Quebec City

Well what do you do when you have to go to one of Canada's most unique and historic cities for an accounting conference?  You go there with a new camera and a half day to spare.

First off, a walk through the old city.

Then to the Citadel

 

 Around town.

Now off to dinner with Sandy, Keith and Lance.

 And Colin and Marlies.

Finally a couple shots at night.

Aylmer Walkabout

I went walking around "downtown" Aylmer and came away with these images.  It's funny how in mental preparation for this shoot, I had ideas about what to target.  None of these subjects were a target.

Below, I liked the colours in the brick and the blue tones in the window.  Neither of those were what caught my eye.  I was shooting the reflection of the window arches in the window panes.

In the back loading area of some shop, the strong morning sun lit up the iron and wood nicely.

Again, I was shooting the reflection but in post, I liked the detail and grit that contrasts the smooth wavy reflections.

This chinese restaurant has now been closed for years.  Looking inside you can see booths and counters that take you back in time.

Old and new

The courthouse in St Thomas was recently renewed.  Fortunately, it looks like the grand old features were painstakingly restored.  Peaking in the  windows one can see lots of old woodwork.  The finish on the exterior wooden doors is still fresh enough to be able to smell it.

Around the front (in the north) are a pair of old canons.

Here's something from the new building.  Any guesses?  A hint, I was only shooting from outside.

More Swans. Probably the last posting of swans this year. But no promises.

Last Saturday was a super cloudy cold morning.  However, as the afternoon progressed so did the sunshine.  The sign said there was 1500 Tundra Swans at the Aylmer Wildlife Area.  When I arrived there could have been several hundred.  When I left, there might have been 150.  But the light.  The light.  It made the swans.

Sure Sign of Spring

Every year the Tundra Swans fly home to the Arctic from their winter homes along the northeast US coast.  Many thousand of them stop to visit us in Aylmer.  This year they had to wait for the Great Lakes to thaw enough to provide some open water.

Aylmer - Back Alleys

Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory

Thamesford Mill

Rust & Oliver

The temperature this morning was only -10 but felt like -20.  After suffering in the wind for too long I slipped in behind the barn for some shelter.  When I saw the pile of rust I thought of my niece Meaghan.  Then back in the barn I saw the tractor, an Oliver.  Meaghan runs a business named Oliver and Rust.  Google it.  You'll be amazed at what she can do with treasures from barns and basements.

 

PORT BRUCE AGAIN

What can I say?  It's a quick drive from home and the view is stunning - well at least to me it is.  No I don't live minutes from the Arctic.  This is Lake Erie.  The lake froze over this winter.  It hadn't done that since 1998 (I think).  I was surprised this day when a couple decided to walk out on the ice.  The wind was bitingly cold.  The air temperature was probably no higher than -15 Celsius.  Wind chill = well nobody lasted more than 15 minutes before they went back to their vehicle to warm up.  The couple lasted... yep you guessed it, only 15 minutes and they made a beeline for their car.

I was enamoured of the day.  The bright blue sky.  The white snow.   The black and brown you see was created when we had a brief thaw.

I met a woman with about 3,000 kids.  Well it seemed like that to me.  You try waiting in the cold wind for all kids to get out your scene... Well it really was fun to watch one boy try to pick up huge chunks of ice that looked clearer than an ice cube from your home's freezer.  That ice was something special...and yes I do realize it came from Lake Erie.  That's what mad it so surprising.

I gave up and went to the car to warm up.  So after up the kids were gone, I went out shooting again.  I didn't see the woman (looking out over the water, in the image below) get out past me but I liked the effect.

The first image's vantage point I found unique because in the summer I would have been underwater by a few body lengths.  That day I walked out farther than I have ever been onto Lake Erie at Port Bruce.

I went back this week.  I took a two hour lunch and had the entire area all to myself.  However, a lot of the snow was dirtier and there were far more footprints everywhere.  Now, over the last couple of days, temperatures have risen.  We've seen zero degrees now twice.  While the ice is probably safe still, its pure colour would be gone.

Maybe spring will arrive before next winter.