A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Do you like taking pictures? I feel like I've come full circle. When my girls were little, we had the camera out every day, documenting every move, expression, celebration and milestone. But when they got older, moved out and away, the camera seemed to get put away and forgotten. But that was when we lived back in Burlington, Ontario. It's not that we didn't live in a lovely area. We lived just a stone's throw from Lake Ontario--a ten minute walk from a vibrant lakefront/downtown area that was constantly used as a community gathering place. Festivals, concerts and family activities were always on the go there. But sadly, because we were so busy working, it was rare that we took part in those affairs. If we weren't working, we just wanted to stay put and recharge our batteries for the next day's work.
And that's one of the reasons why we made the big move to Newfoundland. Basil had always talked about 'going home'. I couldn't see the big fascination with that. After all, we lived in Burlington. Just over an hour from Toronto and everything Toronto had to offer. Culture, museums, concerts, restaurants. All the things we didn't have time for. We were only an hour away from Niagara Falls, one of the wonders of the world. But the only time we went down there was to do some cross border shopping. The Falls itself was too busy and overrun with people. What could Newfoundland possibly have to offer me?
Well, as they say, that's history. When I finally set foot on The Rock, I fell in love. Things are little slower here and that's probably one of the most appealing things about living here. You don't realize how busy you can make yourself. And then, life just whizzes by. 

Let me demonstrate.

Do you see this picture on the right? This was taken shortly after we moved here. November 2, 2012. (Don't you love iPhoto! I just love knowing the exact date of all my pictures!)
There was some snow in the forecast and the sky looked gloomy over Clarkes Beach. Now, normally, I would just go about my business. After all, we had just moved down here and I didn't have time to stand outside and just stare into the sky.
Or did I????
I did have the time. Never mind that I had a million boxes to unpack. A new home to get in order. But, I just had to remind myself the reason why we moved down here in the first place. We wanted to slow down and look up in the sky because it was there! And trust me. Not a day goes by that I don't do exactly that. Look up in the sky and remind myself why I'm here.

Now, the picture that you see above, believe it or not, isn't a black and white photo. Neither is the one below.

Actually, you can see a slight peep of blue sky in this picture. It was taken just moments before all the clouds rolled in and made the whole world black and white.




But there are some people that specialize in black and white photography. 
And Olivier Du Tré is one of those photographers. Olivier stayed with us this past summer and he was probably one of my first guests that actually got up when he said he would. I always talk up the sunrises around here and everyone says they're going to get up, but very few do. But Olivier did! I didn't know it at the time, but Olivier was a photographer and was working his way across Newfoundland and documenting his travels. He is based in Alberta, and while most of his work is the prairies and the Rocky Mountains, I think he fell in love a little with the east coast. If you want to have a look at some breathtaking photography, here is the link to his page:

Olivier du Tré Traditional Photographer

Just so you know, Olivier didn't approach me to advertise his site. I had sent a thank you to all my guests from the 2014 season and he sent me a link so that I could see some of the photos that he shot while he stayed with us. I especially love his Hibbs Cove photo, that one just being down the road in Port de Grave. If you're interested in photography, have a look. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.