The Snowdrop

Of all the flowers in my garden, it is the Snowdrop that gives me the most joy.  This humble perennial is short-lived, void of colourful blooms, and only a few inches tall.  I love it the most because it is the first sign of life after the long, dark months of winter; often appearing weeks before any other early spring bloom.  For me, the common Snowdrop is the embodiment of hope and renewal.

Opportunity within Adversity

Most, including myself, prefer to take pictures on warm and sunny days.  We do this because it’s convenient, more comfortable.  In a manner, we’re conditioned to do so.  For example, photo magazines are replete with images of happy smiling faces having ‘fun in the sun’.  So, we’re forgiven for defaulting to this mode.  However, there are opportunities for a worthwhile image in all kinds of weather, even when it’s cold and miserable.  Seeking that ‘catch of the day’ in poor weather can yield an image that the fair weather photographers are missing.  The effort may be rewarded with a shot that nobody else has.  I wish I could tell you this was my discovery but that’s not true.   I learned this from professional photographers whose work I greatly admire.

Now, while most are huddling indoors on those cold, dreary, foggy days I’m happily outside with camera in hand.  The scenes are very different as background clutter is usually obscured from sight.  Only essential elements are visible leaving the possibility for that wonderful visual state which the master, Freeman Patterson labelled as ‘dynamic simplicity’.  Simplicity: a wonderful tonic for a world that can be unnecessarily complicated.

Seal Bay Nature Park - The Mystery Forest

I’ve walked the trail to Melda’s Marsh a hundred times but on this one day, the intensity and quality of light revealed this mysterious scene.  It was the rare combination of a mid-summer day and the pulsing light from changing cloud densities that created an opportunity.  I had the sense this scene could soon change so I began shooting immediately.  Believing I had “something-in-camera” that resembled what I felt while drawn into this space, I began to pack-up.  By the time I was ready to leave, the light had changed and the scene was gone.  Every time I walk past this site I marvel at how it's so different and how one can return to the same place hundreds of times and leave with an entirely different experience.  That’s one of the reasons why I’m attracted to photography.  As in life, those snippets of time are so fleeting.

Little Falls on Current River

Just upstream from a childhood swimming hole is this lovely scene which I call for want of a better name, Little Falls.  This section of the Current River between Centennial Park and Trowbridge Falls Park is a well-known walk by the people of Thunder Bay.  Every time I visit, this walk is always part of my hometown check-off list.  You can leave your car at either park and easily spend an hour on this riverside walk. When enough water is running, this little spot is a great place to have lunch.

Parkade

For some reason when I depart from my preference genre of landscape & nature, it's usually architectural work.  I like the orderliness of buildings with their vertical lines and carefully thought-out ratios and patterns.  This image was taken at an airport parkade.  I was idling for an afternoon with my camera while on an overnight stop.  At first, I was drawn to the grid pattern on the facade, then the stairwell behind, and finally the refection of a prairie sky and pedestrians walking along an overpass.  After that, it was only a matter of patience and time to get the right composition as strangers filed past.

Seal Bay Park Trail

Another shot from a favourite local park.  I've walked along this trail many times and each time the scenery is different.  On this day, I looked back and noticed the shadows falling on the trail with great rim lighting on the trees and branches.

Mitlenatch Chocolate Lily

The northern Straits of Georgia has a very special island called Mitlenatch.  There's an abundance of wildlife as the island is uninhabited, save one or two volunteer custodians.  After circling the island in our RHIB, our group landed and spent the lunch hour walking about on the trails and taking in the sights.  It was a perfect Spring day and the lilies were in bloom...Someday, I'll return for a longer visit.