Long House, Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
LONG HOUSE, SAINTE-MARIE AMONG THE HURONS: This attraction near Midland, Ontario, attempts to interpret and share the history of First Nations peoples and their early contact with Europeans– specifically the French Jesuits.
Virtually nothing of the original settlement here remains. Aside from artifacts on display and pieces of two hearths, everything one sees is a recent recreation or re-imagining of what the site was like in the mid 1600s.
There is a small guide given to visitors, who are then encouraged to speak with staff. They are everywhere! Unfortunately, they know very little beyond the obvious. On my visit, after a while I gave up as they were so poorly informed. Given the origin of Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, I was most shocked with the lack of knowledge about Catholic faith and practices.
Shot handheld and braced with a Nikon D300, 16-85 DX zoom lens at 48mm, ISO 1000, 1/4 sec., f4.5. Copyright photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Niagara Falls Spring Tulips, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
NIAGARA FALLS SPRING TULIPS: They are not out yet, but by late April, the tulips will be in full bloom throughout the Niagara Falls parks system. It’s a favourite place to visit early in the spring when millions of tulips adorn the well-kept gardens, the daffodils carpet Queen Victoria Park and the magnolias bloom along the path near the Floral Showhouse. If you plan your visit for when the magnolias are in full flower (usually late April/early May, depending on the year), you’ll also see plenty of tulips and daffodils too.
These tulips were at the Floral Showhouse, just ¼ mile south of the Horseshoe Falls at 7541Niagara River Parkway. The outside gardens are free to visit. There’s a paid parking lot right there. You can even stay up to speed with the pace of your favourite flows signing up for the Niagara Parks Bloom Watch.
Shot handheld with a Nikon D3100, 18-200 DX VR lens at 200mm, f/32, 1/100 sec., ISO 800. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Abandoned building, Agira, Sicily, Italy, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
AGIRA, SICILY, ITALY: This long abandoned building is near Agira, Sicily. It’s now home to a sizeable pigeon population that calls the old building home. The building is not far from the Agira Canadian cemetery which is the only exclusively Canadian cemetery in Italy from the Second World War. Elsewhere in the country, Canadian war dead were often buried with other Commonwealth soldiers. Agira is the final resting place for all 490 Canadians killed during the Sicily campaign.
Operation Husky was the code name for the invasion of Sicily. On July 10, 1943,160,000 British, Canadian, and American troops landed in southern Sicily in advance of future Allied landings on mainland Italy. The terrain in southern and central Sicily is very hilly and was mostly barren in 1943. The German defenders put up great resistance and the Canadians had it tough in their advance toward Agira. Still, today, one can see the locations of the German defences and the route Canadian troops took in their attack on the town.
After the taking of Agira, most of the Canadian troops were merged with the British for the final advance toward Messina on the northern tip of Sicily. Sicily finally fell on August 17th, 1943, just five weeks after the landings. Shot handheld with a Nikon D300, ISO 250, f/20, 1/40 sec. 56mm on Nikon 18-200 lens, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Nares Lake near Carcross, Yukon, Canada, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
NARES LAKE NEAR CARCROSS, YUKON, CANADA: Carcross used to be called Caribou Crossing but over the years was contracted to Carcross. The town, just 45 minutes south of Whitehorse, Yukon and about 90 minutes from Skagway, Alaska.
Shot handheld with a Nikon D3100 with a Nikkor 18-200mm lens at 18mm, f16, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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On the Highway to Alaska from the Yukon, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
ON THE HIGHWAY TO ALASKA FROM THE YUKON: It is a beautiful drive from Carcross, Yukon to Skagway, Alaska. Originally, the route was called the Carcross Road and then became part of the Alaska Highway during the Second World War. That highway was developed at a frantic pace in wartime. It has also served the mining industry well, but today is largely used for tourist traffic during the busy summer months. Stop anywhere along the road and you are sure to take in a breathtaking vista.
