I was excited to get a last-minute call to photograph this winterized cottage in Lombardy, Ontario for Ainsley.
Why?
In part it’s because, as it is early April, there aren’t any leaves on the trees so you can see the cottage from the water. More significantly (again because it is April) it is the kick-off to “cottage photographing season” and, for me, cottages represent an escape-the-city lifestyle filled with barbecues and playing on the water during summer family gatherings.
When I was speaking with Ainsley about real estate photography we talked about how the purpose of the photographs is to show the logical (clean, staged, technically accurate building) but also to share the emotional experience of the lifestyle - sitting on the dock soaking in the calm of the lake.
As the weather continues to improve more cottages will be listed for sale and I’m here for it!
It was 4:15 pm three days before Christmas and there I was, stranded.
But not for long.
Call to Enterprise. If I got there by 5 pm I could have a rental
UBER App: 6 minutes later my driver was there. And at 4:45 i was driving a rental.
The next morning I had a tow truck bring my car to Smiths Falls for the dealer to work on.
And I had a car for the week.
I returned the rental yesterday and needed a way to get home.
VIA
Because I live in Smiths Falls I can get anywhere in Canada by train. I had some time before departure and knew I wanted to photograph the station, the sun had set, and the misty drizzling rain and the busyness of the station made me feel like my car was meant to break down so that I could make these pictures.
I got to use the phrase at the LCBO yesterday and I’m not sure where I first heard it.
Did I read this phrase in one of David Ogilvy’s (or in one of the countless branding) books I’ve read? Or did one of my Advertising profs at Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology (Terry, Bill, Al, or Nick?) share this truism?
To me, the Zak’s and Live On Elgin storefront is the label. The logos/wordmarks all work in concert with the in-your-face details and nuances of the original facade, each expresses the unique character and anticipated memorable shared experiences of the individual and the many.
Elgin Street has always been cool to me, from being the place I went to see movies as a kid to being the Red Mile, I am so glad that the Elgin Street Renewal project kept the character of the street while making it better.
P.S. While, in this case, “Drink” is a metaphor for “experience” my visit to the LCBO was to find out if Anchor Steam Beer was available in Ontario again. It turns out that Anchor Steam ceased operations in July. When I got home I did some research into the downfall of this “original” craft beer, the new owners of the brewery decided on a rebrand and changed the label in 2021. Many bar patrons blamed that label change for the demise of their favourite beer. While it’s never just one thing (a huge increase in competing craft beer brands, the local economy, and the pandemic were cited as reasons) the change of the label put gas on that lit fire. Changing the label changed the experience.
