Broadway Avenue in Flatiron District, NYC

I love Google almost as much as I love New York City.

Like jaunty dashes drawn on with a bevelled marker, I was charmed by the way this splash of blue enlivens this otherwise monochromatic scene. This also displays my love of shooting contrasting textures and spaces that reveal evidence of past lives.

I knew I had shot this during an excursion to New York City, and I was pretty sure it was during the trip that included an inspiring walk through Greenwich Village, SoHo, and East Village.

To further narrow it down, I studied the plum-coloured banners and Googled "Wined Up New York City". Now I've got my address: you are currently looking at a photograph of 913 Broadway.

But wait - there is another business visible here. Going by the window text under the bold blue awnings that caught my attention to begin with, I Googled "MDE New York City". Less luck on this one. Or wait, maybe it's mdc. "MDC New York City". Bingo! You are also looking at a photograph of 909 Broadway. 

I didn't patronize either of these businesses while I was in the Flatiron District, but it was a fun exercise!

At the Scene of the Crime: Bay Street in Toronto

You see before you evidence of a drive-by shooting that occured right out in broad daylight in downtown Toronto. The incident was pre-meditated, thoughtfully orchestrated, and heavily pixelated. Armed with a weapon of mass production, the perpetrator purposefully and masterfully carried out the intended mission with great focus. There was an accomplice but he escaped in a flash with his equipment. No injuries were sustained but there was substantial capture both from this location and various other settings throughout the city. Authorities zoomed in on the culprit by following the light bouncing off the sides of the buildings, clearly exposing the activity. It is estimated the ambush continued for several hours before the shooter was apprehended, subjected to a search, and secured. Although every effort is being made to stop down this operation, it is feared that similar shootings may take place in the future and residents are advised to stay inside and close their shutters.

View from the 7th Floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Niagara Falls, ON

September 2012

When I first began reviewing the series of photos I shot before and after attending a conference in Niagara Falls, I wondered how I would be able to differentiate between the early morning shots and the late evening shots. After all, I knew I had captured images from each side of the day, and that all of them would be equally daylight compromised.

Of course, as I continued browsing the photos, I discovered it was actually very easy to tell which were taken when! Niagara Falls at night are illuminated - brightly and colourfully and unmistakably. It's a cool addition to this attraction, making it visible for a longer period of time and giving it an artsy, metamorphic treatment, but it's nice to view without as well.

So you see before you a photo taken through my hotel window at around 6am.

When I look at this, what I remember most is the magical calmness of this typically active landscape, and how it allows one to listen to the serene sound of the perpetually falling water. I envy those locals who get to bask in the constant lull of nature's cadence every single day. And perhaps for many, the fact they can hear it all the time means they don't hear it at all. But I know that doesn't apply to all of them.

And even though I have lived within twenty minutes of this world famous natural attraction for as many years, I never tire of gazing at it, marvelling at it, photographing it, or listening to it.

Brooklyn Bridge ~ Manhattan Pier ~ October 2012

Actually setting foot on this iconic bridge was the last of my great New York City intentions, as I had explained in a previous post. I had heard about this dedicated area for those who wish to cross the bridge without a car - and it is pretty cool: safely elevated away from vehicular traffic, pedestrians get our own expanse.

After six trips to the Big Apple, I finally got to make my way along its wooden floor, taking special care to remain on the right side, which was also the correct side, for a pedestrian. The lanes are clearly marked so one knows where the feet go as opposed to where the wheels go, and the cyclists have no qualms about scolding those who wander onto the wrong side. It felt like a glimpse into the world of the locals, knowing that they routinely make this trip, either to get to or from work, or to escape the stresses that are created as a result.

Being that it was late in the day, it was decided that we wouldn't go all the way to Brooklyn, but would just go to this tower before turning back. (My travelling party was graciously indulging in my desire to do this so I took what I could get!)

I was enthralled with the view as I approached the first pier on the Manhattan side. This tower looked even stronger than any image I'd seen and was wonderfully clean and proud. There was also more cabling than I realised, and I delighted in the contrast between the robust concrete structure and the relatively thin gridlines reaching out from it. Looking up at the intricate webs of cables and their patterns was mesmerizing. I would have liked to have stopped and gazed upwards for longer than I did, but the perpetual flow of the crowd doesn't really approve of interruptions. (Curiously, there are a row of benches along its railings at the edge, shortly after embarking on its route. Imagine, someone thinking to place seating on a bridge!)

I did stop when I reached the tower, however, and shot right underneath it, capturing proof that I couldn't have been anywhere BUT right underneath it! It was thrilling to be standing on such a recognisable landmark, the backdrop for so many movies I'd seen, the subject of so many New York City photographic books I've devoured.

And even though I can now comfortably draw a line through "Walk along the Brooklyn Bridge", I have to go back! My insatiable obsession with New York City has spilled over creating a alternate infatuation with this bridge. I just want to unleash my camera all over this subject... to take my own pictures from every angle: I want to stand at each of its shores, to sail underneath it, and to get adjacent to it, perpendicular to it, and all the way across it. Then there's the night view, the winter view... the city as it looks from the middle of it... the people as they make their way across it... insatiable I say!

