Blackfriars and Londonlicious

Roulade of Basa

Some years ago, the Blackfriars Bistro opened as a very small neighbourhood restaurant. Today it is still a very small restaurant but its fame has spread across the city. Staying small and staying true to its original vision has been a successful business plan for the little, niche restaurant.

After being hospitalized in California last summer with a serious heart problem, traveling outside of the country is now on hold. I have discovered getting travel insurance is almost impossible.

My wife and I are spending our time, and our money, enjoying London, Ontario. Luckily, London is a fine city offering lots of stuff both for residents and visitors alike.

Roasted Chicken Supreme

At one point, both my wife and I lived just west of the downtown core in a neighbourhood bordering the Thames River. When a small, neighbourhood restaurant changed hands and moved upscale — The Blackfriars Bistro was born. We both loved it immediately.

Today we live in what many call the suburbs. Yet, we are only about a ten minute drive to the Blackfriars. Yesterday we celebrated a birthday with a visit to our old haunt. The dinner was as good as expected plus a little bonus — we benefited from the annual Londonlicious event.

Londonlicious is a local restaurant festival featuring almost 30 local eateries all offering a $25, three-course, prix fixe menu. The menu offered by the Blackfriars can be found here.

Last year my wife and I traveled across the States to the California coast in my old Morgan. This year we are enjoying a staycation in London. Our Londonlicious meal would have been a delight if we had encountered it anywhere on our six thousand mile route last year. It was doubly delightful enjoying it right here in town.

Double Vanilla Bean Champagne Sorbet

Flowers: One of the wonders of summer

Forgive the easy shots of lilies but they are beautiful and they are part of summer in London, Ontario.

I don't have a green thumb, or a green anything for that matter. When it comes to lilies, I buy 'em; I plant 'em; I enjoy 'em. Now, you can enjoy 'em, too.

London raptor

It's call was loud and raspy and impossible not to notice. Walkers stopped walking; Joggers stopped jogging. It didn't take long to spot the source: A large, noisy hawk perched on a high limb overlooking the park.

The hawk's call attracted this photographer.

Hawks are common in the London, Ontario suburb in which I live. The Ingersoll glacial moraine runs right through Byron. The high ridge of land has rather steep approaches and raptors hover in the strong updrafts.

The open fields in the subdivision are well populated with mice. Those with homes bordering the fields hate those mice but the raptors love 'em.

During the fall migration, half a dozen large raptors of assorted species can often be sighted hovering in the steady updrafts seeking a quick meal, while literally hundreds of birds pass overhead possibly on their way to Hawk's Cliff near Port Stanley on the north shore of Lake Erie.

Blooming lotus

Years ago I studied hatha yoga in Toronto while going to film school. When I saw this young woman sitting quietly in a version of the yoga lotus position, it brought back memories. I used to sit with my feet resting on the tops of my thighs, and no cushion. It's a position known as the padma-asana.

This woman was clearly waiting for others. I chatted with her briefly and learned she was from the merged Lotus Centre/Shangrila Yoga on Mount Pleasant Avenue in west central London.

Briefly, and I must stress briefly, I thought, "Hey, I should take up yoga again." Yes, I'm a dreamer.

Great Blue in Thames River

I'm not all that knowledgeable about birds, but I believe this is a great blue heron in the Thames River beside Springbank Park in London, Ontario. According to my Peterson Field Guide, adult great blues may attain a height of up to four feet, with the white about their heads another telltale marker. This sure looks like a great blue to me.

More than a decade ago there was a push on to have the Thames, the second largest river system in Southwestern Ontario, declared one of Canada's heritage rivers. In August, 2000, the river formally joined the ranks of Canadian heritage rivers.

The North Branch of the Thames flows into the Thames River at the forks at the western edge of the city core. Despite being surrounded by a city of hundreds of thousands, if one canoes or kayaks down the Thames, the varied wildlife sighted makes the river run seem almost like a wilderness adventure — this is especially true if you're a city boy.

