“Plenty of Room in the Back” – truck bed passenger, Dallas

The irony is that this picture was taken right outside the main courthouse a.k.a. The Justice Centre, Dallas.

“Crossing Over” – Overpasses near the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport

Cars are king in Texas; and their roads lord over the land.

“Pretty In Pink” – Travelling family at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport

“Severe Weather Area” – Women’s toilet, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

I ain’t touching this one. I’ll leave the comments for others.

“Blank Slate” – Wine tasting journal and a freshly opened bottle

Several years ago my girlfriend and I began keeping a journal of all the wines we try.

It’s not very professional or scientific – it wouldn’t impress a sommelier, but I find it very rewarding to be able to look back on several years worth of bottles and the meals and experiences they were paired with.

A while back a read a statistic that said 95% of the wine sold by the LCBO is consumed within two hours of purchase. And, in my opinion, likely forgotten within three.

To me this is a fun way to remember.

“I’ll Fly Away” – Lighting fuxture featuring winged lightbulbs

 
The other day I was on a photoshoot for a national magazine in the home of a Canadian celebrity.

This lighting fixture was in their kitchen and, to borrow the home-owners parlance, I thought it absolutely brilliant.

“The Complete Set” – Discarded furniture in an alley, Toronto

“We Got Ya Covered” – Traffic sign completely covered in stickers, Dundas & River, Toronto

“Crop-tacular” – Fire retardant blanket proves the power of in-camera cropping

“Calm Again” – Lake Ontario at its glassiest

“Over-shadowed” – Ornate lamp-shade adds ominous touch to idyllic landscape

“Pissing Contest” – Teenagers challenging each other to do more push-ups

Not sure what they were on – perhaps just high on life, but these dudes were determined to out-do each other somehow.

“Brokeback Photoshoot” – #photo #cameraphone #iPhoneography #Toronto #Scarborough #bluffs

Scribeit

My boy Mike rocked the reflector while I rocked the cowboy hat.

“The Ultimate Backlight”

I am not a morning guy; I can sleep-in with the best of them.

But I do love the rare occassions when I have to be up extremely early. You get to see the world in a whole new light – literally.

This was the case with the photoshoot I was on yesterday morning. Call time at the Scarborough Bluffs was 5:30am.

It was dark, cold and – except for the two guys who had clearly been out clubbing and had talked their high-heels and mini-dress clad ‘dates’ into the romance of driving out to watch the sunrise – quiet.

Then the arc of that orange-pink sphere begins to peek above the horizon and the flat grey light begins to separate into highlight and shadows.

“Nerdy Rider”

This dude negated his entire coolness factor with this fashion choice.

“Whoa!”

Sometimes it’s the inadequacies of a technology that make it beautiful.

With traditional photography thing do not warp; they blur.

Not so with the cameraphone.

For whatever reason – I admit I am lacking for a technical explaination here – cameraphones take rapid movents in bright light and warp rather than blur them.

The effect is somewhat like capturing what actually happened to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge on November 7th, 1940. YouTube it – you’ll see what I’m talking about.

“Ninja Bike”

After a very long drive back from Niagara, my girlfriend looked in our rearviewmirror and declared that a ninja was tailing us.

I snapped this pic and the next thing I know the guy is beside my open passenger window congenially asking if I got a good shot.

Appropriately, his bike’s model name was Ninja.

“Urban Camouflage” – Lansdown, Toronto

A very inventive way to make an empty gravel lot surrounded by barbed wire fence look friendly.

I think all vacant lots should do this.

“Truckin’ ” – Peterbilt driving the QEW to Toronto

“Beating The Heat” – Kitty takes the coolest spot in the house

“Condensation”

“Into the Ether” – CTV TV truck broadcast antenna

“Illuminating” – Big Box Store Bulbs, Costco, Toronto

“Mixed Bag” – Lunch crowd at Pusateri’s, Yorkville, Toronto

“Hi” – Portrait of a Peeping Tom, The Little Doll House Company, Toronto

I’m HUGE in this self-portrait I took at The Little Doll House Company.

“Roll ‘Em” – Miniature 35mm movie camera, The Little Dollhouse Company, Leaside, Toronto

Anything and everything you have ever wanted in miniature is available at The Little Dollhouse Company <http://www.thelittledollhousecompany.com/>

“Relieving” – Something about this balloon seems…not right, Topps, Niagara Falls, NY

“The Stand” – Wall of utensil holders, Ikea, Scarborough

“Mentoring” – Starting the next generation of photographers early, FUEL Studios, Toronto

“Scarborough’s Most Famous Burger” – Johnny’s Burgers, Scarborough

Like many cities, Toronto has experienced a burger craze of late. Here’s a reminder that way before it became cool there was a place that dedicates itself heart and soul to the simple hamburger.

Going to Johnny’s Burgers can feel a little soup-Nazi-ish (don’t even think about losing your ticket) but the service is fast and the burgers are good.