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The one major landmark in the centre of Mississauga is the hourglass-shaped condos by Square One. I was always wondering where the best place to shoot them would be, so very early, I started scouting out exactly where to shoot from. The best spot is the very top of the mall’s parking garage. Modified Anniversary Speed Graphic Schneider-Kreuznack Angulon 1:6,8/90 (Yellow 15) Kodak Tri-X Pan (320TXP) Meter: Pentax Spotmeter V 1/25″ – f/32 – ASA-320 Kodak Xtol (1+1) 8:30 @ 20CRead More →

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At least my drive to work isn’t all city driving; there are some suburbs, and my favourite section, the rural areas, which can be a pain this winter, especially with the number of storms we’ve been hit with in Southern Ontario. When I first started driving past it almost ten years ago, this barn was intact, part of an abandoned farm (my first experience with urbex). The fields around it are still used, but the barn and the house are not. Sadly the decade has not been kind; storms, rain, snow and ice have knocked it down. Modified Anniversary Speed Graphic – Kodak Ektar f:7.7Read More →

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Dundurn Castle isn’t a castle, it’s just the name of this stately manor home that sits on Burlington Heights, built over the ruins of the British Strong Point during the War of 1812 and the launch point of the small British Force that defeated the Americans camped at Stoney Creek in June of 1813. The home completed in 1835 was constructed in the Regency Style. Its most famous owner, Sir Allen MacNab, who served during the Rebellions of 1837/8, was a staunch Tory and briefly Premiere of the Province of Canada. Dundurn Castle has always been a draw for me; as a history buff, there’sRead More →

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But let’s get started! This is where I work, the Hazel McCallion Campus (HMC) of Sheridan College in Mississauga, Ontario. My division within the Information Technology Department, the IT Solutions Center, was moved here last April from our old office at Oakville’s Trafalgar Campus. I was initially wary of the move as it really increased my commute time, and more city driving however despite that I’m pretty happy with the new digs. First off…it’s a new place to shoot, although there’s not much TOO shoot around, just a shopping mall, although the curvy condo towers will make a neat subject. The campus has one thingRead More →

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I was remiss in posting about this year’s Photostock back in June! As with last year, it was a fantastic time, more so for me this year, as I stayed at the Birchwood to party it up with the group late into the night. Late nights and early mornings. Three things make Photostock great. The Place, the People, and the Community. So the photos I took reflect the first two items, the Place and the People. The third one can be shown in the photos. However, video drives the point home. This group of photographers shoots a wide range of cameras and techniques, yet weRead More →

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One of the more interesting urban legends and mysteries of the Anglo-American War of 1812 is Bakus Mills. Unlike similar mills across the western part of Upper Canada, Bakus survived. While many other mills at Port Dover, Port Reyes, and Malcolm’s Mills saw destruction in the last part of the war at the hands of American raiders. These mills despite the threat of raids continued to provide much-needed food supplies to the British front line in the Niagara Region. The Backhouse Homestead, Prospect Hill, while not the original home of the family this was built later in the 19th-Century. Anniversary Speed Graphic – Kodak EktarRead More →

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Following a series of defeats that saw the surrender of three American Armies and the British in control of the entire Michigan Territory from Ohio to Mackinac Island. General Henry Dearborn needed a new plan, one that would not only boost the morale of his troops but give Washington DC a swift victory that they had been expecting. It was again decided that a three-pronged assault would be enough to force the British to retreat and surrender from Upper Canada. But it didn’t go exactly to plan. Dearborn believed the false report that 8,000 British Regulars garrisoned Kingston, home to the Royal Navy Squadron onRead More →

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If you’ve ever crossed from Canada into the United States through one of the four land crossings in the Niagara Region, or have been shopping in Buffalo, there is an excellent chance that one of those crossings took place at Fort Erie on the Peace Bridge. If you’ve ever wondered how the small town got that name, take a drive just past the Mather Arch along Lakeshore Road, and you’ll find a small squat stone fort standing on a hill above Lake Erie. This is Olde Fort Erie and the source of the town’s eventual name of Fort Erie. The Old Fort is also oneRead More →

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What do chocolate and the war of 1812 have in common; just one thing, a name, Laura Secord. Many people today hear the name Laura Secord and think of the Canadian confectionary company, but there was a hero behind that name. But unlike other heroes from the war whose names were praised right after their great victories, Laura lived in relative obscurity for decades after the war had ended. Born Laura Ingersoll on the 13th of September 1775 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, she was the eldest of four born to Thomas Ingersoll and Elizabeth Dewey. When she was eight her mother passed away, her fatherRead More →

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This entry I’m writing specifically for my dear friend Erin, who like me, has a love for the War of 1812. In one of her recent blog posts, she mentioned her new job at an independent children’s book publisher, Pajama Press. The book, Acts of Courage, covers the story of Laura Secord. My entry today is not on Mrs. Secord, but rather the British officer she interacted with, James FitzGibbon. FitzGibbon, not one of the first heroes of the war that one would think about, his contributions overshadowed by Laura Secord and Issac Brock. Fitzgibbon’s story blends with them both. An Irishman raised from theRead More →