The Rooms - St. John's

Newfoundland and Labrador

Located in the heart of St. John's, The Rooms is one hulk of a building, dwarfing nearly every structure along the upper rim of its sprawling and colourful cityscape. I've heard some of the locals speak of it with disdain, complaining that it doesn't "fit" structurally or stylistically with the rest of the city's historic architecture. Okay, what they actually say is that it "sticks out like a sore tum"! 

Granted, it does command your attention as you drink in the luscious view from atop Signal Hill. And yes, it's a simple, triangular design, devoid of the details and intricacies that embellish so many of the other buildings in this 500+ year old city.

But, I discovered that it has its charms. If its simplicity doesn't echo its neighbouring historic buildings, it does seem to fit right in with the jutted rocks and cliffs that abound in the city. Its placement certainly does afford some of the best views of the mouth of the harbour and Signal Hill. I found it quite magical to stand before those massive windows at night and look out at all the light-studded hills. And when I was granted a free afternoon to make my way up Garrison Hill and meander around the property and slide along its smooth facade, I developed a real appreciation for the architectural cleverness. The mirrored planes are angled in such a way that the reflections are playfully distorted and bold.

I imagine since its doors first opened seven years ago, it's become a prominent structure in St. John's, recognisable to both locals and visitors alike. It still sticks out, but it's more of a thumbs up.

To learn more about this all-encompassing celebration of everything cultural, visit: http://www.therooms.ca/

Along Central Park Drive in Manhattan - October 2012

The sunshine and rising temperatures created a contradiction in seasons this past weekend in the big city. From the rolling, picturesque hillsides of Central Park to the multi-level heights of city living, the fall colours were blazing under the noonday sun. The store windows displayed equally bright oranges as their owners seduced the passersby to wander inside for costumes and decor. It's hard to imagine Halloween bringing out characters even more bizarre than those typically seen along the pathways but one can certainly see the potential!

Today, we have a hospital in Welland that offers quality, personalized health care in an easily accessible location. But this level of care is sadly undermined by uncomfortably long wait times that become worse once symptoms have been determined not to be life-threatening...

Click here for some thoughts on the recommendations hovering over Welland's hospital.

Street Photography

Shot near the corner of 17th and Broadway, New York City 2011

"Oh, Otis showed up at the office today!" Alexis announced.

Marley's eyes widened and she stopped her fork just before it reached her mouth. "Wow! Did you know he was in town?"

"Not exactly, but I knew his and Emily's birthdays were today, so I guess I wasn't really surprised to see him," she said as she shrugged with forced nonchalance.

"Did you talk to him?"

Alexis released a irrepressible smile. "He paused at my desk for a few moments," she explained. "It was actually nice to see him again."

"Of course it was, but that's all that it needs to be," Marley declared. "You just go about your business and never mind him flaunting his new life in your face. You don't need him and you don't need to see him."

Alexis sighed dreamily as she drew zig zags into her ketchup with her French fry, her modest grin unwittingly growing into a Cheshire smile.

"Oh no," Marley grimaced, "you didn't..."

"Well he was going to be meeting clients right across from my block. He would have been right there, and I wasn't going to be good enough to meet him for a drink? Just seems silly, that's all."

Marley shook her head. "Have you forgotten how hard it was to watch him fly away towards his dreams and leave you languishing at the gate?" She paused to allow that feeling to settle around her. "Because I haven't."

Alexis grasped her friend's hand in appreciation. "It's just a drink," she insisted. "We'll just be like old friends catching up." She dropped a twenty onto the table, plucked her bag from the corner of her chair, and kissed Marley's cheek. "I'll call you later."

Marley watched as her friend bounced through the diner and fluttered out the door and onto the street. She pursed her lips and cursed Otis Pretorious for dancing right back into her friend's heart without the slightest concern for the damage he'd already done to it.

Rainbow Room by Massimo Capra

Crowne Plaza Fallsview Hotel ~ Niagara Falls, ON

He rather enjoyed the stillness of the restaurant in between the stages of an evening. It was as if the space were taking a deep breath, allowing each member of the staff a chance to regroup before the next wave of personalities poured into the room.

During this downtime, he would become lost in the art of table setting, taking special care to arrange the polished silverware in perfect form on each table as if each one were the only one he had to do. He artfully folded every napkin and repositioned each chair. He carefully set each wine and water glass so as to avoid any evidence of his touch prior to it being cradled by the dinner guest at that seating.

It was a peaceful time, set to the muted soundtrack of plates being clattered against one another in the kitchen and the quiet murmurs of the head waiter reviewing special instructions with the executive chef. He deftly went about his business becoming one with the pesto and ginger infused air, just like water swirls undetected around the pearls of an opened oyster. Every now and again, he would glance at the familiar landscape outside the expanse of windows. With that awareness, he appreciated how much more divine this setting was compared to the busy street scene that vibrated loudly outside the windows of his last place of employment. There, he felt common and invisible and frenzied. Here, he felt smart and important and effective.

