Sorry, but I’m going to backup a bit here. I had prepared a couple of images earlier that I forgot to post so bear with me as I rewind to a picture from last (Canadian) summer. The timing of this image is the same rainy morning as the canoes that I posted last week. It was a very grey, wet, dark morning; not the kind that normally encourages me to get my camera out, but I’m glad I did.

 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I’m very much enjoying the break and a little bit of time to finish sorting out my images from last summer in Canada. This one is from the same place as my last post (over a month ago!), Algonquin Park.

This was a particularly wet, rather cold morning. My brothers and I agreed we’d get up early unless the weather was bad. I decided it was bad, they didn’t and practically had to drag me out of my cabin! I got going quickly and here are the fruits of my labour.

So, these are the same canoes as my last post, but from a different angle. Which do you prefer?

You might think I’m not here any more with the frequency I’ve been posting and commenting, but the truth is that I work long hours in an office environment these days and find myself reluctant to hop back on the computer in the evenings or on the weekends.

The fact is that, at the moment, technology consulting is my primary focus. I took a luxurious, self-indulgent couple of years pursuing photography full-time and while I found my photography skills improved immensely, my earning potential and my CV took a serious beating. Not discounting everything I’ve learned about making better images, the biggest thing I actually learned was that I have no desire to be a full-time professional photographer. I’m incredibly thankful that I took the opportunity to try and now I know that it’s not for me. I’m not cut out to be a full-time creative.

By no means should you take from this that I’m giving up photography or giving up blogging, but I am re-prioritising. Photography is back in hobby status. I’ll still shoot, I’ll still blog, and I’ll still look for opportunities to sell and exhibit my work, but it’s not my full-time gig any more. It’s back to the rat race for me. I’m commuting an hour and a half every day and working 9 to 11 hours and I’m loving the challenges, the brain-strain, and the many, complex relationships that make up a busy office.

Stay tuned and keep checking in. I’ll re-balance soon enough and start picking up the camera again. Hopefully, you’ll even start seeing images from Australia soon. For now, though, we’ll have to make do with pictures from this past summer in Canada. This image is from Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada. These canoes had clearly seen some action. Despite appearances, they’re still roadworthy – I enjoyed many hours exploring the lake with anyone who was game to go out for a paddle.

 

I grew up on the eastern(ish) side of Canada, a long, long way from any ocean, but on the shore of a beautiful little lake. While the ocean was far away, there were lakes everywhere!

It wasn’t until my 31st year that  I found myself living with the ocean at my doorstep. That ocean was a very long way from home. In fact, it was all the way around the world. Despite 30 perfectly happy years without the ocean in sight, I became firmly coastal. While I accept that I’m not likely to ever own that dream beach house in this very developed world, I’m feeling pretty committed to at least living nearby. As a result, many of my favourite images are by the coast. Throw in a dramatic sky and I’m all set.

This particular piece of coast is on the west coast of Canada, in Vancouver.

 

Found these Canadian Geese on a summer stroll at Reifel Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary south of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.

 

While I do love shooting early in the morning, it’s always such a close competition between getting up and sleeping in.

 

Hopefully, this is me getting back to regular blogging. It’s been pretty patchy since May, but I have good excuses. Packing up house and moving around the world to Melbourne, Australia takes a bit of effort.

Sorting, purging and selling started in May and got serious in June. As of June 28, we were officially homeless and our lives were either packed up in suitcases or in a big metal box. We took the suitcases with us and wished the big metal box an uneventful 10-week trip across the Pacific. We then set off on a six-week tour of Canada, visiting friends family on the west coast, camping through the beautiful Rocky Mountains, visiting more family in Southern Ontario, invading the homes of friends in Ottawa and then back to Vancouver again.

The image above is the city of Vancouver as seen from Stanley Park during our visit to the west coast of Canada.

On August 19th, exactly one month ago, we arrived in Melbourne with very little organised beyond a hotel and a hire car. Given the low starting point, we’ve accomplished a lot in one month. We moved into a house (shipment delivery day was very exciting!), we bought a car, we bought appliances and furniture, the kids are back in school, the older one has high school sorted, we’ve caught up with a few friends, and I’m back to full-time (non-photographic) work.

Although we’ve been away from Melbourne for two years, everything is so familiar that it seems like it was just a blink.

Hey folks! Been a while. What can I say? I just wasn’t feeling terribly inspired with the camera. Luckily, last weekend we got out-of-town to visit the little town of Drumheller, Alberta which sits in the middle of the Canadian Badlands. Drumheller is known for its dinosaurs. In fact, they’re so proud of their dinosaur status, their city website is http://www.dinosaurvalley.com. They get their dinosaur status from the incredible number and variety of dinosaur remains found in the area.

With so many dinosaur remains, they built what is surely one of the most amazing dinosaur museums in the world, the Royal Tyrell Museum. Simply amazing. That was our first stop on Sunday morning. We got their at a reasonable hour, but it being a long weekend, the crowds soon overwhelmed us. It’s open late so we decided we’d return after an afternoon out in the much-less-crowded great outdoors.

Avoiding the throngs of people, we headed down to Horseshoe Canyon (pictured above). While the signs compare the view to the splendour of the Grand Canyon, this canyon was considerably more modest. Not that it wasn’t a pretty sight, but it’s no Grand Canyon. Lucky for us, this canyon is way more accessible and easy to get into. You need a little balance and sure-footedness to get down into the canyon, but once you’re in you can go wherever you like and stay as long as you please.

After an afternoon hiking, we grabbed dinner and headed back to the museum to find we had it literally to ourselves. Now that’s a great way to enjoy a museum!

“I could live here” said my eldest daughter one sunny, Sunday afternoon on Salt Spring Island a couple of weeks ago. I couldn’t agree more. Salt Spring Island is the largest of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between the British Columbia mainland and Vancouver Island. My wife and I have been visiting the island for the last 16 years. Her folks live there.

Island life is different from mainland life. Life is slower on the island, more relaxed, simpler. You can almost feel the tension seeping out of your body as you arrive on the island. My in-laws’ house is on the water, which may explain why I like it there so much. It might also be because I’m always on vacation when I’m on the island!

This photo is the view from their house. Here, you go to sleep to the sounds of gentle waves washing up on the beach and the geese chatting away to each other as darkness falls.

It never occurred to me that the kids would notice, but apparently they’d like to live there too.