And I am still a city boy at heart, even if I am in my 60s and retired. I shot this "wilderness" picture a short distance from my suburban London home.

PhotoCamp London 2011

My shot of Queen Anne's Lace inspired by watching Ms. Mary Lou Roberts.

Today PhotoCamp London 2011 was held at the Convergence Centre on the grounds of the UWO Research Park in North London. Local photographer James Wilkinson deserves to receive a lot of praise for his part in putting together the very successful day.

The morning ended with a PhotoWalk.

One part of the day involved a PhotoWalk around the centre's grounds. I noticed a lady, Mary Lou Roberts, getting down on her knees to take shots of Queen Anne's Lace from the underneath looking up. What a fine idea!

It turns out that Ms. Roberts took a some photography instruction from a fellow with whom I once worked — Dave Chidley. Chidley is one of the finest newspaper shooters in Canada. He taught his students that if one isn't getting their knees dirty they aren't finding enough different angles. It's a good rule.

The afternoon photo shoot had two professional models.

The afternoon offered a photo shoot with a couple of professional models.

I felt out of my league shooting with my simple  cameras — my Fuji FinePix HS10 bridge camera and my point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot S90.

DSLRs and long lenses were the order of the day. We learned that all lenses have an f/stop at which they perform best. The info can be found on the Internet using Google.

The leader of the walk, James Wilkinson, said he was shooting at f/4.0 with his portrait length lens. This gave him reduced depth of field to make the models pop from the page. Also, f/4.0 was the sharpest setting with his particular lens.

The models had photo-perfect bodies.

I must say the models were both good and very professional but I, as a former news shooter, prefer less structured, more natural, poses. I felt the late Peter Gowland would have been comfortable shooting the poses taken by the young woman model — especially those she took after stripping down to her bikini.

I'm a still photographer but my background is in film. I have a degree in filmmaking from Ryerson in Toronto. I found the talks on shooting video the high point of the day. I found myself fully in agreement with the advice delivered at the morning panel discussion.

Edward Platero told us: "Embrace the limitations of the camera." Man, is he right. Chris Hachey added: You must get "the best you can with what you've got."

This is good advice for still photographers as well as videographers.

Chris Hachey

The enthusiasm for the art of shooting video was quite evident at the morning discussion. I loved it when Chris Hachey said:

"You'll never stop learning."

Addendum: At PhotoCamp I learned there's a lot of experimenting being done with Canon DSLRs being used to shoot video. For instance, a season final of House was shot using a Canon 5D Mark II. Amazing! If you're interested in seeing a short shot with a Canon DSLR check out this post on Rockin' On: The Blog. 

My best shot of the young model was taken before the shoot.

Thank you LHSC!

There was a time when I thought of flowers, I thought of full blooms. I wanted peak action. No buds and no wilted petals. Just gorgeous flowers in their prime.

Then I experienced Sheila's art. Sheila, at the time, was painting flowers. She didn't narrow her focus to just blooms, the climax of the story. No, she captured the whole tale from bud to bloom to fading away forever.

Now, I see flower art entirely differently.

And now I see life a little differently — and it's not just because of flowers. You see, today I visited the London Health Sciences Centre and a doctor there informed me that I have arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). I now know why I've had the heart problems that have plagued me this past year.

A friend once said I was one of the luckiest guys they had ever met. I'm beginning to believe my friend. Having a rare, genetic heart disorder is not lucky but living in London, Ontario is. The excellent hospital here in London, and the absolutely wonderful doctors and nurses who didn't stop looking when the reason for my heart problem proved elusive, gave me a future.

Thanks to my ICD, I no longer fear sudden death syndrome. And my meds are keeping my weird heart beat patterns at bay.

I may still be wilting, aren't we all, but I no longer fear that I am a day lily. Thank you LHSC!