He was also acutely aware of the rich peacefulness that flowed softly around the curved room. Soon, dinner guests would arrive, injecting the air with character and energy, bringing it to effervescent life, buzzing with activity and discussion. He breathed deeply knowing that as each cluster of people spread out around the restaurant's distinctive iron framework, his focus would adapt accordingly. He would derive energy from this pulse, preparing him to provide service with clarity and professionalism, adding his own unique flair to the exquisite flavours he would soon be delivering.

Shot during the Tiger-Cat - Eskimo game, September 15, 2012

Okay, here we go, nice and easy here, just hold the bottle up and wait for someone to notice it.

That's right people, I'm the sustenance guy, attentive and nimble. I am the king of replenishment, the wizard of wet, the master of the liquid and all things refreshing...

Look no further you monstrous, shrinkwrapped animals, and never mind about the coach - I'm the guy you need. Me. I'm the one cradling the large plastic vessel of Gatorade perfection over here. Or wait, is it water? I hope they aren't too particular because I don't feel like being the cheese in an Eskimo sandwich today...

Wow those guys are tall! S'okay... no big deal... I'm supposed to be here. I just keep walking around slowly and never mind about the hundreds of people watching me. Besides, they aren't watching me, they are watching impatiently as they wait for the game to resume. Maybe they are thinking if I hurry up and give them a drink, it will resume sooner.

Hey there big guy, you want a little sip of this? Poured especially for you, nice and refreshing. It will help you play better. Not that you need help, man, you're doing great, I'm just sayin. Hey, you do your job and I'll do mine okay??

At Solla Sollew, or rather St. John's Conservation Area on September 8, 2012.

I was sitting on my favourite bench with a notebook just listening to the breeze as it curled around the branches and tickled all the leaves. The air was so comfortable it was without temperature and I was so relaxed I was without concern. I didn't even wonder if there was anything crawling up my back or hovering over my head or preparing to bite at the skin on my ankles.

As I watched my boys scope out the banks of the beautiful River Wahoo.. er, St. John's Pond, I revelled in the joy of watching them become blissfully immersed in their endeavour: to capture a bullfrog. My oldest was stealthily carrying a brand new net - not a meagre dollar store attempt, but a serious metal handled net from Canadian Tire. He meant business. But the frogs weren't at all impressed - they didn't even show up in greeting.

After four methodical, focused treks around the pond combing through every foliage overhang in every nook, he hadn't seen one frog. It must be the time of year, I consoled, as he reluctantly placed the jilted net beside me. Still not ready to return to reality, his attention turned to creatures of the flying variety, which are always faithfully available in nature's lush playground.

The Names of the South Pool

World Trade Center Site - October 2011

September 11th.

I was looking at the date on my phone at work this morning thinking about how this is no longer just a day of the month... a 24-hour instance that occurs at the beginning of autumn...

It's something different now. And I bet there isn't a person alive that doesn't notice it.

When terrorists attacked 11 years ago, they didn't just end lives and rip apart families and shatter our sense of security and demolish buildings and rape New York's proud skyline.

They took a day of the year.

The World Trade Center site is something different too. I didn't get to see it before it was forever changed. But just as it was a majestic destination worthy of a visit in the eclectic and vibrant borough of Manhattan before, so it is today.

Along a Segment of the Magnificent Mile in Chicago

I can see why Twitter gets more activity than other forms of social media because a short burst of information is all that many people can stand to absorb these days. Or perhaps I should say afford to look at because really: how much of it are we actually absorbing?! It's like a virtual neon-blazing commercial hub with a contant stream of pretty colours vying for your attention.

I am new to the Twittersphere, having long been resistant to adding a new link to my communication network for fear I would become even more attached to my screen at night. Do I really want to have more ideas to weave into what I already understand? Become teased with more events and cities that I want to visit but probably won't have time to go?

But I'm discovering that it's a whole different length of chain - a way to connect to people with whom you wouldn't share your familiar details and photographs (such as I do on Facebook) or a rambling and musing of experiences and impressions (such as you see here on my blog).

Twitter gives me a way to say something what is on my mind and get right to the point. I love restructuring my comment to fit the countdown of characters under my post. I can also reach out to an unimaginable sea of minds that I wouldn't otherwise get to reach and potentially strike a chord with someone I admire in a field that interests me.

One thing that surprised me is the multitude of users who use the brevity of Twitter posts to lead readers to another, more larger collection of ideas: a link to another site. Does this illustrate a brilliant use of Twitter to grab people with a headline and seduce you to follow them so they can tell you more? Or is this proof that people really can't say what they need to say in 140 well assembled characters?

I do find myself posting links to draw those unfamiliar with my blog to check out my view of the world, but I like the idea of saying something that may appeal to others like me in a brief moment of introspection. Something to make people smile. Something to make people take a different route home from work or give their child an extra long hug when greeting him or her after work. Something I've noticed that I think others should notice too. And in turn, I may find the same in others' posts!

