Louella Lester – Seeing and learning while holding camera and pen between me and the world.
Between my apartment building and the river there’s a row of townhouses that, luckily for me, are low enough to allow a view from my windows. On the far side, the townhouses balconies jut out almost over the river. On the side facing my building, it’s not as exciting, though a few years back they …
Spring finally arrived in Winnipeg and turned itself into summer for a few hot days. This was followed by rain, which we really needed and still do. So, like it seems to happen here, one day there are leaf buds and the next thing you know the leaves are all back. And everything is green, …
Prompt photos aren’t photos that are always on time…hmmm…but maybe they are, because they can give you ideas for stories or poems when you most need them. I often use photos I’ve taken to get ideas for pieces of writing. Today, I’m sharing some of these photos, along with the titles of the stories they …
Spring is really taking it’s time arriving in Winnipeg this year. Warm one day, cold the next. And it’s dry. This means new plant-life is scarce—everything’s dull brown and greyish. I wanted to brighten up my photos a bit, so I took some of my favourite rings outside. Enjoy! I hope temperatures have improved and …
My first book, Glass Bricks, launches April 27, 2021 at 7pm - Winnipeg time. It’s an online Zoom webinar launch through McNally Robinson Booksellers, and will be on YouTube. The beauty of an online launch is that you can be there no matter where you are in the world. So, if you’re interested, you can …
My writing desk is beside my balcony window and the door that opens out to that balcony. Every time I take a break and look up, or when I open the door for some air, I see the view beyond it. And this includes the house directly across the river. I sometimes wonder who lives …
Winnipeg has lots of lovely old buildings, but it seems like more and more of them are disappearing. I often see a hole along a street and then can’t remember what was there before. I feel sad when an old building is shuttered, even if it has historic status and won’t be torn down, like …
When I was a broke student, back in the day, I trudged past the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) on my way to the University of Winnipeg, and I visited it a lot, on the free admission days because I had no extra money. I loved the WAG. Loved its brutalist design and the way, when …
When I’m out wandering and looking for photo opportunities I’m not just looking for beauty—I’m looking for something I haven’t seen or noticed before. And if I find something that combines beauty and grit, so much the better. Oh, and by the way, this holds true for writing. Nothing better than combining beauty and grit …
The lettering of the words, seen in the featured photo and the two below, is elegant. More elegant than the building. Its paint is flaking. It’s tired and empty. It’ll likely be demolished and replaced, soon. Sometimes it’s the words in the photos that catch you more than anything. Words can be beautiful or ugly, …
