H4 (March 15, 2008)

Another picture taken at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (UK).

In honour of my current "leisurely reading", Longitude by Dava Sobel, I thought I would share this image I took when I visited Greenwich for the first time, during year 1 of my PhD; Natalie and I went there one afternoon to take in the Prime Meridian of the World. At the time I knew much less about chronometry than I do at the moment (which is saying something, since I still know very little). I'm glad I paused to photograph Harrison's renowned marine chronometer, which is considered to have solved the "Longitude Problem" and which is the only one of his four prototypes that is not currently wound and running. This is partly because it is the only one of the clocks that uses lubrication, and would thus require regular cleaning if it were to keep time (Harrison had ingenious ways of avoiding this in most or all of the other clocks he built).

As Sobel points out, H4 also looks, compared to its three predecessors, like a totally different machine. Harrison's final solution is a unique example of the concession to size and convenience, when his original priorities had been stability and accuracy; a radical shift apparently took place between the creation of the last two models. While H4 was as accurate as the previous three models, the use of lubricant indicates some compromise that might relate to this modification in size.

Canada, from the Air (February, 2002)

Taken with my Minolta XD-11, on the flight back from Victoria (British Columbia) to Montréal (Québec).

"Federal Cat" (April, 2000)

Spotted on Parliament Hill (Ottawa, Ontario), during my first trip there.

Cat Close-Up (July 4, 2003)

Winnie, my little calico lady, lolling on the carpet. Taken at the apartment on Hess Street South in Hamilton, Ontario.

I was using an interim digital camera at this point, thus the lower quality of this image in comparison to those taken later with my Cybershot.

"Sinjin", Black Street (August, 1998)

Taken in the apartment in which I lived on Black Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

This photograph is more about recollection than aesthetics (but this is a photo-journal, after all, so I may indulge myself now and again!).

The cat's name was probably spelled as "St. John", and might have been taken from the character of the same name in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. He was a Siamese (clearly), and one of three cats belonging to the woman who was the primary tenant of the apartment. The other two cats were a fluffy long-haired black-and-white female (Tasha), and a large ginger tabby male (Salvador, if I recall correctly).

401 (August, 2002)

In keeping with the theme I discussed in the previous post, the above is another "beautiful serendipity" shot (for me, at least).

Taken on the drive from Hamilton to Toronto, just west of the city.

Train Window (July, 1997)

Taken on a VIA Rail train, between Halifax and Montreal.

Sometimes after I create a set of images, it takes a long time for particular pictures to "grow on" me. There are usually a number that stand out immediately, some that seem to have turned out but are not spectacular, and always a few about which I feel "neither here nor there". Some images from the last category have become my favourites, over time, simply because they involve an odd camera angle, blur where blur is not expected, or some combination of elements not usually seen as aesthetic. For many of these images, the pleasure I derive comes from knowing the serendipity of time and light required to "capture" something unplanned in such a way that it becomes an image; there is additional enjoyment to be found in discovering that seemingly accidental and ordinary elements can combine to evoke not only a delicate aesthetic, but also a mood or atmosphere unique to the circumstance in which the photograph was taken.

For me, the above image falls into this last category; there is something about the the line of the window at upper left combined with the suspended reflected square in the centre, the way they are strung together into a compositional zig-zag by the wire and the road. At first I viewed those as intrusive elements--a landscape shot from a train window was not meant to "reflect" my being on the train, for example--but over time I began to see them as changing the nature of the image such that it might actually "say" something more about place, movement, relativity and viewpoint.

Montréal, Pride (August, 2001)

Self-explanatory. Usually parades bore me, because of the lack of visual stimulus (usually I don't get close enough to take pictures) and the crowds. This time I was there with a group, and managed to get some interesting images. Shot with Minolta XD-11, 35mm lens.

Clock: Flamsteed House (March 15, 2008)

Taken in the Octagon Room of Christopher Wren's Flamsteed House, at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (UK). This room is where the original observatory was housed and where Flamsteed worked and stored his instruments for almost forty years. The observatory is now a part of the National Maritime Museum, and houses an extraordinary collection of historic chronological and astronomical instruments (including John Harrison's chronometer).

This image is of one of the clocks embedded in the walls on either side of the room's entrance. It is a kind of double-image, with the room's tall windows reflected in the glass cover of the clock's display case.

Lake Como Lamp (May 21, 2007)

Shot at Lago di Como, Italy, with my digital camera. I took this picture as Juliet and I were walking along the waterfront in Menaggio.