Thank you for visiting my gallery. Whether I know you or not, I hope you find something beautiful or captivating to look at.
I grew up in the natural setting of Cape Breton’s and regularly explored its coastlines and forests. From a young age I was quite connected to nature. Now that I am living in Toronto, I have had to work to find places offering solitude and wildlife. It takes some looking around, but wildlife is all around us. An early morning can offer the gift of a fox hunting or dusk can be filled with the hoots of Great Horned owls. I love getting out and getting a glimpse of these animals who are somehow managing to adapt to the human presence.
My background is in Sociology and I have held a number of positions that are largely research and administrative. I currently work with Anima Leadership, where we do amazing work in diversity and inclusion solutions for organizations.
Nature
One of my favourite things to do is going out for a morning or day to take photographs in nature. Occasionally I will join my photographer friends, but generally, I just go solo so that I will be fully present with the nature and wildlife in front of me. I am more observant and will often stop and sit in a place and just listen and watch whatever is happening. Sometimes I’ll notice interesting textures in wood or see a plant and have to take some macro photos. I’ll often wander the same path a few times depending on where I am just in case I missed something the first time. My favourite time to get out is early morning. It is quieter and I’ll often find the nocturnal animals getting ready to retire for the day.
Cats
I love cats and have three rescues. They are all indoor cats and have an enclosed catio so they can smell the air and hang out in the sun while watching squirrels. They have taken quite well to indoor life and all three of them are either on the bed or only a few feet away each night. Boo and Argenta are backyard rescues and I adopted Billie through Annex Cat Rescue. Boo was quite feral when I first met him but he quickly decided that indoor life was really great. He assumes his position beside me every night. If I am out he’ll look out the window waiting for my return. Billie loves to wake me up in the early morning by walking over my chest repeatedly. Argenta is very much her own cat and decides what she wants and when she wants it.
Photography
Photography has really helped me appreciate all seasons. No more hibernating through winter. Every season has its own beauty. Have a look through the site. I have a lot of photos and this is only a sampling. I am continuing to go through older ones to see what might be featured and I go out every weekend to get new photos.
I’ll write a blog post on ethics outlining my perspective. As I continue on with this project I learn more both about the wildlife behaviour and the best ways to respect it. I never reveal locations of wildlife, especially when it can lead to things like large numbers of photographers and observers flooding into an area and stressing the wildlife. I have seen too many crowds around migratory owls and young foxes to think that people will know how to respect wildlife. I also do my best to minimize any disruptive activity which may cause the wildlife harm or stress. If I see animal looking stressed, I’ll leave, even if it means I didn’t get the photo I want.
City Life
I also really enjoy taking my camera out and documenting city life. In a pre-Covid world I loved Halloween and Solstice related events and would be out there with my camera.
Hopefully, once we have events again, I’ll be able to get out and capture some of the exciting things that happen in Toronto.