind gusts to boot. Time to cozy up to the computer and see if I can generate something that might be of moderate interest. 

    I have, of late, developed an interest in video production. It's early days yet. I haven't produced anything that I want to share here or on any of the social media platforms to which I subscribe. I've been heavily influenced by YouTube videos by the likes of Peter McKinnon, Sara Dietschy and Matti Hapooja. They are all talented photographers and videographers who, if nothing else, provide some inspiration to pursue the craft through their youthful exuberance. Since every camera that I own has video recording capability, I thought that perhaps this is an aspect of digital imaging  that I should try. I have no intention of competing with them in the form of vlogging. Overall, I'm not really part of the selfie generation. I prefer to keep my furry face BEHIND the camera. I will occasionally take a selfie just as a mugshot for a social media page, but I try to be  pretty realistic about myself. I have a great face for radio. 

     I decided that I would invest in a video head for my trusty Manfrotto tripod as well as an external microphone for recording sound on location . The video head provides a more stable fluid movement than shooting handheld and although the cameras all have microphones built into them, they tend to produce rather thin sounding audio which also is affected by camera handling and wind noise.

     I did my research and could have ordered these pieces of gear online, but decided, instead, to head to Toronto to purchase them. I'd spent almost the entire winter in the small town in which I make my home and was going a bit stir-crazy. I thought that perhaps a trip to the big city might be what I needed to recharge my creative batteries. Also, for me, a trip to Toronto involves train travel and anyone who knows me knows that I love trains. As the son of a railway brakeman/conductor, I was practically raised on them! 

The yard engine in Brantford, Ont. Taken while I waited for my train to Toronto.

                     

     VIa Rail train #70 was right on time and it wasn't too long before I was happily ensconced on a comfortable seat with decent legroom, sipping on a cup of coffee as the train whisked me away to Toronto. Via Rail coffee is surprisingly good. Or maybe it's just the fact that I'm such a caffeine addict that I'll drink any hot water that has been drizzled over the remnants of a coffee bean. I took a few dodgy pictures of the less than spectacular scenery as the train rolled along.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   By the time I reached Toronto, the skies had started to clear and I made a few photographs on Front Street before making my way uptown in search of breakfast.                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                          

        After a nice late breakfast, I wandered up to Henry's Camera and purchased my new video gear. While there, I took a look at the new Fuji XE-3 camera. I liked it and can definitely see a place for it in the future. But the voice inside my head was screaming " You don't need any more cameras! You need to be using the ones  you already have!"  So with my new video gear safely tucked into my backpack, I hit the streets and did just that.                                                                                                                                                                       

                                

Queen St. W.

Brookfield Place

Eaton Centre

                               

Keeping one eye on the time, I eventually mosied my way back to Union Station to catch my train home.

The Great Hall, Union Station

All in all, It was a good little break from small town life. I'm always amazed by how radically different life can be in two locations separated by just an hour and a half of travel time.  It was the subject of a blog post I wrote a little while back. http://multifarious-musings.blogspot.ca/2016/04/contrasts.html

Back in Paris, Ont. now, where the architecture is not nearly as spectacular, but the pace of life is far more comfortable. 

William St. Bridge, Paris, Ont.

                                                                 ...more later

       

The Case For The Printer

     Happy New Year. 

     The Festive Season is over and life returns to normal. Whatever  normal is! I had a pretty quiet Christmas here in the peaceful little town where I make my home. It's pretty much the way that I like to celebrate the season. I firmly believe that most people tend to stress out a little too much about the holidays. ( See my blog from a few years ago about the subject. http://multifarious-musings.blogspot.ca/2011/12/ghosts-of-christmas-past.html )

     This year I acquired a new printer. My old printer, a Canon MX-870, is working just fine and has been a very useful and reliable machine. The prints that it produces from my digital files are awesome. In terms of colour quality and resolution, they are superior to anything that I have had done at photography shops or local print kiosks.In addition to being my primary photo printer, it also scans, functions as a photocopier and even faxes. ( who the hell sends faxes anymore? It's a feature that I've never used.) Needless to say, I'm keeping it. The only problem I have with it is it's limited capability in terms of picture size. It can only print up to 8"X10". Well actually 8½" X 11" but 8"X10" for easier framing and presentation purposes. 