View of the 2012 CNE from the Kiddie Ferris Wheel

I love a good roller coaster as much as the next person - or more than, depending on the person - but I never turn down the opportunity to ride the ferris wheel. What some people perceive as a slow and predictable yawn is, to me, an effortless opportunity to see the world from a different angle. I was glad when my son pulled my arm in that direction!

On the surface of the CNE grounds, you can feel the pulse and smell the sugar as you drink in such details as hand painted muskoka chairs and a charmingly simple sixty year old fountain named for a queen's visit.

We got to sample the latest toys and refill our bottles at a water station for free and witness a frenzy of eleven piglets all nursing at once.

But to rise above everything and watch the cluster of people turn into ribbons of colour flowing around tent tops added another layer to the experience. The view was fabulous and the nature of a ferris wheel affords the rider ample time to shoot in every direction, and even downwards, if so inclined. It was neat to see such frivolous multihued fanfare on one side and serious monochromatic skyscrapers on the other. But that's Toronto!

Along Wacker Drive Overlooking the Chicago River

I have my screen saver set up to display a slide show of my Street Photography. Lately, it seems everytime I look at it, I see an image from my 2010 trip to Chicago. The grown-up escape and catching up with a dear friend was the icing on the cake as we burrowed into the charisma and history of this approachable and architecturally stunning metropolis.

This was a very amateur attempt at night photography, sans tripod, that I took the night before we took flight and rails back to our respective realities. This image illustrates much of what I loved about Chicago: the buildings and the river in which we flowed as we learned about their origins... the spectacular meals we enjoyed at The Gage and Quartino and my first real sushi experience earlier on this particular day... the ease at which we walked along its streets at any hour of the day or night as we explored and lingered and gazed and engaged...

I shot this while breathing those deep breaths that only flow while removed from schedules and responsibilities, a condition that is very easy to adopt while on vacation!

The Right Shoulder of Niagara Falls

The only way you ever want to see the Horseshoe Falls from this vantage point is from the deck of a sightseeing boat!

Many locals I know will avoid the tourist area of Niagara Falls at all costs, only venturing into the camera-toting and fanny-pack-attired clutter when they are hosting visiting family members. Then it's okay because your clan is so enamoured of your touring abilities and enthralled at the idea of you actually getting to LIVE here and see such beauty every single day that you forget you're doing "tourist stuff".

Then there are those who embrace this effervescent industry and revel in that which draws people from all over the world - the endless array of activities as well as the vistas. Those are the people to whom I raise my glass. If you live here you may as well enjoy the benefits.

I joined a group who were visiting but who had been on the Maid of the Mist sometime during their lives. Aside from our various children, I was the only person in our party who had never been on it!

It was a wonderful day, mercifully less humid than in previous weeks. I shudder to imagine the feeling of those plastic blue ponchos fusing to the skin as would likely occur in the intense heat we had been having most of the summer!!! 

I loved the view as our boat nuzzled the crook of these Falls, showering us with mist. I delighted in the mild turbulence as the downward force of the water churned in the lower river, urging me to reach out and balance myself with a secure stance. I truly realised the sheer expanse of falling water as I literally panned my head from my right shoulder all the way to my left to see it all.

Why would people forego this cool experience just because they happen to share an address? It reminds you why travellers venture here just to see this natural wonder. Living close by and not having to expend huge amounts of money or vacation time to see it is a bonus!

Near Union Square in New York City

So I decided to think about food.

Only the freshest produce will cause explosions of flavour to ricochet around in your mouth. But this freshness standard should extend to anything you allocate to your eating pleasure. If you are going to press anything between your teeth and consume calories and other non-mentionables in the process, it had better be worth it!

Eating food is about so much more than just taste. The colours and smells and character of a farmer's market or even a roadside stand are intoxicating. There is an entire discipline to deciding what goes with what and how to respect complementary flavours and textures. Expert food presentation can increase the enjoyment and subsequent value of any meal, whether or not it's gourmet.

In addition to insisting on absolute freshness and a relatively short distance from farm to table - a luxury I enjoy and appreciate here in Niagara - here is how to garner the most intense taste sensations from a few of life's most delectable offerings:

Wine: There are entire volumes and credit courses covering this one. But at the very least, enjoying a glass of wine should be an event in itself. I learned from a local winemaker that you don't just sip your wine, you have to unlock those flavours as well. Swirling wine around in your glass and breathing in the aroma before consuming it will create a more enveloping savoury experience. If you don't believe me, smell your wine after you pour it, then swirl it around and smell it again.

Sushi: Here's where freshness makes or breaks it. I've recently become enamoured with those charismatic little rolls - a satisfying balance of crunchy and velvety, the most exciting part is the wasabi burn! My sushi crew showed me that you dip the roll or sushi into soya sauce laced with as much wasabi as you dare. But the trick is to place the wasabi first and slowly incorporate a little soya sauce at a time so it properly and smoothly integrates creating that electrifying heat that spears up into your nose like a flash fire. 

