Adventures of a Vagabond Photographer

What I see out my apartment window…the iconic Leuty...

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:14:18 -0400

What I see out my apartment window…the iconic Leuty Lifeguard Station in the Toronto Beaches.

This is a thank you to my beloved Leafs for an entertaining,...

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:45:13 -0400

This is a thank you to my beloved Leafs for an entertaining, heart-breaking, exciting, did I say heart-breaking (?) season. And thank you to all of my concerned and supportive Facebook friends who celebrated along with me and my lucky Palmateer jersey. It is time to hang it up for another season. Don’t fret, I’ll wash it first! Here’s a song to cheer us up. You will want to sing along: http://youtu.be/W7jlGRq8xZ4

Here’s the iconic Leuty Lifeguard Station just down the...

Mon, 13 May 2013 07:19:30 -0400

Here’s the iconic Leuty Lifeguard Station just down the boardwalk from my apartment. In between unwelcome bouts of sleetish-snow, I took this series of snaps yesterday with the new Oggl app by Hipstamatic. As you can see, each filter shifts the mood of the subject and even the era! You can learn more about Oggl in my weekend post: http://www.vagabondphotography.ca/2013/05/12/photography-is-about-depth-of-feeling-not-depth-of-field-photographer-peter-adams/

I was lucky to spend some time in the late afternoon sun in my...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:36:13 -0400

I was lucky to spend some time in the late afternoon sun in my favourite Toronto neighbourhood, the Distillery District today. It was quiet today, but I’m sure it will heat up once the weather does.

Yesterday I had the good fortune to hop on the cross-town...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:20:27 -0400

Yesterday I had the good fortune to hop on the cross-town streetcar (the 501) to meet up with some good friends for coffee. We chatted up a storm at the tiny, funky White Squirrel Cafe and then went for a delicious warm and sunny walk through Trinity Bellwoods Park. A good day well spent!

I took this snap along the way, and tried out a new photo app for applying text called Photo-lettering. You can learn more about their artsy app here: http://www.houseind.com/showandtell/2013/03/13/FreePhotoletteringAppfromHouseIndustries

Here’s my favourite “Holy Roller Blader”...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:31:33 -0400

Here’s my favourite “Holy Roller Blader” captured right in front of my apartment building earlier this year, combined with one of my favourite adventuring quotes, thanks to the versatile Typic Pro App.

Today I discovered a new app that allows you to add words to...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:08:15 -0400

Today I discovered a new app that allows you to add words to photos. It’s called Path On, and it is fun! It gives you a variety of pre-determined “paths” for your words or sentences, or you can draw your own. You have lots of font choices for the font geeks out there (you know who you are)…and font colours. I chose this quote by one of my favourite photographers as it is SO true of almost all photos I take, but especially true of this shot I took of Atlas on 5th Avenue in New York.

We recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the development...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:46:07 -0400

We recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the development of the mobile phone. Have we reached the day when the device above will be an artifact of a bygone era? If you are a technology geek like me, you might enjoy this article on “bricks to clicks” http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/03/mobile-phone-40th-anniversary

Spring has finally sprung in the Toronto Beaches! Its about...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:38:06 -0400

Spring has finally sprung in the Toronto Beaches! Its about time! Here’s a snap taken with the versatile and truly funky app Hipstamatic. The effect is so old you cannot call it retro…Tintype.

I am the lucky gal spending a glorious Saturday afternoon at...

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 13:02:39 -0500

I am the lucky gal spending a glorious Saturday afternoon at Marble Mountain on Newfoundland’s stunning west coast. As the good folks say here “wicked!”

