The Gruff

In August of 2007 Tracey and I had just completed a canoe trip along the north shore of Lake Superior. We finished the trip at Rock Island Lodge (http://www.rockislandlodge.ca/) near Wawa, Ontario. That evening a young band on a cross Canada tour stopped in and traded a performance for dinner and a place to stay. It was our lucky night, they were fantastic.

They are called "The Gruff". Check them out.

http://www.thegruff.com/home.htm

Some of my photos from that night are featured on their website.
http://www.thegruff.com/photos_summertours2007.htm
I'll post more of them here over the next couple of days.

Guess where we are going

After much discussion, Tracey and I have booked our annual winter scuba adventure. See if you can guess where we are going.

photo credit: NASA/JSC

Give up?

Follow the link

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=7525

More Hockey Action

Orillia, January 25, 2009

Matthew "Gretzky"

Matthew "Gretzky" I heard his coach call him.

Our friend's son, Orillia, Jan. 25, 2009

Huntington's Indy 2007

The Wickett's

Huntington's Indy, September, 2007
http://www.huntingtonsociety.ca/english/index.asp

Lake Superior Sunset

Lake Superior Provincial Park, August, 2005

Our Front Yard

Iris garden with Lake Erie background, Our front yard, May 2006

Moo

More "wildlife", Montserrat, March 2006

Spiderwort

Spiderwort Flowers, Ojibway Prairie, June 2005

Playing Games

Chelsea Talbot

Scott & Colin
Huntington's Indy Go-Kart Challenge, XS Family Fun Centre, Windsor, ON, September 2008

Ghost Crab

St. Eustatius, February, 2007

Canoe Trip Clothes Dryer

Chapleau River, August 2006

Ice Fishing

Pickerel, Whitefish and Perch

Honest. It's more fun than it looks

Ice Fishing, Lake Nipissing, Callander Bay, February 2006

Phasmatodea - Walking Stick Insect

Gotta love the scientific name of this group of insects - Phasmatodea

Walking Stick, In Our Room, St. Eustatius, February 2007

Pretty Girls

Jim & Cherie's Cottage, Labour Day Weekend, 2007

Long-horned Beetle

Long-horned Beetle, St. Eustatius, February, 2007

Bananaquit

Bananaquit, St. Eustatius, February, 2007

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Slate Islands, Lake Superior, near Terrace Bay, Ontario, August 2005

Queen Angel Fish and Barrel Sponge

Queen Angel Fish and Barrel Sponge, Long Caye, Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize, March 2005

Elsas, Ontario

The "town" of Elsas, Ontario. Population 2. August 2006

The Window in Our Front Door - Part 3

The Window In Our Front Door - Part 2

The Window in Our Front Door

My starting point

Back in mid-November I attended a photography seminar that featured a Canadian photography legend as one of the feature speakers. His name is Freeman Patterson. When I first became interested in photography, his book "Photography and the Art of Seeing" made a big impact. It made me look at my surroundings and the way light interacted with these surroundings in a different way. I like to think that it improved my photography. Freeman suggested that a great exercise to improve your pictures was to set your tripod down in some random location and shoot a roll of film, making the most interesting photos you could create. As painfully boring as the location could be, the exercise forced creativity. The digital days have reduced the pressure to create great pictures within 24 exposures. However the basic exercise is still useful. Take some ordinary, everyday object and try to create something interesting. Over the next couple of days you will see what I came up with using the window in our front door. Let me know what you think.

New Year's Eve Fun & Games - More Dancing Queens...uh, I mean Kings...yeah, you know like...manly men...sort of

photo by Shawn

photo by Shawn

Mike & Shawn's House, Paquette Corners, New Year's Eve 2008/2009