In Training

On a recent train trip to Halifax there were panoramic views to behold.

In the train yard, pulling out of Moncton:

Boxy.  Linear.  Gritty.  Unkempt.  

Like some men I've known.

(not really!  I just threw that in to see if you're paying attention)

The Tantramar Marsh, tidal saltwater mudpit 

and wild fowl habitat,

between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The marshland is an east coast watery version of the prairies with its flatness and big skies.

This is where they grow school buses, 

as yellow as dandelions.

And here are messengers of the future, waving their arms in their own mysterious semaphore.

Next stop:  Halifax.

Different Points of View

The morning before I left Vancouver dawned bright and promising in the view from my bedroom window.

Just what it promised I found out a couple of hours later...

I mean, really?  Snow on the day before spring in Vancouver?? 

This is supposed to be Lotus Land, people!

Everyone out of the pool!

The morning after I arrived back at my home on the east coast dawned clear and bright as well,  bringing with it another promising view from my bedroom window.  Ironically, I had wintered west in order to escape the frigid temperatures and snowbound months Maritimes winters are known for, only to find that the west experienced unusually cold temperatures this year while the east basked in (chilled) sunshine for most of the winter.

Thinking I'd go out for a walk to get re-acclimatized,  I donned my jacket and scarf and was just about to head out the door when Pierre looked at me with a very puzzled expression on his face.  "Have you been outside yet?" he asked.  "No?  Well, maybe you should check it out before you head off."  He was right--it was 26 C!

Things are getting a little more back to normal around here, now that I've arrived. Temperatures going back to the low single digits with flurries in view.  Seems wherever I go, I always take the weather with me.

Postcards Home

...or postcards from home?  I'm never quite sure which coast I belong to.

Schooners used to ply these waters, sailing right up the Peticodiac River from the Bay of Fundy.  If we had lived here in our house then, we would have seen them from our front windows, moving in and out on the high tides.

This has been a Maritimes moment.

Beside the Sea

 Just a few short weeks ago...

Is it just me, or does it feel like summer's coming to a close?

Beach Views

It amuses and amazes me how beach-goers are so willing to shed any inhibitions about showing their raw flesh to the world and just letting it all hang out.  Well not all, at least not in these parts where nudity is not permitted and Speedos and string bikinis are (fortunately) rare.

While I generally consider it a good thing that people neither be ashamed of their bodies nor too self-conscious to go to the beach, I am confused by the ongoing dedication to baking, broiling, and generally roasting one's self once there. 

Rump Roast

I have to admit that I am loath to don a bathing suit and will only do so only if confronted with the inevitability of sitting in the blazing sun on a shadeless beach with no hint of a breeze, balmy or otherwise.  It's possible that my own great-grandparents had some influence on this rather prudish approach I take to my personal beach attire.

Here are two versions of a photo from August 1958 of Nanar and Grandad Newport enjoying a day at the beach in White Rock, BC.  The photo on the left replicates how the picture might have turned out if I'd taken it when I was at the beach this past weekend.  The 2nd version puts us back into a more nostalgic frame of mind.

And this one goes for the full-blown misty, water-coloured, faded memory effect.  Don't they look like they're having a marvellous, fun day at the beach?!
(I suspect they were only in it for the anticipated fish'n'chips)

If I am so unwilling to clad myself in skimpy attire and bare my aging, tender skin to the harmful rays of the sun you may be wondering what possessed me to head off for some beach baking on the weekend.

Why, nothing less than an unanticipated return visit from a very special somebody!  And I can say that I had a fabulous day at the beach with my two special some buddies, bathing suit and all!

Beach Bake Boogie-woogie

Alley Oop!

I like to wander down alleys.  Not all alleys, mind you; ones that have a backyard feeling to them-- a neighbourly sort of ambience.  They're never as prim and proper as the front yard presentation of a household.  Out back is where people hang out, though many people do sit out on front porches as well, depending where the sun or shade is; depending on which they're seeking; depending on whether they want privacy or to watch the world parade by their doorstep.

Doesn't this fenced-in Montreal yard with its flower-bedecked balcony look homey?  I'm fascinated with balconies and porches, with how people turn them into mini-yards and gardens and transform them into little oases in the midst of a city.  This photo is how it looks straight from my camera; no adjustments, other than size for blog purposes.

But you know that when it comes to photos I really can't leave well enough alone...

so this is how the same photo looks with a little "boost" in Photoshop.  It gives a better feeling of how I felt when standing in the alleyway taking that picture: excited by the vibrancy of the place and warmed by the hot summer sun.

Today, however, I learned on someone's blog how to take a colourful crisp kind of photo and tone it down so that it has a completely different sort of feeling...

I've put a dark blue overlay over it which has really muted the colours and given it the feel of an old photograph.

By incorporating a border from an actual old photo that I have, the aged feeling is further enhanced.

And then by adding a grungy sort of overlay that I found for use on a flickr site, I can take what was a pretty good photograph and turn it into something quite...other.

I find this rendition very soothing and peaceful, and rather timeless. 

Which do you prefer?

But just to snap us back into present day "reality," here's another look at the same scene

Okay, yes, I did boost the tones here again, plus toyed with the edges, giving a hint of the autumn to come.

I have a few more alley shots up my sleeve that should surface in a few days.  I'm not sure yet whether I will tinker with them.  Oh, who am I trying to kid--of course I will!  Photo purists be warned.

Beachy Keen

I know this sentiment is not original and, in fact, The Saggitarian over at More Canterbury Tales used it the other day as the title of her blog, but I swear I'd already Photoshopped this little postcard together before I saw her posting. As she pointed out in my comment box, "great minds think alike" and our mutual brilliance is well-attested, at least in our own minds.







"C" is here on a visit and the sun is shining for once this summer, so it's off to the beach!







We find a nice place to plunk ourselves down behind the dune.







Nothing to do but admire the view.





[Gentle Viewers, here's your chance to compare and contrast and decide which you prefer, moody black and white or bubblegum technicolour with Dolby surround-sound. The beach pictures here, with the boat (above) and the dogs (below) have black and white versions in an earlier post (see July 29). Shall we take a vote? Of course, it would help if I actually took good pictures but try to overlook that little detail! For a more informed debate over the b&w vs. colour dilemma, see today's posting at The Magic Lantern Show].






Here's the colour version of Fifi and Florence's arrival at the beach.

*
The sun is beginning to set, the temperature cooling, and our tummies beginning to grumble for some real food, so it's time to pack up and head out. Some more good photo ops on the way, though, so don't bail on me yet...