Whenever I get a chance to come home, I try to take Mum and Dad...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:11:54 -0500

Whenever I get a chance to come home, I try to take Mum and Dad for a drive. Well, this morning dawned snowy but bright. Lots of the fluffy white stuff! After a nice lunch at the local Forest diner, Huron Cove, we took a short drive out to the lake and wound up at the summer camp across the road from our old farm. The driveway is long, tree-lined and beautiful! Especially on a snowy February Sunday! Here’s where I spent much of my well-spent youth cutting lawns and toiling as a camp counsellor: http://www.lambtoncentre.com/

I had a snowy drive home from Toronto to Forest yesterday but...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:08:05 -0500

I had a snowy drive home from Toronto to Forest yesterday but when I reached Lambton County, it looked more like spring. Here’s a snap from near our old farm. Note the lone windmill…
Today is a different story! We got a magical 4 or 5 inches of fluffy new snow overnight. Photos to come!

Happy Snow Storm Friday! For once in a very long time a...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:37:49 -0500

Happy Snow Storm Friday! For once in a very long time a predicted storm is as bad as the weather folks predicted. And it is NOISY down here at the lake. Intense and awesome! Stay safe everyone!

Last night was pretty special! I was one of the lucky...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:05:43 -0500

Last night was pretty special! I was one of the lucky photographers participating in the Diamond Jubilee Gala held at the visually stunning Roy Thomson Hall. As you can see from the photos above, the early part of the Gala included a pinning ceremony for the deserving Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal recipients. This medal honours Canadians from all walks of life for their contributions and achievements and I was proud to take their picture receiving the medal from another worthy recipient, Craig Kielburger. Craig was joined by the likes of Liona Boyd, Peter Mansbridge, Brian Williams, Ken Dryden and George Stroumboulopoulos, to name a few who presented in my little corner of the hall. A fun night in Toronto in honour of a group of truly inspiring Canadians!
If you want to learn more about the Gala, visit here: http://www.unionjacknews.com/articles/star-studded-diamond-jubileee-gala-in-toronto/

Well, I picked a good day to work from home! It was very...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:13:17 -0500

Well, I picked a good day to work from home! It was very blizzard-y down here on the Beaches boardwalk. Mother Nature is full indecision of late eh!

Anyone else besides me missing all that beautiful white stuff??...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:57:31 -0500

Anyone else besides me missing all that beautiful white stuff?? Here’s a recent snap taken near Madoc, Ontario and morphed into a painting using the groovy Glaze App.

Happy New Year everyone! I must say, I was the lucky one to ring...

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:15:39 -0500

Happy New Year everyone! I must say, I was the lucky one to ring in the first day of this new year on another back roads adventure in the Jeep, this time with good friends in tow and a healthy hike as our goal. On our way to the Elora Gorge Conservation area, we stopped at the historic West Montrose “Kissing Bridge”, Ontario’s only remaining covered bridge. Apparently it is called the kissing bridge due to it’s romantic setting (for those who were wondering…) Here’s a snap of the bridge, rendered into a painting by the fun Glaze app.

Yesterday’s adventure certainly proved that enjoying the journey each day is a very healthy big idea for this new year. In case you missed it whilst revelling on New Year’s Eve, here’s my post on enjoying the journey: http://bit.ly/134082a

A special thanks to Kelly, MaryBeth and Ruth for making this New Year’s Day so fun and memorable!

I have a friend “riding the rails” today and I envy...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 09:43:47 -0500

I have a friend “riding the rails” today and I envy her peaceful journey across the countryside. As a confirmed singleton, I typically am the driver in my own adventures, but when traveling by train, it is so luxurious to just sit back and watch the world pass you by. In celebration of Cara’s train trip, here’s one of my snaps taken out the window of a Via train as we chugged across windswept Manitoba last Christmas. Here’s to the journey!

On this wintry day I thought I’d share a wintry scene from...

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:11:06 -0500

On this wintry day I thought I’d share a wintry scene from the Manitoba countryside. Another “taken-out-the-train-window” snap.

Merry Christmas everyone! From my Mum and Dad’s Christmas...

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 07:16:24 -0500

Merry Christmas everyone! From my Mum and Dad’s Christmas angel and from us, of course.