August 2021 - The Image Journey

Published August 18, 2021 by avardw

On my morning walk today…

… I saw beauty and decay. The two kilometer walk was meditative and enjoyable and gave me a chance to see nature’s interaction with the human-made world. Skid mars like these are becoming more prominent on Nova Scotia roads. I’ve heard them called “redneck art” and fool’s signatures”–they seem both wasteful and unattractive. At the curve ahead is the 45th parallel–exactly half way between the equator and the north pole. I confirmed it with an app on my phone. There used to be a sign but it was taken down.

Grass growing up in the cracks, discarded cigarette butts, new paint barely covering the old. There has been a road paint shortage this year in Nova Scotia because of supply chain issues with the paint plants in Texas and Louisiana. It’s interesting how the business world relies on a myriad of connections, just like the natural world.

The cigarette butts in the previous photo are just the tip of the garbage iceberg. The shoulders and ditches along this scenic road are littered with trash–bottles, cans, coffee cups, fast food bags, CDs, toys, and much more. It seems that many have lost touch with the natural world and no longer respect it. Most of the cans and bottles once contained alcohol, meaning that plenty of folks are drinking and driving. It wouldn’t surprise me that the guy who made the skid marks threw this out shortly afterwards.

Animals get hit crossing the road, and it’s not unusual to see porcupines, raccoons, skunks, deer, birds, and turtles as victims of road-kill. There is no easy solution, but if people drove slower, it might happen less. And if they weren’t drinking and driving they might be better able to see the poor animals crossing the road.

Clear-cutting of forests in Nova Scotia has been an issue for many years. It’s doubtful that the recently elected Conservative government will improve the situation. The removal of the trees destroys the habitat for the very animals that end up as road-kill.

In the words of Bob Dylan: “Everything is broken.”

Nature, if given the chance, takes over everything and reclaims it. There is a certain beauty and comfort in that.

Photography

beauty and decay human altered landscape morning walk photography

Published August 16, 2021 by avardw

From a folder on my computer titled: Toronto Unseen

These are photos from a folder on my computer titled: Toronto Unseen. They are images of Toronto taken in the 1980s and 1990s that have previously not been posted or published–unseen by the public. I will post them periodically on my blog and talk a little about them.

The photo above was taken in 1982, and I’m unsure of the location. I sometimes look at the contact sheet for clues, and it seems that went to the Danforth Music Hall to see a movie, so it may have been taken on the Danforth. I like this one–people waiting for the bus, or a taxi, life in the big city. I was in my second year of photography studies at Ryerson and taking street photos almost every day, on the lookout for scenes like this one. It was on one of the first rolls taken with my Rollei 35–an amazing little camera with a fixed 40mm Zeiss Sonar lens. Totally manual–you even have to guess the focus. It took a bit of getting used to!

This photo was on the first roll of film after I arrived in Toronto in September 1980. It was across the street from my apartment, literally the first thing I saw when I stepped outside to do my first day of shooting and exploring the city. My camera was still loaded with Kodak Panatomic-X that I was shooting in Nova Scotia. I quickly found out that this 32 ASA fine grain film was unsuitable for street photography and switched to Tri-X after that. These two store fronts were a revelation of sorts. I could never have taken this photo anywhere in Nova Scotia. These type of storefronts just didn’t exist, or at least they weren’t easily seen. Toronto was so foreign, and multicultural that it seemed like a different country. It was exciting and amazing, and I had a camera. It was the start of my love affair with Toronto.

Fast forward fourteen years. I’m back in Toronto after the previous six years teaching English in Japan. Toronto seems smaller and more spacious compared to Japanese cities. I’m still shooting with the Rollei 35, doing less street photography, but trying to refine my approach. I wanted my pictures to be more clever, or at least say something more. With this one I tried to juxtapose the sign “for the human race” with the boy, (racing!) across the bridge with his dog.

These days I’m back living in rural Nova Scotia, where I started out. I have few opportunities to do any kind of street photography, but I’m still refining my vision and trying to take time to observe the world around me.

Black and White Photography Toronto

black and white film photography photography street photography Toronto Toronto Unseen

Published August 11, 2021 by avardw

Straight photos of unusual scenes

For me, nothing beats a straight photo of an unusual scene. I’ve never had much interest in image manipulation after the photo has been taken. I’d rather see the scene and try to record it in an interesting way–a sort of truth is stranger than fiction approach.

There are plenty of famous photographers out there who have a knack for recording oddball scenes. Lee Friedlander, Martin Parr, and Elliott Erwitt are three that come to mind. Their images can make you laugh out loud, or shake your head in wonder. You ponder how they were able be in that place and capture that fleeting moment. Part of the answer, I think, is natural ability, but the bigger part is just practice. They were out shooting everyday, honing their skills, and sharpening their eye.

My photos of unusual scenes are mostly things I come across in everyday life. Seeing them sometimes makes me chuckle, or makes me think that the world is , indeed, a strange and wonderful place.