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I love doing fall vacations; it’s often outside the peak tourist season, and the weather is manageable. This year, my family and I decided to go back to Montreal. The city holds a special spot in my heart because it was one of the first paid vacation I took solo and where I finally figured out how I like to take photos and compose images. As a family vacation, my primary reason was for something other than photography. But there is always room to bring a camera (or three) for the ride. The modern city of Montreal sits on the largest island in an archipelagoRead More →

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If you have ever listened to me talk about my photographic journey you will have learned about how much my first trip to Montreal changed my photography. I can always tell my work from before to after my trip in my style, composition, love of black & white and of course square format. So when I brought my family back to the city earlier this month I wanted to make sure I not only explored the city with my digital camera but also with a pair of square format cameras. The first being the same camera I brought on that first trip, my Rolleiflex 2.8FRead More →

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This is technically my third attempt at getting Guelph into the Frugal Film Project. I attempted once last year but was driven out by rain, and then earlier this year. But it looks like it has finally struck. While I have visited Guelph many times because my Opa lived here until his death, it was the short stint I lived in the city while house-sitting and just starting to explore photography that I took to wandering the downtown. I don’t know if I still have the digital files from those days when the downtown was a rough spot with lots of urban decay and theRead More →

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Suppose you look back at my catalogue of images. In that case, you’ll see a lot of repetition regarding the historic communities I’ve visited and continue to visit, especially if they’re a short drive away. I count a short drive as anything I can get to in an hour or under. I have hundreds of photos of downtown Milton, Oakville, Stratford, Hamilton, Dundas, Elora, Guelph and many others. But when I look at these images, one thing is clear: there are changes, sometimes significant and other times small, but changes are all the same. I’m reminded of the Midsomer Murders episode, Picture of Innocence, whichRead More →

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I first found the beautiful downtown of Dundas in 2010 when I did an epic two-day multi-site tour at Doors Open Hamilton. Although I would not return for several more years, I only recently started returning to this stunning downtown as it offered up a different backdrop to my photography but a familiar theme, that stunning mid-19th-century small-town feel. Dundas has this in spades, all in a small, compact, and easily walkable community. Archaeological records show that 10,000 years ago, long before European contact, the first humans settled in the rich valley in the shadow of the Niagara Escarpment. The woods, streams, and fertile soilRead More →

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When it comes to photography, last year I found that I was out shooting film for the purpose of a review or a YouTube video or something else. So with Christmas in the rearview and a rather tough week back to work it was time to get out and have a family adventure just for the sake of getting out of town for several hours and going for a drive. There are lots of amazing towns through Southern Ontario, many are touristy, but there are some true hidden gems. One of those gems is St. Mary’s, Ontario. I first learned about St. Mary’s through myRead More →

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This month is a weird entry into the project. for this year. I have focused on a single place to photograph, usually a town, location or event—something with a defined history and story, and yes, even a maple syrup festival counts. And no, before you ask, I’m not a closet K-Pop fan, and this has nothing to do with the band by the same name. Instead, B.T.S. is a term used within film/T.V./theatre to indicate behind-the-scenes. The idea came from a challenge that I gave to a person over on Twitter who wanted an idea for photography. I suggested that he photograph the backsides’ ofRead More →

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Located in the historic village of Campbellville, St. David’s Presbyterian Church is unique in that its design takes from several different architectural styles and is named (after a fashion) for the person who donated the land it sits upon. Presbyterian worship in the village of Campbellville started in 1864 when members of the Nassagaweya Congregation could not make the trek to the Nassagaweya Church in Haltonville. At this time, such a journey was a bit of an undertaking, and the area had an unsavoury reputation. The Campbellville congregation was formally recognised as a mission station of the Nassagaweya congregation in 1869 and made a two-pointRead More →

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The Parish of the Sacred Heart, or properly Sacré-Coeur, is a unique one in the project. Like all Roman Catholic Parishes, this parish can trace itself back to St. Peter’s Mission Church. But this parish is relatively new, one of several French language parishes established in the 1960s. But the building itself traces itself to the first Roman Catholic Parish in Georgetown. The early Roman Catholics in Georgetown would be forced to travel to St. Peter’s Church to attend mass; At the same time, these services were a bit irregular; the faithful would make the long journey to receive communion, give confession, and celebrate mass.Read More →

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Suppose this particular entry seems a little longer and more detailed. In that case, it is because, as a member of Knox Milton, I have far more accessible access to my congregation, plus the history has been well documented and easily accessed. This is the congregation that I grew up in and continue to serve with today! The construction of churches within the village of Milton did not start until the 1840s, when several large plots of land were subdivided and sold off into parcels. The first church to be planted within Milton’s downtown was St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in 1848, which was connected toRead More →