     Enter my newest acquisition, a Canon Pixma Pro 100. It doesn't scan, make photocopies or send faxes. It would be nice if it brewed me a decent cup of coffee but, alas, it doesn't do that either. What it does  is make beautiful  photographic prints up to 13"X19". It is a printer designed and built specifically for photographic reproduction. Also it was on sale and I got a pretty good deal on it!

     So why, in this day of the internet and digital imaging would a photographer have not only one, but two photo printers? It almost makes no sense. 

     I don't really know the reason, but people seem to like hard copy photographs. My fledgling, part-time photo business is based around the sale of postcards and framed prints of local scenes. I have yet to make a single sale of a digital image.I have provided copies of digital images on thumb drives for the local events that I have covered and they don't (or haven't as yet) even get posted on social media pages. When I photographed "Jingle Bell Night" for the local B.I.A., I handed out business cards to people whose photos I took. I wrote down the number for the image   on the back of each card and offered to send them a digital copy of the image if they just sent me an e-mail. I was doing this service at no cost to them as I had already been paid by the B.I.A. I didn't get even one request for a digital image! But I can sell prints.

     Maybe hard copy photo prints have become something of a novelty. Almost everyone I know is walking around with a cell phone that has dozens of digital mages of events, family and friends. I sometimes wonder if anyone keeps a traditional family album anymore. There are good reasons for doing so. It's easier to share. I can't tell you how many times I've felt a little awkward  looking over someones shoulder while they try to show me their pictures, twisting and turning the  cell phone to make the image visible in whatever light was available. It's always easier and more fun to look at a family photo album around the kitchen table. And a nicely framed photo, hanging on the wall, in a room with decent lighting is easily visible to almost everyone.

     Also, the relatively simple act of matting and framing a photo  for  mounting on a wall gives it a degree of distinction. If Marshall McLuhan was right and "The medium is the message.", then it seems to me that the choice of an image to be enlarged and displayed in a permanent or semi-permanent manner, says a lot about the importance of that image to its owner. Even the casual photographer has hundreds, if not thousands, of images from which to choose.  It says that there is a story behind the photo. A memory of place and time  that gives the image some significance.                                                                                                      

"Manitoulin Sunrise"
Long time readers of my blogs will recognize this image. The story behind it is here.

       http://multifarious-musings.blogspot.ca/2013/08/return-to-south-bay-or-what-i-did-on-my_26.html

      This is the first large (13"X19") print made with my new printer. It is a very significant image for me. Although I had been taking pictures with film cameras since I was nine years  old, I had been on something of a hiatus from photography as digital imaging started to dominate the craft. This was one of the first digital images I ever took. It marked a turning point for me in returning to photography, this time, working in the realm of digital imaging. Besides all that, I think it's just a damn pretty picture!

     Then there is the concept of value. Millions of images are uploaded to the internet every day. Anyone on social media takes a moment or two to admire an image posted by friends and family. But, that's about it. The internet has given us all a very short attention span. On this blog post, I've included links to two previous posts. I can only wonder if anybody has actually clicked on them to read my little past blurbs which have existed in cyberspace for years. Probably not. I am thankful enough that anyone reads these posts at all, much less that they would read the posts in my archives. But if I can show you some prints, the images become real. They are something tangible that you can hold in your hand. They are no longer just a passive array of electrons on a computer screen, to be admired for an instant before scrolling on to the next item. Perhaps that is the reason that I can sell prints but not digital imagery.

     So, with the acquisition of my newest printer, my plan is to spend much of the long winter nights making prints. Smaller ones will be put into family albums. Larger ones will be framed and hung on my wall or sold through the retailers that market my stuff. Don't worry. I'll still find time to go out and take some new photos. But hey, it's cold outside... and I'm getting older... I don't thaw out as quick as I used to.... and it gets dark too early and....

