Trippy hotel room lights

Redacted
Dryden, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m not one to make resolutions, but if I were so inclined, I’d resolve to capture more abstract scenes hidden within the everyday.

Like this one.

I came across it in a hotel room far from home. And while we waited for the heater to beat back the minus-6-bazillion-degree temperatures outside, I found myself admiring the wall-mounted lamps.

The graphics spoke to me, whispering shades of Tron, the IBM logo, and Ikea - albeit without the meatball lunch special. Some unknown designer somewhere had clearly read the creative brief with care.

So of course some random photography was called for. Not because it made any sense, but precisely because it did not. Because random moments both close to and far from home are often punctuated by the strange things we see in the margins.

And I’ve apparently made it my mission to slow those moments down and peer into those margins more than might seem reasonable.

At the very least, I end up with a memorable photo. But we all know none of this was ever really about the photography, anyway.

#dryden #ontario #canada #hotel #abstract #stilllife #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone17 #shotoniphone

Dognap

Sweet dreams
London, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Today feels like a day that could use a bit more dog in it.

Come to think of it, maybe it should be “a lot more dog” instead of “a bit more”. Words matter, apparently.

I’ll admit our particular dog, Calli, is loud and stubborn. She listens when she wants to, if at all. And if we’re being frank, sometimes she kinda smells funny, especially after a walk. She also has a nasty habit of eating tissue paper, then freaking out when it comes out gift wrapped. Schnauzers are weird to begin with, and she’s an outlier in countless ways.

Whatever the case, she’s still worth a good hang. She plays hard, sleeps even harder, and never fails to make everyone around her smile. Sounds like the recipe to a life well lived, doesn’t it?

#ldnont #canada #callithewonderschnauzer #actofdog

Light the darkness

What comes next
London, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On the longest night of the year, all eight lights of Chanukah, plus the ninth helper candle known as the Shamash, push the darkness aside.

It’s a fitting story of optics and history, and a timely reminder of the pervasive darkness that threatens those who light these candles.

The holiday ends at sundown tonight, at which point there will be no candles at all, no fires burning to banish the night.

That’s where we come in.

Because whoever we are and whatever we celebrate, light can be both real and virtual. And when the tangible holiday ends, it’s up to us to find ways to shine light. The more creative, the better.

I’m in. You?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #chanukah #hannukah #howeveritisspelled #jewish #holiday #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone17 #shotoniphone

Her friend the deer

Making connections
Dryden, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The only thing more magical than watching deer wander past the windows in search of lunch on a bitterly cold day is to witness a three-year-old take in the same scene.

It’s a normal thing for Lilly to see, and she’ll often stop what she’s doing when she realizes they’ve returned for a visit. She’s old enough now that she remembers their names and family histories from the stories mom and dad share with her. She’ll talk to them as they graze and excitedly describe the scene to her little sister Claira.

I hope Lilly never stops appreciating just how lucky she is that these wondrous animals have chosen her house to visit. I hope the deer always know they have a friend on the other side of the frosted glass.

#dryden #ontario #canada #doh #deer #family #photography #apple #iphone #iphone17 #shotoniphone

Frozen beauty in unexpected places

Iced geology
London, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sure, it’s cold. And harsh. And maybe a little dangerous. Or a lot.

But it’s also starkly beautiful.

So let’s choose to look for the beauty. It’s there, I promise you.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #winter #gutter #ice #abstract #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone17 #shotoniphone

Teletubby on the move

Stuffies get delayed, too
Mississauga, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Po the Teletubby is a 30-ish-year-old McDonald’s Happy Meal toy who’s been hanging off of my backpack ever since our then-munchkin son moved onto his next favourite toy.

She’s been everywhere, and wears her years with a certain tattered grace. I especially love the stolen glances and smiles from passing strangers when they realize a grown man has a tiny stuffie hanging off of his bag.

Most of us seem to spend most days dealing with the seriousness of life, and as I’m walking through this impossibly crowded airport, I’m surrounded by legions of frankly grumpy people dealing with any number of obvious and not-so-obvious challenges.

Yet when I stop in front of the flight status screen and hang her off her carabiner for a spontaneous photo session, a gentle-faced elderly woman wearing a knitted cap stops pushing her purple suitcase and watches quietly from the other side of the corridor. She waves when I’m done, and I wave back as I clip Po back onto the bag and continue on my way.

It’s a strange way to connect in a world that seemingly celebrates isolation. But for over half my life I’ve had a sidekick who seems to naturally make friends wherever she goes. Maybe we all need a little more Po in our lives.

#toronto #yyz #pearson #international #airport #ontario #canada #po #teletubby #red #travelphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone17 #shotoniphone

Heaven just above Earth

Final approach
Toronto, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Toronto puts on a show as we swoop down from the heavens.

A reminder, perhaps, to hit pause every once in a while and look out the window. We never know what we might see, but it’s a safe assumption that it’ll be worthwhile.

Maybe even inspirational.

#toronto #ontario #canada #yyz #travelphotography #flight #aviation #avgeek #apple #iphone #iphone17 #shotoniphone

The great glass jetway

Portal to anywhere
Winnipeg, MB
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Disclosure: I’m a nervous traveller. Introvert that I am, I’d rather not have to battle hordes of strangers for the last remaining overhead bin in an ancient Airbus.

So when I do find myself far from home, I’ll steal random moments, typically with a camera in my hand. It’s something of a coping mechanism, I suppose.

Yesterday we found ourselves in Winnipeg’s airport, so I wandered around looking for inspiration. It didn’t take long for one of YWG’s very tony glass-enclosed jetways to speak to me. Seriously, they should all be glass.

Should I have been standing Right There when I composed this image? I’m guessing that would be a hard no. Nor was it technically kosher to press the lens against the glass on the locked access door. I’m sure I broke a bunch of rules getting this shot, and thankfully I wasn’t busted by the airport police.

But here’s the thing: the world is a big scary place right now. Always has been, mind you, and likely always will be. So some of us look for comfort in unusual ways, in unusual places.

And maybe we stretch a boundary here and there, but the mission is a gentle one, and the reasons seem to make personal sense in an impersonal, frightening time.

At least that’s how I justify it to myself before the airport police come for me. When they do, please show them this photo. Hopefully they’ll go easy on me.

#winnipeg #manitoba #canada #airport #ywg #aircanada #aviationphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone17 #shotoniphone

Analog still rules

Under pressure
Woodstock, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Instruments once looked like this, industrial age dials that told their stories with the sweep of a hand.

Today we use screens to figure out what’s going on, how fast we’re going, and what may come next. More efficient? Sure. Better? Let’s talk.

Part of me thinks decades from now, no one will ever look at an old, dark flatscreen and wonder about the stories it might have once told.

History is best told in analog tones, I guess.

#woodstock #ontario #canada #throwback #stilllife #industrial #dominion #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Tracked changes

Everyone leaves evidence
London, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There are days when all we can do is stare at the ground and wonder what we’re leaving behind.

Today is one of those days.

If we’re lucky, we’ll get another tomorrow.

If we’re lucky, that tomorrow will be a different kind of day.

Maybe one where humans treat each other better.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #winter #snow #weather #wx #onstorm #streetphotography #abstract #shadow #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone17 #shotoniphone

Hatred finds Jews on an Australian beach

Light eradicates darkness
London, ON
December 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A bunch of Jews gather on Sydney’s Bondi Beach to welcome in Chanukah. And because they’re Jews, they’re mowed down by two gunmen carrying automatic weapons.

Not the first time Jews have been killed because they’re Jews. And it won’t be the last.

Not that it changes anything, but to Australia’s credit, the PM immediately called it a terrorist act. Doesn’t bring the victims, among them a 10-year-old girl, back. Doesn’t ease the fast-rising global wave of antisemitism masquerading as political “protest”. Doesn’t change the fact that thousands of years on, Jews still make convenient targets.

I’m shamed to admit I often hesitate to post anything in the wake of attacks like this. I am Jewish, after all, and it terrifies me that I might be inviting more hatred on myself - or worse, on my family - if I do.

But our history is filled with stories of Jews who chose silence over raised voices. Who said nothing in the futile hope it would somehow appease our oppressors. Make them go away and find someone else to bully.

Didn’t work then and won’t work now.

So I’ll use my voice.

In the meantime, the irony of the timing of this attack isn’t lost on me. The first night of Chanukah. The very festival of light. So we light the light. And with each successive night, we’ll add still more light. We’ll banish the darkness.

Might take thousands of years to get there. But we’ve been at it for just as long. We know the drill.

#enough

The first year of Claira...

Why hello there!
London, ON
June 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Claira turns one today.

A year of thoughtfully taking in the scene through her huge blue eyes.

A year of smiles bright enough to light up the room - and everyone in it.

A year of laughing with her favourite people - most loudly when it’s her big sister Lilly.

A year of exhibiting an uncannily chill sense of calmness no matter where she may be.

A year of starting to move and explore and speak and give toothy grins.

A year of weaving herself around the hearts of everyone she meets.

A year that went by in a blink. And makes us wish we could slow it down just a bit.

A year that closes out the first chapter in a charmed life, and sets the stage for even more stories to be told in the years ahead.

#LiveLaughLevy #family #everything

Windblown...

Temporary texture
London, ON
February 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It feels like it’s been snowing here forever, and Canadians being Canadians, the complaints are already flying.

So I’m sharing this, but not because any of this upsets me. Far from it.

Sure, I’d rather be pulling on my cycling gear and pedalling until I run out of road. But we can’t control the weather any more than we can fix a broken world.

So instead I’ll stare at the windblown textures at my feet and remind myself that every season has any number of small moments of joy.

And that those small moments really are the big ones.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #snow #winter #weather #wx #onstorm #abstract #stilllife #texture #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Eat the damn candy

Colour for days
Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC
August 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We make countless decisions over the course of a given day, and if we dig deeper into the why of each one, we may realize they’re all connected by a single question:

What’s best for us?

And in the case of edible stuff like these colourful gummy candies, we might decide to stay away because they’re filled with empty calories and ingredients that may or may not have originated on Planet Earth.

It is, after all, eminently reasonable to try to lead a healthier lifestyle, and to avoid overdoing it on admittedly unhealthy foods.

But I draw lines between meals composed entirely of junk food and an occasional indulgence amid reasonably balanced diet and exercise.

Because life is short.

Because we all deserve an occasional moment of sweetness.

Or a simple smile.

So eat the damn candy.

#ddo #montreal #quebec #canada #throwback #abstract #stilllife #colours #foodporn #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone