Photo of the Week 2026-01-12

 

Winter weather provides me with many opportunities for for photography and I don't always take advantage of them. I find my outings to drive the backroads within reach of home have become much less frequent. When I do take a backroad, stops to photograph have become less frequent and I find myself thinking "I should have stopped back there ... " and good photo opportunities are missed.

 

In an attempt to rectify things, on the heels of a chance finding of the scene in last weeks post, I purposefully gathered up the needed kit and headed out looking for additions to the series 'rural winter'  

 

' 6926 W C R 34 '

I've driven by this farm countless times as it's very close to home. I've made photographs at and around it but not composed in favourable winter conditions to create something worthy of including in 'rural winter', until now.

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2023-02-13

 

' winter homestead '

 

This place has been photographed many times and when I had the opportunity to stop by in the middle of a blizzard, I knew it would allow me to capture something different ... that and a little work in post  gave me the stark, cold, isolated look I wanted.

 

I've managed to get out and photograph during what winter weather we have had here in Southern Ontario. It's been a very mild winter, so far, with only two or three significant snowfall events, and then the snow hasn't remained on the ground long afterwards with temperatures rising to unseasonally warm levels just days after the snowfall. I'm confident that winter is not over yet, however I am not confident that that there will be more opportunity for the winter photography that I so love ... at least not until next year.

Not willing to give up yet, I am thankful for the brief periods of winter I was able to enjoy in the Rideau Lakes area and on the Bruce Peninsula to this point in 2023.

#frozenfingerphotographer

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2020-11-02

 

November has arrived, colours have faded and leaves are fallen. Soon scenes like this will be blanketed in white ...

 

Fall Farmhouse

 

While processing this image, I decided to try several different techniques. Here are the results in a collage ...

 

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2020-04-06

As days begin to blur together in COVID isolation, the already less formal in retirement daily routine has been further defocused. Now too, the weekly rhythm weakens, becomes less important with external activities curtailed, and getting ready to go to bed last night, I realized it was Sunday, that I had not prepared a regular blog post for the morning.

I have been spending a considerable amount of time these days at my computer in the basement, reviewing images, most from 10 or more years ago and you would think that I might have a collection of images flagged for posting ... you'd be right.

Fortunately I have, and I've wanted to keep to the stream of Urbex / Rurex images that I've been posting. Coincidentally, I had begun work on a series from Windfields Farm, a location steeped in Ontario history, particularly in the equine community.

the light beyond

The grave of Northern Dancer

I have a fairly extensive catalogue of images from a few visits to this location and will likely be posting more on my social media feeds in the coming days.
NOTE: 
As I sat down to wright this post, I was shocked to see a news article about a fire at an abandoned structure in my social media feed. Just the other day, I saw a significant collection of images of this place posted to a FB page I follow. It was a grand log home that I was previously unaware of, and apparently very close to developed Brampton.
This is an all too familiar scenario, remembering the fires resulting from arson in Wellington County and surrounding area several years ago. It was at that time I stopped visiting and photographing abandonments. The increased security and police presence aside, publicizing these locations was very probably attracting the wrong type of attention. In the case of the structures in Wellington, a troubled mind, now charged with setting several of the fires. In the case of this recent Brampton fire, cause or those responsible yet to be determined. Whether accident, carelessness, misadventure, stupidity or sickness, I'm again left contemplating to what degree posting images of abandoned places contributes to the frequency of these fires.
Final Note: I understand that Windfields Farm is no longer abandoned or standing as it did, that the property has been developed or repurposed and as such no longer exists as I experienced it.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2020-03-30

I'm glad to have photography to help keep me busy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every time I get the urge to go out as I would in "normal" life, I head to the computer and click away into my image archive, ultimately finding something to occupy my time for a few minutes and possibly hours ...

Already, I've been reminded of so many people, places and things from early in my over a decade of digital shooting ... and I've only really been concentrating on the Urbex / Rurex content that I have.

Fascinating to me are the details to be found in abandoned locations ...

low fidelity

DJE