    
     
                                               ...more later

     

  

. Starting Christmas

    So, I watched our local Santa Claus Parade last Saturday. Having lived in this little town for twelve years, I've become kind  of used to the events that mark the changing of the seasons. The Santa Claus Parade, as well as Jingle Bell Night, mark the beginning of the Christmas Season here in Paris, Ont.

     This year,  I was hired by the local B.I.A. as the official photographer for Jingle Bell Night. It was an interesting job. It was the first time that the B.I.A. had hired a photographer to capture the event. I asked if there was anything in particular that they wanted me to photograph. They said, "No. Just walk around with your camera and take some pictures."  That's one of the things I like about small town life. It's comfortable. I guess that I've developed enough of a reputation as the "local photographer" that they trust me to get some photos of whatever event comes along. No pressure. Just get some pictures. Yup. I can do that.                                                                                                                                                       

The Paris Firefighters do a Christmas Toy Drive every year and they were on hand with their vintage 1950.s fire truck

                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                            

   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                   

                                                                                                                
                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    As I talked to the people downtown that night, I heard a little grumbling about the town Christmas tree not being up. The tree lighting ceremony is a traditional part of Jingle Bell Night. I talked to some of the local merchants and was told that there were some problems in getting the tree here on time, but, that it should be up in time for the Santa Claus Parade. 

     The Santa Claus Parade was the following weekend and I managed to get a few photos of that too.

My neighbour and her little boy enjoying the parade

The Big Guy himself at the end of the parade.

I guess that this will be my last post to the blog for this year. Like everyone else, I'll be busy shopping, decorating, cooking and just generally enjoying the hustle and bustle of this magical time of year. I'd like to take this  opportunity to thank all the friends who read and follow my meanderings on these pages. I'm not presenting anything of earth shattering importance here. Just the thoughts and adventures of a part-time, small town photographer. But if you like what you see, don't be afraid to leave a comment in the section below or "like" and share to your favourite media platform. It's your kindness and support that keeps me crankin' this stuff out.

     Oh, yeah, in case you're wondering.... They did get the town Christmas tree up before the Santa Claus parade.                                                                                                                

                               Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

                                                    ...more later,
                                                                
                                                              Gord

The Fall Colour Season That Almost Wasn't

I guess that the fall colour season is, for the most, part over.  My last little foray into the outside world was met with sideways snow driven by gale force winds. As fall colour seasons go, this year's was not one of the best. We had an unusually warm September. The temperatures during that month were often warmer than what we had experienced in the summer. As a result, the trees were a little slow to turn colour. By the time we advanced to the colder nights of October, some trees where bare, some trees were in full colour and some were still green. The overall effect was kind of blotchy. We didn't quite get the sweeping grandeur of previous years.                                                                                              

View From The Cliffs, Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area, Taken 2 years ago. Canon EOS M, 1/160 sec.,f/11, ISO 400 

  My abbreviated fall colour tour  this year consisted primarily of a trip to Georgian Bay. My go-to destination when I can't think of anywhere else to go.The trip was under dull rainy skies and the photos I took were far from the sweeping vistas of colour from years past.                                                                                                                                                                              

Autumn On Georgian Bay, Craigleith, Ont. Fuji X100F, 1/125 sec. f/8 ISO 200

Autumn On Georgian Bay, Meaford, Ont. Fuji X100F, 1/125 sec., f/11, ISO 200.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

     At Thanksgiving time, here in Paris, I was able to capture some photos for my traditional "Autumn At The Dam" series that I usually post on Facebook.                                                             

Autumn At The Dam 2017, Fuji X100F, 2.1sec., f/16, ISO 100 

Autumn At The Dam 2017, Fuji X70, 1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 400

     

     My last stab at fall colour photography was just two days ago. I usually go out in November, after the peak of colours, just to glean a little of what's left. For those interested, I wrote a piece about November photography on my old blog,                                            Multifarious Musings. http://multifarious-musings.blogspot.ca/2012/01/november.html
  
     

Autumn In Paris, Ont., Fuji X100F, 1/100 sec., f/11, ISO 200

     At any rate, this year's efforts in the field of November photography occurred on a beautiful fall morning. The air was crisp and still. There was frost on the ground that was just beginning to melt away as I made my way through a wooded area a short walk from my home. Most of the colours were gone although there was still a lot of colour in the newly fallen leaves on the ground. However, I did manage to find a few pockets where the trees had retained some of their leaves. 

