fascination

I love that I can take my kids for a walk and there are so many places where public buildings and greenery are right next to each other! In larger cities it really does become a concrete world. This was taken in the lot next to the old pumping station and the current Chamber of Commerce office. As soon as the kids saw the single dandelion in the grass, they remembered the endless fields of these that they saw last year. They were both so happy to see it growing there. Which brings me to one thing I love about kids - they know that weeds can be beautiful.

An Evening Swing

I think most parents can appreciate when the days start to get a bit longer. When darkness falls early it usually means I don't get to spend as much time with the kids as I would like to, but the days are getting longer in North Perth, and it was so unseasonably warm around here this week. Here's my daughter enjoying a swing in the evening and she was plenty warm without sleeves! We sure enjoyed the sneak peek at summer and took advantage of it!

Gone Parking

Finally! It has been a long winter of "Can we go to the park?" and finally we were able to take the kids again without worrying about losing the little one in the snow. Listowel has an awesome park, and our kids absolutely love it!

Biker Babe

Well, today was my daughter's first day on a bike. She hopped on her big sister's old trike, and I had to snap a few shots before I made her get off since we didn't have a helmet for her yet. Don't worry - she's got a helmet now and she's all about the bike. I'm sure all over North Perth there are kids about her age that have had their first bike rides in the past few weeks, and I hope all of them are enjoying it as much as this little one!

Why I'm Here

Not just an existential post, although the two kids in this photo are definitely the best thing about being "here." More pertinent (at the moment) is that like many people, one of the reasons I love North Perth is that it's a great place to raise my kids.

I wanted to do a series that showed kids in North Perth. The nature of this street photography thing kind of means I don't have models or anything, so I used the two I see most often - my own kids - for a series this week. They are not always the most willing models, but I do think they're the cutest ;)

One of our favourite things to do is hit the trails for a walk!

Best Buds

The buds are out on the trees today, and with all the little (literally very small) things that are springing to life lately, I find I'm doing a lot of macro-type photography, so you can probably expect some of this until the joy of Spring wears off on me. I hope that's okay :)

Have a Seat

I'm sure that by now most people have noticed the way cool benches around town. I thought they were pretty neat so I decided I'd shoot them (with the camera, that is).

As I'm actually posting this on Apr. 29, but back-dating it to the date it was taken:
Incidentally, it has become a game for the kids to find these benches on our walks. The favourite so far is the pigs at CIBC on Main and Wallace. The kids fight over who gets to sit with the happy one. I'm not really sure how they know which one is happy.

I'll be posting more, but some technical issues are keeping me from uploading them onto the computer.

water water everywhere

I know I've got some 'splaining to do... I have lots of images to get up here from the last few weeks, but computer problems, time issues, and all that fun stuff have kept me away. I will "back date" the photos to the day they were taken.

Hope it was at least kind of worth the wait....

The Bug

The plants are starting to come up, and so of course the bugs are coming out. Seeing lots of these guys this Spring!

We Built This City

... on top of a river. Kinda cool really.

Alive

Yup - it looks like life is returning to North Perth. These are the first things I've seen growing so far this year.

How do you sleep?

Well, this photo's a little different, but I saw all these beds lined up and I had no idea why! I thought it would make a funny photo for today. If anyone was thinking of having a nap down by the river, I guess now's your chance!

I wanted to add that I've changed the comments setting so that anyone can post, and you don't have to be a registered blogger user. So please comment away!

Here Comes the Sun!

I think Spring is coming, for real this time, to North Perth. It was a great sunny day today!

That's the official North Perth Daily photo up there, but here are a couple from my walk with my kids. I promise not to inundate you all with photos of my kids (even though they are pretty cute!!) so I've been sticking to shots of their backs! Hope you don't mind a couple from our walk.


This was the first day we've been able to get back on the trail! Finally not too much snow or water for the little ones to trek through. We were excited!

A Great Day for Ducks

... or Canada geese! I found these guys down at the park - where the water was ridiculously high from the big thaw of last week's blizzard. There were a few flakes of the white stuff falling while I was out today, but I'm hoping there won't be too much more of that!

