Originally from Northern England, Alan Norsworthy has been a photographer since the late 1960's.

He moved to Canada in 1973 and has made Guelph Ontario his home for the last 24 years.

" I remember visiting the CN Tower in the early 70's and the guide said that as far as you could see in any direction is the best farmland in Canada. That comment echoes down the years as I watch subdivisions eat up the landscape."

The area around Guelph offers up a plethora of rural images which Alan captures with his artistic vision. His work covers everything from macro photographs of flowers, sweeping landscapes, historic buildings and old abandoned farms in both colour and Black and White.

"This is where I find my inspiration, I have a need to show people the beauty I see as I walk the woods and fields of Southern Ontario"


Sunday, December 21, 2014






















https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajn_photography/15443048184/

Childhoods End ..
A book by Arthur C Clarke.

But what I want to talk about is how we encounter our own “Childhoods End” and what a pity it is when we do.

So many people give up being a child when they go through puberty and approach adulthood. They do this because they think they have too, because it's the price you have to pay to be a responsible adult.
I think that the price is too high and at best a fallacy.

Me?
Well I love to be up before dawn to see the new day break
Stormy days,Rainy days, Sunny days all invigorate the senses

Snowy days !! ah yes, snowy days, how can anyone not feel that deep sense of peace when they look out at the softly falling snow ?

Yesterday I and some friends walked a short section of the Bruce Trail in Waterdown, Ontario. 
A section called Grindstone Falls.

We didn't get too far before we scared a fox. Her reaction when she realised we were there was hilarious and set the mood for the morning as she scampered off down the trail.

Down by the falls the ice was forming, jewels hung from the low hanging branches and the rocks near the falls were slick with a thin, almost invisible coat of ice.

Several hours passed as we looked, saw and photographed winters wonders. 
When our thoughts returned to the here and now we realised just how chilled we had become and decided to head back to town for treats and banter.
As we sat around a table, talking, laughing and reliving the morning we were childlike still.

Ah to see the world through child like eye's and to wonder at the wonder of it all.
No, for me there can be no “Childhoods End”

Long time a child, and still a child, when years
Had painted manhood on my cheek, was I;
For yet I lived like one not born to die;
A thriftless prodigal of smiles and tears—
No hope I needed, and I knew no fears.
But sleep, though sweet, is only sleep—and waking,
I waked to sleep no more; at once o'ertaking
The vanguard of my age, with all arrears
Of duty on my back. Nor child, nor man,
Nor youth, nor sage, I find my head is gray,
For I have lost the race I never ran.
A rathe December blights my lagging May:
And still I am a child, though I be old
Time is my debtor for my days untold”.
~Hartley Coleridge (1796–1849)

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Patience has it's own reward ..




























 
Lets talk about ‘patience’..

Patience in this ‘instant’ age of Facebook, Instagram and all of the electronic means of communication seems redundant prehistoric even but to those of us who are ‘pre-internet’ it still holds value.
You see, for many, many months stretching into a year or more I have looked at the same scene but it has never materialised as the scene in my head.

Until yesterday.

Despite the bad start to the day, a rushed visit to the local emergency veterinarian with Winter who decided to drink a bottle of cough syrup (a whole other story, suffice it to say she is OK and my wallet considerably lighter) …. the fog and mists rolled in and I happened to drive by ‘the scene’.

Yes! it was developing nicely, so I continued home to drop off Winter and pick up a camera and sketch book of course.
Dashing back to the vantage point I have decided upon so long ago I made several images of the scene and in turning around to find yet another scene from the past list..

Two quick sketches completed my odyssey and I was on my way home again, there and back in 30 min.

30 minute journey that spanned a year.

My patience was rewarded, I have my photograph.
Not as perfect as the one in my head but close enough to make me smile.

I may not be the best photographer or artist but patience and perseverance make me better than I am.


With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable”. ~Thomas Foxwell Buxton

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Mr Clean


























Sometimes, well most times we do not see, or choose not to see the homeless and disadvantaged among us.


Yesterday I walked the mean streets of Hamilton with friends and was amazed by the numbers of homeless, transient and ‘lost’ souls who inhabit that part of town.


One of the first people I ‘met’ was smiling, laughing and walking with a spring in his step. He had just been ‘released’ and was making his way home with a small bag of possessions.
Can you imagine how that feels?
No neither can I but I caught a glimpse of it in those few moments.


Another, just a working man trying to get by was working a pump extracting grease and oil from the fryers at a local restaurant. If you have ever smelled old grease you can imagine how this scene was but he worked with a smile and was more than happy to chat about his job. He even posed for a photograph.
Can you imagine such a job ?
No neither can I and I am grateful that I do not have to do it.


As we walked I watched my friend Grant engage these people and many more with a quick word and a smile often convincing them to pose for a photograph.
He  has a way with people from all walks of life, especially the downtrodden.


Watching him engage total strangers in conversation was and is inspiring.


“It’s easy to be nice to people” was his only comment.


Yes it is but unfortunately it is easier to walk on by pretending they do not exist.

The next evolutionary step for humankind is to move from human to kind”. ~Author Unknown