Rocks

Okay, so I've been bad. Over two months since my last blog entry. Hopefully, a few of these images are interesting enough to make up for it.

Rocks. I find rocks interesting. Patterns, textures, colours, all elements that appeal to me. The following images were taken on our recent trip to Nova Scotia.






Rock formations - Baxter Harbour

Rock formation - Western Head

Hope you enjoyed the images.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site, where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

Other images from our trip to Nova Scotia can be seen in my Vacation --> Nova Scotia 2010 gallery.Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Montreal Metro

The Montreal Metro (or what some call a subway) was inaugurated in October 1966. It initially comprised of 26 stations on three separate lines. Today, there are 68 stations on 4 lines.

Berri-UQAM station - Yellow line
I have often thought it would be a great photo opportunity to get on the Metro and travel from station to station taking pictures. But to date, that is all it is, a thought.

Place des Arts station - Green line
What I have done instead is take a few photos when I remember to as I return home from various photo shoots.

Papineau station - Green line
I do still plan to one day get on the Metro and stop at each station to take pictures. But until that happens, I just try to remember to take a few whenever I use it to return home from a photo shoot.

Pie IX station - Green line
Hope you enjoyed the photos.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site, where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

Other images taken in teh Montreal Metro can be seen in my Montreal Metro galleries.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Scenes From Ireland - Part II

Lakes, Rivers and Coastal Waters. Some additional photos from our Ireland trip last year

Hope you enjoyed the video and its photos.

Other images taken on our visit to Ireland can be seen in my Ireland galleries.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Scenes From Ireland - Part I

A few images from our trip to Ireland last year

Hope you enjoyed the video and its photos.

Other images taken on our visit to Ireland can be seen in my Ireland galleries.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Recent Trip to Vermont

Had a 2 day getaway down to Vermont recently. Beautiful weather. The sky and the lake were a beautiful shade of blue.

Burlington Bay - Burlington Vermont
Stopped in Shelburne and visited the Shelburne Country Store. What an amazing place to browse through.

Shelburne Country Store - Shelburne Vermont

Hope you enjoyed the photos.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site, where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

Other images taken during our visit to Vermont can be seen in my Visit to Burlington and Shelburne - March 2010 gallery.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

A visit to Ireland - Day 1

Royal Irish Tours

Back in at the end of May, Marilyn and I took one of our "Trip of a Lifetime" trips to visit Ireland. (I say 'one of' because we hope to be able to take several more.)

We choose Royal Irish Tours because of recommendations of friends and because they appeared to have the most extensive and inclusive trip. They offer several different packages. The tour we chose was the Shamrock Royal.

The first day of the tour was spent recuperating from the overnight flight out of Toronto to Dublin. But we still managed some site-seeing.

Cliffs over looking the Irish Sea - Malahide Co Dublin

Beacon House out on Baily road overlooking Dublin Harbour


Our Hotel - Grand Hotel - Malahide, Co. Dublin


This was an amazing experience for us, one we will never forget. (And to ensure that I took a fair amount of photos to help remind us. (smile))

I'll post additional photos in the future from the other 14 days we spend on the Emerald Isle.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site, where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

Other images taken on our first day in Ireland can be seen in my Day 1 - 30 May 2009 - Arrived in Dublin gallery.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Carillon, Quebec

Panorama created from 8 - 12meg landscape oriented images of the
Hydro Quebec Dam on the Ottawa river between Carillon and Hudson, Quebec

When we headed up to Ottawa for the Tulip festival, we took a different route than we would normally travel. We traveled along the north shore of the Ottawa river in Quebec. As a result we stopped in Carillon, Quebec, where I took the photos used to create the above panorama.

Looking south across the Ottawa river, you see Pointe Fortune, Quebec.
Point Fortune, Quebec.

There is a canal and lock (Carillon canal & Carillon Lock) that permits ship traffic to by-pass the dam. You can see them in of the right side of the panorama above. The following shows the approach to the canal.
Approach to the Lock of the Carillon Canal - Carillon, Quebec

On our return from Ottawa, we took route 17 which allow us to stop of the south-side of the Ottawa river to take one last photo of the hydro dam.
Hydro Quebec Dam on the Ottawa river between Carillon and Hudson, Quebec

Hope you enjoyed the photos.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site, where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

Other images taken during our visit to Ottawa can be seen in my Ottawa Tulip Festival - 11 May 2009 gallery.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, In my Guestbook or in any of the photo galleries.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Some more of my favourite things

Ottawa Tulip Festival - May 2009
Many coloured Tulips

Back in May, my wife, Marilyn, and I once again headed up to the Nation's capital, to enjoy the annual Tulip Festival. I am always amazed by the millions of tulips on display. A multitude of tulips is another of my favourite things.

For your enjoyment, here are a few images taken during that visit.


Barbados Tulips


Pink Tulips


A rainbow of Tulips


One dares to be different


Thanks for coming along to see the tulips. Hope you enjoyed it.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site, where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

Other images taken during our visit to Ottawa can be seen in my Ottawa Tulip Festival - 11 May 2009 gallery.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, In my Guestbook or in any of the photo galleries.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

It's been a long Winter

I'm not a Winter person. While others love the cold and snow, I do not. So of course I choose to live in an area where it has been said to have "10 months of Winter and two months of lousy skiing".

What I miss most in Winter is colour. Looking over my photos, I notice there is a lack of Winter scenes. I found some images of when we visited Niagara Falls in February 2005.


