Artist Diary
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CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY
As you are reading this, I will be away in China. I will have escaped the overload of Christmas frenzy. I personally think that Christmas is the most boring time of the year, as its marketing calendar is extended for two months. They start marketing it right after Halloween and I feel it’s too much to have Christmas being promoted for this long. Regardless, Christmas time in the city can be a beautiful event as night. The lights certainly help liven things up as the days become shorter.
#Christmas #windows #HoltRenfrew #brightlights #magical #Toronto #fashion
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EVERGREEN GARDEN
I returned to Allan Gardens, and to my surprise, everything was moved and replaced with plants and flowers in preparation for the Christmas show. Here’s a preview of what’s on show starting today! (The show official starts on December 6, 2015)
#trees #evergreens #gardens #winter #Christmas #Toronto #birds
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EXOTIC FLORALS
Here are more photos from Allan Gardens. I am not a fan of Poinsettia flowers, maybe because they are associated with Christmas, but these Shimmering Pink varieties, I do have to say, are stunning! I love pink! Also, there were white orchids. The photos for them turned out even more amazing than I expected, because by that time, I had lost a lot of light, as it was near the end of the day. They close the garden at 5 pm and I was there till they asked everyone to leave. There were also these blue, violet and fuchsia flowers, for which I do not know the name for. Leave a comment if you know what they are!
#flowers #garden #exotic #tropical #Toronto #tourism #botanical
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A SYMBOL OF HAPPINESS
I went to Allan Gardens in Toronto to check out their conservatory. It was a larger greenhouse than I thought it would be! It was quite an enjoyable outing for me. They had their Chrysanthemum flower show on, and I took these images.
Did you know that these flowers are traditionally used in Chinese herbal medicine? It has been used to treat many ailments including colds, inflammation, eyes, and more. In Japan, it is a symbol of happiness and long life. These flowers come in many varieties and I love their jaunty, cheerful appearance.
#flowers #gardens #herbalmedicine #symbolism #happiness #Toronto #turism
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PORTRAIT OF ERICA ROSS
Last week I photographed my friend, Erica Ross at her home. Erica is an incredibly dynamic and vivaious woman. She teaches about the Divine Feminine and she told me how important it was for her to teach her daughter to trust in her own instincts about making decisions. I found this so refreshing and relevant. So often in society, we are told to simply listen to an expert instead of our own inner voice when it comes to making decisions. I admire Erica for her courage to be authentic. I think her personality really shines in these photographs. Such a beautiful and loving soul.#authentic #divinefeminine #rolemodel #strength #intuition #beauty #wisdom
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THE RUINS OF TORONTO’S PAST
I finally got around to editing these photos from the summer. These are from Guild Park in Scarborough, a hidden gem in the outskirts of Toronto. The park houses the selvedges of old bank buildings, some dating as far back to the 1800s. It amazed me to see that Toronto once had buildings of this ancient style!
#travel #park #garden #Toronto #tourism #architecture #classica
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AUTUMN IN ST. LAWRENCE MARKET
There’s something about visiting traditional food markets that connect us back to humanity. The live interaction with shop keepers, the simplicity of handwritten signs, the beauty in the way the food is displayed. It takes us back to a time before highly packaged foods and the complication of an over-abundance of choice on the supermarket shelves.
#food #foodie #gourmet #markets #marche #Toronto #shopping #geocery
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BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND
Last week when I was at the conservatory taking photos of the chrysanthemums, I also saw these beautiful goldfish in the pond. I was quite amazed at how big they were. They swam quite quickly, so it wasn’t easy to get good shots of them. This reminds me of the saying about being a “big fish in a small pond”.The phrase is often used to describe people who are content to have power over a small area of influence. I think it’s a very interesting concept to consider. Would you rather be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond? In my experience, I’ve encountered such people that I would consider big fish in a small pond. Their power and influence is unquestionably strong amongst their “tribe” of followers, that they have cult-like status. Their followers will listen to whatever they have to say, and follow them without question. My advice is to be weary of such people, because often times, these people may be deluded about their abilities and power to do what they say they can. Question their motives, and what they say. How sincere or genuine are they? Trust your intuition about the people you meet. You will be surprised how keen your instincts are about these people as you get to know them better. You might ignore your doubts about people because you think your first impression of someone might be judgemental and you are giving them the benefit of the doubt. But your instincts were actually picking up on something about them
I’ve found that there are people who are essentially “nobodies” in the big picture of things who will make big claims about what they can do for you. They paint themselves to be bigger than they are. But in reality, they are like blowfish, blowing themselves up to be much bigger than who they really are. The truth is, they do this because they are really not that secure in themselves, so any sort of exercise in power makes them feel better about themselves. This can be taken to an extreme level of bullying and manipulation.
When they describe people as small fish in a big pond, they are talking about people with big ambitions to swim amongst the bigger fish. Although they more ambitious and less influential, I think being a small fish in a big pond is humbling. You never get illusions of grandeur about yourself because there is always someone else out there who is bigger, better, smarter, richer, and more beautiful than you. And that’s ok, because the beauty of it is that your self-image is not based on the power and influence you have over others.
P/S Total irony here, I just noticed that this post will be published on the 8th. The number 8 symbolizes power and influence. The universe has a sense of humour…
#fish #goldfish #cactus #pond #tropical #bigfishinasmallpond #power #influence #observations #advice #kingofthehill #queenbee
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AN EXPLOSION OF COLOUR
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PEOPLE IN THE CITY
I like shooting through windows. There’s something magical about seeing a reflection of the world, layered on top of what can be seen through the window. It’s as though there exists a parallel universe dancing on the glass, and you will only know it’s there if you are observant enough to see it.
This set of photos were taken through the windows of a corner cafe in the busy streets of Toronto. It’s around 4 o’clock and people are rushing around from Work in the busy financial district. Contrast that with the interiors of the European-style cafe. It is quiet inside. There are people taking their afternoon coffee, but they don’t speak. The tables are lovingly adorned with flowers. The sounds of the city streets pour in every time the door opens.
#cityscapes #cafe #Toronto #peoplewatching #coffee #rushhou
