Winters in London, Ontario, are usually very cold and very grey. The snow tends to turn a muddy, grey - brown with the combination of dust and sand-salt mix spread on the roads. The trees are all bare, like dark skeletons of their former, green selves. Even the sky tends to be a dull, lifeless, pale grey too.

Every now and then, after a big dump of snow, the sun comes out. The sky is clear blue and the fresh snow, brilliant white! It was on one of these days that I was walking through the Westminster Ponds conservation area with my camera. I noticed this tiny sapling out of the corner of my eye between the large trees. It had these tiny dollops of snow on the ends of its little branches. The sun was catching it just right.

This print is available on 2 different paper types:

I chose Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag paper for this print, as the subtle texture and slight sheen make the snow shimmer ever so slightly when it catches the light. And the bright, neutral white balance helps keep the snow a brilliant white and the blue shadows capture the coldness of winter.

I chose the matte Palo Duro Etching 315 for this print, as I feel it gives the image a softer, more artistic and vintage feel. The paper brings a subtle warmth to the white snow, reflecting the warm sunlight.

This was our second winter on Bowen Island. We moved to the BC coast to escape the harsh, freezing, snowy winters of Ontario. And when we fell in love with this beautiful, little Bowen Island on a hot summer day, we had no idea that La Niña had other plans in store for us.

The rose bush my wife planted was blooming later in the year when the snow came. The peachy orange of the rose contrasts beautifully with the cold winter dusk light and its beauty shines through the mantle of snowflakes adorning its petals and leaves.

This print is available on 2 different paper types:

I chose Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag paper for this print, as the neutral tone keeps the colours bright and pure and I feel the subtle texture and sheen augment the scene.

I chose the matte Palo Duro Etching 315 for this print, as I feel it gives the image a softer, more artistic and vintage feel. The paper brings a subtle warmth to the scene that softens the coldness of the winter scene, reminding us that summer will return.

On the road across Vancouver Island, my brothers and I visited the iconic Cathedral Grove. We marveled at these giant, ancient trees. It is very easy to be completely overwhelmed by the massive circumference of the trunks and for your eye to be drawn up to the heights of these centuries old trees.

The weather was a little changeable. At times it would be dim and overcast and then a few minutes later, a break in the clouds would let some soft, golden light pierce the canopy above. I’ve always been fascinated by how nature finds a way to survive and grow. This new sapling was taking root in the stump of an ancient tree, long since felled by man. Who knows what this new growth will look like in the next hundred years or so!

This print is available on 2 different paper types:

I chose Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag paper for this print, as the subtle sheen really helps to enhance all the natural details of the moss and trunks and leaves, making everything appear crisper and sharper.

I really love this print on Paper Palo Duro Etching 315 paper. The soft, warm tone and matte finish give the image a timeless appeal. And like the old growth trees, with care it too should last through the ages.

Lake Erie, ON, 2017

We loved spending the winter on the shores of Lake Erie. The summer crowds are gone and we enjoy the quiet solitude. I woke up early on New Year's day before the sunrise, grabbed my camera and headed down to the beach to capture the first light of the new year.

This is one of a pair of images from that day. There were large chunks of ice scattered along the shoreline. As the sun crept over the horizon, these pieces of drift ice scintillated with the rays of the first light of the year!

I chose Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag paper for this print, as the slight sheen and subtle texture accentuate the magical light on that morning.

Lake Erie, ON, 2017

We loved spending the winter on the shores of Lake Erie. The summer crowds are gone and we enjoy the quiet solitude. I woke up early on New Year's day before the sunrise, grabbed my camera and headed down to the beach to capture the first light of the new year.

This is one of a pair of images from that day. A few minutes after the sunrise, I climbed up to the top of the bluffs and framed the newly risen, golden sun in a cage formed by the branches of a small, bare tree.

I chose Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag paper for this print, as the slight sheen and subtle texture accentuate the magical light on that morning.

Ucluelet, BC, 2023

My brothers and I went on a road trip to Tofino and Ucluelet. They used to be avid surfers, however this was our first visit to the rugged west coast. Our plans were slightly dashed by the arrival of the first autumn storm of the year, gale-force winds and rough seas.

We did not ride the giant waves, but we did enjoy watching the tumultuous storm surge! On a morning hike along the Lighthouse loop of the Wild Pacific Trail, we were completely awed by the power of the waves crashing over the rocks!

This print is available on 2 different paper types:

I chose Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag paper for this print, as the neutral tone keeps the whites of the surf bright and true and still renders detail in the deepest tones of this dramatic black and white image.

I chose Palo Duro Etching 315 paper for this print as a bit of an experiment to see how the black and white image renders on this gorgeous matte paper. There is a warmth to the whites, which brings a feeling of timelessness to the print and the blacks are absolutely inky dark on the matte surface.

Bowen Island, BC, 2021

My wife and I were walking around Killarney Lake one spring morning. I was trying an exercise in applying limitations to promote some creativity in my photography. I had a prime macro lens on my camera and was shooting exclusively in square format, high-contrast black and white, without doing much post-processing afterwards.

We came to a section of the trail surrounded by fresh, young ferns. Some still had their leaves rolled up, while others were in various stages of unfurling. The light through the trees caught the leaves of this particular fern and with the colour removed, the leaves almost took on the appearance of old, brittle, delicate, metal foils.

This print is available on 2 different paper types:

I chose Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag paper for this print, as the neutral tone keeps the image clean and the subtle sheen and texture complement the light on the tiny leaves and accentuate that feeling of old metal.

I chose Palo Duro Etching 315 paper for this print, as the matte paper captures the details in the inky darks as well as the bright highlights and the warm tone lends well to this natural subject, giving it a timeless feeling.