2008: More Puppy

Couldn't really think of what to talk about for today. So I dove into my Flickr account and looked at my sets. I figure I have two more posts to do on Nietzsche and here I go. Now Susie was doing as much as possible with him. Taking him every where and where ever she could. Needless to say she was spending a lot of time out doors. I didn't care. He's a great dog and loving too. It was amazing how many excursions we went on. I loved the randomness of the time that summer and early fall. Of course we had to drive everywhere to get anywhere.

I always made sure that I had my camera with me. And sometimes spare batteries even. The trips to where we were going were fun. Trying to keep Nietzsche out of the front seats was and still is hilarious. In the warm times he does like hanging his nose out the window.



He is an irascable pup. Always wanting to be the center of attention. that means he has to be right beside you always. Of course some places frown upon this. Like bars, and pubs with patios. Something to do with the health regulations I think. So he trys to sneak in until we shoo him out again.


He does get some attention though. A lot of wandering people and kids. He's great with the wee ones too. Oh and other dogs as well. He loves to play.



Now Susie can be a bashful girl. A lovely lady I do believe.



But this isn't about her. I just had to throw that one in(I am probably going to get my ear talked off about that one. :)).

Well, I thought I had some other pictures around here somewhere with kids and a patio. Unfortunately I can't find them. I will search high and low till I track them down. Save them for another post then. And remember, sometimes you can rest during the walk.

PaladinPhil

2008: Public Sculpture, Details Part 2

Well, back to 2008 and my point and shoot camera. Today we are going to look at a set of sculpture that's around the Metropolitan Police Headquarters in Downtown Toronto on College street between Yonge and Bay st. These pieces are located at the main entrance on College, the corner of Bay and Grenville, and at the rear Grenville entrance. They are a combination of granite and bronze and try to embody the police service here in Toronto, or at least that's my take on it. The artist that created these pieces is Eldon Grant.

The first piece on College is of a female officer with a trowel with a foot on a stack of granite "bricks". The trowel is held out and has mortar on it. As if she's setting up the placement of another brick. It's a good sculpture with the officer in proper gear for a patrol officer. Of course it isn't what a normal officer wears these days.



On the corner of Bay and Grenville is the next one. It's of a young boy pulling a wagon which contains an obelisk style column. On each face of the column are the words "To Serve And Protect". Such a large task for a young lad, and such a weighty responsibility as well.




One thing I have seen is the defacing of some pieces with graffiti. It ticks me off when I see it. Some is easily cleaned off like on the granite shown in the last picture. I have also seen it scratched on bronze pieces and once it sets into the patina, forget about removing it cheaply. Any way rant off and the last piece.

At the Grenville entrance stands a man holding a board on his shoulders carrying a stack of books on each side. Now this could be two things. Either the rule of law, or knowledge. It could go either way. Todays modern police are rarely the knuckle dragging neanderthals that they are sometimes portrayed to be in certain medias. It takes a lot of education in just the law in order for them to do their job effectively.



Well that's it for today. Keep walking.

PaladinPhil

2009: The New Camera...

Okay, I am stepping forward to the present for a post, maybe more, to bubble with enthusiasm. I finally got a new camera. Well, new to me at least. It's a gently used Nikon D200. As far as I am aware I am the third person to own this camera. I have been pricing and thinking about a new camera for almost a year now. Ever since some people talked to me about photography and stuff. Of course even good used cameras aren't cheap. Well my friend knew I was in the market and asked if I wanted to buy his. He was upgrading to a better model and by selling me his old camera it helps to defray the costs. So I have been waiting for him to get his new camera so I could get my grubby mitts on his.

He was generous and allowed me to play with the D200 from time to time. Mostly to teach me what to do and how it handles. A week ago I got to use it and shot some, I think, decent shots.



Well, I got the news and on this past Sunday I was handed a camera. Now, I have been learning how my old camera worked and most of my pictures were turning out decently overall. All of a sudden I was thrown to the wolves and making a whole bunch of new and old mistakes. Like the evil of over exposure.



Well, I was shown how to adjust that and learned about the handy dandy light meter. (I even found out it shows up in the view finder).

And I started to take some more decent pictures. I was also given a lens with the camera. OMG!!!!ELEVENTY!1!!1 No more digital zoom, I was doing optical baby. Of course I had to test it out.



Now, I had gotten the overexposure problem mostly solved. Then I learned about under exposure. Yep, more bad pictures. Once again I thank the digital age for saving me massive film costs as I am learning.



Slowly I got the hang of it. And still I am getting the hang of it. There are so many buttons and meters, and settings, and, and... I think it's going to take awhile for me to figure everything out. I have been getting better at it though. I will be needing some more lenses soon. Even though I have only one lens, I am not letting it restrict me.

Even after the sunset.


Keep walking, and I think it's time to get a back support too.

PaladinPhil

Cenotaphs: Part 2, University Avenue

It's hard to believe that for such a young country, relatively speaking, we have been involved in a lot of military action. Either home or abroad. On University Avenue, between Queen St. and College, there are several specific Cenotaphs and War Memorials. Most Cenotaphs are generic, and mention the three major wars we were involved in. The ones on University mention either a specific war or battle.

On the intersection of Queen and University is a rather large on. This memorial is a rather large column with sculptures and dedications.



There is a dedication that I tried to get a picture of but didn't come out clearly. It reads, "To the memory and in the honour of the Canadians who died defending the Empire in the South African War 1899-1902" Here's the large size of the picture. As well a picture of the Heritage plaque of the creator of this memorial and several others across Toronto and Canada.



Next up the avenue is the RCAF Memorial that's dedicated to all airmen that have served or died. Two notes about some of these pictures, when I was uploading them I failed to notice the graffiti on the ground stone. It's not bad just people writing in the grime on it. As well in the first picture, you can actually see me reflected in the polished granite.





Here's an interesting observation on this memorial. The person holding his hands out stretched below the bird is nice. I think that the bird is a semblance of the old style cap badges of the Royal Canadian Air Force. I will find a picture and try to have it posted before too long. I have to go home and check to see if I have an old cap badge first.

The last memorial along this stretch is the "Great War" Cenotaph and Memorial. This one is along the lines of most memorials in small towns. It has carved into it all the names of the fallen from the municipality of Toronto.




These are just some of the Memorials in this area. If you go to Queens Park which is just two blocks north of the Great War memorial there are at least two there. One I will be talking about in great detail, the other will be part of another post. Until next time, keep marching.

PaladinPhil

2008: Buses, Subways, and Platforms...

Okay, so I don't walk everywhere. I need to get to where I want to take pictures and I don't own a car. Living in Toronto this isn't that much of a problem. Even in the early morning hours it's possible to catch a bus going where I need to. This has allowed me to try all sorts of settings on my point and shoot camera. As well, some station platforms or access points have wonderful works of art, or interesting ones to capture.

One thing I have always been fascinated about is blurred shots done on purpose. The motion of fast moving cars, bikes, or trains. Using the 3 shot on my camera I was able to grab either trains in motion while I was staionary...



Or while I was riding the front of the train...



Buses can be boring really. I always seem to catch them coming and going...



Some subway stations have works of art in them, well art work at the least. Some is good, some is nice to look at. From the way the city is talking we will be getting theme stations at certain stops like what they have done to Museum Station. Museum exits right in front of the Royal Ontario Museum, and is decorated to reflect this. The work was completed last year after about a year of remodelling it.





Other stations have mosaics or different styles. In fact you can usually tell a subway station by the ceramic tiles on the walls themselves.



I will end this post now. Remember when walking, half the fun is the journey itself, not just the destination. Keep walking or riding the bus.

PaladinPhil