Baddeck Light

Baddeck Light
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

I am slowly working through my Nova Scotia images.
This one in particular has caused quite a stir on a forum I frequent.

Some agree with the choices I have made, some like it, some do not.

I respect all of their opinions because they are all fine photographers

but what it really comes down too, for me and for them is this simple credo ..

I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them. ~Pablo Picasso

The Pilot

The Pilot
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

Atlantic Canada, it has to rate as one of my favourite places in the whole world.
Up there with The English Lakes, Scotland and Vancouver Island.

I have traveled here many times over the years on business but only a few as a tourist.
Nothing changes, as soon as I smell the salt air and watch the tide come and go old memories and ways start to surface (pardon the pun).
I am from a small sea town where people made their living from, and a few lost there lives to, the sea.

If you are not one of these people it is hard to explain maybe John Masefield says it best in Sea Fever...

So, to those who make their living, to those who never came back and especially to those who who died trying to save "those in peril on the sea", the men and women of the lifeboat service, I dedicate today blog.


I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
~ John Masefield - Sea Fever ~

Up to the falls

Up to the falls
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

A walk in the woods, always does me good.
A walk in the woods with a stream and a waterfall now that is special.

The sounds of running water seems to wash away all other sounds along with worldly cares.
For a few minutes I am at peace.
That's why I always want to sit forever watching and listening and smiling both inward and outward.



Oh for a lodge in some vast wilderness,
Some boundless contiguity of shade,
Where rumour of oppression and deceit,
Of unsuccessful or successful war,
Might never reach me more.
~William Cowper

Red Brick cafe - Guelph

Red Brick cafe - Guelph
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

To really see a place you have to walk and leave the i-pod at home too.

We are too distracted, our lives have become one of hustle and bustle, rushing from on place or one meeting to the next.
Cell phones have become the electronic leash, the electronic interrupter of thought. Remember the time when you left the house and NO-ONE could reach you until you returned?

Remember the peace and quiet ?

We need to force ourselves to step back and " smell the roses".

We need time to unwind, to reflect, to enjoy the company of like minded friends.
To spend a few hours doing nothing in particular or something in particular, like wandering around the streets of your home town and seeing it for the first time.

That is what I did this weekend and boy does it feel good :)


So the thought for the day (or week) ..

There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast. ~Paul Scott Mowrer, The House of Europe

Upstream - Elora Gorge

Upstream - Elora Gorge
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

Elora, it's one of those places that can be visited over and over and still there is something new to see, experience and to photograph.
This weekend a friend and I decided it was about time we got back into our old ways of heading out early, before sunrise.
Our destination was Elora Gorge, we had decided to try to capture the dawn as it played across and down the Gorge sides.

The amazing thing is how quickly scenes change and how quickly they are gone forever.

However, they are replaced by new scenes :-)

Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again. ~Henri Cartier-Bresson

Blossoms

Blossoms
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

Springtime came back this weekend.
Actually it is more like early summer.
Highs in the mid 20's, brilliant sunshine and barely any clouds.

I know most people yearn for this after a Canadian winter but I'm so thankful that the evening still brings cooler temperatures and If only for a little while sleep will come easy.

Soon the evenings will be as hot as the days and restlessness is the result.

The wheel turns once more ...


You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming. ~Pablo Neruda

Sunrise in the woods

Sunrise in the woods
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

I have always been a morning person, well when I grew out of being a teenager..

Even so, as a child my Grandfather, when he was "ashore", would wake me at about 5:30am and we would go for a walk, a long walk.

They are happy memories and that is probably why I enjoy the dawn and long walks now.

What humbugs we are, who pretend to live for Beauty, and never see the Dawn! 
~ Logan Pearsall Smith