Line and Form.

Line and Form.

Not only does Mother Nature provide us with brilliant tapestries of colour in the form of landscapes rich with ever changing hues, she is a brilliant architect. 

Often when I'm out, and surrounding myself with nature, I am drawn not only to the colours, but also the patterns and textures of such things as trees,plants,flowers, rocks,and water. Strip away the colour, and you are still left with a beautiful image and the ability to see the lines and formation of the object with much more clarity.

Now..I will never give up my love of colour and how colour translates into a mood or feeling but I will also continue to have a faithful collection of photos in black and white that speak to me on a different level.

Much like my love of capturing architecture, and architectural details from the city, I will continue to capture natures architecture.Building styles come and go. They are built and they are altered, and they are demolished. Natures architecture lives on forever not following any trends. It's perfect. It's beautiful.

Here are a few of my favourite recent, and earlier black and whites that I enjoy for their lines and forms.

Golden

Have you seen the new painting that was discovered to be a Van Gogh original? The title is "Sunset at Montmajour" and it was painted in July of 1888. Long thought to be a fake it was stored in an attic (doesn't that seem to always be the case?) and then recently was brought to light and deemed to be an original after all. He (Van Gogh) actually mentioned the painting in a letter (to his brother I believe) and made a point of describing the romantic golden tones the sun had cast on the landscape. I personally love the hues in the painting and think it is a brilliant discovery. Here it is:

                                          photo: Peter Dejong/associated press

About a week ago I decided to go back to one of my regular haunts that I tend to go to when I need a break from the sirens and concrete, and school kids screaming in the school yard. (I am happy, they are outside and not on a computer 24/7, so I do forgive the screaming that comes along with chasing each other in a game of tag.) So armed with my camera, an apple, a notebook and a pen I set off on streetcar 506 to High Park.

It was the last full week of summer, and as I strolled along the tell tale signs of the approaching fall were everywhere. Still a ways away from the scarlet reds, and fiery oranges, there was however a golden hue to everything along with muddy, mossy, olive greens. Grasses were starting to dry up, the lily pads were getting a little mottled, and the acorns were falling. I took quite a few photos, not really with a 'purpose' but since photography is peaceful and enjoyable to me, it comes as a natural part of relaxing and stopping to admire and soak in my surroundings.

I spent about 5 hours in High Park, and at one point sat on a fallen log, ate my apple and pulled out my notebook and pen and started writing down what I was observing through sight, sounds, and smells. I then compiled the observations, and found that I had written something I wanted to share.

Once back home, I started editing the photos and as I did so I found I was highlighting the soft golden and earthy green hues that had pretty much been the palette of the park on that given day. I also fine tuned the notes I had made, and decided to actually put the words on one of the images I had taken that day.

Yesterday I was commenting on Mr. Van Gogh's painting and I suddenly realized that it was the same hues in High Park that I had been drawn too as Van Gogh seemed to be appreciate to

in 1888 when he painted "Sunset at Montmajour".

Hence the reason for this post. So I would like to share with you the words I wrote, and some of the photos I took that day. I'm no poet, and I can't paint, and I'm not a world renowned photographer. But I do share a passion for nature, colour, seasons and wildlife. Enjoy!

Out of the City...and into the woods.

In as much as I love this city, the energy, colours, and well....conveniences it allows, there is also the nature loving side of me that yearns for trees, lakes, hiking, and wildlife. A couple of weekends ago my partner and I rented a 'cottage' so to speak in Algonquin Park for a long weekend. It really isn't that far away, perhaps 2.5 hours, but once you are out there it is so easy to forget you are only a short drive away. Endless rolling hills, forests, rivers, lakes and spectacular views. The weather was only half on our side, with equal amounts of rain, cool temperatures, and cloudy skies. We were unable to swim, or even go out in a canoe, but we did manage to get 4 hikes of various lengths and difficulties in over the weekend. I had been training for a couple of weeks to make sure I was up to the hike, which although not extreme, was on the difficult side, with little level walking areas. Our favorite hike was the 10 kilometer one that took us up over 1400 feet above sea level on to cliffs formed from the last ice age. Hearing the wind roar through the pines while we looked down onto the lakes and forests was worth all the rain, and hard work.

Here is a small group of photos I took over the weekend, but none can really create the sense of vastness one feels up there...I can imagine what it would look like in fall colour.

Fresh and green...

Anyone who lives in the Toronto area knows we have had our fair share of rain this spring. It seems we get 24 hours of rain, for every hour of sun. Everything is behind almost 3 weeks in terms of nature. My friends forsythia tree is just now dropping its bright yellow flowers that usually herald the start of spring. This also happens to be the first long weekend that 'unofficially' starts the beginning of summer. Here in Ontario it marks the beginning of planting season.....

This year however, the ground is wet, and it hasn't stopped raining long enough for most people to cut their grass, or turn the soil over never mind planting.

Can you tell, I also happen to love gardening? Granted I now live in an apartment building and my gardening is limited to what I can put on my 15 foot balcony. It is a good thing that one of my friends owns his own house and lets me putter away in his yard when I can. I just helped him put in an herb garden which I can't wait to reap the rewards. Now we just need some sunshine, to dry the ground out a little, and we will plant some veggies, and more flowers. Come on Mother Nature, put away those tears for a bit anyways...

In the meantime, here are two pictures I took in the greenhouses on Easter Sunday...Hope you enjoy them.

Seeing Red..

If you have been reading my entries most of you know that I have not been able to get out and spend much time with my camera of late. I have found myself working 6 days a week between two jobs, and have been collaborating with a couple of friends on a production about photography for this summers Fringe Festival. Not that I am complaining, I can certainly use the money to move forward with photography, and the theater project has been extremely exciting for me. I can't wait to see the results of incorporating photography into an original play.

On Easter weekend, I did find a whole hour of spare time, and so grabbed my camera (which still needs to have the sensor cleaned!) and ran over to Allen Gardens to do some more abstract colour shots. It may have been a quick shoot, but I was happy with most of the results.

This is the first one I will share with you....Hope you like it!

A retrospective...part ll

There is a blackbird singing(?) outside my window, and it is overcast but mild. Which when all put together makes me want to grab my camera and go for a hike...But due to the camera situation I mentioned in my previous post, this sadly is not going to happen.

So you, and I will have to make due with another retrospective of previous shots. As mentioned I entered five portfolios into a competition and I am sharing with you each of them one by one. My last post featured portfolio one and today I will share the second.

Since today also happens to be Easter Sunday, I will share the set that is most cheery, and spring like. It features shots from early this year taken at Allan Gardens. (In the greenhouse)....

Happy Easter!