Christmas Greetings to All......

 Here we are again, the Christmas Season is upon us, and this year, there are a lot of mixed emotions floating around due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, that has swept the world, and swept so many loved ones from our family circles. There are so many that have been taken by the pandemic, and/or because of the pandemic, when their prevailing health issues could not be dealt with properly, as resources and medical staff, are stretched to the limits. However, it has also caused many of us to stop and reassess our views of living and life in general. As a close friend of mine, Frank, said to me in an e-mail last evening, it is not what is under the tree this year, but who is around it. I responded that he was right, and that also it was what we could give from the heart, as compared to what we could give from the wallet. My wish is that your circle and spirits will not be broken this year. May peace find its way into your lives... Cheers!  

Lake Nipissing Beach.....

 This is a beach scene that was originally taken on Black & White film. It was never printed before, and for some reason, I decided to scan it and turn it into something resembling an ink drawing illustration. There is a lot of anti noise discussion these days, and the pros and cons of noise in photos. Personally, I don't see the trouble with it. Adding a little noise to certain images gives it a bit of interest and texture, but that is just my opinion, for what that is worth. We used to use ASA 3200 film for some portraiture in by gone years, and that would just not cut it these days. The grain in the images when developed, resembled a coarse grade sand paper. It provided some much needed variations to images, usually shot at a much lower ASA or ISO. Pushing the pixels per inch count up to around 100, makes images look very unnatural to my eye. It no longer looks like a photograph, and to my way of thinking, that is just pushing a good thing too far. But, whatever floats your boat I guess. Anyway, I got out my old Mamiya RB67 last evening, and dusted it off, and cleaned it up. The shutters in the lenses all work great, and I will be shooting some medium format Black & White in the near future hopefully.....yup, back to the darkroom again....digital has me bored to tears lately, and it will be nice to actually "make" a photograph again. Cheers everyone! See you after Christmas.....

A Northern Ontario Winter.....

 It finally started to snow for an hour or so here in Windsor today. However, I doubt that it will amount to much. We may even get enough down to call it a White Christmas this year, but we shall see. Occasionally in Northern Ontario, you will get a green Christmas, but not often. For the most part, by the time Christmas rolls around, most of the lakes and streams are frozen over. However, there are times when you have to be very cautious venturing out on the lakes for a snowmobile ride if there hasn't been several days of a good hard freeze up beforehand. Unfortunately, too many folks cannot resist the urge to make tracks in the fresh snow covered lakes, and hit a patch where the ice is too thin, with tragic results. Stay safe folks, and stay healthy.....Cheers!

Winter Solitude.....

 This image was taken somewhere on the South shore of Lake Nipissing, in Northern Ontario, many years ago, and tonight is the result of scanning another of my Black & White negatives. It brings back many fond memories I have of our time spent living in the North, and during times like the present pandemic, it would be such a mental relief to be able to take my camera and go for a solitary walk along some lake shoreline, or an old logging road through the bush. The moan of the wind in the trees, and the sound of a blue jay, or a chickadee's chatter, is nature's music for the soul. The memory of it all is wonderful during this wretched lock down. For those who can still do this, you are indeed privileged. Cheers! 

Buried in the Snow.....

 We came across this old snow plough half buried in the snow, during a little Winter excursion around Marten River Provincial Park, a long time ago. What year it was, I have not a clue. The thing that struck me about this old rotting piece of wood and steel, was that when I was a lad of about 4 to 6 years old, I remember vividly hearing and seeing one identical to this one, lumbering along the street in front of our old house. It used to pile the snow up to about 3 feet from the telephone wires, and we used to climb up there with our piece of cardboard and slide down the slope onto a vacant lot across from our house. Yes, I said cardboard sheets cut from an old box, because, plastic sheets hadn't been invented yet. Yup, I'm that old! If I remember correctly, it was a steam driven old tractor, with the steel tracks on both sides, and the front bucket/blade was lifted via a steel cable pulley system, all the way up to the top of the twin columns in front. You could hear that thing coming for a half a mile away, and it usually came around in the evening after supper. I believe it was made by Caterpillar, and I just spent at least 2 to 3 hours scouring the internet for more information or pictures on the thing, but no luck. Since this one was located in the woods of Northern Ontario, my guess is that it was used on the roads that passed for a highway back then, as well as on some of the logging roads in the area, North of North Bay. Anyway, the one from my childhood, was eventually replaced by the old Dodge Power Wagon, 4 wheel drive, with a blade on front. It did not pile the snow so high, so there went our sliding hill. After that, they attached a huge snowblower to the front of the Power Wagon, and the snow was blown up high again, so we were delighted. Winter was so much fun! This image was shot on 35mm Kodak Plus X, and developed in the darkroom, many many moons ago. Tonight I scanned the negative on my Epson scanner, so that I could share it, and some pleasant memories with everyone......hope you enjoyed. Cheers!   

Trinity Bay Architecture, NL

 Today's offering is again from the lovely town of Trinity, Newfoundland. This community is full of this type of architecture, with white picket fences all over the place. This is my rendition of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity (Catholic) and I did a bit of messing with it to give it somewhat of a line art effect. Conversion to Black & White, helps with the graphic elements of the scene. Just thought I'd try something a little different today....Cheers!

Somewhere Near Trinity, NFLD

 Last night, I got to checking out a few Black & White analogue photography (film) sites. Yes, there are still a few guys/gals out there who shoot nothing but film. Some of the work was beautiful, and it brought to mind some of the work that my old mentor, Jack Shepherd, would produce after one of his many trips to various places in Canada and the USA. So, I decided to work on another of my images from the Trinity area of Newfoundland, on the Avalon Peninsula. The peace and quiet stillness present while I was photographing this image was something that was is stark contrast to the din of city life. It gave me a real angst to head back to the darkroom again, and expose and print some film.....I still have all my old darkroom equipment, and film cameras, so could be up and running in a couple of days....who knows? I just might give it another shot in the New Year.......hope you enjoy. Cheers! 

Trinity Bay, NFLD

 Tonight, I thought I would revisit some of my images from my last trip to Newfoundland in 2015. This one was taken in Trinity Bay, NFLD, and a colour version of it is on my desktop background right now. However, it occurred to me, that I had never tried to convert some of these images to Black & White, so I gave it a go with this one, and I am glad I did, because I think I prefer it to the colour one. My hope is that others will enjoy it also....Cheers!