Happy April Everybody!

Paddyfest Parade (and a solemn vow)

Now that the February blahs are over (even though this weather is supposed to last another six weeks.. GULP!) I really want to get back to doing this. I've had a lot of people tell me that they were interested in the blog--a lot more than I thought were interested, so I hope that some people will come back. I will try to get new shots on here regularly again.

Here's a favourite from the Paddyfest Parade.

Bad Bad Blogger

Well, if you're a fan of the blog (and thank you for the support I've received) then you've probably noticed that it hasn't been updated daily. Thanks for continuing to check in. The year did not stay as quiet and peaceful as the beginning of January was, so I've chosen to spend most of my spare minutes with my kids rather than out shooting.

I will continue to update this blog when I get out shooting around town. It's something I love to do, and I really appreciate the interest people have shown in this blog, which was really only meant to show the results of one of my favourite hobbies. I suppose I would have been quite capable of posting a snapshot here every day, but snapshots aren't really my thing, so I've been holding off until I have time to do something a little more meaningful.

Tomorrow's a holiday, so mother nature willing, I may slip out in the afternoon while the kids are napping and shoot around and get some photos up here. Again, I thank everyone for taking an interest in what I've been up to.

(Un)Natural - Part II

Well, I had to do one... it's the necessary "I'm doing a series about man and nature so I have to show litter" shot. I am very happy to say that I have not seen a lot of it in my travels of North Perth. Not ever. I think most of us are just way too proud of this place to go around mussing it up! I'm glad to live in a town where a single piece of litter at the park is extraordinary enough to catch my eye.

(Un)Natural - Part I

This week I've decided to do a theme to keep me focused.

So the theme this week is (Un)Natural and I hope to capture some of the places around North Perth where nature is juxtaposed with un-nature. From little details, like the photo above, to larger areas where we see man and mother earth collide or run smoothly side by side, I hope you'll enjoy the week!

P.S. I do know I still owe a couple photos from last week, and I do intend to make it up!

Lisa Swain at the Anchor

I guess the title really says it all!

Lisa Swain, a Juno nominated singer-songwriter played at the Anchor here in Lisowel. She was fantastic! I really recommend checking her out on her MySpace page.

One More Night Shot

I just don't seem to have much luck with this daylight thing, so I thought I'd get a shot of what light there is in the middle of the night. It was a full moon, so no better time, I suppose.


Here's a second take on the moon last night. Although it wasn't taken by me, I wanted to share it:

The Dead of Winter

I found myself in the park tonight and this tree caught my eye. I remember this specific tree looking alive and green not so long ago, and since I rarely make winter trips to the park, I haven't become accustomed to seeing it like this.

So this I guess is where the term "The Dead of Winter" comes from. It's that time when it is so cold that animals rarely venture out, when it has been so long since fall that every last bit of green is gone and buried. Truly, it seems like all the life in nature is just gone. But it's not true, is it? The plants are alive under the bark and in the ground, the animals really are just sleeping, and now that we've reached the dead of winter--there's not much longer until Spring.

Snow Falling on Spinrite

You're probably starting to notice a real night-time theme to my photos. I promise that will end--hopefully today. I love to go out and take a walk around town and shoot, but it's hard to get out there in the daylight, especially during the winter. The next photo will be sunlit!

Hello North Perth!

I've been calling this great town my home for a few years now, and I'd like to get to know it better. So for at least a year, I'm going to get out and take one photo a day and post it up here.

It could be a scenic shot, a people shot, an event shot... heck, somedays there might just be too much going on to limit it to one.

I hope you'll stay tuned as I document one year in North Perth through my eyes. If you're interested in me, you can check out my Living Proof Photography Blog, my Living Proof Photography site, or you can watch for me and say Hello. I'll be the crazy lady with the camera taking pictures downtown!

I'll keep the slideshow running at the side with the past photos, but you can check the archive any time as well if you'd like to see them!