Catching the sunrise at the Grand Canyon

Catching the sunrise was quite different from catching the sunset.  With the sunset, it was just a matter of checking your watch and making sure you get to the right spot on time.  The sunrise was a whole different battle - setting the alarm, even going to bed earlier the night before, packing your gear ahead of time, the struggle to get up when the alarm rang, stumbling out of bed, putting on warm clothing, then driving through the darkness when you're still half awake.  The mild surprise when you saw a crowd already assembled at your chosen location, then angling for the perfect spot, settling for second best if you're not early enough... there seemed to be a whole set of unspoken rules and protocol around this, not blocking someone else's view but asserting yourself if necessary.  It all made for a very complicated exercise in striking the right balance when your mental faculties are still groggy with sleep.

But the cold dawn would soon take care of that.  As you stood waiting in the cold, hands frozen, but still snapping away because there was nothing else to do while you wait, you caught every shade of rock as the sun inched upwards.   So what if you're wasting disc space - there's plenty.  When the sun peeked through, there was a sudden sense of everyone for himself, because there were only precious seconds before the whole blinding star came up and you couldn't point your camera at it any longer.  And almost with a collective sigh of relief, everyone went off for breakfast.

The light and the view is very similar to sunset - only in reverse (from Yavapai Point)

The sun was seconds away from popping up

and finally it's up - just swing the camera to the other side to watch the lengthening light

Spots lit up as the sun crept higher

And slowly the magic wand lit up the canyon - see how each lighted patch lengthens with every passing minute

 TIme for breakfast...

Sunset at Yavapai Point, Grand Canyon

I remember my first view of the Grand Canyon in 1979 - the lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. The magnificence and enormity of that landscape touched me deep where words failed.  That must have been what conversion felt like.   But I was a believer then so it was more an affirmation of the presence of God.   I remember going to the village book store and looking for a book of poetry that might adequately express what I couldn't.  I didn't think I found anything I wanted to buy.  But that experience remained through the decades, back and forth between conversions and faith-busting "de-conversions" - it was like a candle that someone had kept burning for me all these years in some dark chapel.  Something to be cherished because that first impression was difficult to recapture...

I brought with me on this third visit, a better camera and a better lens and I like to think I took better pictures although the former two things  may have no bearing whatsoever on the latter.  But I was unable to recapture that first impression.  On reflection, I think what I needed was more time for contemplation.  It requires a state of mind quite different from what I brought with me this time - the search for the perfect photo spot, the search for the right aperture, the search for the perfect light.  It clearly calls for a fourth visit, one where I just sit there and watch the sunset instead of trying to figure out which f stop to use.

Sunset at Yavapai Point

The light changed very quickly.  Sunset took less than a half hour.

Amen! 

The Gardens

I just realized I visited the Gardens (the Toronto Botanical and Edwards Gardens) almost exactly a year ago, last July 2nd.  It seems that every time I visit, different things caught my eye.  One likely reason is because the flowers and plants peak at different times in different years.  When I look at last year's photos I noticed that many of the summer flowers in full bloom this time last year are already wilted today.  But the wonderful thing about the Gardens is that no matter when you go, there are always things to capture with your camera.  So here it is, the second edition of "The Gardens".

Love the lavender!

Busy bee in an amazing cactus flower

This is the Spiral Mound which you can walk to the top of supposedly to get a panoramic view of the gardens - but the top is so overgrown you have to take your panoramic picture before you get to the top.  And here's the view before you get to the top...

Fuzzy lamb's ears

Amazing red maples

Random wall in the Floral Courtyard with bamboo 

Even the hostas look great in the wild garden

Awesome ornamental grasses!

 I would love to know if these are corn lilies (and they are not, my  gardener friend told me they are astilbes - thanks!)

Always photogenic

Ravine life in late spring

It's mid-June and we finally had our first decent sunny and warm day - perfect for a ravine walk, which we did instead of going to the gym.  I was determined that this should be an exercise and that it would be a brisk walk so deliberately did not bring my camera with me.  At the back of my mind though, I try never to leave myself without options - what if something exciting comes up during the walk?!   So I had my blackberry with me and when I saw the little snail, I couldn't resist and of course, once I started, I couldn't stop!

Playing tourist in my own city Pt 2

After our tour of the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres, we came out onto Yonge Street and caught sight of this attractive renovated building, the Dineen Building, at no. 140 Yonge St, another Doors Open site.  This used to be the home of the Dineen Company, a prominent hat and fur company.  It has undergone extensive renovations but many of the historic features are preserved.  You can check this interesting article on the Urban Toronto site to see some photos of the interior during renovations.  There was a lineup to get in when we were there so we saved it for another year.  But judging from the pictures, it's well worth a visit.

Continuing on our trek south, we visited One King West, originally the old head office of the Toronto Dominion Bank, now a luxury hotel.  This is the grand staircase that took us up to the grand banking hall.

 Grand banking hall set up for a wedding.

This is the vault entrance.  This was once the largest bank vault in Canada.  The door weighed over 40 tons but was apparently so well-made that a paper-clip dropped in the opening will stop the door from closing. 

Our next stop was lunch at the Marché in BCE Place.  The highlight of the lunch was the berry flan and the stroll through BCE Place, always spectacular and particularly so when I had my camera with me.

This rather reminded me of a similar building in Milan.

For the month of May, there is a photo art installation "Pyramid" by James Nizam as part of the Scotiabank Contact Festival.  You can read about the art on the Contact website. 

You see below my own photo of the reflection of the arches in the glass entrance.  Truly amazing - the reflection of the reflection on the glass - the juxtaposition of layers of reality and illusion.  Astounding!

This was not the first time we visited BCE Place but every time we did, we couldn't help but be awed by the artistry of the design.  For a change of pace, we headed towards the more stolid Canada Life Building, a few blocks north, at Queen and University.  In front of the building, I noticed this graceful statue on top of a granite column, a memorial of the Boer War.  Forty years in Toronto, and I have never actually "seen" this winged statue.

This Pelican statue is the only thing I liked in the Canada Life Board Room.

Clearly I wasn't the only one who thought this portal worth photographing

Another one to add to my collection of elevator doors

View from the 17th floor.  I was mildly disappointed because I thought we had lined up to take the elevator to the open observation deck.  But it turned out it was not outdoors.  These shots of the city were taken behind glass.  View of the the Ontario College of Art, designed by British architect Will Alsop.

Looking south towards the CN Tower

East towards the old and new City Halls, Nathan Phillips Square

The Trump Tower in front of the Bank of Nova Scotia Building (the most amazing thing in all this is that I didn't know this was the Trump Tower.  But I walked by the Bank of Nova Scotia Building earlier and recognized it.  I did a Google search for "Bank of Nova Scotia Building behind" and identified the Trump Tower that way.  I'm completely in awe of Google - if I had the money, I'd buy its stock.  It's going to take over the world!