Right. 2022’s almost over. Here are 2021’s top photos.

…because when do I ever do anything on time?

Here, then, in the customary “no particular order”, are my favourite ten images from 2021. 2022’s batch are all queued up, although at this rate… you know.

Beaver Pond, Frontenac Provincial Park

At some point in 2021, I bought a used 24mm f/2.8 lens – originally to have a relatively “fast” (large aperture), wide-angle lens for a wedding I’d planned to photograph. COVID-19 wiped that event out, so this trip to Frontenanc Provincial Park was a nice chance to test it out on some landscapes. Black and white seemed right for this beaver pond on the Doe Lake Trail. Even though I’ve been going to a family cottage nearby for decades, I’d never really spent any time in this absolute gem of a wilderness park.

Garter Snake

There are two types of common striped snakes I’m aware of in Southeastern Ontario – the Eastern Ribbonsnake, and the Eastern Gartersnake. I’m pretty sure this is the latter. I’m quite happy to have captured this elegant reptile in mid-tongue flick.

Do Not Mess With The Chicken

When you own a fisheye lens, and have access to chickens, what else would you do?

Tech Reflections

I’ve been fortunate in recent years to donate my time and photography skills to the Canadian Musicians Co-Operative since it started in 2018. Although I wasn’t able to get to their showcase concert in late August, I did photograph the dress rehearsal at the co-op’s studio space. Here’s a favourite of the tech booth, with reflections of some of the performers. Many more photos are in this set.

Eclipse, Vaughan, Ontario

Many, many people photographed this partial solar eclipse on June 10th. I’m grateful to my friend Tom for alerting me to it, and inviting me to come along to a location he’d already scouted. The dawn colour and wispy clouds certainly did not disappoint.

Lensball And Neon Wire

In the early part of 2021, a lot of photographers found ways to be creative indoors rather than at public events canceled in response to the pandemic. Although this isn’t an original idea, I had a lot of fun with a brand-new Lensball and some cheap neon wire. Lots more of those experiments are here.

Figure 8 Racing

After years of intending to go, I finally got to the Bolton Fall Fair, which features, among many other things, an honest-to-goodness Demolition Derby. This photograph is from one of the early-round events, figure-eight racing, which Wikipedia amusingly defines as “a form of stock car racing in which automobiles race on a track that purposely intersects itself, increasing the risk of collisions”. That’s pretty accurate. I don’t know where car #03, “Mad Bro” finished, but it seemed to do pretty well, even while missing its left rear tire. More such mayhem can be found here.

Boat

This very photogenic boat happened by during a quick visit to Everitt Point Park in Kingston, Ontario.

I See You

The cottage again, on the same day as the photo of the Gartersnake. Sneaking up on an American Bullfrog, who wasn’t at all surprised.

You Know The Drill

And finally, an experiment with compositing photos together. This is my father-in-law’s old drill, although there’s a very similar one in my parents’ house. I actually used this recently, as it’s an appealingly quiet alternative to its powered cousins.

As usual, these photos all live in this Flickr set if you want a closer look.