Dark Chocolate: A milk chocolate lover all my life, I have gleefully become a die-hard cocoa fan. 70% is the lowest percentage I'll go now, and I usually stick with 85% because I find it is rich enough that just a small dose will satisfy my chocolate lust. But in order to benefit from the complex and intense flavours, they must be unlocked by being left to melt on the tongue one small piece at a time. Just letting it sit there long enough to become soft around the edges will cause your tongue to quiver with delight.

Okay I don't know how people can write about food all day! Anyone doing this regularly must love and revel in the diversity of flavours and textures and all of the above. But just writing about three of my taste treats makes me wish I could go indulge so describing entire meals and other expressions of culinary creativity must elicit quite the cravings on a regular basis!

Okay maybe I'll break off a few shards of Lindt...

Prescription for a Livelier Downtown

Welland's Amphitheatre in Merritt Park with IlluminAqua fire pods visible in the canal

  

It’s time for us to stop thinking of Welland as a hard-done-by industrial city.
We need to start moving forward as a picturesque canal city,
 putting our best recreational foot forward.

Click here to read my ideas in today's edition of The Tribune!

Blue Rodeo at Safari Niagara July 20, 2012

My favourite Blue Rodeo album is Casino. I had bought the cassette tape back in 1991 after falling in love with the black and white video of the guys playing Trust Yourself  in the snow. I still think that song is fabulous, and so different from anything else the band has created. As I played that tape endlessly, side after side, I would find myself singing What Am I Doing Here throughout my work day, and I lingered over the emotions of Montreal and After the Rain, the latter probably getting the most airplay in my little cassette player!

Although these and many other Blue Rodeo melodies became part of my soundtrack of growing up, I had never experienced a live performance of theirs - I was starting to feel like the only Canadian ever to utter such words! It just never ended up working out for me.

Last year, while we were enjoying a Sarah McLachlan concert, Greg Keelor appeared before us on stage - a complete surprise to us - to perform the haunting Dark Angel. Then this past May, I was a member of the open air audience at The Jim Cuddy Band's performance as part of the revered Illuminaqua Series in Welland. And at that time, I was already the proud owner of tickets to see Blue Rodeo perform at Safari Niagara.

It was a neat venue, spread out like a huge grassy bowl that offered a fine view from any angle. The calm air was warm and comfortable on that Friday night, mercifully less humid than on its surrounding days.

It was a fantastic show, as masterful and satisfying as I expected it would be. I enjoyed hearing Greg Keelor's unique raspy voice and harmonizing. And Jim Cuddy's still got it: that great head of hair and that unbelievable vocal range. He repeatedly rendered us spellbound not only by hitting those high notes we're used to hearing in songs like Try, but by surpassing them!

I think my favourite performance of the night was delivered when he snuck back to the piano and weaved his melodic mastery on After the Rain. He didn't just sing it, he used his voice as an instrument and delivered a solo performance that was no less mesmerizing than the guitar solo on Diamond Mine or the unexpected piano solo on Five Days in May. I don't know if it was this expression of talent, the syncopated lighting that accompanied it, or my sheer love of that song, but I was quite certain I never wanted it to end!

But eventually, of course, it did. The band finished the evening with the romantic Lost Together that lingered nicely in our minds as we lay back onto the grass relaxing contently as the herd of people filtered out into the parking lot.

Cape Spear, Newfoundland

I have navigated the barren mass of rock and grass that blankets Canada's most easterly point many times, but it's always been from the predictable and secure path of the boardwalk, Perched safely removed from the Atlantic Ocean's precarious activity, it is still an awesome view of an uninhibited natural setting . And with two small, fearless children to govern, predetermined safety is a desireable quality! I assumed this responsibility so obviously, as parents tend to do, that it didn't even occur to me to venture beyond the wooden railing.

But if you look across the middle of this photograph, you may discern a jaunty pathway that appears to be protected by a railing. During my visit this spring, I secured the opportunity to visit Cape Spear with my one son, who is now old enough to understand the capricious nature of the ocean and respect its potential force. It became less about keeping two curious little sets of feet away from danger, and more about exploring the craggy skirt of the cape. There was a trail where we hiked, but there were no barriers. It was safe, but you still had to step with so as to avoid being tripped by a delinquent branch  I was excited to be able to get a refreshing view of a familiar location, and he was thrilled to be given the trust and freedom to go somewhere a little more extreme. Plus he was getting to go somewhere that his little brother hadn't so I'm sure he thought that was cool!

On Jazz

There was a time when I liked the idea of jazz more than the music itself. To my untrained and mostly unexposed ear, it always sounded like a disorganised explosion of notes coming from a collaboration of spirited musicians all wanting to do their own thing in spite of one another. Everything I heard as a child, from my Mom's easy listening to my Dad's classical, made melodic sense to my ear. And I understood and appreciated music in general, even spending many years as a piano student with the Royal Conservatory of Music.

In my twenties, I made several concerted attempts to get excited about jazz because to me it was the soundtrack of the charismatic urban existence that decorated my dreams upon moving to Ontario from Labrador just after high school. But I was too much of an ingenue who fell into a state of awe at the turn of every new corner to take any of it seriously. And this was before I even made it outside of Welland's city limits! And just as I couldn't picture myself finding my way around any city with a population greater than the 12,000 back home, I also couldn't properly navigate this complex musical genre. I kept getting tripped up in the mosaic of seemingly unrelated sounds set to a seemingly arbitrary beat that my foot just couldn't seem to follow.

