These faces.

I don't know a family that smiles more than this one.
It helps that we had just spent a weekend at the cottage, but there isn't much that keeps these faces from grinning.

Taken one Sunday afternoon at Lake Huron.

A September cottage weekend

Now that it is September, the cottage takes on a slightly different role. In general, it means more pots of coffee, extra layers of plaid, bigger waves, freshly picked apples, and too-small wetsuits.

This past weekend, it also meant a friendly exchange of homemade goods: kimchi, kombucha, applesauce, chicken broth, granola and sourdough. A productive weekend.

Family on the beach

Family photos at the beach means skipping rocks, scaring seagulls, and jumping tall; all underlined by the promise of ice cream.

This was a fun bunch of faces to spend an hour with.

Here are my favourites:

The purse: plain and simple.

Last week I made a purse for a friend. She needed something that would hold important books and a few personal items. She also preferred a long shoulder strap for easy bicycle riding. So, with simple tools and several evenings I came up with this.

This vegetable tanned leather will age beautifully with years of use, as will the brass hardware.

Portrait by the lake

This family likes to smile - and it is contagious! This is the second (and hopefully not the last) portrait that I've taken of them. 

Thank you, Jonah, Genevieve, Bella and baby Jacob for a happy evening by the lake.

Here are some of my favourites:

Forward still, to Nova Scotia.

After the trip from Winnipeg to Toronto, I decided to continue east. Three days later, I left Toronto and made my way to Nova Scotia to deliver a friends car. We started in Digby and took our time driving back - always along the shore road, whenever possible. Some highlights: an oceanside campsite at Rissers Beach, well-worn pickle recipes, handmade dories in Lunenburg, the LaHave Bakery, Peggy's Cove in the fog, oat cakes on Cape Breton, soap made by friends in West Arm and SO. MANY. BLUEBERRIES.
 
6000 kilometers later, I've seen my share of central and eastern Canada.
If I could, I'd keep going...

These images are from Nova Scotia's beautiful south shore; Rissers Beach, Crescent Beach, Queensland and Peggy's Cove.

From Winnipeg to Toronto

In a trusty steed, three of us took to the road and pointed towards Lake Superior.

We found it, and loved it. We would have stayed, but our city was calling our names. 

Days at Inverhuron

No schedule, no shoes, no clocks.
Many meals, many waves, many books.

In the woods.

Art sale. Newfoundland edition.

There are six WIND + ROCK + SEA pieces still for sale at Manic Coffee.

Only $200 each!

426 College Street. Email me here if you're interested.

30" x 24". Watercolour paper and pine. Handmade vegetable tanned leather hanging strap.

A beard to behold.

The storm that is Canadian Music Week took over Toronto last month and I got to photograph the best beard of the whole festival.

Here is Ben Caplan:

(Read the interview by Sarah Mackinnon here.)

A little mention

I was asked to answer a few questions and send along a few snapshots from my daily life to Toronto website: Toronto Is Awesome (and yes, it is). The article came out a few weeks ago. Take a look here.

A Day at The Academy

Coffee.

A special thing when it is produced by these hands and smiles.

There is a coffee shop on the Esplanade called Academy Cafe and it serves good stuff. These people work there.

WIND + ROCK + SEA

Last May I took a trip to Newfoundland to see icebergs. I took many many photographs while I was there with no real purpose other than to try to document everything, including icebergs. Now, almost a year later, the images have finally been made into something tangible. I just finished a ten-piece series of images printed on watercolour paper and displayed like school room maps. The collection is a visual journey of my first encounter with Newfoundland.

See WIND + ROCK + SEA at Manic Coffee, 426 College Street in Toronto. Prices rage from $300 - $500.

Leather Project: iPad Mini Case

I recently finished hand stitching a vegetable tanned leather case for an iPad Mini.

The leather is stiff and protective, gently oiled and ready to age beautifully with use. A wide red elastic strap holds the case closed and also holds a single pen inside the flap.

Sarah, RAWR-er.

Portraits are always best taken outdoors.

This series was taken in Kensington Market, on a cool winter morning. Sarah is a PR student who is ready to graduate this spring. Check out her blog here.

One quarter Nova Scotian

I took a trip last week to Nova Scotia, one of the nicest places on the East coast of Canada. Every day brought a different fish to eat and a new reason to pull on my Blundstones.
Boiled down to five words, my week was: wind, wool, blizzard warnings, warmth, and Frenchy's.

These photographs were taken in Deep Brook, Point Prim, Mavillette Beach and Jordan Bay.

Introducing: The Backpack

A few months ago, my friend Sarah asked me to make her a backpack.

This is the best - and the second - backpack that I have made.

The design is simple - one big pocket for Sarah's school things (notebooks and things), her lunch, and her laptop once in a while. A side pocket holds a water bottle and an inside pocket holds two chocolate bars perfectly. Not a coincidence.

Every hole has been hand punched, every piece has been hand cut, every stitch has been hand sewn.

Here is a hand made backpack:

New Year - New Blog!

Hi.

You've found my new website and blog. It is a project that is never actually finished, just changing from one thing to another. Expect to see some projects other than photography - things that involve leather and wood.

Here's to a year of more posts, more film, more art.

Thanks for checking...

Here are some trees that I photographed in Locarno, Switzerland: