Seeing Things

It is a natural human impulse to impose order on what we see. When we were looking at this image of a mineral slab taken last Sunday, John remarked that it looked like an old map. I agreed, thinking that it looks like one of J.R.R. Tolkien's hand-drawn maps in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Microcosm

I just find it amazing how patterns repeat in nature. The mineral slab below looks like it could be a view of the Earth from orbit. This is another shot taken this weekend at the Mineral Gallery in the Royal Ontario Museum.

Copper Formation

I spent Sunday afternoon at the Royal Ontario museum, splitting the time between the Asian and mineral galleries. At first I thought that the copper formation below was petrified wood of some sort because it curves like bark. It was one of the many wonders on display that made me think about the wondrous and beautiful things that arise through random geological processes. I was overwhelmed and awed by the dazzling minerals that I saw and reminded that there is so very much to explore in this world of ours. I felt like a kid again, which is exactly the effect that a trip to a museum should have.

Canoes at Portage in Haliburton County

Taken last summer while visiting friends' in Haliburton County, Ontario.

Dragon Boat in Winter

I went out looking for something completely different, but found a dragon boat atop a trailer in a snow covered parking lot next to Lake. I have no idea why it hasn't been put into storage, but I'm sure there's an interesting story behind it. (Maybe this will serve as an inspiration for an interesting piece of fiction.)

Victor Shovelling Snow

Victor is in his seventies and operates a crane rental business. I chanced upon him as we were driving around various industrial sites along Lake Ontario looking for interesting things to shoot. He was shovelling the entrance to his equipment storage yard and we got to chatting. As it turns out Vic is from the Gaspésie region of Québec and a fellow Francophone. We spent a few minutes chatting in French in the sub-zero temperature, while I made several pictures.

Vic shared part of his life story and asked me to come back to photograph some of the equipment in his compound. I think I'll take him up on the offer.

Safety First

Ralph Schiavone opens up a neck razor of the type now used by Ontario barbers to reveal a disposable blade. Due to health concerns in the wake of the AIDS crisis, straight razors have been replaced by these, which are so similar in appearance their traditional counterparts that many patrons haven't even noticed the switch.

Gus the Other Barber

A black and white version of this picture was published in the National Post on December 28, along with an article I wrote for blogTO about Toronto's best barber shops.

Gus's shop is a colourful and chaotic place and I took the picture below on a busy Friday afternoon when the place was packed with clients.



You can read the entire article and view all the pictures here.