Window Dusk (August, 2005)

Casa del Popolo, my favourite coffee-shop/performance space in Montréal; looking out onto St. Laurent Boulevard.

I love the Casa. Since seeing this window decoration I've always wanted to recreate the chili-pepper-lights-and-vines effect in my own apartment; at this stage I even have a good idea about how it could be done. I just have to get up the courage to start drilling holes in my apartment ceiling, and attaching hooks for plants.

Danger (Winter, 2002-2003)

Taken during the initial round of my little "Development!" project, this picture (it's a scanned print) is of a power pole by a new subdivision, somewhere near Burlington or Oakville, Ontario. My fondness for power lines conveniently intersects here with another foible, a perpetual amusement at "everyday" signage.

Pre-Garden (August, 2004)

Backyard, Queen Street South apartment, Hamilton. This was the way it looked when we first moved in, though over time it was transformed into what actually looked rather like a proper garden. I will post plenty of "after" pictures later on, but at the beginning I used to think of it as a "mud pit" (which, after winter, was an apt description).

Cloister, Magdalen College (July 10, 2009)

I visited this beautiful college at Oxford University recently while attending a conference (also at Oxford) in the UK. Naturally, one of my primary motivations for visiting was that Oscar Wilde was affiliated with this particular college, so I couldn't resist.

It was a lovely place, very quiet... until the bells started ringing!

Christchurch Bridge (January, 2001)

Christchurch, New Zealand. I walked across this stone memorial bridge on the way to the Botanical Gardens.

Salvador (1998-99)

Salvador was one of the three cats who lived in the apartment on Black Street in Halifax, and belonged to the woman who was the primary (long-term) tenant. He was a large, ginger tabby (I'm not sure I've ever seen a ginger tabby who wasn't "large"). Here he is pictured engaging in one of his favourite activities: enjoying the view from the top of my old PC, and conveniently soaking up with warmth from the monitor as well.

Birthday Candles (late June, 2005)

Queen Street South apartment, Hamilton, Ontario.

Deirdre's birthday is June 28th, but I think the party was a few days beforehand since it was also Pride weekend. I always liked this photo, taken on the back porch. There's something about the light sources, and the blurriness--and how in spite of the blur you can still see what is going on, and the expressions. It reminds me of the way figures emerge in some paintings by Rembrandt, with a remarkable detail that is shown in spite of what look like (upon closer examination) very large blobs of paint, rather than dainty, delicate articulations. This photo is warm, and vibrant, and I think it captures the moment (a birthday party held in a back-yard on a summer evening) rather nicely.

Miramichi (July, 1997)

Taken from the Via Ocean train to Montréal.

Piazza del Duomo (May 24, 2007)

I took this picture from the roof of the Duomo in Milan, Italy. I think it was over 30 degrees (celcius) that day, and I was up on the roof of this white stone structure, trying not to get blinded and thus lose the opportunity of creating images like the one above.

This whole image is amusing to me because of its bizarre juxtapositions. Firstly, I am somehow high up above the scene, which is evident but not explicable by anything present in the image. Secondly--more obvious--there is an over-sized skeleton lying on the ground, which dwarfs the small crowd next to it. And the skeleton, in turn, has a very pointy nose. It makes me think of what one of those commedia dell'arte masks might look like if you removed the mask and found a real face, to match the contours of the facade, underneath.

Sky (August, 2000)

I shot this from the terrace in front of l'Oratoire Saint-Joseph, in Montréal, Québec. Not sure why it turned out so dramatically, though I would have had a polarising filter on my Minolta by this time.