Shot handheld with a Nikon D300 with a Nikkor 10-24mm lens at 12mm, f11 1/500 sec., ISO 500. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Orange truck, Yellowknife Mining Museum, Yellowknife, NWT, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
ORANGE TRUCK, YELLOWKNIFE MINING MUSEUM: For over 70 years, mining has been Yellowknife’s economic base. The industry provides over 50% of the Northwest Territory’s GDP. The town was established in the mid 1930s, became the territorial capital in 1967 and finally incorporated in1970. The Northwest Mining Heritage Society was formed in 2002 with plans to establish a mining museum and resource centre. Currently, much of its collection is found outside, at the Giant Mine Town Site, located 4 km north of Yellowknife on the Ingraham Trail. While the site appears just to be a hodgepodge of old relics, I was fascinated by the collection and what it represents. The area has been a rich source of gold, radium and now diamonds. The society is assembling a huge trove of artefacts to share the rich history of mining in the area.
More information: Northwest Mining Heritage Society
Shot handheld with a Nikon D3100 with a Nikkor 18-200mm lens at 18mm, f6.3, 1/125 sec., ISO 1600. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Remembrance Day 2012, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
REMEMBRANCE DAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012: Top photo: Canadian flag and Calgary Highlanders, Juno Beach Centre D-Day Commemoration, June 6th, 2010. Shot handheld with a Nikon D40X, Nikkor 70-300mm lens at 300mm, f20, 1/640 sec. ISO 800. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography.
Bottom two photos: Queen’s Own Rifles House, Juno Beach; D-Day and modern day photos. Click here for an account of the D-Day landing by the Queen’s Own Rifles: http://www.members.shaw.ca/junobeach/juno-4-1.htm
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Vimy Ridge Memorial, France, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
VIMY RIDGE MEMORIAL, FRANCE: April 9, 2012 is the 95th anniversary of the start of the battle of Vimy Ridge. It was the first time that Canadians would fight together under Canadian command. It is, for many, ‘when Canada became a country’. The Canadians were given an almost impossible task. French and British attempts to take the ridge had failed. In the course of the next six days, 3,598 Canadians would die and another 7,000 were injured. The highest point on the battlefield was Hill 145. That is where Canada’s Vimy Ridge Memorial now stands. In 1922, the French government gave the Hill and its surrounding to territory to Canada, in appreciation for defeating the Germans in one of the pivotal battles of World War One. Every Canadian should visit the Memorial at least once in their lives, in tribute to the terrible losses that day and in recognition of a defining moment in Canada’s history.
Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Blue Chairs, Green Grass, Soybean Field, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
BLUE CHAIRS, GREEN GRASS, SOYBEAN FIELD: This shot was taken in southern Ontario on the northern boundary of Durham Region. The field crop behind the chairs is soybeans– a large cash crop in the Province of Ontario where approximately 2 million acres are planted annually. The crop is increasingly grown elsewhere in Canada and enjoys a good export market. For exported beans, the biggest buyer (2006 data) is Japan, followed by Malaysia, the Netherlands and Iran. The beans have many uses. They are grown for specialty foods, oil production and livestock feed. Ever eat those artificial bacon bits? Yummy? Chances are they were made from soybeans. They have industrial uses as well. Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, was an advocate for the use of soy for plastics, paints and fibres. Printing inks are often made from soy and it’s even used as an eco-friendly lubricant and in candles and crayons. Soybeans are also good in biodiesel. Makes me want to sit in one of those blue chairs and dream up another use for this magic bean!
Shot handheld with a Nikon D300, AFS 70-300 DX lens at 155mm, 1/320 sec, f18, ISO 1000
Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Ragged Ass Road, Yellowknife, NWT, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
RAGGED ASS ROAD: Yes, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories there is a street by that name. I was there not long ago, enjoying my time in ‘Old Town’ the original town site. Ragged Ass Road is the official Yellowknife name for the short dirt road in this working-class neighbourhood. Apparently, the street got its name after Lou Rocher and his buddies were drinking one night at the end of a long prospecting season with little profit to show for it. ‘Ragged Ass’ meant dirt poor and they decided that night they should call their street ‘Ragged Ass Road’. They made a sign, the name stuck and eventually the city adopted the name officially. This 1949 Ford sits in the driveway of one of the homes on Ragged Ass Road.
