Hidden Gems, Reflections on weeks 8 #52weeksofWE

Better late than never? It has been a busy couple of weeks, and promises to be so for the next couple of weeks as well. But aren’t they all….

I still hope to get out some blog posts, though they may be shorter in some cases, because I really do want to celebrate some of the shots coming in from my fellow challengers.

This week’s description was:

Gems come in all shapes and sizes. In fact some gems are not even gems. They could be that little square foot of wonderfulness that only you and a select few of your most trusted advisors know about. From businesses to sculptures, to a place where snow collects in the most fetching of ways, these are the little points of beauty that make up Windsor – Essex and may only be known by the people who live with them. This is your opportunity to take us on a little walking tour that the tourists don’t necessarily get to see. Translation: I don’t expect to see any pictures of the Ambassador Bridge this week. Thank you for the participant who suggested this theme.

Train station, Essex, ON

I haven’t been in Windsor – Essex for that long, relatively speaking, but have found more so than any other place that I have lived in (not including when I taught for a year overseas in South Korea), that I have really put in an effort to get to know the big city and the smaller communities, and the County spaces. And in the case of this week’s theme, I feel as though I have been able to do that even more, even if it is vicariously through the lenses of the cameras of other photographers. We were able to see old fences in Point Pelee, the church in River Canard, and the train station in Essex, to name a few. It was also refreshing to see a hidden gem of culture, a look into the activities of ECCCA’s Chinese new year gala.

Hidden Gem - ECCC 2015 New Year Gala by Christian Kuong

I essentially got the shot that I wanted of a pond in Amherstburg. My original intention, however, was to aim in the opposite direction – toward the city centre – as the sun was going down. I wanted to capture the lights both of the businesses along this stretch, as well as the vibrancy of the sunset or the subtle dark of twilight. However, I wasn’t able to get out until after twilight disappeared and was replace with full-fledged dark. I wasn’t really dressed appropriately either, expecting I would be taking shots from the window of my car. To get the angle I wanted would have required blazing a trail through the snow. Instead, I decided to test out my night shooting and get the little island of light over the park bench. 

Illuminated bench by a frozen pond, Amherstburg by Patrick Firth

Next week’s theme, Silhouette, is already done and I will type up a blog for that soon as well. Hopefully before I get too far behind again. Check out the rest of the submissions on the Flickr site, and follow other announcements over Facebook.

Bridge over Frozen Water. Lakeside Park, Kingsville by Frank Shepley