A Salt Spring Old Timer

While vacationing on Salt Spring Island this past summer we were just wondering through town and came across this old timer.  Such a simple car when you look at it from a mechanical perspective with no computers, very little wiring, basic comforts but an abundance of style from a different era.

Unlike our modern vehicles this one you can actually fix with a wrench. Imagine that, no computer plugged in to tell you what's right and wrong, just good-old-fashion cognitive problem solving.  Only in a place like Salt Spring can you so readily observe the poles of our society  noticeably come together.  Islanders seem to be caught between these shifting poles as they struggle to keep things they way they are while they incorporate progress.  Small things for us big city dwellers can become significant social debates, like should we have cell phone coverage or should we increase the ease of access to the island, and now that I'm here I don't want the population to grow.  Some people just want thing to remain the way they were when they arrived and this is true of many things for us bi-peds.  Inevitably change does work its way into our lives, homes, networks, language, society...

Places like islands however offer an opportunity to observe more acutely what we all experience in society as we try to hang on to the past, live in the present and welcome the future.  Thank you to the Salt Springs of the world for the opportunity to observe, contemplate and internalize what I am actually living every day at home without noticing.

All that from a single picture of an "Old Timer."

Today's Soup.

Stone & Sea

Stone & Sea, is this the band? Yup, this is the band.  I chose this picture of us for a few reasons but mainly because the band has not been together now for 4 years so it's all getting a little hazy.  This was the second last version of the band which went through quite a few changes over the years it was together.  We played Celtic and East Coast Canadian music of the Celtic vein mainly.  We were not the best musicians but we could engage the crowd and we always had a lot of fun at our gigs.

I think we started in 1998 or 2000 as a small crew of 3 and eventually picked up a 4th to allow for us to have a dedicated guitar, bodhran, fiddle and mandolin.  That first version was the one I enjoyed playing with the most, perhaps because at that time it was all very new and exciting. 

We played at least 1 gig every year we were together, St. Patrick's Day, and sometimes up to 4 gigs.  We were not a serious band, just a few guys who could not read music but wanted to play, so we did.  our biggest gig was played to an audience of 365 but I think we really hit our grove when we played at smaller venues of about 45 -80 people.

These days are on hold for me at present as I focus on family but I will get back into the guitar and fiddle when time permits.  I miss playing and recording, not to mention the guys, beer and the fun we had.

Until the next time we play,

Today's Soup.

St. Mary's Lake, Salt Spring Island, BC

This is arguably my families favourite vacation spot!

I will let the pictures do most of the talking.

This first shot is early morning on a very calm day, taken from in the boat.

Far too inviting!



A great seat for an early morning coffee!

My Cat

Seamus has been with me for 11 or so years now and he continues to provide ample opportunity for a few laughs.  He is a hefty guy but still quite surprisingly agile...  at times.  Like all cats he indulges himself with hours of sleep and sun but this particular day I found him in the sink.  He was so content that he even let me grab my camera and snap a picture, a rare moment indeed!  Where will I find him next?

Today's Soup.

Spinning The Story

A good friend of mine is really into photography and she took this picture so I dare not take credit.  I still love it as much now as I did on the day she showed it to me.  My love for the fiddle, Celtic music and composition is so nicely captured by her shutter's artful eye.  A feeling of anticipation is in the air as you wait for the strings and bow to spin their almost lyrical spell.  Black & white only adds to the beckoning drone of the story it tells as you are drawn in; and lastly, as if to complete the viewers curiosity, a simple $10 dollar street vendor's ring clearly marks the musicality as Celtic.  I always search for ways to use this picture, as for me it is so powerful and artistic in communicating some of my feelings about the fiddle and the music it can create.  I simply love this shot. 

Today's Soup. 

Viola Oh-La!

On the public side of our fence there are some large planters we use to accent the look of our property.  We planted some violas this year along whit a few other plants, none of which will grow more than a foot in height.  As this is our first year with the planters in place they are a bit sparsely populated.  We are waiting for the plants to fill out a bit and settle into their places.  The viola's are not only a nice choice aesthetically but you can always pluck a flower or two to accent your salad or favourite dish...  They are edible! 