Photo illustration by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Remembrance Day, 2011, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
Each year, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, we pause to remember those Canadians who died in service to their country. We’ll wear poppies or forget-me-nots. We’ll think about loved ones lost or maybe relatives we never met because they made the supreme sacrifice.
Over these past almost 100 years since wearing a poppy started as a Canadian tradition, approximately 115,000 Canadians have died in war and military service: First World War, 66,665; Second World War, 46,998; Korea, 516; Peacekeeping, 121; Afghanistan, 154. As a percentage of population, in the First World War, almost 1% (.92%) of Canada’s population was lost to war. In the United States it was .13% and the United Kingdom 2.19%. In the Second World War, .40% of Canada’s population was lost to war. In the United States, .32% and the United Kingdom .94%.
Shot handheld with a Nikon D40x, Nikon AFS 70-300 lens at 300mm, f10, 1/250 sec. ISO 1600. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Remembrance: Vimy Canadian Cemetery, France, photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
REMEMBRANCE: VIMY CANADIAN CEMETERY, FRANCE: Shot handheld with a Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-200 lens at 127mm, f22, 1/125 sec. ISO 1000. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Juno Beach Remembered, Normandy, France, photo by John Ecker, Pantheon Photography
BEACH REMEMBERED, NORMANDY, FRANCE: June 6 is the anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Operation Overlord. The Canadians took Juno Beach that day. They landed near Courseulles. Advance bombardments by air and sea before the landings had done a good job. German beach defenses were quickly stopped, with some accounts noting that Canadian landing craft were not being shot at just 15 minutes after the Juno assault began. Today, the shoreline looks much as it did almost 70 years ago. Period photos show many landmarks that still exist today. The top photo shows defeated German troops guarded by their Canadian captor. The bottom photo is a modern day shot near the same spot. John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Thiepval British Memorial, Picardie, France
THIEPVAL BRITISH MEMORIAL, THIEPVAL, PICARDIE, FRANCE: Britain’s largest World War I memorial is found in northern France near Thiepval in Picardie. The structure was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Started in 1928, it was completed in four years and inaugurated by the Prince of Wales on July 31st 1932. The battlefield monument required extensive reinforcement to its foundations due to war-time tunneling. The memorial is reserved for missing or unidentified soldiers with no known grave. The Portland Stone piers bear the names of over 72,000 men lost in the Somme battles. Visitors may wonder why there are gaps in the stone between some names. This is because the names of soldiers whose graves were subsequently found are removed from the memorial.
April 17th is an important date in World War I history, so the date of this post is no coincidence. April 17, 1915 was the date of the British assault on Hill 60 when the Brits blew up several mines under German positions. It served as a turning point and was the prelude to the Second Battle of Ypres. This is also the date of the arrival of the 1st Canadian Division in France. On French soil for just five days, the Canadians were moved to the front lines where they found themselves in the biggest defensive fight to that point by Canadian troops. April 17, 1917 is also a momentous if not ignominious date for the French. After France’s disastrous Nivelle Offensive, French infantry started to mutiny in protest of the military leadership and trench conditions. By the time the mutinies subsided several months later, over 35,000 soldiers were found to be involved with 68 out of 112 French divisions affected. Fewer than 3,000 men were punished.
Shot handheld with a Nikon D300, with a Nikkor AF-S 16-85mm lens at 20mm, f25, 1/400th second, ISO 2000. Photo by John Ecker | Pantheon Photography
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Canadian Memorial, Vimy, France
CANADIAN MEMORIAL, VIMY, FRANCE: I’ve visited Canada’s Memorial a few times over the years. Each time, the skies have been mostly gloomy, adding an even great sense of solemnity. When the clouds do break, and the sun shines on the bright white stone, the sight’s true beauty emerges. The memorial overlooks the Douai plain in northern France, about ten kilometers from the town of Arras.
On April 9, 1917 the Canadian Corps was ordered to seize Vimy Ridge. The heavily-fortified seven-kilometre ridge held a commanding view over the Allied lines. Previous French attacks had failed with over 100,000 casualties.
