Inspired..

Last night I had the joy of attending the first ever Inspire Awards, a night of giving thanks and honoring the lifetime contribution of individuals to the LGBTQ community. (Lesbian, Gay, Trans-gendered, Queer). This year the honor went to Michelle Dubarry (Russell Alldread), Boyd Kodak, and a Special Honourary award was given to The Honorable late Jack Layton. His Son and Daughter received the award on his behalf.

Earlier in the year I was asked by my good friend Antoine Elhashem if I would be willing to donate a piece of my photography towards the silent auction part of the evening. Without hesitation I accepted. Along with nine other artists, our donations helped fund the awards celebration, and to ensure other deserving people will be awarded in the future.

I chose this image to frame because I find it majestic, and inspiring. A single tree stands in the midst of a field, and as Autumn makes it entrance the leaves change colour, and start to fall. But the tree does not feel alone, or isolated in my opinion. To me, it stands tall, proud and keeping watch over the land. Not afraid to embrace the changing seasons. The colour orange, was not by accident. That was my own special tribute to the Honorable late Jack Layton. He, along with the others were, and remain an inspiration to the community, and true champions for change and acceptance.

I entitled the image "A season of change". Here it is:

Window Wonderland..

It has become a tradition that once Halloween is over and the retail world starts to tease our minds with all the goodies they have to sell for the Christmas season, that I head out and try to capture some of the glitz, glam, and perhaps to a lesser sense memories of a more traditional Christmas with my camera.

As I've gotten older, I find I am less caught up in the frenzy of giving and getting, but more and more enticed by the beauty, the feelings, the traditions, and perhaps magic of the season. I would much prefer not to spend hours and hours shopping, but rather time enjoying the lights, decorations, music, and time with friends sharing a meal, or having a glass of wine.

Kind of funny, considering I work in the retail world don't you think?

Anyways, here is a collection of some of the shots I have taken thus far. I hope to get out and capture a few more today.

Enjoy!

Stone Garden..

Have you noticed that I keep re-visiting some of my old and favorite themes? I've mentioned numerous times how nostalgia plays a large part of my life, so it is no surprise that it also plays a part in my photographic themes.

Architecture. The very first subject I used to photograph using my point and shoot camera, and the subject I think I most love. Well... today anyways. Tomorrow it will likely be trees, or abstract colour, pattern and textures. The point is, I have my favorites and I find great comfort in going back and capturing these subjects a second, third, or more times. Each time I notice I shoot less, but think about the shot more. You may not be able to notice a difference. I notice it more when I am doing post edits. There seems to be less edits, cropping, or even discarding. I guess that just means I'm perhaps being more picky, and possibly learning a few things along the way.

So with a recent day off I headed to Mount Pleasant Cemetery to focus on architecture and statuary details. Here are some of my favorites from the day.

Landscape..

Perhaps two, maybe three times a year I manage to leave the city boundaries and get out and experience the fresh country air and sights of rolling hills, farmers fields, lakes and trees. This past Thanksgiving Monday was one of those days.

We ventured north east to the Northumberland hills, and ventured around Rice Lake. I knew in my mind how I wanted to approach any photo opportunities this year, and rather then concentrating on close ups and fine details of individual leaves and flowers I opted to go with compositions showing distance.

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I recently watched a movie about the Impressionist painters, and I have been influenced by their work. I made a conscious effort to pay attention to the natural light and as much as possible the shadows. There is something about a singular tree in the midst of a vast field that I love. It stands alone, strong, beautiful and keeping watch. Add a brilliant splash of colour from mother nature, and the tree appears majestic.

Here is a sampling of the shoot, along with some fun post edits.

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving.