A couple days before Christmas a client of ours called to extend a warm invitation to his staff Christmas party;  Joseph is a really good guy that way.  As we fell through the conversation I mentioned that this December was feeling more like an early November.  Rain and warm snaps made people forget that January was just around the corner. I guess mother nature over heard that conversation and made up for lost time.

Early Christmas morning along the docks just off of Cherry St.  Winds howled off of the lake and made the whole process of setting up tricky. My gloves blew away, my hat joined them and if the dogs expression was to believed then she felt she was next.  I’m not at all too sure that it was worth it for the shot.  In my defense I didn’t anticipate the weather and I assumed it wasn’t much different from the conditions that met me outside my home.  I’ll smarten up and check the marine forecast for the lake next time.

One of the many nameless streams around here.  This one eventually winds its way through Georgetown and connects with the Credit River in Norval just east of here.

I’m feeling restless and out of place lately. I have nothing but a handful of first-world-problems and most of them are of my own doing.  I want to complain and gripe and just make the world go away for a bit.

At work I feel fresh out of ideas for my clients.  Another product, another big idea and what feels like the expectation to build the brand, image, whatever you want to call it, perfectly.  Does it really matter in the end? I think there needs to be some finesse, the name or words or what have you can’t be cumbersome to say, the ideas should be clear.  It shouldn’t feel like you’re trying to speak with a mouth full of marbles.  Other then that is the name honestly going to make it or break it? I hope not; I hope your thing has more than that going for it.

Like I said, feeling out of place, out of juice and out of a big helping of GAF…

By the way, it is my goal in 2012 to learn how to express myself well through the written word.  This means finally learning proper use of punctuation, timing and what actually goes into expressing written ideas.

I’ve driven by a small creek, arguably river, for the past 5 years of my life.  I’ve seen it in every season and just about every weather condition.  However today was the first time I hiked down with my camera intending to capture what I’ve seen.  You might notice the distinct lack of any creek, river or even water save for the frozen variety on the ground.  Well, that whole idea was a bust.  A case of seeing something as you move as more interesting then when you stand still and hope to capture it in one, single, frame.

Instead I capture the above as I retreated home.  Something about the sky today, the stillness, the cold and the lifeless hue of blue and brown mixing across the field.  Hopefully this shooting thing will pick up.

Now in life and in the end I’m not sure it matters what you choose even when it comes to the bigger decisions in life.  It all just feels like ones along for the ride, just doing the best to keep things level.

Back in October of this year I dusted of the camera, literally, and hiked a well known section of the Bruce Trail near the hamlet of Lowville.  I say literally because the gear has sat still since this time last year when I brought my dog in for a few shots. Actually, there might have been a photo shoot or two for clients but my memory fails me right now.

I made plans of posting this shot in October as the first one on a fresh migration of my photo blog from MovableType to WordPress.   The migration however took longer than I had expected, two months later I’m actually getting around to it.

Perhaps I can me 2012 a more productive year. You know, before the world ends and everything…

Misha, a 2 year old Karelian Bear Dog and my morning cycling buddy tolerates a few test shots.

A TR 4 crosses the track during the First Frost 2010 navigation rally in Halton Hills

Knowing some of the members and being a car enthusiasts I headed out to give a hand. Great turn out for a fringe event with 20 cars participating.

Navigation rallys are run across the country. They depend on driver skill and a navigatiors love for and ability to solve puzzles to keep the team on track. They are run at or below the posted speed limit and scoring is based on the teams ability to make it to check points at specific times. Arrive faster and get penalized, arrive to late and get penalized, its fun I hear.

We were on hand to shoot BMO’s $4 Million Gift to Perimeter Institute to Accelerate Research and Innovation in Canada. Definitly not as exciting for me as the Q2C festival from last year. None the less, an interesting evening.

Misha, a dog that started out socially awkward, is now the one that gives chase. She’s learning new ways to engage the other dogs in giving chase and one those is a pesky habit of nipping their behinds.

I said my goodbyes to Trevor, Bobby and dave and left White Wing Resort around 20:00. I made plans to stop ever so often and shoot long exposure shots on my overnight drive across Ontario. This shot of Wabigoon river was the only stop I made that night. Shortly before Thunder Bay the rain set in, then the fog, the the down pour that ate up any spare time left. 18 hours later I was home and drooling on my pillow.