Photo of the Week 2025-07-28

 

Guelph recently held it's Downtown Community Garage Sale and I decided to go even though it was a very hot and humid day. You never really know what you might find at events like this.

 

While I did find a few photography related items, lens caps, camera strap, lens rest beanbag etc., I also found George a military Veteran. He was selling some military memorabilia and we struck up a conversation ...

 

... what does this have to do with photography, my journey and this weeks photo? Well stay with me here. Upon return home, Lynn asked how the event was. I told her i picked up a few little photo items and met this really nice guy George (last name withheld here). That was when she got that look in her eye and I showed her the business card he had given me. She said there was a family by that name on the street where she grew up. A few clicks of her phone later she was asking "is this him?". Lo and behold, she knew him and his family from her childhood days.

 

I reached out to the email address on his card and said "small world" then explained. A few days later we were downtown for a meet up for coffee with George and his wife. Lots of stories and anecdotes from back in the day were exchanged and our conversation about military history continued. We share an interest, kindled by different fires but with lots of common ground.

 

After the exchange of contact information, a txt here, email there, I was digging through my photos of Holland from 2019 looking for one to George and came across this previously unprocessed, unpublished image from my night in Nijmegen.

 

' The (Night) Crossing '

In Nijmegen, Netherlands, there is a bridge to commemorate 48 US Airborne Soldiers killed in the crossing of the Rhine, Sept 20, 1944. Every evening a Dutch Veteran, along with many to accompany them, will march across to a memorial on the other side in tribute to those fallen.

It was a privilege to make the march when I visited in 2019. This image is from my solo trek back across to my car after the sun had set. Made with the venerable Canon EOS M5 and that lovely 24MP sensor that responds so well to my processing. Noise reduction and little else applied to this capture.

 

And there you have it. A friendship rekindled, A memory rekindled. An image found.

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2016-04-11

Making new images has taken a back seat for the past couple of weeks. Oh the camera has been out and there have been a number of clicks, but there was nothing very purposeful in terms of making new images. I've been busy with some of the every day life stuff like, the day job, getting the car serviced and putting the finishing touches to a home kitchen reno that has come together nicely.

But that doesn't mean I've been completely inactive photographically ... after going to see one of my images licensed by Parks Canada at last week's BPNP Visitors Center Open House, I dropped in to the Upper Deck Gallery and while there, decided to take a different wall space with a bit more room and a corner layout. This means I'll have space for a few more prints on the wall and to set up a table and rack to display cards and unframed prints.

I've also been busy going through the family photo collection looking for pics of my aunt for an upcoming family event. Plus, every April 8th for the past several years, I've posted  something to my personal facebook page in honour of my Grandfather, Ernest James England who was killed on that day 1945 while fighting in Holland. These last two activities came together when searching for photos, I found a clipping of the original newspaper notice of his death and the photos from my father's one and only trip to Holland in 1995 for the 50th Anniversary of the end of WWII. It was during that trip that family members were fortunate enough to connect with historians who knew of my grandfather and the details relating his death.

During the later stages of the war in Northern Holland, my grandfathers reconnaissance regiment (8th Recce. 14th Hussars) was leading the advance of Canadian forces as they approached Holten. He was out on a mission clearing the area of German troops when his bren gun carrier was erroneously targeted by a tank from the Fort Garry Horse Regiment and he was killed instantly by a direct hit. Bits of this had murmured through the family over the years and not only was it confirmed during the trip to Holland, but the family were taken to the spot on a farm lane where it happened.

farm lane - note tree on far left

As I understand, the tree on the far left, with the large scar of missing bark close to the ground, is the exact spot, the tree where what remained of the bren gun carrier remained for some time. This information was obtained from the man who owned the farm back in 1945. In 1995 he still owned the farm and came out to speak with family members through the historians who acted as interpreters.

farm owner (I must get his name)

I hold what remains of my family photos. Passed down to me by my mother, there are mostly ones my father took, some date back to the early 1900's, maybe a bit more. They are treasures. Through them I am reminded to print the everyday stuff from my own photo exploits. Through them I have an extremely powerful piece of family history ...

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-12-28

I can't recall if I have featured images by another photographer here on my blog, perhaps one by my father or maybe one that I found inspirational. I really should go back through all of the posts from the over six years I have been blogging (that's over 300 blog posts) to review where this photographic journey has trod.

This week I am going to feature a photograph made by someone else. Not someone standing with me, using my camera, or helping me make an image of myself in some far, or not so far away location but someone who may not be "into" photography the way I am. As far as I know, they may only take "snapshots" to record family events like birthdays and vacations ...

On Christmas morning past, as I sat waiting to open gifts while Lynn took Murphy out for his walk and Jordan slept upstairs, I sat down with my iPad to check my Facebook page and post a Merry Christmas message to all my friends. In doing so I noticed I "had mail" and checked my inbox to see a message from Holland. I smiled and thought how nice to receive a Christmas message from the family that hosted my parents when they visited in 1995. The Zandvoorts, Jan & Ina, have kept in touch over the years, and have been very generous in providing any information available regarding my grandfather who is buried in Holten Canadian War Cemetery, not far from where they live.

Recently, on Facebook, I had seen photos and short videos posted of the annual Christmas Eve candle lighting ceremony at Holten. I find it moving that the Dutch continue to honour those who lost their lives liberating Holland in the last stages of WWII. The images of the cemetery at Holten touch me deeply. I have plans to visit Holten in the next couple of years and make my own images but as beautiful and moving as it is, my visit will not be on Christmas Eve, there are other dates of significance that I must capture ... so I was overwhelmed with emotion when I opened the photos attached in the email from Holland showing my Grandfather's grave (front corner) during this year's candle ceremony. 

I posted the originals to FB on Dec 25 as they were ... here, I've taken some artistic liberties ... 

Holten Christmas Eve Candles 2015

EJGE B67380 -  Holten Cemetery 1-A-1

DJE