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Recently, after sharing a video lamenting the loss of many farms and the associated barns that dot the rural landscape, Alan suggested an outing to a couple of local abandoned barns to capture them before they too are gone. As long as I have known him, Alan has been drawn to abandoned farm locations and has many images depicting such scenes.
One our earliest outings together took place over 6 years ago at the then abandoned McWilliams farm near my home. Over the next couple of years, we enjoyed a few visits there and watched as the barn deteriorated further until ... after vandals torched the house, equipment moved in and demolished all structures. The site is now a vacant lot in a new industrial subdivision, the image of the barn lives on in memory and some of our photographs..
With pangs of regret for not having visited McWilliams more, our planned visit to other structures still standing, perhaps not for long, had stirred something in me. We, three, managed to visit only one of the intended locations on this outing, a place known to some as "Studio 32". We spent time leisurely sketching, walking, photographing and capturing the scene, each in our own way. Initially, I moved off to a spot to get a different view and after completing a couple of sketches, stopped to analyze precisely what it what was that had drawn me to that spot. A small area of the scene I had just sketched included the remnants of an old fence, it's line leading away and eventually to the side of the barn.
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| fence to the barn |
I see myself getting back to making time for sketching when I go on my photography outings.
DJE
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." - John Muir
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| awakening V |
I know I do ...
DJE
"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. " - John Muir
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| nature's heart |
I find the more I "break away" the more I desire to "break away". A weekend on 'the Bruce', a hike on local trails, vacation at the cottage or in this case a morning walk through Fletcher Creek Environmental Preserve, all serve to cleanse my spirit, each in a different way.
This weekend was set aside to take care of some overdue chores around the house so the invitation of a friend to join him on a walk through the trails at Fletcher Creek was welcome and certainly provided the necessary "break away".
I stopped along the way to let scenes like this wash over me, and administer their cleansing.
DJE
Spending a week of vacation up on the Bruce Peninsula always
rejuvenates the soul and quiets the mind.
This past week, Lynn and I enjoyed the company of visiting
friends and family for a few days. Between the visits, there was time to
introduce ourselves to kayaking and of course some photography for me, but not
as much as you might think. I first had to update my display at Upper deck
Gallery with some appropriate seasonal work since everyone (except me) had seen
enough of winter. Then I had to hang a number of framed prints to complete my
installation running through July at Ancient Cedars Cafe.
Sean from Ancient Cedars is a photographer and of course we had already talked photography on a few occasions, he had also graciously offered to
lend me a favourite lens of his, the Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX DG, to use
during the week. So images hung and lens in hand, day-one was nearing it's close
and we prepared for our first visitors.
I managed to make some images of visiting little ones Emma and Logan
over the next couple of days. After saying goodbye on Tuesday, the next morning had me out for a visit at Singing Sands to experience the otherworldly
feeling of walking out on the beach into the waves of thick fog rolling in off Lake Huron. You can see one of
my images from the outing here on my Photography FB page or my flickr photostream.
My favourite image of the week came a couple of days later
when I returned to Halfway Log Dump looking to explore the shore north of where
the trail exits the woods to the grand shoreline of Georgian Bay. Mid-day sun
is not normally optimum for photography, but the Caribbean blue
waters of Georgian Bay can be stunning under sunlight and clear blue skies. I
had success at this location recently and decided to return and expand on the
"Hues of Blue" series showcased in a previous blog post. After
all, one of those images sold from Ancient Cedars and simply has to be replaced
with something new in the series.
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| whale rock - breeching |
DJE