This curious mystification simmered inside of me and has only approached maturity recently. I found myself increasingly seeking out 91.1 Jazz FM, easily intrigued by Ella Fitzgerald and Emilie-Claire Barlow, Oscar Peterson and Frank Sinatra. But it wasn't until I joined the audience of a Ravi Coltrane concert at Brock University several months ago that I learned to really love the style of jazz I mentioned above.

I became drawn in by the passion of the performers, their obvious rapport, their confidence and masterful manipulation of the instruments, their ability to interpret the music as it was being woven. The musician who really made an impression on me was the young man who pivoted on his heels as he danced with his double bass, his raven dreadlocks falling parallel with the strings that were being devoured by his fingers like five-legged spiders. During the post concert interview and question period, his quiet manner free from arrogance was appealing and further revealed himself as a dedicated musician.

During this same interview, Ravi Coltrane talked about how "jazz is not about imitation". He acknowledged that borrowing the standards and learning them note for note, and striving to play in the exact same style as one's idol is an important step in learning the genre. But that eventually, a musician should be courageous enough to venture out on his own to craft something that nobody has ever heard before, trusting that his own voice and ingenuity will resonate with and captivate the audience.

These days, I listen to jazz because I love its intricacies and I believe it is some of the best music for dancing, etc. Even amidst the standards, I frequently pull something new out of it...  and I still become entranced by Coltrane's air of sophistication, even if my foot doesn't always find the beat.

Harbourfront Centre's Crayon Box of Kayaks in Toronto

On the waterfront in Toronto, rows of kayaks are tethered impatiently to their network of metal sleeves. How torturous it must be for them to look out onto the luminous water, aching to be set free to make love to the lake but too often find themselves taunted by each flippant wave that slides up against the edge of the pier.

And here they must wait as the days are long in this hectic city that doesn't take summers off. There are many tasks that must be completely crossed off before the list is cleared down far enough to allow the line "free time to do that which makes one feel truly alive" to be up next.

But when that time comes, they are ready. Kayaks, like so many other instruments of passionate, leisurely endeavours, are used to being put on the side burner, kept warm and lovingly in mind until the time is afforded them. The good thing is when they have been listed as the main event of a sultry, Sunday afternoon, they will inarguably become the best part of the week - or longer - enjoyed wholeheartedly, unabashedly, and thoroughly, free from the clouds of responsibility or the wind of time. From the cleansing deep breathing to the repetitive physical exertion to the occasional splash of lake water, everything always comes alive on the waves.

Cape Spear, Newfoundland

Here it is folks: our proud flag standing on the spot that ushers in Canada Day first!

Cheers!

Walking along the Welland Recreational Canal towards the Main Street Bridge 2011

I have always considered the Welland Recreational Canal one of the most picturesque places in the community - even when I first moved here nearly twenty years ago. But lately its appeal has intensified - starting with the birth of the new Civic Centre. Then came the delectable IlluminAqua series and now, as I sit at its home on Merritt Park's amphitheatre steps, I almost feel as if I am on vacation... I am surrounded by the sort of scene that makes me happy to be away from the routine of everyday. But I am just five minutes from home!

It was a beautiful June day alive with a post-parade buzz, the flowing stream of triathalon runners, and the occasional kayak being pushed through the placid water, all seasoned with a classic rock selection of songs being performed over at The Bridge. The date was Sunday, June 24 and the topic is impressions of the 2012 Welland Rose Parade.

You are probably wondering why I have a colourless canal picture adorning my Rose Parade blog entry! Well, since events that took place earlier that day almost resulted in my missing the parade altogether, I managed to appear at the apex of the Main Street and Division Street Bridges on time but without camera in tow!!!

Oh it was painful, let me tell you, but I proceeded to suck it up telling myself at least I am getting to experience the cavalcade in its entirety. And I was perfectly fine until the appearance of the first transport truck with its polished mirrored bumper taunted me with a delightfully distorted reflection of the crowd sitting before it. Reflections are my guilty photographic pleasure, so the pangs of camera deprivation struck again when a row of shining tubas was placed gently onto the ashphalt, reflecting the swirling, warped images of of the crowd in its bell. Despite the absence of evidence, I thoroughly enjoyed this year's Rose Parade. There was no question as to the theme of the event thanks to the adornment of roses flanking truck grills and woven into tire rims and tucked behind the ears of the ladies waving to the crowd from their respective convertables. The weather was perfect and the rolling entertainment stellar and intriguing. Particularly the bands! I'd read in the Welland Tribune that there were 16 marching band entries this year - a report that made me want to attend even more vehemently than usual!

