Hideously Beautiful

Today's challenge was to make a beautiful photograph of something commonly thought of as ugly.

I decided to take a photo of this ugly gargoyle that is actual an incense burner. Not really a fan of the incense but had to light one up in order to obtain the smoking action.

The history of a gargoyle is quite interesting. According to Wikipedia, in architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building. Preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls is important because running water erodes the mortar between the stone blocks. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the potential damage from a rainstorm. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth. Gargoyles are usually an elongated fantastic animal because the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is thrown from the wall. 

The term originates from the French gargouille, originally "throat" or "gullet" and similar words derived from the root gar, "to swallow", which represented the gurgling sound of water (e.g., Spanish garganta, "throat"; Spanish gárgola, "gargoyle"). It is also connected to the French verb gargariser, which means "to gargle." The Italian word for gargoyle is doccione o gronda sporgente, an architecturally precise phrase which means "protruding gutter." The German word for gargoyle is Wasserspeier, which means "water spitter." The Dutch word for gargoyle is waterspuwer, which means "water spitter" or "water vomiter." A building that has gargoyles on it is "gargoyled."

A grotesque figure is a sculpture that does not work as a waterspout and serves only an ornamental or artistic function. These are also usually called gargoyles in layman's terminology,] although the field of architecture usually preserves the distinction between gargoyles (functional waterspouts) and non-waterspout grotesques.

Gargoyles are said to scare off and protect from any evil or harmful spirits.

Mags.

In The Gutter....

Today's daily challenge was to make a photograph featuring a diagonal line of series of diagonal lines.

Feeling a bit under the weather with seasonal allergies today, I really wasn't in the mood to be photographing much. I came across this sewer cover and was instantly attracted to it because of the diagonal lines and, with a few adjustments, really highlighted the lines to make them the focal point of the photo. Little did I know, one can be arrested for taking photos of sewers. I came across an article about a man in the UK who was arrested for allegedly taking such a picture......check it out: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x54hqTVtM78&feature=player_embedded

Crazy!

Mags.

The Distillery District

Today turned out to be a beautiful day and I spent some time in the City this evening with some friends in the Distillery District and ate a wonderful meal on the patio at The Boiler House.

The Distillery District is a National Historic Site with an incredible rich history. The site was once The Gooderham and Worts Distillery, and represents the largest and best preserved collection of Victorian Industrial Architecture in North America. The Distillery is now a small district that houses interesting boutiques, chic restaurants and is juxtaposed with modern condos popping up everywhere.

In 1886, the chimney of The Boiler House dominated the young Toronto skyline. It reminded everyone for miles around of the tremendous industry that was The Gooderham and Worts Distillery, at the time the largest in the world. Today, like the buildings themselves, the 156-foot chimney is completely refurbished. It's an architectural gem that every night is lit by its spotlight, announcing to all that this is still the source of The Distillery's energy ... albeit now, the people kind!

In 2003 the building was transformed into an award-winning restaurant by architects Mackay Wong. They retained all the major structural elements and used only recycled and historically appropriate materials to complete it. For example, the 22 foot high bar is made from 115 year old fir, recycled on site.

The successful conversion of the Boiler House from power plant, to award-winning restaurant, has been noted and praised by both architectural and food critics.

Mags.

Tamarindo Treasures

July 28, 2010

Today was my birthday and as per usual, it rained buckets. But I didn't let that stop my fun! Guy surprised me with some champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in the afternoon and later on that night, a birthday cake complete with the staff singing "Happy Birthday" in spanish......

In the afternoon, I took a quick (but bumpy) cab ride into Tamarindo to peruse the shops for some unique finds. Sadly, every shop seemed to carry the same tacky souvenirs but I did quite enjoy the character and colours of the shops and enjoyed watching all the barefoot surfers stroll around town with their surf boards in tow.... I wanted to take a stroll on the beach in hopes of capturing one of the infamous sunsets, unfortunately, the rain came pouring down and dusk had started to come and as we were warned, walking along the beach in Tamarindo at night wasn't the safest thing to do....All in all, I enjoyed the sights, smells and sounds that the small town had to offer.......

Mags.

Reflections

After some late afternoon showers threatened the possibility of an evening photo shoot, I was glad when they passed through quickly. I made my way over to the Brampton Soccer Centre in hopes to capture some interesting shots of the unusual architecture that forms this building. I captured this shot as the sun setting was reflecting on the glass.

The Brampton Soccer Centre is a community soccer facility that opened in June 2007. Located on the southwest corner of Dixie Road and Sandalwood Parkway, this landmark building was created at a cost of $26.9 million dollars. The initial concept for the building was to have it host Ice Hockey, Basketball / Volleyball and Soccer. Feedback from the community resulted in a change of plans, thus rendering the inside of the building as a soccer only facility.

Mags.

"Absolute" Domination

Today's assignment was to find a scene that's dominated by one colour.

I travelled to the "downtown" section of Mississauga today to purchase my new iMac. This area is booming with new condo developments popping up overnight! This particular project has been labeled a graceful, curving architectural wonder.

This is the fourth in the "Absolute" master planned community. This 50-storey landmark tower is not just the tallest tower in the neighbourhood , but is also catching the attention of many for its breakthrough in condo design. Eschewing straight lines, fixed points and verticles, this tower will be a slender, graceful, curvaceous form of glass and steel. Stunning!

Mags.