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David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > Santorini Sunset from Ios. The open water is actually the caldera of the volcano that exploded several thousand years ago destroying the Minoan civilization on Crete. x
David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > Mist Tree
David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > Normandy A Personal Journey by David Cale ® It was D-Day plus 55. .The day was gray and blustery and a cold wind, blew in from the sea, typical June weather for Normandy. As It was high tide, I did not have to walk a great distance to the water's edge, so I walked straight out from the beach until I was standing, gazing out to sea, knee deep in the cold English Channel waters. I had traveled for five days North from Paris to Dunkerque and then exploring on my way down along the coast of France to Caen, and to the D-Day invasion beaches of Normandy. Driving north I crossed the river Orne at Pegasus bridge, which marks the Eastern edge of the D Day invasion. From there it was a short drive to the beaches. First Gold and Sword Beach, where British troops landed and then my objective Juno Beach where my countrymen, Canadians, came ashore. On a day similar to this, June 6, 1944, D-day, this six kilometer stretch of beach from Courseulles to St-Aubin sur Mer was newly christened -in blood- Juno Beach. It was here that Canadians of Toronto's Queen's Own Rifles, Regina Rifles, and Royal Winnipeg Rifles and others jumped into heavy surf and struggled ashore into the teeth of strong German resistance. Many of the German bunkers had not been destroyed by the preliminary bombardment, and until they were "silenced", these inflicted heavy losses. Many of the Canadian Amphibious Tanks went straight to the bottom in the heavy seas, as they were not equipped to handle the heavy seas. At the end of the day "The German dead were littered over the dunes, by their gun positions", a Canadian journalist reported. "By them, lay Canadians in bloodstained battledress, in the sand and in the grass, on the wire and by the concrete forts. ..They had lived a few minutes of the victory they had made. That was all." Three hundred and forty Canadians had given their lives. Another five hundred and seventy four had been wounded. This was just the beginning. In the days to come Canadians would see some of the bloodiest fighting of the invasion.
David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > Sailing The Tectonic Seas It might take a few million years to get anywhere but you can imagine what this amazing mountain has "seen" in its time... Mont Aiguille (el. 2085 m./6842 ft.) is a mountain in the massif du Vercors in the French Prealps, located 58 km (36 mi) south of Grenoble. The mountain is most noted for its first ascent in 1492. Charles VIII ordered that the peak be climbed, so one of his servants, Antoine de Ville, made the ascent using a combination of ladders and other artificial aids. This makes it particularly important to climbers and is now climbed many times each year. SAILING THE TECTONIC SEAS by David Cale The mountain rears magnificent like a titanic ship’s prow it cuts through countless dawns sun warmed or storm wracked mute testimony to the tectonic brooding of the planet below our feet I am tempted to feel small But a mountain is just a mountain not a comment on me
David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > Shadows Taking Flight
David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > Drummer's Moon Cuba He is on very tall stilts.
David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > As I walked through the Canadian cemetery that day, I realized I was the only Canadian alive among the seven hundred and eighty there around me. Row after row of them lay silently under the perfectly manicured lawn and gardens. Incongruously a small dog followed me, eager to play, nipping at my sandled toes, oblivious to the folly of men. I read the inscriptions beneath the maple leaf on each stone. Messages of hope in the afterlife, records of heroism, and one compelling request: "He sleeps beside his comrades. His Grave I may never see. May some kind hand place a flower for me." I found a flower and with tears in my eyes, did as I was asked. I did not notice the approach of a man about my age and two women. One of the women was in her late seventies. They saw me looking intently at the grave. "Bonjour, le connaissez vous? "Non" I said, pointing to the inscription. He nodded. "Ah oui. We wonder..we bring ma mÞre to visit her first loves tomb." "She was Canadian, from Quebec before the war. After the war she moved here so she could be near him." "Mon nom est David." I said " Je m'appelle Nicholas, over there is my wife and my mother. You have come a long way to visit a cemetery in which you know no one." "Oui, Dieppe est trÞs important pour les Canadiens" Between his "terrible English" and my questions in "mauvais Franþaise", he told his mother's story. She had fallen in love with a Canadian soldier. He had written to her every day describing his life in England. Then the letters stopped. His last letter was dated August 17, 1942. A few weeks later the telegram arrived at his family home "We regret to inform you...". After the war, she emigrated to France. One day in this cemetery she met a French soldier come to pay his respects to the Canadians who had given their lives to free his country. He had escaped France at the Dunkerque evacuation. They talked until the sun had set and he asked if he could drive her home. A year later they were married. "That was my father." Nicholas said "He died last year." I was reminded of a passage in the Bible. "As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more." Nicholas asked, why had I come to France? I could have answered that I had been fascinated by WW II since I was a teenager, but at that moment I realized there was more to it than curiosity. I told him that I didn't know -yet. With that we parted, four people connected by a cemetery.
David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > Turning south from there I came to what seemed to me the saddest and most disturbing place of all. The German Cemetery at La Camba. In the centre, on top of a large grassy mound, surrounded by red roses stand two shrouded figures.
David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > Sunset Of Lives This is the Canadian Cemetery at Juno Beach. Canadians provided 1 in 5 of all the troops landed on D-Day. So many of the dates on the headstones were June 6,1944. These Canadians did this for us all, and paid with their lives.
Sunset Of Lives

This is the Canadian Cemetery at Juno Beach. Canadians provided 1 in 5 of all the troops landed on D-Day. So many of the dates on the headstones were June 6,1944.

These Canadians did this for us all, and paid with their lives.
David Cale (ImagesOfTheJourney) > Sunset Of Lives This is the Canadian Cemetery at Juno Beach. Canadians provided 1 in 5 of all the troops landed on D-Day. So many of the dates on the headstones were June 6,1944. These Canadians did this for us all, and paid with their lives.
Sunset Of Lives

This is the Canadian Cemetery at Juno Beach. Canadians provided 1 in 5 of all the troops landed on D-Day. So many of the dates on the headstones were June 6,1944.

These Canadians did this for us all, and paid with their lives.
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This site and my photography business have developed from a passion for wonder, for wandering and for story telling. In the past few years I have traveled to more than 700 cities and places in pursuit of wonders from which come my stories and photographs.

IMAGES OF THE JOURNEY PHOTOGRAPHY


High quality photographs that capture the essence of exotic travel which will bring that blank wall in your office or home to life. Photo gifts, calendars, clothing, are also available.
We are located about 20km (12mi) NW of the Toronto International Airport in the city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
My services include travel photojournalism, political or commercial event photography (no weddings).If you are in the home decorating business then call for wholesale pricing. Images or stories on this site may not be used for personal or commercial use without written permission or purchase from this site.
NOTE Many charitable or non profit organizations (NGOs) will be eligible to use these photos, or my services for NO FEE (expenses only) Contact me at david@imagesofthejourney.com or 416-890-0740.

copyright 1996-2009 David Cale [Images Of The Journey Photography] All Rights Reserved