Function meets form.  I just liked this particular shot so I decided to post and share it with anyone wanting to look through my blog.

This was taken with my Pentax K5, a Sigma 105 1:1 Macro, no tripod and a little luck on keeping the focus right as it was a bit breezy.


Today's Soup.

Small Flower, Big Colour

We planted a few Sempervivums, better known as Hen and Chick or Houseleeks, and to my surprise they are blooming.  I remember as a kid we had a rock garden populated with these things and I do not recall ever seeing them flower.  I am not sure if they bloom easily or not but I was excited to see them doing so well only 3 weeks after being planted.  So...  I grabbed my camera and took a number of shots this being one of them. 

This flower is just about 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter but has a number of nice little features.  I like the multiple pistils grouped tightly in a snuggled centre and ringed by the vibrantly yellow headed stamen which have yet to give up their pollen.  The pink colour is very rich and to me its softness seems to be in contrast with the rough looking "hairy" edges of the petals.  The visible greens remind me of facial like bristles after a few days of not shaving... lol.

I think the exposure on this one is a bit too bright for my liking and I could have used a smaller aperture to improve the depth of focus.  After that I would have softened it a bit.  This is for the most part un-edited from the camera.

Always open to feedback....



Today's Soup.

Anticipating Fall

Now that fall has officially arrived I decided to take out my Pentax K5 and my Sigma 105 Macro lens to see what I could find of interest in my front yard. We did a considerable amount of landscaping over this past summer which included the addition of a garden, cedar fence and some very large cedar planters. It was the planters that first drew my attention and upon further investigation of our blueberry bushes therein, I found a simple yet beautiful display of fall's arrival awaiting some creative eye's attention.  Temptation I simply could not resist!

The picture above is the resulting expression of that display. A reddish toned leaf and stem with an oddly shaped droplet of water cradled to reflect the sky and its surroundings. I particularly enjoyed observing the wispy clouds that natures lens displayed so beautifully. The colours of fall are expressed so well by a plant whose companions remain in full summer green. Actually everything is still in full summer attire but this particular line of blueberry bush is naturally reddish in tone and as a result simply jumped out as if to remind me that fall had arrived.

I have been drawn to macro shooting for many years now. There is something about the smaller less cluttered subjects in photographs that for me, capture so much expression, insight, meaning and artistic simplicity. This is not to say that I do not enjoy more complex, fuller scenery, I love its offerings equally but I do find the macro perspective often overlooked.

 

The Sigma 105 Macro is my first dedicated, true macro lens and I am enjoying the results tremendously. Sometimes the most interesting thing to the eye is minute or only a smaller portion of an object, I guess I find some sense of enjoyment in focusing in on those elements.

That's quite enough on one photograph!

A warm welcome to fall and a reluctant goodbye to summer for 2011.

Today's Soup.

Drifting Back

I was sifting through a number of old photographs and this one hit a bit of a chord.  The viewer is facing west on Locarno and Spanish Banks Beaches at sunset.  I believe the year was 2000 when I spent many of long hours after work and on weekends playing beach volleyball and hanging out with friends.  This location could also arguably be the official fertile ground within which the seed that grew into a Celtic band was planted.  I guess I will have to get around to talking about that subject in another post.

It always amazed me how it would rain almost everywhere the eye would permit you to see except right here on the beach.  Sometimes nature just likes to play along with a good volleyball game. 

During the summer this beach is typically packed with locals, visitors and a crew of dedicated volleyball players.  The boardwalk just to the left is full of pedestrian, roller blade and cycling traffic.  It is a very lively spot in Vancouver and is a great spot to enjoy if you get the chance.

I took this picture with my new digital Olympus at the time.  It was a good companion that I left at home far to often but it was also not an SLR.

Funny, I have not been here in years, I really must get the family down there one evening for a picnic and sunset.  I always find the ocean peaceful and rejuvenating.

Today's Soup.