There was a great representation of musical talent ranging from a simple but classic Drum and Bugle band to the mature Asian women all dressed in yellow striking the red drums at their sides to the final group: a sea of young, red attired musicians from Burlington that nearly occupied the entire length of the Division Street Bridge! (which would have made a FINE picture...!) In addition to the carefully calculated marching sequences, I love witnessing the choreography of hydration distribution during parades - I bet on a hot summer day, those with the bottles of water stacked up in their arms attentively offering sustenance must be just as important as those with the white tubas coiled around their backs or taught drums clinging to their stomachs.

In addition to the marching bands, we were treated to a delightfully quirky pair of  Chinese Dragons, not a sight you get to see everyday! They swirled about on the pavement weaving around human counterparts whose legs, curiously enough, sported the same flamboyant material as those on the dragons... oh right, they were obviously the relief, the second shift...

We marvelled at the massive horses marching proudly in unison (rows of robust legs that would have / could have served as another fantastic photographic subject...!) before coming to a stop right in front of our seats. Just after them, a kid on a four wheeler came to a successive stop, accompanied by another young man who, judging from the resemblance, we decided had to be his brother. I wondered what they were doing in the parade because there was no advertising or other decoration on his vehicle or their clothing. Then we watched as the one boy proceeded to shovel horse droppings from the pavement into a metal can affixed to the back of the four wheeler!! He couldn't have been more than fourteen years old and here he was doing this unpleasant task in a parade, all the while sporting a monumental smile! It was great and I enthusiastically joined in the applause offered from the crowd when he was finished.

So we walked away from the parade with nothing more than a bouquet of lollipops safely tucked into the band of my little guy's sock! But the absence of pictures didn't take too much away from the afternoon. In fact, it may have allowed me to experience it even more acutely, or at least from a different perspective!

Spotted in the crowd across from the Table Rock area, Niagara Falls, ON   

June 15, 2012 around 6:00 pm

So I decided that I was going to watch the performance at home in light of the perceived congestion and of important tasks that could not wait until Saturday. But thankfully a wise friend suggested to me "why not drive over there after work just to see firsthand where everything is going to be taking place later?" Why hadn't I thought of that?! I was approaching the decision on whether or not to go to the event as all or nothing, but here was a way to experience it both ways!


I was able to see the origins of those monumental crowds that you saw clustered around Table Rock later in the night. I spied families camped out on blankets and lounge chairs around the great illumination building as they adjusted their binoculars and steadied their tripods. They played card games and took naps and tickled their laptops while keeping the Nikola Tesla statue company. They arrived with stacks of pizzas and portable coolers while grasping tiny hands and pushing wagons and even a double-decker dog stroller! Diverse collaborations of visitors to Niagara Falls are a given, particularly in the summer months, but during the crescendo of the crowd on this particular night it wasn't hard to tell that it was going to be very close quarters as the main event drew nearer.


I think for me, the most captivating part of the Nik Wallenda experience was seeing and hearing how excited he was to be living out his dream. He not only displayed mental and physical prowess, he was like a kid at Christmas, giddy to be seeing Niagara Falls in a way nobody else in his audience could ever see. Apparently, unlike what most would consider a smart move for such an elevated feat, he always intentionally looks down as he's walking. I imagine that this contributes to his exuberance, experiencing his craft wholly and intensely and enthusiastically.


Here is a man who had worked hard and persisted relentlessly to attain permission to do what he fully knew he was capable of doing. I bet the possibility of failure wasn't even an option for him and there was no "daredevil" factor involved at all. Of course I am just speculating here, but this is what he does. I like to think it affected him the way someone else would feel upon finally standing before the Eiffel Tower, or receiving a law degree after years of concerted effort.


Nik Wallenda may not have been saving the world from medical woes, or other feats that some feel would warrant all the fuss afforded him. But I have no doubt that he did inspire people to proceed in the direction they know in their hearts they ought to be going, just from his determination and his sheer exhilaration to be doing what he'd always wanted to do. Steering away from potential risk isn't an option. This is a man who is truly living.

Niagara Falls, ON as seen from the Niagara Parkway

The calm before the aerialist storm.

Okay, not exactly. I shot this nearly a year ago - long before a two inch thick cable became stretched across the brink of the falls excitedly awaiting its 30-40 minutes of fame. That's how long they say it will take Nik Wallenda to walk across it tomorrow night and make history.

I was so sure I would be in attendance, watching the performance live! I don't have a problem with stunt revival at this natural wonder nor do I think the artistry and thrill of his endeavour will be reduced with the addition of a tether. Wallenda is still an expert funambulist perceived to possess nerves of steel but who probably approaches walking a tightrope with the same comfort as we do when walking along the sidewalk. And if I lived close enough, I would walk there just to be a part of the crowd and feel the exhilaration firsthand.

I revel in this stuff... the escape from the routine... the diversion... I love the flurry of excitement on New Year's Eve when people are getting off work early and running around getting last minute lemons and crispbread and ice for their celebratory parties or picking up cases of Steam Whistle to bring to their friends' parties. I relish the patriotism and camaraderie and collective television focus that accompanies the Olympics. Basically anything that enlivens the atmosphere and sprinkles a little cayenne pepper atop everyday activities and a predictable landscape is fantastic in my books. I can feel the buzz even from where I'm sitting.

