Foggy Morning after Torontohenge

The fog descended on our house about 30 minutes ago.  The street light is barely visible, and where is the light in the window across the street?  I am witness to the alert in effect of 'near zero visibility in fog is expected or occurring.'  And a few minutes later, it seems to have passed through.   As I looked at the weather forecast, I discovered that this weekend had a remarkable occurrence. The sun's position in the sky lined up perfectly with some Toronto streets - this is called Torontohenge.  In Manhattan, it is called Manhattanhenge.   There's coverage of it here on the weather news network.   The article with the map of streets is HERE. Here's another blog - Dailyhive.com - what a great picture with everyone standing in the middle of King Street watching the sun and taking pictures.  There's even a picture of a person lying across the streetcar tracks taking a picture of cars coming towards him.  It is like Stonehenge with the magic of the reflections on the buildings and the street.  The next one is April 22/23, then August 19/20, and the final one for the year is October 23/24. And our pictures today come from Santa Fe.  The adobe colours show up everywhere, including the street curbs where peeling, crusted paint makes for colourful abstracts.  Our last image is the town's most famous Mexican eatery.  I took this picture well before 7:00am.  People were lined up for breakfast soon after.

Over the Hill...of Summer

Our headline says we're over the hill...of summer - yes, we're into the dales. I got to wondering about words that end in 'ship' - I was reading about hardship.  We who live in North America have the greatest prevalence of a soft life, but it isn't referred to as softship.  So what does 'ship' indicate?    hard·ship ˈhärdˌship/ noun severe suffering or privation. "intolerable levels of hardship"   privation, deprivation, destitution, poverty, austerity, penury, want, need, neediness, impecuniousness; -ship suffix 1. indicating state or condition: fellowship 2. indicating rank, office, or position: lordship 3. indicating craft or skill: horsemanship,workmanship, scholarship Middle English, Old English -scipe; akin to shape; cognate with dialectal Frisian, dialectal Dutch schip

St. Louis Blue

What colour of blue would St.Louis Blue be?  I haven't found the answer yet, but did enjoy the wikipedia entry for the music. St. Louis blues is a type of blues music. It is usually more piano-based than other forms of the blues, and is closely related to the jump blues, ragtime and piano blues. It is sometimes performed to a "Saint Louis shuffle" beat; a drum rhythm with heavy on-the-beat accents. It can often be made up of a small number of singers, a pianist and a few other musical instruments (used primarily for rhythm) to make up a band, but it is also common for guitarists to take the lead, even to play parts normally played on piano. We're looking at abstracts created from the handicapped parking asphalt during a rest stop on the trip.  These are followed by more sunrise images from yesterday.

Lavaland in St. Catharines

Today's images come from downtown St. Catharines.  These are a storefront window that has wear and tear on its window coverings.  The brilliant red made me think of lava - and so Lavaland came up as a title. Looking up Lavaland to check on the name brought forth a diverse group with lava lands all over the world - particularly the new world.  There is a Lavaland in Hawaii where there are tours of the active volcano.  There is a 's a Lavaland Elementary School in Albuquerque, NM. Alternately, one can go to the Lavaland RV Park in NM with the 'new platinum pull through' (ask about our new 135 ft long spaces). The one with the best pictures is 'Lost in Lava Land: The Church that Rose from the Ashes':http://www.messynessychic.com/2014/05/27/lost-in-lava-land-the-church-that-rose-from-the-ashes/ - located in Mexico.

Colour Combinations

Colour Combinations I thought these two images had a similar composition and colours.  The first comes from the Beamsville Fairgrounds and displays the scratches and rust on another transport truck.  We saw the earlier pictures in the shocking red. Of course, the second is of Koi swimming.  These were at the Portland Japanese Garden a few years ago.  I didn't know how to eliminate all the background elements in the water then.  When I saw it this week, I realized it could be an interesting picture.  I was drawn to the metallic colouring and shine that contrasted with the oranges.  This picture will join the series 'Koi, The Living Art'. I've included the Redbubble pictures of the series.

