Snake Island

Gail & I spent a week at a cottage on Snake Island in Lake Simcoe, Ontario. It's a beautiful and serene spot - no cars, no phone, no internet! Only the thunderstorm in the opening shot of this video disturbed the tranquility.

Swimming, reading and exploring nature with my camera were my principle activities. My macro lens came in handy as the surrounding marsh was teeming with life on a miniature scale.

Muchas gracias to Les & Judy for making this delightful week possible!

Shutterbugs

I held my first Shutterbug Creative Camera Class today with three students, plus a friend of a student, a mom of two students, and Gail, who as my assistant, took the 3D photo above.

They had a fun day learning how to use a camera competently and creatively. The weather was perfect and the kids were great students.
Here are examples of their fabulous photos below.
Click to enlarge.

by Alex

by Maria

by Chris

Bruce Peninsula

The waters of Georgian Bay are cold but clean and clear

I spent the last few days exploring the Bruce Peninsula, one of the most scenic parts of Ontario. This blog post will share some of the visual highlights of the journey.

Inside the Grotto

The Grotto is a sea cave with an underwater opening to the lake that lets the blue light come flooding in.

It's tricky to climb down to, but great to jump into for a swim!

The iconic 'flowerpot' of Flowerpot Island

We took a tour boat to Flowerpot Island. Everyone on board seemed to be a new Canadian or a tourist from some other part of the world. Thank goodness for them! They keep our tourism businesses flourishing.

A lively group of Persian-speaking tourists on Flowerpot Island

Seeing underwater shipwrecks were part of the boat tour

A non-poisonous water snake swims among the rocks

At the end of the day I enjoyed a beer with the pirates of Tobermory

Decew Falls

I had a swim under Decew Falls yesterday. It's one of the few waterfalls along the Niagara Escarpment that flows full all summer long. The climb down to the bottom is steep but worth the effort: a roaring water-world awaits. Thanks Alex Gadamer for telling me about it!

Norm Jary

I had the opportunity to sit and talk with former Guelph Mayor Norm Jary yesterday. The occasion was the 35th Annual Norm Jary Golf Tournament, which has raised over $700,000 for Community Living Guelph Wellington since its inception.

Norm receives a Certificate of Appreciation from MPP Liz Sandals, with event chair Jim Scannell

Norm was a Guelph City Councillor for 37 years and Mayor for 15 years. He was a local radio broadcaster and sportscaster. He still has a commanding voice and is a great storyteller. The punch line of his speech last night was that Gordie Howe once promoted LSD. "Everyone should try a little LSD: Love, Sacrifice & Devotion".

Canada Day 2012

I attended Canada Day celebrations at Guelph's McCrae House and Riverside Park yesterday. Here are some of my favourite shots, plus one of me with Doug Larson and the Guelph Guitar, taken by Gail.

Red Admiral

Canada experienced a butterfly invasion a couple of months ago and many of the migrants were red admirals, a small fast-flying butterfly. They soon got busy laying their eggs on stinging nettles, their host plant.

I found a patch of nettles along Bronte Creek recently and collected a few caterpillars that soon turned themselves into chrysalises, edged in gold.

Yesterday a couple of red admiral butterflies emerged from their sleep, allowing me to capture these photos before they flew off to find a mate and begin the cycle once again.