Interesting and Unusual

On our recent trip to Eastern Canada, I had many opportunities to shoot some interesting, and sometimes unusual photographs. Today, I’m sharing four unlikely blog candidates that appeal to me. I hope you’ll find them interesting, despite being a little unusual compared to what you’ve seen from me in the past.

En route to our final destination, we made a diversion to Jacksonville, Florida. As we awaited our departure for the return to Toronto, I couldn’t help but notice this striking image of a traveler on the window at the end of concourse C. Gordon Huether’s “Gotta Go,” installed in 2008, depicts a passenger, who seems in determined motion, rushing, no doubt, to catch a flight. (I haven’t been able to ascertain how this image is placed there, but I guess that’s not important.)

Following our arrival in New Brunswick the next day, we drove to Grand Falls, Rolande’s hometown. We spent two nights as guests of Tante Germaine in nearby St. André. I was drawn to the hummingbird feeder affixed by a suction cup to her front, picture window. What a great, unexpected setup for photographing the “oiseau mouche”. I took his picture at a very fast shutter speed (1/8,000 sec. @f/2.8, ISO 800) in order to “freeze” him in place as he approached the feeder. His wings are beating at a rate of 53 beats per second, too fast for the human eye to follow. Here’s your chance to see the wings of a hummingbird in flight!

While in Fredericton, I chose to walk to the UNB campus from our downtown hotel. Along the way, I passed this house at 221 University Avenue, just downhill from the campus. I first arrived in Fredericton by train in September 1965. I was greeted by friends of my parents at the station in Fredericton Junction and driven to this boarding house, where they had kindly arranged for me to stay. It is a large house, where I shared occupancy with 8 other young men. I roomed on the top floor, where you see the three windows, below the peak of the roof.

I took this last shot of another home on University Avenue as I approached the University gates. There’s no story connected with it, other to say that I must have passed it numerous times on my daily treks to and from my classes. On this occasion, 57 years later, it caught my attention and I took the picture.

I’m running short of material, meaning it’s time to get out and take some more photographs.