Autumn In The Park, Paris, Ont., Fuji X100F, 1/250 sec. f/8, ISO 200

      But, a lot of my hike that morning was spent just shooting the limited foliage that was left.

Last Of The Leaves, Fuji X100F, 1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 320 

Autumn Trail, Fuji X100F, 1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 320

     If  "Much can be learned of the forest by the contemplation of a single tree."  I would posit that "Much can be learned of the tree by the contemplation of a single leaf."                                                                                                                                                                                
  Like this one;

Fuji X100F, 1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 320

 Or this one;

Fuji X100F, 1/500 sec. f/8, ISO 800

  
Or even this one;

Fuji X100F,  1/500 sec. f/8, ISO 320

  
     So, as the fall colour season comes to an end, I'm looking forward to an interesting winter. I landed a gig as official photographer for " Jingle Bell Night" here in Paris. It's a little downtown street festival  to welcome the beginning of the Christmas season. I recently acquired a decent speedlight (flash unit) for my Fuji cameras and, combined with some other lighting, I'm looking to do some portraits. Stay tuned. Things might get interesting.

     By the way; Thanks to everyone who reads my blogs. If you like what you see here, please feel free to leave a comment in the section below. Also don't be afraid to "like"  and/or share on the media platform of your choice. If you want to see more from the life of a small town photo freak, hit the "follow" button. I try to publish here at least once a month. 

                                    ...more later
                                                            Gord                                                                                            

For Mr. Downie

    I went to the river this morning to do some photography. The unseasonably warm temperatures have finally abated and the last two nights have been cold enough that the trees are making a serious effort to change colour. I made the ridiculously short walk up to the dam near my home where I have made some memorable photographs in the past. The air was cool and crisp  and, with the clear golden light of an October morning,  I managed to shoot some very nice images.

   

     I came home and uploaded the pictures to my computer. I tuned in to CBC radio and started editing. " Late breaking story on the CBC."  Gord Downie had died. It was kind of weird. I mean everyone in the nation new that he was suffering from terminal brain cancer. Almost half of the nation tuned in to the Tragically Hip's last concert broadcast by the CBC from their hometown of Kingston, Ontario. Everyone knew that it was just a matter of time before this day arrived. But, somehow, I guess that like everyone else, I had hoped it would be later rather than sooner. Despite any beforehand knowledge or mental preparation, the finality of death always seems to be unexpected. 

     I remember the first time I heard a Tragically Hip song. It was "New Orleans Is Sinking."  Gord Downie's  voice was so distinctive. A high treble with a hint of tremolo. It was powerful yet fragile at the same time. No question the the song has a great  guitar hook. But it was that voice that was so distinctive. It was insistent. A voice that once heard, could not be forgotten. 

     I never got to see the band live. But as they released album after album, it became apparent that they weren't just another rock band. This country has always punched well above its weight in the arts and music world. Even with all that, The Hip were a little different.  They were almost defiantly Canadian. In fact, if you weren't Canadian, you probably wouldn't get half the references in their lyrics. I mean outside of Canada or even Ontario for that matter, who the hell ever heard of the tiny cottage country town of Bobcaygeon? 

     But that it is what this band did. They reflected  our stories and places back to us. Beyond that, they were  a dam good rock band who knew how to write great songs and put on a  show. As I finish off this piece, I've been listening to the the tributes and remembrances pour in on CBC radio. I saw an internet meme that said "Canada will be closed today due to a death in the family." That pretty much says it all. "It was in Bobcaygeon, I saw the constellations reveal themselves one star at a time." It seems to me that the constellations will shine one star brighter tonight.

