Captain on the Lake
“Model for me,” I said. “It’ll be fun,” I said.
I think I’ve lived in California too long. I’ve become spoiled. I just expect that if there’s something that I want to shoot that I can just go out and do it. Even if it rains (and how often does that happen?) most of my equipment can be protects and we can go on as planned. Extreme cold doesn’t factor much into my day to day.
However, when I go back to Toronto for a visit in late December, extreme cold is definitely a factor. So, a trip to the water purification plant down on the lake might have been a less than stellar idea in -9 degree weather (about 15F).
This purification plant in the most beautiful place and has been aptly dubbed the Palace of Purification. It’s mentioned extensively in one of my favorite books, Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion (he is also the author of The English Patient). Built in the 1930s, the interiors are lavish and marbled and the exterior architecture is in the Art Deco style. Unfortunately, we were unable to go inside, but the outside views are pretty incredible when you aren’t being chased by whipping wind and angry geese.
JP was a great sport about it and we got some good shots of him as a captain on his way out to sea before I lost my mitten and we all gave up because we were completely frozen by this point. Winter is for short photo-shoots, or warmer mittens.