I live about a half an hour away from the location of this photo - driving time that would be exponentially increased amidst tomorrow's traffic - and yet I would love to have gone. It seems kind of shame to watch it on television like all those who are too far away to realistically drive there. But then I remind myself that not everyone who lives in Vancouver watched the Olympics in person!

I'll relax at home knowing my vehicle is parked in an exclusive (and free) parking spot in my own driveway and enjoy the comprehensive coverage offered online by the local newspaper complete with background information and interviews and overviews. I'll watch it with warm familiarity of the exact spot where Nik Wallenda will emerge from the illuminated mist and claim his glory. I revel in this stuff.

Conception Bay South, Newfoundland

This is what does it for me.

Yes, I do fall under the spell of the precipitous boundaries of the coastal cliffs, with all of its charismatic and raw beauty, its unapologetic roughness, and its savoury, sprawling vistas. I revel in its gritty soundtrack of the screeches of gulls and the zigzagging of fiddle bows. I love to sink into my Dad's comfy chair as I feel the weight of everyday responsibilities and considerations lifted from my weary shoulders. Newfoundland provides the refuge that I need, in many immeasurable ways.  

But beaches such as this one at Foxtrap in Conception Bay South is what tugs at my heart and makes me long to go back. I love to stand on this rippled expanse of land, pleasantly populated with impossibly smooth rocks that are rendered even more charming from being repetitively varnished by the ocean's touch. When I look at any photograph that I've taken while there, I can smell the briny air - comprised of the salt spray from the Atlantic, the aroma of ocean castoffs baking on the rocks, and the richness of seaweed and other marine vegetation being basted by the water.

My favourite kind of beach rock is one such as what you see in the exact middle of the photo below, the ones that appear greenish with alternating rings of grey.

I think every time I am there, I swipe a few rocks to add to my landlocked existence. I am amazed at how they always seem to retain the smell of their salt water home, no matter how many times I slide them around in my palm. And sometimes I run one under some water to replicate that shine... just for old time's sake.

On Self-Expression...


I have obtained the opportunity to post my opinion in a vehicle that extends beyond this blog!

I recently became a member of the Welland Tribune's Community Editorial Board!

Check out my thoughts regarding the heated Catholic uniform debate

that's currently smouldering in the Niagara Region!


Click here to read it!

Thanks to those of you who
keep reading me :)

Image captured during a lazy afternoon off exploring downtown St. Catharines, ON

My Insatiable Pursuit of Interesting Buildings

Gooderham Building - Toronto

This gorgeous roseate facade I shot at dusk's infancy is of the Gooderham Building (also known as the Flatiron) on Wellington Street. It is actually surrounded by a multi-faceted intersection with an awning of streetcar wires and a clear view of St Lawrence Market. As I stood across from its apex, drinking in the view that I had been wanting to see for a long time,  I tried to imagine how it looked back in the 1890's when it was built. There just seemed to be so much activity taking place just steps away from its walls! The interesting thing about the view was the dense fog that swallowed up the towering office buildings behind it... I didn't even realise they were there until I saw someone else's photograph of it the following day. So although I didn't appreciate it fully until later on, it certainly was a nice way to study this glorious building for the first time.

It was a dynamic Saturday night in the Financial District, St. Patrick's Day to be exact. There were young, vibrant partygoers zigzagging all over the place displaying a handsome collection of Irish paraphenalia. But I was elated to be toting nothing more than my camera... my eyes crawling around the gently stippled walls of this historic structure and appreciating all of its intricacies. Everything appeared so clean and smooth and there were only subtle differences in the colours. I love the glow from in its basement and from the streetlights. It was a great place to be on an abnormally warm March evening with the wisps of fog in the air and the flurry of excitement from the passersby. A great evening to be meandering about with camera in tow.

A starfish hanging on a lobster trap on the beach at Chapel's Cove, NL

Sometimes I think I'm hanging on to my sanity with every ounce of strength in my grip!! Those are days when I'm late for work again, I succumbed to the call of birthday treats at the kitchenette, and I have no idea what I'm going to make for supper. But at the end of the day, I am content and tranquil... I focus on the way I spent the time to calm down my nervous child instead of rushing out the door, I only had one chocolate pecan square when years ago I would have polished off five, and I managed to put together a spaghettini dish that everybody enjoyed together at the table amidst hearty laughter and spirited discussion.



I have a tendancy to store only good memories in my cranial filing cabinet - which almost certainly do exist in every interaction and every situation, as long as you allow yourself to see them. And when an open slate day could potentially be long, stressful, and dissatisfying, I still strive to make it good in spite of itself. And when I'm in that frame of mind, it almost always happens. Then I realise there were more good hours than taxing hours, and I was in the moment instead of longing for something else. I feel like I'm just hanging out, letting time just tick along on its merry way, and feeling the pressures from the week just drain off, because on a long weekend such as this, I have nowhere else to be, and no fixed agenda, and my to do list was rubbed off the whiteboard. (literally... my six year old did that!) It's all good.