     I went to the river this morning to photograph some fall colours. Mr. Downie, this one's for you.                                                                                                                                                        

                  ...more later

End Of Summer

     I know, summer doesn't officially end til Sept. 21, but, it's the Labour Day Weekend and for all intents and purposes, the summer season is soon to be over. It's been a tradition of mine to write something  on the Labour Day Weekend, either a blog post or just an entry in my personal journal. This year, I decided to go with the blog post. Sorry about your luck!

     For me, this past summer has been somewhat lacklustre. At work,my department has been short staffed and that, combined with the usual summer vacations has caused me to give up some of my days off to work overtime. I haven't been getting out as much as I would have liked.   The weather has been mostly rainy which often put a damper (literally) on outdoor activities. In scrolling through my recent photographs, I was struck by how many of them feature stormy skies. Even the sunset pictures look a bit threatening!

     At one point , earlier in the season, Heavy rains to the north of us caused the river near my home to swell to levels I had never seen before.

The river on May 6, 2017

This is how the previous scene usually looks!

    Miraculously, despite the fact that we live a stone's throw from the river, we experienced no flooding!

     Earlier in the season, I had the opportunity to fulfill a bucket list aspiration by going soaring in a glider. Despite a delay in waiting for the pilot/instructor to arrive, It was an awesome experience!                                                                                                                         

One of the tow planes in the hangar. Note the rear view mirror which looks like it was salvaged from a '65 Chevy!    

My ride for the event. With tow pilot and pilot/instructor.

Pre-flight check.

The instrument panel.

The tow plane.

    

Selfie at 5000 ft.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

     On Father's Day this summer we did what Dad (me) likes to do best. We road on a train. This involved a return visit to one of my favourite little railways, The South Simcoe. You get to ride in a vintage heavyweight coach or combination coach/baggage car pulled by a very old coal fired steam engine. Once again Greg and I obtained the conductor's permission to ride in the combine (baggage) car where we had the whole seating section almost to ourselves. We revelled in the sound of 136's steam whistle and waved to folks at the crossings. As always,it's a great experience to ride  on a vintage train with the smell of coal smoke and live steam occasionally wafting through the open windows.                                                                                                                                                                                               

Vintage style silver rangefinder camera, old school canvas camera bag, vintage railway car.
"These are a few of my favourite things."                
 

Greg aboard the S.S.R.

Same kid, same train, six years earlier.

       Our last summer adventure was cut a bit short by inclement weather. The plan was to go to Manitoulin Island and camp for a day or two then drive around Georgian Bay to spend some time camping at Killbear Provincial Park. The weather was great up til our second day out. We spent a rainy night on Manitoulin before packing up and continuing our travels. On the plus side, I learned that the new tent I bought last summer can withstand a Manitoulin thunderstorm. We drove through some pretty heavy thunderstorms and made our way to Parry Sound where we took a motel room for the night. 

   

     Before coming home we did get to ride on another vintage train however. (Did I mention I like trains?) This time it was the "Portage Flyer" on the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway. This railway, once billed as the shortest commercial railway in the world, is a little narrow gauge line that once connected steamship traffic on two of the lakes near Huntsville, Ont. It's now even shorter than it used to be. It operates a small steam powered tank engine and two open coaches. The rides is only about twenty minutes and the engine is so small that they turn it by hand on small turntables at each end of the line. But it's very quaint and a fun little ride,

The Portage Flyer

  

Stormy Skies Over Fairy Lake

     

  

The quintessential "Little Engine That Could"        

      For me, these are the highlights of the summer that was. At the beginning of this entry, I bemoaned the lack of decent weather and my slightly longer work hours. However, in putting together this post, I realize that overall, I had a pretty good spring/summer season. As usual, Labour Day is a little melancholic as we wind down the last of the summer days. But, I also look forward to the coming of Autumn, my favourite time of year. I love  the cooler days and brilliant colours of the coming season. I'm planning a little fall colour tour and will hopefully garner some good images to be shared here. Enjoy these last days of summer.

...more later