First Frost

I took my first 'frosty morning photo safari' of the new season this morning.  The moisture that hung in the still air of the valley had settled overnight into a cloak of crystal that covered every curling leaf and twig, sparkling in the morning light.

Within an hour the show was over, as the sun's melting rays reach the valley floor.

Mother & Child

While scanning old family photos recently, I came across this one of Ellen and Heather that I took while we were on a road trip through Europe in 1978. It's one of my favourites!

Red Oaks

Red Oak, Hendrie Valley

Here are another couple of favourite photos from yesterday's trip to Hendrie Valley. No colour boost applied!

Oak Trees in Hendrie Valley

Hendrie Valley

A beautiful morning beckoned today so Gail and I chose Hendrie Valley near Hamilton to explore. It was a visual feast of colour and design with the added bonus of birds. Flocks of Cedar Waxwings were feeding on berries. Chickadees and Nuthatches were eager as ever for handouts. Another glorious fall day!

Kippendavie Avenue

This is a turn of the previous century shot of Kippendavie Avenue, the street in Toronto where I lived and raised a family from 1979 to 1999. The distant field became a park and our house, which hadn't been built yet, backed onto it. Many of these houses still stand today in the shade of huge trees that now line the road. Lake Ontario lies at the bottom of the street.

Kestral

It was windy and wet outside when Gail spotted a hawk on a telephone pole at the bottom of the yard today. It was a sharp-shinned hawk holding his perch until the rain got too much for him and off he flew.

I didn't get a good shot of him so I'm going to post one of an American Kestral that I took last Saturday.  This small beautiful hawk is part of the Wild Ontario outreach program at the University of Guelph.

A Snappy Day in Guelph

I covered seven events yesterday as a photographer for SNAP Guelph, the newspaper that I founded. Though it was pretty rainy, many people were out to support their favourite cause. I also met up with an old friend Mark Zelinski who was doing a book signing at the local Chapters store. Here are a few of the photos I made during the day. Click on the links to see the great work that all these individuals and groups are doing. And consider supporting their causes with your time or money!

MP Frank Valeriote and Dr. Anne Marie Zadjlik (with red bandana) at the start of the Bracelet of Hope run to combat AIDS in Lesotho

      Memebers of Gayatri Pariwar planting trees along the Speed River

Guelph Firefighters supporting the 'Blanket a Child with Love' campaign

Mark Zelinski gives some of his books to Anna Rust as a donation to the Children's Foundation of Guelph Wellington

One of the bowling teams at the Hopewell Homes Bowl-a-thon

H2Awesome

I spent the day with Grade 8 students yesterday at a water awareness event called H2Awesome. The students learned about the importance of clean, fresh water through a series of workshops; I learned how awesome these young adults can be when they are enthused about an issue.

For the Focus on Nature workshop, I prepared a new set of slides (just like old times!) and gave a talk on how to use design concepts when photographing nature. It seemed to go over well. Then we headed over to Guelph Lake for an hour of exploring with our cameras.

Skype Family

Gail & I invited Ellen and my two boys Daniel and Trevor over for Thanksgiving yesterday.  It was a wonderful afternoon with appetizers in the garden, turkey and all the trimmings for dinner, dessert and coffee with a slideshow of the boys when they were little, out on the patio.

Skyping Heather with Trevor, Ellen & Daniel. Photo by Gail.

Jason & Heather were only a click away in Amsterdam

One of the highlights of the day was connecting with my daughter Heather and her boyfriend Jason in Amsterdam through Skype. That little application, that provides a free video link between laptops anywhere in the world, has done more to bring wide-spread families together than anything I can think of. Those few minutes were the icing on the cake of a great day together.

The Turning

from the dining room window at 6 pm tonight

Volunteer Training

Worked with a new group of volunteers for the Focus on Nature program last night. A great bunch of gals, but where are the guys?! We need more Guelph volunteers with some time to give to awaken children's interest in nature photography. If that sounds like you, please contact me.

3D cross-view of group warm up exercise. Don't drop the wand or all the frogs will disappear!

Buffalo

Gail and I visited our friends Paul and Marianne in Buffalo this past weekend. Paul is head of the photography department of the New York Power Authority and a fellow 3D buff. His wife Marianne, a francophone, is a designer, chef extraordinaire, and a volunteer with Alliance Francaise in Buffalo.

Our hosts gave us a tour of Buffalo's neighbourhoods to see some beautiful buildings and gardens that make Buffalo such an interesting city. The highlight for me was Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House, built in 1905.