My Photo Journal: To Sail Away (or An Imaginary Foray in Pursuit of Happiness)

Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.
― Carol Lynn Pearson

Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.
― Alexandre Dumas
The first image was taken at Ward's Island Beach in the summer of 2011. The Toronto Islands beaches are among the cleanest in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) despite their proximity to the downtown core. We took a tent with us that day, a good thing since we experienced one of the biggest thunderstorms of the season that afternoon! Despite strong wind gusts and lashing rain, our tent held firm and we stayed dry and cozy for the hour or so that the weather raged over us. My daughter was pretty unfazed during the whole episode, and thought it was a pretty cool to have snacks and work on jigsaw puzzles with rain drumming on the roof of the tent. The dog, however, was not that impressed! :) I took the shot of the lake about half an hour after the storm had passed and the cruise ship was making its rounds again. I waded out to the water until I was about thigh-deep to try and get a nearer shot of the boat (I only had my 35mm camera lens with me that day) but that was about the best close-up shot I could get.

The second picture was post-processed in Photoshop CS4, using textures from Shadowhouse, Flypaper, and Florabella. I "stamped" the dragon onto the composition using a Photoshop brush I had made of a vintage illustration in a 1906 book entitled "Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art". If you would like to download the brush for personal use only, you can click on this link.

(This post was originally published in July 2011.) © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Giselle or A Swan at the Toronto Zoo

"Giselle" straight out of camera (SOOC)
Swans have a long history in many world cultures, usually known to represent beauty, purity, perfection and grace. In Greek mythology, the swan is associated with Aphrodite and is a symbol of chastity. The Celts believed swans were benevolent deities and would forge their images into silver medallions that could be worn around the neck for protection. Swans are also revered in Hinduism, and compared to saintly persons who have attained great spiritual capabilities.

These elegant birds can pair for years, and are often a symbol of love or fidelity because of their long-lasting, apparently monogamous relationships. I took a picture of this swan at our last family outing to the Toronto Zoo on Saturday, April 9. It seemed quite lonely and sad, and reminded me of the heroine in the ballet Giselle (who wasn't a swan but rather a peasant girl who had met an untimely death). It's fairly uncommon to see a lone swan here in Ontario - we've mostly seen them in twos, threes or a whole flock and we were hoping to perhaps glimpse its companion but none appeared in the half hour or so that we were meandering around the stream. As we headed towards the parking lot, I saw it drift into a clump of bushes with plaintive cries. It was quite heartbreaking! I like to imagine it finding a mate, and living happily ever after. Foolishly sentimental, perhaps but as Voltaire said, "Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination."

The SOOC (straight-out-of-camera) shot was post-processed in Photoshop CS4 with the following recipe:
(1) Assign Profile to Adobe RGB 1998
(2) Florabella Textures III --> Seaside (Flip vertical, Multiply @ 50%).
(3) Flypaper Textures, Spring Painterly pack --> Ovid Banished (Flip horizontal, Lighten @ 75%)
(4) Flypaper Textures, Spring Painterly pack --> Ovid Banished (Multiply @ 25%)
(5) Flypaper Textures, Spring Painterly pack --> Apple Moss (Multiply @ 75%)
(6) Photoshop -> Levels and Curves adjustment
(7) Added back Apple Moss @ Multiply 30% at this point because the image looked a bit too light and faded, and just re-boosted the colors/contrast with some tweaking in Levels

© 2019 FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved. (Originally published 2014.)

My Photo Journal: Winter Play at Earl Bales

All walking is discovery.
On foot we take the time to see things whole.
― Hal Borland
Taken on the last snow day we had in Toronto. The colored tubes and the purple moose sculpture are part of the Sarah and Morris Feldman Sensory Garden and children's playground at Earl Bales Park in the North York neighborhood. Apart from the children's area, there is an off-leash area for dogs, and the park is also home to the Earl Bales Ski & Snowboard Centre (also called the North York Ski Centre), one of the only two ski hills in the GTA (the other one is in Etobicoke). You can get some really good exercise around here since the park is quite hilly. There are paved paths as well as wooded trails although I wouldn't go on the paths if they're icy since some of the slopes are pretty steep. The sensory garden and playground easily keep my 3 year-old daughter occupied for a couple of hours, and there are also a few good spots where we can play hide-and-seek. :) We definitely find Earl Bales to be one of the best parks in Toronto for a kid who has energy to spare!

(This post was originally published in March 2012.) © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Winter Foliage at Alexander Muir

What fire could ever equal the sunshine of a winter's day?
― Henry David Thoreau

With the amazingly good weather over the past few days (double-digits and sunny), it's felt more like summer than winter in Toronto. It's somewhat disconcerting, therefore, to look around and still see monochromatic foliage when bursts of brightly-colored annuals might seem more appropriate for the unseasonally warm temperatures.

Not having shot a lot of photos in the Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens during the winter months, I thought I'd take the opportunity to get in a couple of late winter foliage shots before the city crew spruces up the park, and all the spring bulbs and early perennials start pushing their heads through the dark earth. If you've never been to this beautiful green space in the Yonge and Lawrence neighborhood, be sure to check it out for its easy walkability (especially with a 3 year-old), friendly dog owners, and the architecturally interesting buildings that can be glimpsed all around the park as you meander down the adequately maintained paths.

If you take the subway, just get off at the Lawrence stop, then walk south on Yonge, past Lawrence until you see the Locke Public Library. You can wander down to the playground in the little valley behind Locke and continue heading south from here. When driving, we tend to park on Lympstone Avenue, just right off Yonge. From here, we generally trot down into the mini ravine that runs parallel to St. Edmunds Drive, then uphill again where St. Edmunds turns in a loop back to Yonge. Cross from the north side of St. Edmunds to the south side (watch out for crazy drivers barrelling around the bend in their BMWs, Audis and assorted luxury cars), and you will be able to enter the Gardens through a series of little stone steps to the left of the park sign. We usually walk across the Gardens towards Mount Pleasant Road and Blythwood Road, and turn around once we reach the bridge that marks the entrance into Blythwood Ravine Park. I think that when my wee one is a little older and feeling more ambitious, we may continue onto Blythwood and tackle the Sherwood Park Reach. To get walking directions for this latter stretch and other walks as well as a guide to historic houses and points of interest along the mapped routes, be sure to browse through the Lost River Walks website. It's such a wonderful resource for urban walkers!

(This post was originally published in February 2012.) © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.