Bangor, Maine - April 2011

I particularly like looking for the American flag when I am in the USA, they seem to be more prevalent and found in places other than flag poles - like this store front window.  I do this subconsciously probably due to the American documentary photography (Walker Evans, Robert Frank) I studied, which somehow inclines me to look for 'signifiers' of American life to record.

Quebec City - July 2009

Found shapes on Water

Algonquin Park, Ontario - summer 2009

Snowstorm outside my window

Saint John, New Brunswick - January 2011

The resulting picture looks like a muddy, grainy mess - I had no idea the falling snow would appear like this on film.

Toronto - spring 2009

Casa Rio

San Antonio, Texas - February 2010

Rock abstractions #2

Grand Canyon - May 23, 2010

Angkor, Cambodia - May 2007

A glimpse of Paris in my dreams

Paris, France - May 17, 2011

When I look at this picture I feel as if I drove by this place and caught a fleeting glance, later not remembering if I saw it in a dream or that I was really there...it makes me miss being in Paris.  Note on the composition: I almost didn't take this picture because I couldn't get an interesting shot without it being only a picture of card stands, but when I saw the "M" sign of the Paris metro reflected in the window, I knew I had something to work with.

Maui - December 2009

Montreal, Quebec - April 2010

Lone crow against clouds

Saint John, New Brunswick - April 2011

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - 2003

House on Bathurst St.

Toronto - spring 2009

San Antonio, Texas - February 2010

I think the iron arches of this church entrance and the wheels of the cars together create a cohesive repetition throughout the image.

Maui - December 2009

Bangor, Maine - April 25, 2011

I took this picture because I liked the way the house looked with the tree in the front.  I was composing it and had to take the photo quickly since I saw someone was walking in front and it seemed like it would be a better overall picture with a pedestrian in it. A few thoughts on the results: I like how the tree in front of the house looks like it is spread flat and glued to the front making it look decorative, and how the tree is situated between the two white basement windows; I like the little balcony on the very top window on the right, I don't think I've seen that before; the pedestrian seems to blend well in the picture - I think I got him in just the right spot, unintentionally getting him in almost the exact opposite distance from the 'do not enter' sign.  Also, to me the house seems much bigger in this photo than when I saw it in person.

Westminster Abbey

London, England - May 30, 2011

Bangkok, Thailand - December 2006

Thailand - December 2006

These photos were taken in 2006, developed sometime in 2009, and were pretty much left sitting in a binder until a few weeks ago when I scanned them.  Now that I take a closer look at these pictures, this Thai botanical garden is highly manicured, perhaps too much so, making them look very strange, even eerie to me.  I can't remember how I felt at the time I took these.  I wonder if this place is flooded today, considering how much of Thailand is flooded at the moment.

Speckled rock faces

Grand Canyon, Arizona - May 22, 2010

New York City - May 2009

Happy Birthday to my sister Stephanie, who loves NYC.  

Algonquin Park, Ontario - summer 2009

Toronto - August 2010

Rome, Italy - May 28, 2011

This is a picture of what is across the street from the Colosseum. When I developed this roll of film I found it curious that this image was sandwiched between two negatives of the Colosseum. Let's see, the Colosseum is a 2000+ year old structure, I can't fathom what used to be across the street that long ago...but in modern times, it's a hot dog stand (click picture to view larger image, food stand on top of hill, in the centre). That's the reason I took this picture - I saw this juxtaposition of modern vs. antiquity.  But, come to think of it, there must have been food stands that long ago too right?  Maybe just not for hot dogs in particular.

Saint John, New Brunswick - October 2010

Phoenix, Arizona - May 20, 2010

Crowds, Lights & Times Square

New York City - May 2009

I was looking at this photograph to see if there was anything more to it than just a mass of people and tall buildings - which of course is what is an expected sight in Times Square NYC and is interesting to look at in its own right - but I think what makes this picture work for me is the space/sky between the buildings and the curved opening happening in foreground of the crowd; the open spaces I think creates a unity, as if giving the photo some breathing space while complimenting the busy elements.

Toronto skyline

Toronto - 2009

St. Michael's Cathedral, winter

Toronto - 2009

Venice - May 24, 2011

Venice has innumerable pathways, churches at unexpected corners, tight alleys with shops, restaurants, and hotels all side by side...this photo was from my excursion of discovering those such places. I took this picture because I saw this juxtaposition of an imposing white church with grand pillars beside what could be someone's home with potted plants outside their window.  

Paris - May 16, 2011

Angkor, Cambodia - 2007

The temples of Bayon - ubiquitous stone faces, some broken, some still intact.  No matter how many times one visits such a place of unquestionable human accomplishment, the grandeur of the place never ceases to amaze.  This photo was from my second visit in which I tried to capture more than one face in a frame, particularly in profile and from higher vantage points (so it doesn't seem like I am looking up at it).  I like how the massive stones really lend itself to black & white photography - the textures and tones really come out.  

Volcano crater close-up

Maui - December 2009

This photo was shot just after sunrise on the East Maui Volcano called Haleakala.

Toronto - 2001

This ten year old photo of columns, although not supremely interesting or striking, was part of what made me interested in taking photographs...it was part of all the "stuff" I shot, "stuff" meaning everything that looked like it could make a cool picture, even when it didn't turn out so.  I still like it.

A busy city

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - 2003

This a picture taken in Phnom Penh on my first visit there.  When I first developed this film, I was really proud of this photo - I think it captures some of the hustle and bustle of the capital city with the motorbikes whizzing by and all the people going about their business on the street.  There is a lone person standing on the balcony on the second level in the building on the right - I like how the stillness of that single person contrasts with the blur of the motorbikes and people on the street level.

New York City - May 2009

Quebec City - July 2009

I visited old Quebec City again two weekends ago...still enjoyed it very much, and since I've been to Paris earlier this year, I can see why some people refer to this place as "little Paris".

Rock abstractions

Grand Canyon, Arizona - May 23, 2010

These rock abstractions are from what I would call a 'failed project' - one that didn't quite make it past my rough printing stage. When one goes to the Grand Canyon, one sees this great expanse of land; for me though, I saw formal elements - individual rock details that needed to be abstracted, composed, and captured on film. Unfortunately after shooting more than two hundred of these abstractions, they ended up looking very similar to one another. Needless to say, this project never left the darkroom. But, I still really like the project - the photos show texture and vivid natural forms.  I suppose this wasn't a failed project in the sense that I found joy in the whole experience of searching and drawing out these compositions of rocks - it was an exercise for my photographer's eye.

Montreal, Quebec - April 2010

Waianpanapa - Black Sand Beach

Hana, Maui - December 2009

Crockett Hotel

San Antonio, Texas - February 2010

I liked the way this picture turned out - the crazy scraggly tree, the bushy trees that look like they are slowly climbing up the hotel facade...I think it makes the hotel look interesting, almost ominous.

Wall writings

Toronto - 2003

Mystery shops

Saint John, New Brunswick - October 2010

These two stores are second hand shops - one furniture, one used/unwanted/cheap buy items.  I went into both, the furniture one on the left was tiny but neat and organized, the other on the right, exceptionally cramped and full of boxes upon boxes of stuff.  I took this picture because I liked the way the light shone on the building and the uniformity of the windows; it also had an "old store" look to it due to the signage.  I shot this weeks before I ever went into these shops; it was interesting what I found inside.

Paris - May 17, 2011

Notre Dame Cathedral, bushy trees, and really flat lighting.  I wish I could have captured it a bit better.  Nonetheless, I still took a piece of history home with me. I do like the way the cloud looms though, decorating the sky.