Then there was that trip we took to Toronto in February 2008. We stopped off in Whitby and I spent a wonderful afternoon taking pictures with a great chap named Joe Noordman at the Lynn Shore Conservation Area.


We took another trip in February 2007 down to Northern New York and Vermont. While touring the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, I took this shot out a window.


Back in December 2006, we visited Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario during their "Alight at Night" festival. This was definitely something to see. But you MUST dress warm. It was -14 C with a steady wind the night we were there.


As I look back through my photo galleries looking for Winter scenes, one thing became very obvious. I took more flower shots in 2008 than all the Winter scenes I've shot over the past 4 years. As I said at the start, I am not a Winter Person.

Please remember that clicking on any image on this page will open a larger version. Use your browser's "back" button to return to the Blog.

Anyone wishing to see other photos taken on any of the above mentioned trips can do so by clicking on these links:
Toronto & Niagara Falls 2005
Whitby Ontario - 2008
Short trip to Northern NY and Vermont - February 2007
Upper Canada Village - December 2006

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog or in any of the photo galleries.

Thanks for looking. And stop by again.

Lighthouses I came across in Maine

Goat Island Light off Cape Porpoise near Kennebunkport, Maine



Cape Elizabeth Light
I left off last year in this blog with our trip to Old Orchard Beach. During that trip I managed to visit a few light houses in the area. The Goat Island Light off Cape Porpoise, was just a bit too far way for my longest reach - 200 mm. But at least I did record seeing it.


      Cape Elizabeth Light
There are actually two lighthouses on Cape Elizabeth. But one of them is now a private dwelling and not accessible to the public.
There is a restaurant and an adorable souvenir shop near the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse. If you ever have the chance, you must stop and check out the many interesting and unique gifts and souvenirs that can be found in that little shop.


Portland Head Light with Ram Island Ledge Light
in distance, Cape Elizabeth, Maine


Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth
One of the prettiest lighthouses we came across was the Portland Head Lighthouse, also located in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The sun had been playing tag most of the day, so the challenge was trying to grab a shot with the light shining on the lighthouse, but not so that it caused the whites to blow.

If you looked out into Casco Bay, you could see the Ram Island Ledge light. It was also a bit too far away for my 200 mm reach.

Ram Island Ledge Light in Casco Bay, Portland
The last lighthouses we saw were in Portland harbour -- the Portland Breakwater (or "Bug") light and the Spring Point Light.

Portland Breakwater "Bug" Light, Portland, Maine

Spring Point Light, Portland, Maine


Thanks for coming along on our Old Orchard trip. Hope you enjoyed it.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open a larger version. Use your browser's "back" button to return to the Blog.

Other photos taken on the trip can be seen in my Trip to Old Orchard Beach, Maine - October 2008 gallery.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog or in any of the photo galleries.

Thanks for looking. And stop by again.

The Beautiful Maine Coast

Biddeford Pool, Maine

Cape Porpoise near Kennebunkport
For me, one of the most beautiful places along the US east coast is the Maine Coast. During our stay in Old Orchard Beach, we took a few trips up and down coast.


      Bush Compound at Walkers Point
We enjoyed near perfect weather, with the Autumn colours starting to really bloom.
Managed to grab a few shots of one of my favourite subjects -- Lighthouses.

But again, that'll will be a topic for another post.

Here are a few more images along the Maine coast:







Clicking on any image on this page will open a larger version. Use your browser's "back" button to return to the Blog.

Other photos taken on the trip can be seen in my Trip to Old Orchard Beach, Maine - October 2008 gallery.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog or in any of the photo galleries.

Thanks for looking. And stop by again.

Old Orchard Beach, Maine

      Old Orchard Beach
Old Orchard Beach is a booming town during the summer. You can hardly walk along the beach with the crowds. But once summer is over, the crowds disappear.

While it is almost impossible to find a motel room in New England during the Peak Fall Colours season, the same is not true in Old Orchard.



Along the Beach
Marilyn & I have twice visited Old Orchard over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend (also known as Columbus Day weekend in the States.) This time we headed down a week earlier to take advantage of lower off-season rates.


The town was pretty closed up, with most places only opening on weekends in the Fall. And most of those would close for the winter once the Columbus Day weekend was over.

The nearly deserted beach was very peaceful. Two of the three mornings we were there, I made the effort to get up to see the sunrise. It was beautiful both days!

This was the first morning.


And this was the second morning.


While in Old Orchard, we day-tripped to Portland and along the Maine coast. But they'll be topics for other blog posts.

Other photos taken on the trip can be seen in my Trip to Old Orchard Beach, Maine - October 2008 gallery.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog or in any of the photo galleries.

Thanks for looking. And stop by again.

Visiting New England in the Fall

                             Littleton, New Hampshire


              Mt. Washington Hotel, Rte 302,
              Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Back around Canadian Thanksgiving (Columbus Day in the US), Marilyn & I decided to take a trip down to Old Orchard Beach in Maine.
The weather was nice when we left Greenfield Park. We stopped in Littleton, New Hampshire for lunch and discovered the beautiful scene depicted in the top image.


 Crawford Notch, New Hampshire
But the moment we approached the White Mountains, the sky became dull grey. (I've often told Marilyn that the clouds on top of Mount Washington were to hide the activities of the Aliens that relocated there from Area 51.)

Here are a few photos taken in New Hampshire and Vermont as we traveled to and from Old Orchard Beach:








Other photos taken on the trip can be seen in my Trip to Old Orchard Beach, Maine - October 2008 gallery.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog or in any of the photo galleries.

Thanks for looking.