Our Christmas Traditions - Boxing Day

This has become a secular holiday but  Boxing Day is a tradition that started in the UK about 800 years ago. It was the day when the alms box for the poor was opened so that the contents could be distributed to the poor.

In the 1600's we would be servants and tradespeople and would receive gifts today, known as a "Christmas box".  Our Christmas Day would have been busy, waiting on our masters.  This is the day that Good King Wenceslas looked upon the Feast of Stephen.  St. Stephen's Day is celebrated as the 2nd day of Christmas.  The Germans had an original tradition - horses would be ridden around the inside of the church during the St. Stephen's Day service. 

We are into the Twelve Days of Christmas.  This is the twelve day period that starts with Christmas day and ends on Epiphaby (Jan 6th).The 'true love' who gave the gifts was meant to represent God, the true love of the world.  On the "first day", the partridge in a pear tree is Jesus who died on the cross.  The two turtle doves of the "second day", are the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.  The three French hens are faith, hope and love - the three gifts of the Holy Spirit.

We'll explore more on the 12 Days tomorrow.  


Our image today is a little bit of urban grunge from Toronto.  It is peeling paint on a wall mural with manipulation to create the wave and repeating pattern.  It has a carnival sense for me with the curves, waves, and bright colours.  

The Beginning of Urban Explorations

Photography began for me in 2007, with an SLR lens, a Ryerson course, and a passion.  As I look through the Lightroom database from 2008 on, there are thousands of pictures of flowers and gardens and street scenes, too.  

All of a sudden, in 2009, I decided to check out the back alley of Bloor along to Dundas, to see what I could find.  In 2014 there's a condo at the corner on the right.  But the alley way remains painted with 

murals.

I created my first abstract from this urban grunge.  For me, the calling is to do more than 'capture' what is exactly there. It is to find abstract beauty within it and to bring out something more than what is there before you.  

Urban Abstractions - an Update

I look for abstracts to be found in the urban and rural landscape of decays, dents, peeling paint and paper, and any kinds of wear and tear.

Here are a few found in Niagara:

Dents on a sign at the Lake, Vineland Ontario.

"Abstract in Yellow"

Decay in cement:

"Red Moon Blue"

Glue remains on a wall in St. Catharines after the signs are gone.

"Even Strokes"

HeartStart Series

I have started a new series on the theme of hearts.  The settings for the heart images are urban grunge abstracts from my collection.


Here's the image that started the collection:

The Deep Blue Ocean

These two abstracts were found on a transport truck used for storage at Seaway Gardens, St. Catharines.

They have such deep water colours and the movements of the lines makes me think of waves and storms at the ocean shore and pier.

Sunset Landscape

From yesterday's little mushroom in the urban garden, we return to the abstract today with bright colours creating repeating patterns of a landscape.

Paper Chase

Toronto is a good environment for torn paper - it mostly occurs on street poles where it is torn and pulpy from rain.  The last image below is actual sheet metal, but it does have the layers you would typically see with paper.

Urban Extractions in the Garden

I am intrigued with the companionship of grunge and plants.  These two images tell the story of this man and nature companionship.

Urban Extractions - What Pylons Say

Pylons don't lend themselves to much decay, wear and tear.  I did find a tear in one recently, and thought it have a story to tell.

I found a pylon in traffic in Montreal a few years ago, it it revealed a portrait.  This one is 'Vogue Model'.

This pylon was on Bay Street and Wellelsey near the beautiful Bistro 999 (which is gone and a condo is going up).  It had decaying reflective tape that told a story of friends.

Prehistoric Times

These images came from an east-end Toronto fence, created by a photographer.  While his neighbours didn't seem to appreciate the complex textures and shapes, I found it fascinating and evocative of a prehistoric time.

Whimsy

Here's the Whimsy Portfolio on Redbubble.  It includes familiar shapes such as stars, trees, angel wings, sunsets and waves all found in urban grunge - on trucks, recycle bins, chair upholstery, dumpsters, building walls and other urban areas.

Love is All Around

This is a new portfolio on my Redubble site.

 Below is a sample of the images.  These come from nature and urban environments.  It seems that heart shapes abound if we look around.

Here's the latest…Hearts Arising