A Frosty Promise?

It's another frosty morning in the pond; temperatures are well below normal. But despite the cold, the snow has begun to recede, and here the last remnants of last year's roses has been revealed. Perhaps a little hope for what's to come.

Later

Visions of Days Past

Flashback Fridays. That's my theme.

I spend a lot of time looking back. I love old buildings. Ruins. Cemetaries. Books. Photographs. Old stuff in general. It fascinates me. The stories that are held within - these are my ghosts; the memories that are imprinted in a palce or object's history.

Today I've got a photo from a building in Ste. Elizabeth, Manitoba.

Ste. Elizabeth is a ghost town; and a few years back, one could have owned the remaining three homes for under $30,000 canadian. Southern Manitoba is dotted with ghost towns and the remnants of settlers dreams. Ste. Elizabeth sprung up along the banks of the Marsh River in the late 1800's. What remains is the church and the three derelict flood damaged homes and out buildings that are now home to swallows and small rodents.

Take care,
Craig

Then and Now

I guess that the groundhog was right; just as it appeared that winter was waning, the mercury has dipped to accompany a fresh carpet of snow. I feel a little like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football only to have Lucy yank it away once again. Now don't get me wrong, I love winter as much as and probably more than most, but when you get a taste of what's to come, you can't help feel a little resentment towards Mother nature's fickle treatment. All I can say is "Good grief".


On to the photos.


Today I've got two shots of the same stretch of highway taken about two months apart (October and December).




Then

Now

Later

Wednesday's Wanderings

There is no map. No goal or destination to be reached. That is Wednesday. Whatever and wherever I end up is fine with me. Random, chaotic; perhaps. Whatever tickles my fancy rules the roost today. Any semblence to a plan is purely accidental. So here's to Whatever Wednedsay.


I've got three photos today.


Vulture Silhouette

Marsh Grass Up Close

Fountains at Night

Enjoy your journey,
Craig

Two For Tuesday, Act I

I'm a little behind today. Actually I'm a lot behind today. I'm not sure how that happened, but that's just how it is.

I thought I'd start something new today. Rather than just randomly posting photos from my corner of the pond I'd have a loose theme (and I do stress the looseness of my themes) to organize my posting. So for the foreseeable future Tuesday will be Two For Tuesday's (I know, oh so original, but it works for me) in which I'll post two related photos to accompany my ramblings.

Today I've got two sepia toned prints for your viewing.





The photo above was shot just north of Winnipeg, in the R.M of Rockwood, Manitoba; while the photo below was shot at Fort Whyte Alive nature center in Winnipeg.

Thanks for indulging me,
Craig

By Hand and Then Some

This is me at work. I'm hand tinting a photograph. I love photoshop, I really do, but there is a cetrtain satisfaction I get from doing thing by hand. I like the feel of the pen or brush in my hand.



Here are the results. The picture itself was shot on Ilford hp400 film using my Minolta Maxxum 7, and developed and printed by hand on Agfa multi contrast glossy b&w paper (which is sadly no longer available). The colour was applied using a Spotpen photographic hand coloring pen #39 (yellow).



And here's what happens when one begins to play with photoshop. I'm by no means an expert, when it comes to photoshop, far from it. But essentially this is a collage effect combining the two above photos. For a far better explanation of the process than I could ever give: http://www.alibony.com/pse/022108collage.html



Have a great week,
Craig

A Day of Rest?

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. We'll see how long that lasts (I figure I've got about ten minutes before the circus starts back up). In the meantime I thought that I'd quickly share a shot that I took last week.

Have a great day,

Craig

Into The Woods

It may be the week end, but there is no time for relaxing in the pond. It's times like this that I wish I could simple escape into the woods for a little peace. These particular woods are about 20 minutes north east of Winnipeg at Bird's Hill Provincial Park, and would do nicely.

Later

All Dressed Up ...

It's Friday night, so I thought I'd dress things up a little. Nothing says 'Craig' like a room full of vintage dresses and sewing paraphernalia. But seriously, the Costume Museum of Canada, located in my hometown - Winnipeg, houses a ever changing collection of stunning vintage fashion.

For more information about the Costume Museum of Canada, you can visit their website: http://www.costumemuseum.com/

Winter Visitors

Not all uninvited guests are unwanted.

Despite living in the middle of the city, there is an unexpected variety of wildlife that finds it's way into the backyard. The deer, one would expect in winter, but the little raccoon was supposed to be hibernating. She curled up on the backstep waiting for a hand out and wasn't going to leave until she got one. I suppose that's my fault, as I used to feed her when she was the runt of a litter of four during the summer. I could set my watch by her appearance at the backdoor at dusk. Her larger siblings would scamper away at my arrival, but Circle (my two year old daughter named her) would sit at the door and scratch until I fed her scraps of bread.

Have a great week end,

Craig

A Triumvirate of Frost

I've a little time on my hands this morning before heading off with the kids to the dentist's office (or as my son refers to it - the worst place on earth), and with the pond still being frozen, I thought I'd share a couple of timely photos from my little corner of the world.

Later,

Craig

Blowing in The Wind

The wind was howling, the snow was falling (sideways due to the wind), and the driving conditions on the highway were amongst the worst I've encountered (a 45 minute trip became a two and a half hour ordeal) - but the photo ops were worth it.

This shot was taken just north of Winnipeg at Oak Hammock Marsh. If you ever get the chance, the marsh and interpretive centre are well worth the visit. The marsh is one of the top birding sites in Canada.

Here`s a link to their website: http://www.oakhammockmarsh.ca/index.html

Thanks for looking,
Craig

Out On The Snow

Despite all their fancy schmancy advances, nothing compares to the craftmanship (not to mention the functionality) of a pair of handmade traditional snowshoes. Pictured are my babies - an extraordinary pair of Ojibway style snowhoes, which are in themselves a work of art.

By no means am I an expert on all things snowshoe related; but, I do have over 20 years experience and have at least tried most styles. I recieved my first pair as a Christmas gift when I was 16 (so for those of you doing the math that makes me approximately late 20's, nudge nudge, wink wink); they are a huge pair of Alaskan style shoes roughly six feet long (the stereotypical enlarged tennis racquet design). But I'd have to say, of all my snowshoes (and I'll just say that I've more snowshoes than shoes), based on functionality alone (at least on dry Manitoba snow), my Ojibway style shoes are my favourites.

Later

It's Been A While

It's been a while since my last post (and that's putting it mildly), but it's not for a lack of trying. Life just has this uncanny knack of sneaking up from behind and dashing away with time.

So I thought I'd ease my way back in with a photo I shot yesterday.

And I promise, it will get more entertaining here in the coming days. And if not entertaining, at the very least, I can bore you with more frequent postings.

Hope you enjoy,

Craig