#1 – Railing: A great combination of function and form, created by metal artist Brad Hall.

#2 – Heron Silhouette: Dance of the Blue Heron, by Gerald Jank, stands on the front lawn for all the community to enjoy.

#3 – Plaque Bolt: The detail on the bolts holding our 30 year old “Opening Day” plaque.

#4 – Fire Bowl: This chickadee sits atop our copper fire bowl, in the courtyard during the winter for Winter Market fun.

#5 – Basalt II: This detail shot of Brad Hall’s Basalt II shows the rusty patina developing.

#6 – Tool Bird: This character, created from old garden tools, graces the doorway to the Gardens Shop.

#7 – Detail Wrap: Again, by Brad Hall, this is some of the detail found on posts and rails in the Gardens.

We are so fortunate to have a wealth of wonderful artists who are happy to display their work in the Historic Gardens.

TGS

I’ve chosen 7 photos that seem to best reflect that atmosphere.

#1 – Parade Square: I was drawn to Fort Anne NHS for some photos. This is the parade square looking towards the Sally Port.

#2 – Sally Port: Again at Fort Anne, this shot through the Sally Port towards the Officers Quarters would have been perfect had it not been for the maintenance truck parked right in the middle!

#3 – Officers Quarters: This shot is of the cannons resting near the Officers Quarters.

#4 – Backyards: Taken from my neighbour’s hill, across the backyards of several homes.

#5 – Back Deck: My deck chairs aren’t used much this time of year.

#6 – Weeping Pea: This ornamental tree was heavily laden.

#7 – Neighbours: This shot of my street, and neighbour’s houses, gives a great impression of the snow in the air.

It was one of Mother Nature’s finer efforts!

TGS

This is my first Historic Gardens series in this 7×52 project… no doubt it will not be my last!

So, the seven photos are…

#1 – Benchmarks: Not the most interesting shadow – three slats – but the overall view is pleasing.

#2 – Me in the Arbour: One of my favourite shadows in the Gardens comes from the Laburnum Arbour “windows”. Here you see the shadow of the window I am standing in, situated within the window on the opposite side.

#3 – Me at the Beech: Okay, so it’s a little cold for a day at the beech… got your attention though, didn’t I?

#4 – Acadian Fence: The pole fence at the Acadian House casts a nice shadow. The Acadian House is a reproduction of a 1671 Acadian dwelling, and along with the adjacent potager, orchard and dykelands, it is a popular attraction within the Historic Gardens.

#5 – Stewartia Shadow: The highlight of this shot is the cool “camouflage” bark evident on the trunk of the Japanese Stewartia.

#6 – Boardwalk Bend: As many photos as I have taken in the Gardens, I don’t believe I have shot this angle before. I like the curve…

#7 – Brad’s Basalt: Basalt II, a sculpture by local artist Brad Hall, casts a long shadow on a winter afternoon. In the foreground, one of our natural Courtyard resting spots.

Well, me and my shadow are done for today. Hope you enjoyed the pics!

TGS

Sissiboo Coffee Roasters is a locally owned fair trade coffee business, located in nearbyBear River. Owners Jon & Erin make a great product, and are firm believers in fair trade products and local, organic food supplies. Their coffee packaging bears the phrase “fair trade + organic = happiness”, which pretty much says it all.

I first met Jon & Erin, and tried their coffee, at the Annapolis Royal Winter Farmers Market a couple years ago. Since that time, they have fast become a fixture at both the summer and winter markets, and I quickly became a regular consumer of their Sissiboo Coffee!

Incidentally, the name “Sissiboo”, according to legend, is derived from Acadian for “Six Owls”. Thus they have owls on their packaging! This alone might be reason enough for an owl nut like me to buy their product the first time, but it’s the product itself that keeps me coming back for more.

Check out their website: http://www.sissiboocoffee.com/

On to the Photo Selection…

#1 – Sissiboo Flavour: fair trade + organic = happiness

#2 – Grinder: Nothing like freshly ground coffee on a Sunday morning!

#3 – Ready to Grind: Toss some beans into the grinder…

#4 – Scoop: And then scoop the fresh coffee…

#5 – Sissiboo Flower: Funny how much this looks like a Sunflower!

#6 – Mmmm… Smell that? The smell of fresh coffee is always amazing.

#7 – Sissiboo Sunday: Add a chocolate-filled croissant and the Sunday paper and PRESTO… a perfect Sunday morning!

That’s a wrap! Later…

TGS

The 7 photos for the week are:

#1 – Show Marquee – Every performance venue should have a welcoming Marquee!

#2 – The Theatre – The setting and acoustics are also very important.

#3 – Band Shell – Just like the BSO uses…

#4 – The Reed Section – The reeds are an important part of any orchestra.

#5 – The String Section – Funnily enough, just when I was thinking I needed a photo representing “strings” I saw this piece of natural art hanging from a nearby tree. How convenient!

#6 – Percussion – It seems that the woodpeckers would create a wonderful beat…

#7 – An Appreciative Audience – No performance is complete without the listeners.

There… that was easy! Until next time…

TGS

Ah well, best to get started I guess and see where it goes…

I have chosen “Counting” as my theme in this inaugural 7×52 week for two reasons: firstly, 7×52 is all about numbers and secondly, those who know me are familiar with my need to count things… rumour has it that I am a wee bit OCD!

