and the Summer Heat drags on

Made it as the sunrises

// November 30th, 2008 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

So the gang made it to Bonaire in one piece even with the madness of driving around in New Jersey  If you haven’t been to New Jersey then think of it of a bunch of highways all coming together in one city and all coming out to the same location.  Like most American cities directions are optional or it seems to be that way.

We got into the airport and like most islands the service was at the speed of an income tax return.  then almost an hour to get the truck thank god Harold and Annie were second in line for a rental.  Then getting the truck to turnabout in the airport was a treat as well, one way all the way around nice ramps over the sidewalks except for the last one where your own your on.  

Then arrival at the Wannadive Hut to singing morning birds and barking dogs which are the norm at this time of the day and unlike other third world countries I have been to no-one shot any of them.  Check in and we discovered that we left a bag at the airport, so the gang minus me headed back to the airport while I went looking for a diet coke/pepsi.

Off to Bonaire in the Morning

// November 29th, 2008 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

going down

Originally uploaded by Tom_Rutledge

So tomorrow I will head to Bonaire once again this time to learn macro photography and do some relaxing and easy diving. I am bringing my wide angle lens as well for the few wrecks that are there.

In addition to underwater stuff I hope to get to play with my D300 and focus on some night and HDR stuff.
I spent the evening in the emergency with my little girl tonight and listened to a young couple with a baby in the next stall displaying massive amounts of concern and the Dr sort of telling them that it’s normal. What was really weird about this is that they had to go to KPH as there is no pediatric services at the Dieu so they had to head over to there. They mounted bicycles and drove over with jr in a backpack. i remember them telling the Dr they lived up in the Bayridge area so they had to bike at least 7 KM’s to get to the Hospital

So Stay tuned and the pics and stories will be coming.

The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes

// November 25th, 2008 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

When I first took up diving in Kingston almost daily someone would be diving down at the ole Marine Museum.  We would dive weekly there as well as Members of the now defunct Down Under Club of Kingston.  We even had a few area cleanups there with people coming from all over the province to participate then Dan and I opened NTD and everything changed.  Many divers started diving in different circles and the Marine Museum dive site became a private dive site for NTD training. Which is OK.

In 2003 NTD hosted a NAS1 course which was run by Parks Canada and we even surveyed the barge just off the point.  When we purchased scooters we found a steamer hull a couple of cars, a half of a schooner and cribs which were at the end of an intake pipe.  In more recent years the Yacht club dropped a broken lazer sailboat for our pleasure.

The real point of this post other then remincing is the ever changing face of the waterfront from the point of the Marine Museum.

The first photo is from 2006 before the construction and moving of the CCGC Alexander Henry into berth.

Then when the Millennium fund dried up after a very expensive commerical diving operation that found out after the cleanup that the drydock was unusable.  They removed all the boat buoys and rerouted the Garden Island Boat traffic to the Yacht club.  They asked the diving community basically POW and NTD only to help bring the Alexander Henry into berth.  I called on my motorcycle riding club the CAV to assist as well and together we moved her in to berth. This was the spring of 2007.

This year after uncertainly with the Federal government in renewing the lease and the city barricading most of the access to the water for safety reasons many people no longer visit this site and the museum as well.  We had a dive show this summer as well and the museum was one of the venues which proved to be not as well as could be.  

Today I went down and took this shot of the Museum and if you look at the three different shots it is quite noticeable that the waterfront in Kingston has changed to the modern way of life.  The saddest part is that for years many a developer were turned down to build on the site as it was restricted to 6 floors and for some reason it slipped.  In front of the construction of the highrises was some loft type townhomes in a limestone structure which is now empty.

Now the marine museum still a great training ground for diving, and an interesting place to visit and do some reearch in may be the site for a much needed deep water port in Kingston.  Good Luck to those that are trying to get this done.  We need it.

Want to dive this site contact the gang over at NTD and ask for directions.

The art of finding a subject

// November 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // photography

So now that i am back in the photography game it’s a struggle trying to find my niche so I end up taking shots of everything above and below the water.  After which you have to take the ones you want to upload and the remainder you file away til a later date.  I have started going through my old stuff and found this one from a trip to Edmonton for dreamscapes.  

Tonight a night shoot around town as it has warmed up to minus 1 instead of the  minus 10 of last nights Santa parade.  We ventured over to City park and the lights were not on for some odd reason so another night shoot this week will be in order.  

So I have lots of work over the winter that most likely may never get done and I have to pack for Bonaire this week so Stay tuned for daily photos and  updates from Bonaire the shore diving Capital of the world.

Here in Kingston Just off  Howe Island on the north side is a wreck from the civil war the CHICORA is sitting in 20 feet of water just off a little cove.  The Chicora was purchased after the american civil war where she was used as a blockade runner.  She ended  her days in Kingston and was set adrift during an apparent fire.  She sunk near Howe Island.  Some books have the wreck as the Amherst Islander One which is incorrect.  

