…..thanks Cee for hosting Which Way Photography
It’s a snowy day in Toronto and there are two more days of it to come on Saturday and Sunday. In many places you can’t tell where the path begins or ends.
….thanks to Word Press for a theme close to my heart
People always ask me if I’ll move away from Toronto when I retire. I can’t imagine living anywhere else right now. I live in the southwestern area of Toronto more commonly known as New Toronto or South Etobicoke. I love being 15 minutes from downtown (depending on the time of day) and being able to take advantage of all the city has to offer. On the other hand, I feel blessed to live where I do. A century ago people used to travel to this neighbourhood from downtown because they had cottages here on the lake. A few of those old structures still stand today but they are quickly being eaten up by renovators who appreciate the value of the land.
My father recently moved back here after living in Oshawa for 20 years. He feels like he’s come back home. Nothing beats the view of the city skyline that I see everyday at the bottom of the street where I’ve lived for 39 years.
I love the nature trails and beautiful parks that you can find all over the city. The big one in my neighbourhood has wonderful hiking and biking paths that wind through Colonel Samuel Smith Park and the Humber College grounds. Part of it is a naturalized area with a pond in the middle and Lake Ontario at the south end. We have more wildlife here than we do at my cottage. It’s not unusual to see coyotes, foxes, beavers, turtles, o’possums, racoons, skunks and the occasional deer. We have birds and waterfowl galore. In the summer many people come to the park to take advantage of the beaches that line the eastern side of the extension to get relief from the heat or to paddle or kite surf.
If you’re not into nature the city offers the best in museums, art galleries, aquariums, recreational sports and the best restaurants.
…..Super Bowl Sunday will be quiet around here
Photo credit goes to my husband.
…..it’s a bit tricky holding the iPhone with this long lens attached
I was very excited when I received all those wonderful lenses for my iPhone at Christmas. I used the fish-eye lens first (which I promptly lost) and posted a few of my experiments soon after I received them.
A couple of days ago I headed out for a walk with my trusty iPhone in hand and the zoom lens in place. I came across a group of birds, flying back and forth and hopping from one branch to another. This is the best I could do.
As I got closer to the park the wind picked up and the temperature fell. I came across some ducks, some in the lake and others in the pond.
I tried using the zoom lens for some landscape shots, sometime focusing on the branches in the foreground and other times on the background.
I’m not sure why it’s happening but can you see how the horizon line in the second set of photos is bowed?
Here are a few more photos taken of objects and scenery in the distance.
The only disadvantage of taking photos in January, even on a relatively mild day, is that your fingers freeze very quickly. Did I mention that the winds picked up and the temperature dropped? If I didn’t feel frostbite coming on I would probably have stayed out longer. As you can see from the last shot I was losing the light anyway. If you have any suggestions about using the lenses for an iPhone I’d be very appreciative.
Cheers!
……thanks to WordPress for this week’s weekly photo challenge
I take a lot of photos of the city skyline in Toronto. Most of them are from the park at the end of my street. I love how the sky and the light changes daily and I never tire of taking pictures of the the city from across the bay.
……surrounded by family and friends
This weekend started on Friday when my husband and I drove up to Vaughn to buy a porchetta for our family dinner on Saturday. I really should have taken a photo but I didn’t. I find more and more that I’m just enjoying the moment without having to document everything with my camera.
On Saturday I continued to organize my studio and I started to put together the last piece of furniture from IKEA. At least everything is now in neat piles and I’m able to move around the studio without tripping over boxes and random bits of paper, frames and canvases.
Later in the afternoon I went to a surprise birthday party for a friend from my teaching days. It’s been a busy week for this lovely lady as she and her husband are getting ready to fly to Mexico for her son’s wedding. Her son and future daughter-in-law were in town for a few days so they were able to attend the party. They actually boarded a plane later that night and are now in Mexico to make final arrangements for the wedding.
When I got home around 5:30 my family were already at the house and my husband had prepared all the food for dinner. Again I didn’t take any photos. We had a very nice time and Winnie and I snuck off after dinner to give her parents a few moments to relax with the rest of the family. Winnie’s favourite TV show is Peppa Pig and she was mesmerized for about 15 minutes.
Today started off nice and sunny but quickly became very grey and overcast. Fortunately is was very mild so when Kevin and I went to visit a friend in the hospital we were able to park on the street a little ways from the hospital. We didn’t mind walking and I was able to get in about 4000 extra steps. After our visit we decided to walk up one of our favourite streets in Toronto, Roncesvalles, and look for a coffee shop.
When we got home tonight, Kevin made dinner again and afterwards I phoned my sister in Calgary and then my Dad and I played a game of cribbage. I haven’t yet painted today but the evening is still young and I tend to do my best work at night anyway.
Here are a few shots that I took on Friday when I went for my walk.
…..thanks to Cee for hosting the Which Way Photo Challenge
…..two for one….this week’s photo challenge is silence
Mama Cormier 