Saturday, September 26, 2009

The View From Here

The View From Here

We went for a late season paddle on the lake this morning, departing from Cherry Beach and wandering around the western shore of the Leslie Spit. The sunrise was spectacular, the water was relatively calm, the company was great and the cameras stayed nice and dry. What more could you ask for other than maybe three more months of summer and a few million dollars.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Broken Red Umbrella

Broken Red Umbrella

It was raining this evening and we debated whether it was worth taking Dudley to the Waterworks but it seemed to clear up so we made the trek. The Waterworks for anyone not familiar with Toronto is heaven on earth for dogs and close to the same for photographers. It's perched on the steep shore of Lake Ontario and was built at a time when public architecture was more than just functional. Check out this art deco treasure if you get the chance and be sure to bring along a mutt or two.

Leuty Will Set You Free

Anarchy

I, like a lot of photographers, have a thing for Leuty. Leuty is a lifeguard station in the Beach at the bottom of Leuty Avenue (go figure) and it is one of the most photographed landmarks in the area. Is it a cliche to photograph Leuty or does it challenge you to find that one overlooked perspective or interpretation? I choose the latter and say, give into the lure of Leuty and fill that 10 GB card with as many images as you can cram onto it. You just might find something that someone else missed.

Modern Consumerism

Modern Consumerism

Dudley and I recently came across this abandoned shopping cart on one of our Waterwork walks. While it was sad to see a cart littering this section of the beach, I thought it made for a striking scene and took a shot of it from the retaining wall above the beach. Since the image was taken from above, I thought it might be a good candidate to try tilt-shift processing, which places the focal point where you specify and can give a overall miniaturized feel to the image.

We haven't seen the shopping cart on our more recent trips and I hope it's been returned to whatever grocery store it came from but the cynical side of me thinks it's probably at the bottom of the lake by now.