Toronto was greeted with generous snowfalls today, which made the outdoors too beautiful to resist. I grabbed my camera and headed out the door. My escapade quickly turned into a sweet photographic expedition with my buddy Dimos, who decided to tag along and show me around Riverdale.
We came upon a wall in Withrow park that was exhibiting a thought that often crosses my mind.
Though this is a difficult question to face, I constantly use it to assess my present situation and to motivate myself in moving forward. If at some point in my life I answer no, I like to see it as challenge instead of a failure. I like to treat it as an adventure back to yes. It’s the best way to progress.
Are you happy?
Em Everywhere 
yes I am… Specially when I read your articles…… Joy to a granma’s heart! I love you so much….. Please take good care of you!
Bisous xxx
And me too when you comment on my posts! Love you tons xx ❤ ❤
Hey name friend! I really like your blog layout as well as the content 🙂
xoxo
Thank you so much! It means a lot 🙂
Great photos and reflection, thank you for sharing with the world 🙂
And thank you for the encouraging comment!
You take fantastic pictures!
Thank you!
Fabulous pictures!! Thanks for sharing!!
No problem! Thanks for the comment 🙂
This is a really great post. I really loved it. 🙂
Thanks girl xx
That is a great way to live. Love it. Photos are brilliant as well.
Thank you 🙂 !!!
Thank you so much following my blog so that I could come across yours. Your articles are so amazing! I am in awe! 🙂
Thank you! I appreciate it
Love that picture 😀 I’m not happy but i’m working at it, My “therapy” for the moment is listen to Pharell Williams and his song Happy!
Sounds like a good idea! I learned in a Psych class once that blogging has also been found to happiness, so youre definitely on the right track! I like the song Blue Skies by Noah and the Whale when I’m feeling low 🙂
**to promote happiness ! Completely forgot a word there
Yes, I am very happy living in the south of France – read how I got here in my book, “Solitary Desire – One Woman’s Journey to France”. Merci, too, for visiting my blog.
I can’t imagine not being happy if I was in the south of France 😉
Maybe in the rainy months of Jan/Feb 🙂
I think happiness is a byproduct, not something we can pursue directly. Be interested, be engaged… and you will discover that you are happy
Interesting point! Thanks
Totally beautiful
Thanks 🙂 I agree, it was such a nice day.
These pictures are stunning.
Thank you! That day had the perfect lighting for photos!
Hi Em! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you like reading it! Loved your post esp the pics! Keep posting!
Thanks ! The pictures are my favourite part too 🙂
This is beautiful. I read something about success recently and the whole time I was thinking “isn’t success just happiness?” I love your blog ♥
I couldn’t agree more!! It seems to me that if you are happy, you have succeeded. Thanks so much!! 🙂 🙂
I really enjoy the photos, the black and white is lovely!
Thank you!
Great pictures here and the others you posted too. Good job, keep it up!
Thank you so much 🙂 I appreciate it.
your photographs are superb. may I ask what type of camera you use to capture such interesting and beautiful moments?
I also enjoy your blog! thanks for the follow which lead me to your page
– wander on, Courtney
Hey! Thanks for the comment! When it comes to taking good pictures, I am a strong believer that the type of camera is rarely the issue. It is all about the photographer, and how much time he/she invests in understanding lighting, and being able to manipulate his/her own equipment manually. It is also equally important to gain skills in post-processing and retouching. It really makes all the difference. I like using Photoshop CS6 to manipulate the light in my photos. (The slight offset is probably what you like about these pictures and the ones of the Bird Sanctuary) Lightroom is also good when you have a huge chunk of pictures to edit! There are lots of great photography and post processing courses on http://www.lynda.com, and I also love http://www.froknowsphoto.com. Fro is awesome to listen to and he has a lot of great feedback regarding different equipment! Basically, taking great photos is all about investing A LOT of time to learn, and to constantly add to your knowledge base and stay on top of post-processing trends (e.g. offset images are “in” right now)! If you would still like to know, my camera is the Nikon D5000 (Not even classified as a pro camera, but more as a high end amateur camera) and it is usually mounted with a Nikon AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D lens that was given to me by dear family friends. I absolutely love that lens but it took a bit of getting used to, since the auto-focus doesn’t work when mounted to that specific camera. For the Bird Sanctuary pictures, I used the kit lens.
Feel free to ask me more questions as I love talking about photography!
Thanks xx
Em
Thank you so much for the in-depth reply. I enjoy when others talk about things they are passionate about, it’s quite intriguing. I do like the style of your photographs, they leave an air of wonder and amazement, which is why I was wondering the camera type as I am currently in the process of going back to camera roots and teaching myself analog. So I find interest in others photography. Thanks for recommending Fro. I will be certain to research there.
You have an interesting eye for capturing and patience that shows through your photographs. Thank you for the response!
Court