blacksmith

blacksmith
Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

Dropped by the village on our day off to get a few more shots. Caught the blacksmith in a restful moment.

Dorothy
Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

Dorothy

.. with Asma, her personal trainer, from Your Peak Perfomance, doing her daily workout. And giggling as usual.

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Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

brother and sister attitude.. fun shoot. This has been a marathon month for me, I'm glad to see it's actually over and maybe I can grab a holiday in September. Record number of shoots, simply lost count. Managing to stay on top of the post processing, though I don't know how.

grinch

grinch
Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

Dropped by the Buskerfest on the way home from a shoot today.

moments

moments
Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

This is one of those moments that stick in your mind. I guess, being a photographer, some of my moments are preserved. My mom had asked me to bring some of my portfolio to the nursing home to show my dad. He was a professional photographer when I was growing up and is the reason I do what I do today. The Alzheimer disease had already sucked all the life out of him, along with any memories. He didn't know who any of us were. I felt stupid giving him the photos to look at. He studied this one for a while and then closed his eyes. I don't know what I was trying to do anyway, since he couldn't speak, and I don't know where this story is going.. I just stumbled across the photo while cleaning up.

Dot

Dot
Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

indecision

indecision
Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

Summertime..

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Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

Dorothy, by the window, patiently being my model.

Dropped by to see how General is enjoying his retirement. Found him dozing in a grove of trees by a little lake. He trotted over to say hello and then got back to the business of eating. He looked really content.

salute

Walking behind this particular platoon made me feel a bit sad, remembering so many young men who died in the trenches in WW1.. all wars are horrible, but something about the way this one was fought makes me a little sick.

P.C. Gregg John at the Warrior Day parade today, wearing WWl uniform. That's Vimy Ridge, police mount, stepping out in time to the music.

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Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

Toronto Police Mounted officer P.C. Gregg John on police mount Vimy Ridge, all kitted out in WWl gear.

In the end

In the end
Originally uploaded by torontofotobug.

In the end, it's not the broken teacups and boxes overflowing with papers that are our legacy, but the values we instill in our children and the memories, however fleeting, of good times past.

I'm sitting here right now with a smile on my face because somewhere out in the lush green hills of Halton, there's a grizzled, road-weary police horse enjoying his first day in his new country home.

After almost 20 years of service to the city of Toronto, police mount General retired today. No fanfare, no party, no sloppy goodbyes, just the almost-ceremony of removing his heavy, studded street shoes and then walking out the doors of the stable for the very last time, into a waiting trailer.

He spent the night before last on Yonge Street, his last patrol, Caribana, the baking hot pavement, the crowds, the cars, after all his years on the street he was practically oblivious to all of them.

I'm sure he has a lot of stories, about the demonstrations, the 3am entertainment district forays, the freezing cold and the broiling heat, all of the horses bear it so stoically. General had pretty much seen it all. The last time I had to shoot
him for the trading cards, I noticed that he wasn't quite as centered as he usually was, he kept lifting his nose to the wind and looking off into some distance that only he could see. He was fidgety and a little cranky. I remember thinking that if
I'd been walking these streets for that long, I'd feel the same way. I started to wish for him to retire.

Well, today I got my wish. Thanks to the hard work of all the training officers at the unit, there are enough new horses to take over the shifts.

One of his old partners who lives on a farm and has been waiting years for him to retire, offered to take him and the deal was done. I went down to the stables to photograph his special day. At the last minute we decided we'd follow him all the way to his new home in the country. I'm glad we did, it was a really emotional moment for all of us who witnessed it. Backing him out of the trailer, meeting his old friend, getting let out into his pasture, who knows if he took it all in?

I'm sure it'll be a while before he adjusts to his life of leisure and his new pasture-mates, but once he does I'm going to go back out and visit him again. And try not to cry this time so I can actually get a good shot of him.

Congratulations General, many happy days of doing nothing but eating fresh sweet grass and galloping your pastures.

You've earned it.

Surveying his new home. Freedom.

Running and eating at the same time. A horse's idea of freedom. ;-)