Wolfville Road Trip and Spryfield Fire

Wolfville, Nova Scotia is a place that has always held a draw for me.  I’ve lived in many places in Nova Scotia, but the Annapolis Valley is one of the parts that has remained somewhat of a mystery to me.  Mikey and I went down for the day and while she was at a job interview, I spent the day exploring the area, and of course, falling in love with it.

Magnolia

It seems spring comes sooner to the valley, as many things have already started to bloom there.  I was especially impressed by the many magnolia trees which have opened up like popcorn.  The sight of it can’t compare to the warm, buttery, sweet smell of the magnolia trees in bloom.

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Trip update and new developments

Hello again!

I figured a new post was in order as it is taking longer than expected to put together the story of the Boundary Rock Expedition earlier in the month.  As far as you knew, I went off in search of Boundary Rock, and never returned.  This post will not be about the trip, but will serve more as an appetiser, a promise that it is on it’s way and maybe a bit of a diversion to buy me more time to finish the photo essay detailing the trip.

In the past few weeks much has happened here.  Since the trip, I have moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick and am settling in here nicely.  The public library is displaying photography of New Brunswick waterfalls which has inspired me to do some more exploring.  The difference here is that it’s all new to me.  I know Fredericton well, but the surrounding area is still uncharted territory.  So, I became inspired by this display and found the lovely blog:  Waterfalls of New Brunswick.  I have spent the last week or so exploring the region, mostly searching for these waterfalls and hiking through the outskirts of Fredericton and the beauty of it amazes me.  This being said, I would like to expand the focus of this blog to the maritime provinces, as I am no longer a resident of Nova Scotia (although in my heart it will always be home) and now I will begin to explore some places that are new to me.

Now, you’ve probably come to this site to see some photos, and certainly not to hear me babble on…  so let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

Retired Row Boat

A boat, left alongside a river near Port Elgin, NB, fades away into the long grass.

Abandoned NB - In the Shadow

Driving along the road from Shediac to the Confederation Bridge and on to Charlottetown there are an incredible number of abandoned houses.  I was here picking up my sister from University, so I didn’t have all day to explore, but I did manage to stop and get

A Walk in the Park

Wasteland - Paul Maybee

Most of us Haligonians can remember what Point Pleasant Park looked like before September 28th, 2003.  It was a lush thick forest with beautiful tall trees – a great escape from the busy streets of Halifax, a little taste of nature when we’re too busy to really get away.  Now, almost six years later, the park

Miniature trains

Miniature Train - Paul Maybee

Here’s my second attempt at tilt shift photography.  I went on a walkabout through Point Pleasant Park, and took photos of the trains on the way there and on the way back.  Here I wanted to see if I could make a train look like a little model train.

Ship Yard Trains - Paul Maybee

This one turned out even better, with the ship yard in the background.  There wasn’t much activity that day, but I did catch the train backing into the yard on my way to the park.  Looks just like the old

Abandoned Annapolis

With the start date of the Boundary Rock trip drawing nearer, Cody and I took a drive down to the put in site to check out the condition of the roads and the ice.  Along the way, we made a few stops to explore some abandoned houses in some of the more remote rural parts of South Western Nova Scotia.  We ran into some pretty messy roads along the way, and some ice still on the lakes, but we’re not ready to give up yet.  There is still time for the ice to melt and the channels are opening up.  So here is a photo essay of sorts of our adventures on the back roads of South Western Nova Scotia:

Windsor Wear - Paul Maybee

I spotted this from the highway and decided to pull in to get a closer look.  I loved the look of the old bricks with arched windows.  I thought this was abandoned, but when we got closer, we could see people working inside and it obviously has all new windows.  It’s nice to see something like this being restored for a new purpose.  Such a beautiful old building.  Is it for offices?  loft apartments?  Either way, this one doesn’t technically count, because it’s not abandoned.  It’s just being given a new life.   …and we’re back on the road:

Abandoned - Paul Maybee

Abandoned: New Minas - Paul Maybee

The next thing I saw from the road, was this old farmhouse on top of a hill.  I pulled in to try and get a better look, and we decided to stop in for coffee at the Just Us cafe.  After fueling up on coffee, we continued up the road to try and find

Miniature Halifax (photo of the day)

Dresden Row Tilt Shift - Paul Maybee

This is my first attempt at tilt shift photography which is most commonly used to make photos (or videos) look like they are miniature.  It’s fun to google the term “tilt shift” and see what comes up, but it was way more exciting for me to see something I know very well, like Dresden Row in Halifax, NS as seen from the Citadel Hill.  I will be posting more very soon.  It’s too much fun!

Texture – Patterns in nature and cities

texture - Paul Maybee

This is (mostly) a collection of photos from the early 2000’s I took intending to put them together eventually as a study on textures in nature and patterns in cities.  It looks at the contrast between the hard, straight lines in our buildings and the softer, perfect repeating patterns found in nature.

abandoned

Car and Haybails - Paul Maybee

After making my post this morning, I found this old gem.  This is a photo of a car sitting in a field along the Brule Shore in Nova Scotia.  This one comes from a series of photos I took on a really nice long drive with my mother in 2002, right before I left for Ecuador for 3 months.  I was just learning how to use my grandmother’s Pentax K1000 and just becoming very interested in photography.

Abandoned places

I have recently come across some of my old photographs and I noticed an interesting theme occurring.  I have many photos of old abandoned places.  I did some snooping around the Internet, and it seems this is something that has captured the attention of many photographers and so called urban/rural explorers.  I guess what sparked my search was the photos I posted a few days ago of the old fishing shack in Kingsburg.  I knew I wanted to put together a project consisting of old fallen down houses, churches and schools in Nova Scotia, but I didn’t realize just how many of these photographs I’d already taken.  So for your viewing pleasure, here are some of the highlights:

Rose Bay Barn - Paul Maybee

Let’s start with this one, close to Kingsburg- on the way, in fact.  Here is a barn that no longer exists.

Rose Bay Barn (back) - Paul Maybee

Actually, here is a photo from the other side of this barn.  I forgot I had this one until I posted the previous photo.

photo of the day

White Ferns - Paul Maybee

This is a photo of some tiny ferns I took on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.  I didn’t use any special lighting technique for this one; there just happened to be a ray of sunlight shining on this little patch of ferns.