Photo of the Month – September

Hi Folks:

September was a busy month for Victoria, hosting (among other things) the Classic Boat Festival, the Chalk Art Festival and a visit from the British Royal family. However, in sorting through the 1100+ images we made last month, we were drawn once again to images we made in Beacon Hill Park. It really is a magical place for us. Continue Reading →

Photo of the Month – July

Hi Folks:

July holds the birthdays for both of Marcia’s parents, and while her Dad turned 93 this year, her Mom passed away several years ago. To honour her Mother’s memory, every year Marcia buys a rose and gives it away to a passing stranger – usually an older woman with whom she feels an affinity. Below is an image of this year’s gift:

Mom's Birthday Rose

Mom’s Birthday Rose

One day while Marcia was away celebrating her Dad’s birthday, Mike went for a walk in John Dean Provincial Park, just north of Victoria. There are many levels of beauty in this park, from the old Douglas fir trees to the salal berries, to an insect superhighway cut through a leaf. One only needs eyes to see.

Insect Highway

Insect Highway

Okay, that’s it for now. Go out and make some photographs!

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. For Marcia’s Dad’s birthday we put together a 40-page book containing 68 of Marcia’s photographs. If you’re interested you can see a preview of the first 15 pages (and purchase the book) here: My Photographs

Photo of the Month – November

Hi Folks:

One of the (many) benefits of living in Victoria is that we generally have flowers in bloom all 12 months of the year. A favourite thing for us to do on New Year’s Day is to go to the Lieutenant Governor’s levée (reception) and then wander the grounds, making images of the flowers (images we dutifully send back east, to remind friends and family of what is coming for them). 🙂

We’re not entirely without winter’s chill, however. Marcia made the following image of hoar frost on English ivy leaves one November morning on her commute through Beacon Hill Park.

Hoar Frost

Okay, that’s it! Go out and make some photographs!

Hugs,
M&M

Photo of the Month – March

Hi Folks: March was a pretty busy month for us, creatively, and in more ways than one! More details on that in an upcoming blog post. Between the two of us we made over 750 images in March. To some that’s not a lot, but to someone who still thinks in 36-exposure (and 12-exposure) rolls, it’s quite a bit. Mike’s Fuji camera died in February, so in the moment we’re both using our cell phone cameras and Marcia’s little Olympus point and shoot camera.

We selected two images for the photo of the month – one from each of us. On the left is an image of one of Victoria’s cherry trees in full bloom, made by Marcia. Our cherry and plum blossoms usually start in late January or early February, and there are still a few varieties in bloom now. It’s a wonderful treat every year. On the right is an abstract image of sorts made in nearby Beacon Hill Park. Mike captured this because it was the patterns of the leaves that caught his interest.

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms – photo by Marcia

Leaf Patterns

Leaf Patterns – photo by Mike

Okay, that’s it for March. Now go out and make some photographs!

Hugs,
M&M

Autumn Leaves

Hi Folks:

September now and next Tuesday the kids head back to school… The days are getting shorter and the leaves on the trees are changing colour too.

Anyway, there’s been some stir online in the past few days about Dr. Stephen Hawking‘s new book where he suggests that ‘God’ is not necessary to create the universe. I have a lot of respect for Dr. Hawking and he’s certainly entitled to his opinion, but it got me thinking about the following story. Now, I must point out that I first heard this story a long time ago, and every time I tell the story it gets changed a bit, but the storyline remains the same. I’m also not the original author of this story and don’t know who is, but whomever it is, I’d like to thank him or her for it! Continue Reading →