So the seven photos are… (insert drumroll here…)

#1 – 7×52 Illuminated – This shot serves as my opening shot for our 2012 Photo Project 7×52.

# 2 – Slide Rule – This slide rule once belonged to my father, I believe. I am not proficient with its use, but instead set it to a point where 7 and 52 are highlighted…

#3 – Deck o’ Cards – This shot is meant to represent 7 and 52 through the use of a standard deck of cards.

#4 – Time Signature – Any musician will understand the importance of counting!

#5 – Pi Rock – As a mathematician, the number pi is near and dear to my heart. I picked up this “Pi Rock” a few years ago at a local fundraiser.

#6 – Barometer – This old barometer hangs on my wall. It was always well-used in the wee hours on storm days, as my father, the Principal,  debated school cancellations using all tools at his disposal!

#7 – Abacus – The abacus is an old tool for counting -  this one resides at the O’Dell House Museum inAnnapolis Royal.

So there you have it… “Counting”. Until next week…

TGS

Greg Anderson

Well, it’s official now – Project 365 is over and a 2012 photo project is conceived.

First of all, I must thank everyone who has been following this photo project – through Flickr, Facebook and Blogs -  for all the encouragement. There were lots of days when my creativity kinda hit the wall… and knowing there was a corps of supporters who were “waiting” for the daily post, well that definitely helped get me over the hump many times. I’m not sure I would have actually completed a 365 project if not for the sharing and feedback component – that interaction is the part that makes it fun.

By the way, there were three local photographers who participated in Project 365 and MADE IT. I did double duty, once as a personal project and another photo each day from the Historic Gardens. Jane DeWolfe and Ryan Scranton also made the trip – congrats to them as well! We had each other’s support, and it was always interesting to see what the others had chosen as their photo each day. There were a few days when we all had similar ideas (like Day 42 when we all captured the same dramatic storm clouds), and lots of times when our photos were of totally different themes. So in total the three photographers have accumulated a collection of more than 1400 photos, which collectively tell a story of the past year in this community. Our intention is to archive this collection at the O’Dell House Museum – who knows, future generations may look back on this for its heritage value much like we all value Charlotte Perkins’ photographic work from years ago. I think it’s safe to say we all feel quite good about Project 365. But we’re also glad it’s over!

Happily, all three of us have agreed to participate in the new 2012 challenge – in fact we hatched this plan collectively! And we have more shutterbugs joining with this effort, which makes it that much more exciting!

So what’s up for 2012? The challenge is called Project 7×52 and will involve posting 7 photographs weekly. How is that different than a photo-a-day, you may ask? The big difference is that it does not require taking a photograph every single day of the year, and that’s a BIG difference indeed! The other difference is that we will, individually, be picking themes for each weekly collection.

For me, the weekly theming will give me an opportunity to include many of your great ideas: portraits, shopping local, above & below, etc. It will also allow for theming around community events, or even world news.  I will pre-select some themes, to force myself to focus on areas where I may want to improve my skills – like Larry’s “portrait” idea. Other times, I will let the theme evolve as the week progresses – I find some really great things can result if you just let things unfold in a natural way.

And as for some of the other suggestions, like chronicling what is great about Annapolis Royal, these things will emerge as the photo project progresses, much as they did in 2011.  Because of the way my mind works, and because of the industry I work in, it is always a natural for me to migrate towards all the things that make Annapolis Royal the World’s Most Liveable Small Town!

When I started Project 365, I truly had no idea how it would unfold. The results were as surprising to me as to everyone else. The Shop Local photo campaign this past fall (which became a fairly popular initiative) initially came about as a result of my desperation for a photo-of-the-day on a dreary day in November. Many of my photos through the year recorded special community events, or local news. I just went with the flow, and some good things happened. So I think it’s important to continue to build in a lot of flexibility to the photo project so that things can continue to evolve in a natural way.

So that’s Project 7×52. Any shutterbugs who want to join us in this effort, please do so. The more the merrier. Just contact me for posting instructions. Ready… set… go!

Oh yeah, what about my “alter ego”?  The Historic Gardens side of my photography? Well, instead of mirroring the same project with my Gardens hat on, as I did in 2011, this time I have decided to take on a totally different project for my Gardens photos… Project 1000. That will involve taking and posting/sharing 1000 photos in the coming year, all about the Gardens. There is no schedule specified, but it will likely follow a weekly format as well. The only goal is a total of 1000 photos by December 31.

“A journey of a thousand photos begins with a single click”

Project 365 – Pussycat.

The Day After: For some reason, in my little brain, my 365 project (which technically finished Dec 31) needed a final New Year’s Day shot to truly be complete. I guess it felt right to have the end shot on the same day as the start shot. My mind works in mysterious ways!

My very first photo for Project 365 was of an owl that appeared out of the blue to start my project off. I couldn’t expect to reproduce that circumstance today, so instead I thought a pussycat would make a fitting end… the Owl and the Pussycat will be my alpha and omega.

The rain was making pretty circles on the pond today…

Project 365 – Mission Accomplished!

Day 365 – yes, that’s Day 365 of Project 365, my photo-a-day challenge for 2011. It has been an experience, but I will be glad to just have a couple days where I don’t HAVE to pick up my camera! Who knows, I may find that I WANT to pick it up anyway!