Mary Kielbiski 1924-2012

After a short but terminal illness, Gail's mother Mary died last night. She was much loved by her four children and nine grand children who all came to her bedside to be with her as her strength slipped away. She was a beautiful woman, with a warm heart and generous spirit. She will be missed.

A Day in Montreal

I drove to Montreal yesterday to deliver George Hunter's exhibition prints to a gallery on Sherbrooke Street, and to see my son Trevor. George's exhibit, THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF THE INUIT IN 1946, starts Feb. 16th and runs to March 17th. Do check it out if you can.



This morning I took a stroll down Sherbrooke, past all the eye-catching art galleries, to have lunch with my cousin Robin and his lady Terry.

They share a beautiful apartment in the 'Chateau' (photo below) next door to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

3D Xview: scuplture with the Chateau behind

After lunch my son Trevor and I took a hike up Mount Royal through the quiet winter woods.

There's some snow in Montreal - more than Oakville, which has none. But it's nothing compared to the deep snow that Montrealers are used to struggling with at this time of year. Global warming.

Trevor with his well-used telescope

Trevor pulled out his telescope and pointed it at Venus and Jupiter which were bright in the clear sky above his balcony.

Jupiter was accompanied by its four moons - Ganymeade, Callisto, Io and Europa  - looking like tiny pin-pricks of light - all lined up in a row.

Venus looked oddly shaped. Not quite round. Trevor, the family astronomer, explained that Venus goes through phases, just like the moon. I did not know that!

Trumpeter Swan

The trumpeter swan, once nearly extinct, is doing quite well in LaSalle Park on the shores of Hamilton Harbour. These swans typically migrate but some prefer to overwinter here - with the help of handouts - before flying north in March.

The swans with the bright orange beaks are mute swans, a non-native specie, common along the shore.

The trumpeters are tagged with yellow labels to track their migration patterns.

cross-view 3D version

Fashionista!

Rosemary Umetsu with stylist Cameron Shahbazi and two models wearing her creations

Rosemary Umetsu, a fashion designer and an old friend of Gail's, hosted a fabulous event at the Glenn Gould Studio this afternoon, called Fashionista!, combining music by the Amici Chamber Ensemble with a showing of her latest creations. Rosemary specializes in gorgeous gowns for opera singers and other stage performers.

modeling an Umetsu gown

Lara St.John wearing Umetsu

Wearing one of her gowns was violin soloist Lara St. John, performing Chausson's Concerto in D with the Ensemble to a standing ovation.

Lara and my daughter Heather became friends when we were both artistic presenters at ideaCity in 2003.

I was charmed by the ladies, enthralled with Rosemary's creations and swept away by the music!

My Little Chickadees

 

http://youtu.be/kQalNYmhQlw

Yesterday was a good day to visit Hendrie Valley with some bird seed in hand. Unfortunately I had pretty well run out when a flock of chickadees found me on the boardwalk. I held my outstretched hand in front of my camera for over a minute while the birds took turns checking it out. Amazing! Watch the short video by clicking here.

Birch Trees

While reading Wade Davis' The Clouded Leopard this afternoon, I lay back on the living room sofa to give my eyes a rest. I gazed out the window upon these birch trees that grow in front of our home and suddenly saw them in a different way. They were dazzling in the sunlight, shaggy and wild, like pulsing veins that connect the earth and sky. Sometimes when we see something familiar in a whole new way, it's good to have a camera nearby to capture the momentary inspiration!

Beautiful Day for Exploring

I took my friend Alex Gadamer for a photo hike in the Hendrie Valley yesterday,  an area he hadn't visited before. It's always fun to see a place familiar to you through another person's eyes.

Waste Water Treatment

An tenacious tree grips the shore of Lake Ontario

an aeration tank in action

While walking along the lake today, we stopped to visit our local waste water treatment plant. It's a fascinating place and a vital but little known part of our recycling system. They've just completed a $55 million upgrade to expand capacity and improve treatment.

Sewage from a large part of Oakville flows here to be cleaned by bacteria and ultraviolet radiation before being released again 600 meters offshore. The water is tested regularly for a variety of elements and pathogens.

Gail & I were given a grand tour of the facility by Alvin, a technician pictured below in the testing lab. Thanks, Alvin! Now if they could just figure out how to handle the goose poop that's everywhere underfoot...

Alvin in 3-D in the testing lab

Winter Birds

 Gail & I took an afternoon stroll through Hendrie Park in Burlington yesterday. The weather was clear and cool and hundreds of others had the same idea. Everyone was trying to feed the birds by hand so I took the opportunity to snap a few close ups. (Click on a photo to enlarge.) I'll have to go back and shoot some more when it's a little less crowded.

Grace Kelly

Attended the Grace Kelly exhibition at the TIFF Bell Lightbox this evening. Beyond her luminous natural beauty, I was impressed by how 'graceful' she was with her calm, down-to-earth, demeanor. She appeared to be someone easy to like and trust. Her high-society lifestyle didn't seem to change her and she didn't go off the deep end as so many celebrities do. She had a simple elegant style that was reflected in her clothes, and she stuck to it. Overt sexuality was not part of her persona. She moved easily from playing royalty on the screen to royalty in real life. By dying in a car accident at age 53, our image of her as young and glamorous is preserved forever.

The show runs to January 22nd.

Christmas Baking

Gail loves to bake cookies and other tasty treats around Christmastime. Lucky me! But I'm showing a modicum of self-control and there will be lots left over to share with friends and neighbours. This evening - Christmas Eve - in a twist of the caroling tradition, we are going to visit our neighbours, offer them a box of Christmas baking, and wish them a very Merry Christmas. Best of the Season to one and all!

Cookies galore in 3D - Yummm!

John Tank

I had the pleasure of attending a jazz performance by the John Tank Group last night at the Huether Hotel in uptown Waterloo. John grew up and learned his chops around KW and now lives in New York City.

Last year I was hired to photograph John and his sax for his forthcoming CD "Jazz Live from the Registry".


His mastery of the saxophone is well illustrated by this short video I made of John with Bernie Senensky on a Hammond B3 and Ted Warren on drums.

The Cone Nebula

Isn't our universe a wondrous and beautiful place? So mysterious and yet so real! And the ability of telescopes to peer back in time and capture images so detailed and clear is truly amazing. I saw this image on the APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) web site which I check regularly, to remind myself that there is so much to see in our galactic neighbourhood.

Amanda Martinez at The Distillery

The Distillery District  Christmas Market

Gail & I drove into Toronto yesterday to see Amanda Martinez perform with her band at The Distillery. The central square was festooned with lights and filled with people. The open-air market on the cobblestone street was dominated by a huge Christmas tree with a small outdoor stage beside it where Amanda performed. She sang her soulful latin songs that we love... plus a few Christmas classics done to a samba beat. What a treat!

Amanda Martinez

with her biggest fan

Morning on Bronte

I like to take a walk through the nearby Bronte Creek valley any time. But it's particularly enchanting at this time of year when the winter light comes late and low, illuminating the cool moist air. Often the leaves are delicately frosted - a perfect opportunity to switch my camera to B&W mode and capture nature's elegant decay.