Bill Smith's Photography

I think I found paradise. It started with lunch at Huff Estates Winery , they have a really nice patio where we had lunch, in my case a roast beef sandwich with melted brie with mixed green salad. If there is ever a place that I would consider as close to paradise as you are going to get within a two and a half hour drive east of  Toronto. I tossed up an iPhone shot of the beach on Twitter and Facebook with the line, 'I think I found paradise." A couple of people and businesses  from Prince Edward County favourited that photo and a few re-tweeted it which was a nice stroke to the ego. The thing with the beach at Sandbank Provincial Park is the sand, it's sugar sand and you feel like you're on the ocean only there is no tides to deal with. We were smart going Friday because the long weekend would have been a zoo at the park. After relaxing on the beach it was time to make our way to check out Bloomfield, a gem of a small town, a perfect place to hide from realit...

Just on the cusp of the August long holiday weekend, my friend Siobhan and I pulled a Ferris Beuller's Day Off, did a road trip to Prince Edward County. We got off the 401 in Port Hope which is considered one of Ontario's prettiest small towns  because it's 19th century downtown is still intact. The one downside was the weather was too nice and found the light to be a bit of a challenge. Now we were nowhere near our destination and we continued our trip along Highway 2. I strongly suggest taking the road off the beaten path because the scenery is just nicer. Square photos: Camera: Series E 3.5 Planar Rolleiflex TLR, Film: Kodak Portra 160 NC Black and White: Camera: Canon F-1N, FD 50 f1.4 SSC lens. Film: Kentmere 100, Ilfosol3 1+4.

From my trips into Toronto for night school at University of Toronto. Before class I take photos, mostly downtown, sometimes up near the St. George Campus. Camera: Nikon FM, Nikkor Ais 35 f2 lens, Film: Fuji Pro 400 H

One film I love and don't shoot enough of is Kodak Ektar 100. It's a saturated 100 ISO C-41 colour negative film geared to landscapes and nature, I haven't really tried it in urban settings and my early portraiture attempts were poorly scanned when I was just getting the hang of vuescan. The one bit of advice for film photographers trying Ektar 100 for the first time, treat it like a slide film in terms of exposure, I can be quite finicky and blue skies can go cyan if you're not too careful. Camera: Olympus OM-4, Zuiko lenses. Film: Kodak Ektar 100

I wanted to try a new hike so I drove further up Highway 10 past Orangeville  up to a small hamlet called Primrose and kept driving North to Boyne River Provincial Park. It was an all day hike,  from experience, don't bother with the Primrose side trail, nothing all that exciting to see on there. The park proper is another story all together. It was a great hike and by the end my legs were like jello. I shot both black and white and colour on this hike, this post you guessed it, is the black and white one. There is a great view of Boyne Valley and a couple of spots that could very well be the next Microsoft background wallpaper. Olympus OM2n, Zuiko 50 f1.4 lens. Film: Ilford Delta 100, Ilfosol3 1+4.

Mono Cliffs is one of my favourite hikes northwest of Toronto because you can't hear civilization. This used to be farmland that went back to nature over 100 years ago and lies on the Bruce Trail. The big feature is the 500 year old cedar trees along the cliffs along with the nice view looking east from the look out. To walk the park in it's entirety will take  you day if your legs don't quit at some point and I highly recommend the Mono Cliffs Inn for lunch or an early dinner. Camera: Nikon F2S, Pre Ai Nikkor Lenses Film: Ilford HP5 400,  HC110 B.