The names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who were killed in France and whose final resting place was then unknown are carved into the stone. Facing the Douai visitors can see other places where Canadians fought and died. 7,000 plus more are buried in 30 war cemeteries within a 20-kilometre radius of the Memorial.
At the base of the Memorial, these words appear:
To the valour of their
Countrymen in the Great War
And in memory of their sixty
Thousand dead this monument
Is raised by the people of Canada
The Memorial was designed by Canadian architect and sculptor Walter Allward. The foundation of the memorial is a bed of 11,000 tonnes of concrete. It is reinforced with hundreds of tonnes of steel. The figures were carved on site. The large cloaked figure on the front (east) side, was carved from a single, 30-tonne block.
Over the decades, the memorial became weather worn and damaged by the elements. In 2007 a major re-construction and restoration project was completed. The work was massive. The main elements of the memorial were pretty much dismantled. The monument was re-pointed; damaged stone was replaced; lighting and draining was improved.
Many people assume that the ‘front’ of the memorial is on the approach from the parking area. On the contrary the front is actually on the opposite side. To full appreciate this sculpture, it is necessary to walk to the edge of the lawn in front of the monument, with your back to the Douai plain.
Nearby the memorial is the Vimy Canadian Cemetery. Row, upon row of graves– many without names.
Photos by John Ecker | Pantheon Photography
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Poppy in Wheat field, Northern France
POPPY IN WHEAT FIELD, NORTHERN FRANCE: Spring will soon be here and the poppies will emerge in Northern France. The poppy is, of course, a flower of remembrance. Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote his famous poem “In Flanders Fields” around May 3, 1915, lamenting the loss of a close friend in battle. Pretty well every school child in Canada knows the poem and it’s publicly recited year after year on November 11th. Poppies can be seen all along country roads in France and Belgium. This one was growing in a wheat field.
Shot handheld with a Nikon D40X, Nikkor AF-S 18-200 zoom lens at 145mm., f13, 1/640 sec, ISO 800.
Photo by John Ecker | Pantheon
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Merry Christmas!
MERRY CHRISTMAS! It’s Christmas time, a time to celebrate faith and family. It’s also time to reflect back on the past year and to look forward in joyous anticipation to the new year. This photo was taken in Whitby, Ontario, at Cullen Central Park. A good friend tells me that he loves this shot because it reminds him of “The Waltons,” an 80s (or was it 70s?) family friendly television program. I like the shot because it shows my two children walking through a park that has been such a big part of our lives.
Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Juno Beach, Normandy, France, photo by John Ecker, Pantheon Photography
JUNO BEACH, NORMANDY, FRANCE: On Tuesday, June 6th, 1944, soldiers from the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2nd Armoured Brigade stormed the Normandy beach codenamed “Juno” as part of Operation Overlord, the audacious attack on the Nazi occupied and heavily-fortified French Coast. Juno was an eight-kilometre stretch of beach near the town of Courseulles-sur-Mer. That day, 574 men of the 3rd Canadian Division were wounded and 340 were killed. Today, remnants of the German fortifications remain along the Normandy beaches, including Juno. The story of Canada’s role in the Allied invasion is well-told at the Juno Beach Centre. This photo was taken at low tide. The camera position gives a stone’s-view perspective near the Juno Beach Centre, looking out across the English Channel. Shot with a Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 16-85 mm lens at 16mm, 1/60 sec, f22, ISO 800. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Remembrance: Vimy Canadian Cemetery, France,photo by John Ecker, Pantheon Photography
REMEMBRANCE: VIMY CANADIAN CEMETERY, FRANCE: Shot handheld with a Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-200 lens at 127mm, f22, 1/125 sec. ISO 1000. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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Beaumont-Hamel, France, Battle of the Somme, 1916, photo by John Ecker, Pantheon Photography
BEAUMONT-HAMEL, FRANCE, BATTLE OF THE SOMME, 1916. Click here for my story about Beaumont-Hamel. Photo by John Ecker | pantheon photography
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