Just a little deeper north of the wreck is a truck once owned by the Garret family who lost it during a ice road incident. Mr Garret has photos of the wheel house from the wreck as well being used as a Chicken Coop on the Island.  So for those that want to try to dive her, don’t forget to get land owners permission first.

Another Weekend, Another OW course done

// November 23rd, 2008 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

and a Santa parade, trip to the country for some pics and so on and so on.  I had to run an ow course this weekend and the main guy decided that he couldn’t do this anymore and took a break.  I also rein-juried my hand working with the students as well. So that is going to set me back bit.  Good news is that my bike is finally going to start the long journey home just in time to store it.

I took a few minutes out of my teaching schedule to watch the Santa parade which in Kingston is held at night for the last 5 years.  It is actually pretty neat this way as the lights and rides are well done.  This year it was 8 below and the parade was the longest since they moved it to the night.  Being so cold people started leaving half way through.  I also had to go before the parade ended missing the CAV and Santa.

After the class Sean and I headed downtown to see the lite tree and home for some most needed sleep as the lack of sunshine is starting to wear on me.  Good to see Chris in the water again today and I was very happy with the DMC”s effort over the course.

Kelly even came in for Fri night and did some DM stuff with one of the students flawlessly.  So a good couple of days and a week to go till Bonaire.

Looking for a spot to dive the BW Folger

// November 21st, 2008 // No Comments » // Diving

BW Folger

And finally some exercise

// November 21st, 2008 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

So my workout buddy kicked my ass today and i got off 12 kms before my ipod died so off to the sauna for a good heating.  So off to the Dr for my biweekly talk and no increase in drugs and still no word on the seeing the next physc but patience and time I have lots of this winter.  

Over to Amherst Island to find the elusive Snowy Owl and no luck at the moment as the owl spot in the Owl wood was closed due to poaching.  Kind of funny how they shut down the area to keep you safe during an illegal activity but when you live on an island thats the way they live, and you can;t fault them for living their lives.

So after seeing lots of Hawks, flying swans(a first) geese, ducks, doves and lots of deers we headed back to the ferry to catch it home and a sunset for the first time in days.

Tomorrow off to Watertown and back to teaching as I have an OW course running this weekend.

Sorry but the Isle of Amherst is closed today.

// November 19th, 2008 // No Comments » // depression, photography

After seeing a few photos from an ole army buddy on flicker,  newfoundlander1  of the return of the snowy owls on Amherst Isle and coupled with the brand change on my sleeping meds making down and driveless lately.  Sean and I headed over to Amherst Island where upon arrival we found it closed for the Day.  

So off to Wolfe Island where we saw red tailed hawks all over the place and took the time to see the placement of another power rotor on windmill number 8.

Other interesting shots of the day were a school bus, old ford and while sean was taking shots of an old house a deer watched carefully,  I got a few shots of the deer but nothing i really liked I have kept them anyway.

for a really bad day waking up it turned out not to bad after all physically.  For the rest of today a return to the gym, Dr’s appointment and hopefully Amherst Island will be open. :p

mooooose

// November 18th, 2008 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

mooooose

Originally uploaded by Tom_Rutledge

Today Sean and I found some urban moose, they are very hard to find in the city and are so still that vandals actually use them for graffiti art. The big problem is then they go out to the country to visit relatives and are easily spotted.

When we happened on the four of them they stood very still for a photo shoot and totally ignored us. One had even lost one of his horns and was not bothered by it at all.

I am hoping they get back to the city soon as hunting season is soon upon us and knowing the locals they miss them.

Just sniffing around today before it rained.

// November 16th, 2008 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

nosey

Originally uploaded by Tom_Rutledge

When you have a rough night, you really feel it in the morning. I had one on Weds and last night i caught up with some very well received sleep. Matter of fact so deep that Polly had to leave the floor to get some sleep. Sean had his last night so when the smoked cleared a drive into the country after brunch at what is fast becoming our favorite diner. The Golden Rooster.

So with Polly in tow we decided to see the deers out on Florida road and on the way we saw the Llama’s these guys are fricken funny dudes, they come to check you out, smile and then leave when it’s discovered you ain’t got any food.

When we got to the deer farm it was closed and only open by appointment so a couple of telephoto shots, and a find of the blog addy we left. I didn’t see a donation box like they have at other farms around the world and personally don’t think people wouldn’t mind seeing one.

Then the rain came so back home where finally i got the site up almost the way i wanted. The only thing i didn’t get working was the gallery2 integration due to a bug in the software and the companies lackadaisical effort to fix it. When some people for a year are waiting for an answer then you lose customers.

So I am now using a product called zenphoto, free, easy and nice to work with. So hopefully we can start populating it now.