Timber.

Same/different.

This morning’s walk beside Hespeler’s Silknit Dam resulted in two versions of the same story (aren’t there always at least two? 🙂).

One is a single moment, frozen in time, and the other is an accumulation of moments, captured with the help of a neutral density filter and a fifteen second exposure. Two photographs, two truths – their variations resulting only from the passage of time and a different lens.

I’ll share them here in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge: Variations on a Theme.

Ship in a bottle.

I tried a bit of night-time photo-making for this week’s Thursday Doors contribution:

The public library (branded as Idea Exchange) in the Hespeler community of Cambridge, Ontario currently stands as an uncommon blend of old and new – the outer shell of this structure is constructed with glass, encasing the historic brick building within while also housing the modern extension.

The renovations, completed in 2007, received mixed reviews from locals, even though the design was granted an Award of Excellence by Canadian Architect magazine, among other honours.

As you may know, I’m a sucker for historic buildings, and part of me would’ve liked better exterior visibility of the original structure. However, I’m also a sucker for bright, airy interiors (and libraries in general, of course). The glass, the height, and the clean modern lines create a unique and comfortable indoor space. When inside, being able to circle the original building – to view and touch and appreciate the exposed brick up close – provides an odd but pleasant feeling of being both indoors and outdoors at once.

Today’s main entrance is located on the northeast side of the building:

 

If you squint through this sheet of glass, you’ll be able to view the location of the original entryway, round the southeast side:

 

It looks a tad different than it did back in 1923:

Photo courtesy Law Photography via Cambridge Archives, c. 1923.

Idea Exchange is currently working on another overhaul of a historic structure in the Galt area of Cambridge – the old Post Office – and I understand there’s also a fair amount of glass involved in this particular re-imagination. I’ll keep you posted 🙂

 

Detours and diversions.

Today I took a wrong turn while driving through Hespeler. As I’m learning, though, it’s hard to discover anything new by always travelling the same road.

It’s a good thing, too, because had I turned right instead of left, I wouldn’t have captured a door to share in Norm’s weekly feature, Thursday Doors.

The facade of this building has a slightly different vibe than most art galleries, yes?

Back at home (I managed to get there without getting lost again, in case you were wondering), Google informed me (here, here and here) that the Underground is a gallery, store and studio headed by Ean Kools, a local street artist.

As it happens, earlier today I picked up a flyer for the Cambridge International Street Art Festival, taking place this June. I had missed the festival last year, but I do plan on wandering the streets to check out this year’s gathering of artists as they work their magic (maybe I should bring a map?).

Thanks, as always, for visiting.