A New Day, A Different Way The creative and photographic endeavours of a woman trying to add color and beauty to her world.

When I was recently in Toronto I got a chance to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario to see the Picasso exhibit.  I could have spent hours wandering through the building looking at the incredible art.  Unfortunately I only had an hour and a half to check out the Picasso exhibit and that was all.  Otherwise all I got were a few fleeting glimpses of some of the amazing work of Canada's Group of Seven on the way out. 

The building itself is a piece of art having recently been redesigned by acclaimed Canadian architect Frank Gehry.  I was not able to take any photographs of the exhibit but here are a few of the inside of the building that showcase some of the incredible architecture.

There seem to be a lot of beautiful poppies growing in our neighbourhood.  I came home at lunch yesterday when I knew most people would be at work and creeped into a couple of neighbour's yards to catch some photos of their poppies.

I still have a lot of pictures from my trip left to post.  Here are a few from Dundas Square.  It is located right in the heart of downtown Toronto.  It seems to be constantly teeming with people and there was so much to see. 

The huge billboards...

The lovely Marie Antoinette, who stood there for over eight hours in full make-up and costume despite the humidity...


And this unlikely band comprised of men who live in a shelter just trying to make a little bit of money. They were very good and their music filled the entire street and drew quite a crowd...


This was my first trip to Toronto and my first trip further east than Saskatoon.  I was really surprised to find that Toronto really has it's own very unique vibe.  I expected it to feel a lot like Vancouver but it really didn't at all. 

Here are a few photos I took of an old church located on Church St. in Toronto.  I wasn't able to get much for detail on this church as I didn't have a lot of time.  I have edited the photos giving them a black and white treatment to make them look like they came from an era that matches the building.

Photos edited using Nelly Nero's Actions for Photoshop Elements.

This is a photo of the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto with the CN Tower looming in the distance.  It was a humid day so there is a slight haze in the distance that lends a softening quality. 

Photo edited with Nelly Nero's Grunge Lite Action for Photoshop Elements. 

Anyone who has followed my blog knows that I love taking photos of flowers.  I used to think I had to try to photograph other objects so my posts weren't so repetitive but I have decided to embrace doing what I love and the flower post will continue with some regularity.  I hope you like these beauties.

The Irises are blooming right now and they are incredible.  There were taken from the parking lot of on office building if you can believe it.

Today I am linking up for Texture Tuesday over at Kim Klassens Cafe Blog.  The theme this week is text so your photo must include at least one layer of one of Kim's textures and some text.

I have been out taking photos of spring blossoms this week and this quote jumped to mind as I was looking at this photo.

I used Kim's golden texture first, using the soft light blending mode at 56%, then I added dusty rose also on solf light and changed the opacity to 71%.

I love the irony of seeing the beautiful new spring blooms grow up among the decay left after a winter of snow.  The circle of life renewed again.

I found the intricacies of the dried moss on this stick quite beautiful so I decided to capture it by getting up close with my macro lens.

These are close up photos of some mushrooms I found on a recent hike.  I actually quite like the way these photos turned out.  There is kind of an odd, earthy quality to them I think, and I love the little bug peeking out from under the first one, I caught him quite by accident.