Most Viewed Photography Blogs (166)

An absolutely magnificent morning, and I was awake at 5:15am and on my bike by 5:30am. A strong breeze from the north east had me pedalling a little harder than normal towards the dike. Once on the dike, the breeze at my back, it was easy riding in the coolness of the hour.

On my way to the dike.

The sun hadn't risen above the mountain yet, producing a yellow glow in a dip between two peaks. Usually I ride the country roads towards the river, but decided today to take a little bit longer route, which turned out to be fortuitous. A man walking the dike asked me if I was taking photos of the bear, and I asked if there was one. He said he hadn't seen any on the dike so far, this year. He said wait until the corn is up in the summer, and the the bears are in the corn fields.

On the dike.

He told me that red foxes, bobcats, coyotes and other wildlife lives in the copse of trees and bushes that was just off to our left, surrounded by farmer's hay fields. He pointed to something way out in the field and said he thought it was a red fox or coyote. I didn't have my zoom lens on the camera, but when it started to bound through the field, it's colouring and bushy tail had me thinking it was a red fox. How cool! I can hardly wait until I go again and maybe get a photos of it!

He pointed out a path where he said bobcats come out of frequently so it sounds like he walks the dike all the time, early, and has been graced with glimpses of wildlife. Lucky guy!

Other than the fox from a distance, I didn't see any wildlife this morning, it either being too early, or too late. Back on the country roads, a nursing calf in a small field stopped long enough to turn his head and look at me, his mother watching my every move. The calf's name is Joey, judging by his ear tag, an apt name for the cute little guy.


Down to the river, and it's steadily rising, more than half way up the former road to the ferry. Passing my favourite bench, I noted the river is even higher, and had no desire to be that close to the edge of the river.



Former ramp to the ferry, more than half covered in water.

Riding through the foliage, the rushing river could easily be heard through the bushes. Coming out near the farmer's blueberry fields, I stopped dead. Directly in front of me the two track dirt road was flooded. Not wanting to find out how deep it was, I was able to walk up a small berm and around to the other side. It wasn't exactly comfortable, as the river was racing by on one side, and the slough had flooded the road on the other. One never knows how stable the ground is underneath.

Looking back towards the path - no idea how deep it is, and didn't want to find out.

I won't be doing that 'tour' again until the river has abated, unfortunately. I really love that circuitous route, but safety is the priority. Cycling by the heritage home, her Iris are out, along with some other pretty yellow wildflowers. She came out the door just as I was taking photos of the iris and gave me permission to go on her property and photograph a gorgeous gold iris that was just glowing in the early light.

Iris


Love the iris 'tongue'!


Cheery flowers - no idea what they are.

Photography has made me 'see' so much more of life. What could be better?

Yesterday when I added the 41 photos to my webpage,



I neglected to add 8 others.

I'll blame it on doing it from the library here in FL, rather from the comfort of my own home.

Nonetheless, I just got done adding them now.

Seven of them are of deer. So, if you don't like deer, there's no need to go to the website to see these new 8 photos. :no:

6 of those deer photos are of one group of 3 deer; a big buck, a small doe and a little doe, that was most likely a fawn earlier this year.

Indeed, I am posting 2 of the deer photos (large doe alone and the 3 other deer together) below and also one of a European Starling perched in a tree.

I hope you enjoy them.

I love life. It can be a truly wonderful experience, if you do your best to make it so.
One of the things I enjoy is wild nature and photographing it, capturing the moment in time.
I used to post nature photos on CS on a regular basis a while back
and shared 3 photos with you 10 days ago.

So, here are 3 more of mine for your viewing pleasure.

Let me know which of the 3 you prefer the most, if you don't mind;


#1. Great Egret landing





#2. Stuart Florida sunset boat sillpoettes





#3. soaring male Osprey

Video of lava 'waterfall' into the ocean in Hawaii for your viewing pleasure.

After a really wet and cold June, summer's finally arrived with a vengeance. The temperatures earlier this week were perfect for me, around 24C with a lovely cooling breeze.

As the week's progressed, so has the heat intensified daily. Today we're supposed to hit 35C and Sunday 36C. Ugh! I am working a market on Sunday and I'm a bit concerned about it being so hot, as I get sun/heat stroke very easily. I've emailed the market manager to request a spot in the shade, and hopefully she'll be able to comply. If not, I may have to forego the market.

I've been arising earlier to go out for a bike ride, while the morning air is still cool. Heck, this morning, the sun hadn't risen above the mountains (I still missed the sunrise though, dammit), and although cool enough to ride, I noted the air was still very warm.

The other day when I rode through the foliage tunnel and was taking photos of the wildflowers as the sun wove it's way through the trees to backlight the flowers, I noted a dying flower with a bee on it. I'm not sure I've mentioned it before, but I have a mad penchant for bees. I love them and constantly attempt to get that perfect photo of them in flight, or on a flower.

Walking over to the flower, and getting my macro lens super close, I took numerous photos of the bee and was surprised it didn't fly away. After closer inspection, I realized the bee was dead, possibly caught in the strands of the wildflower. But what a great opportunity to get some good close-ups. It didn't look dead, just as if it was sitting on the flower.

I thought of cutting off the flower and taking the thing home to take photos, but thought, no I'll come back tomorrow and take more. Silly me. No idea what happened to it and the flower, but it wasn't there the next day.

This morning when I went out, the sun highlighted a branch shaped as a question mark in the slough, and slanted across the algae covered water, leaving everything else in deep shadow. It's fascinating to me how a dead branch sticking up out of the water and marsh grass can look beautiful when the light shines on it just so.

A new dairy calf has arrived at one of the farms, and I believe it's only about a week old, as I saw 'Mom' laying on her side last week in the grass paddock, looking very uncomfortable. The little thing is so cute, bounding around the paddock while Mom eats grass. I've managed to get a few photos of it, one of it sticking it's tongue out.

As I'd left much earlier this morning, I think I was too early even for animals, as the birds and wildlife seemed subdued. I didn't take many photos today, unlike most other days, but I'm okay with that. It was a lovely bike ride and great way to start the day.

Arriving back home and going out back to pluck the first ripe tomato of the season and water the plants, I was shocked at how my garden has literally exploded in growth. Holy crap! The tomato plant that was struggling due to our rainy June and almost died from being too wet has grown at least 12 inches this week. The other tomato in the ground has almost outgrown it's cage.

My potted tomato is doing well, with another tomato ripening on it. The three zucchini plants that were so puny even a week ago are HUGE! One little zucchini is growing on it and I'll have to keep an eye on it, or it'll be massive in no time.

Between biking, keeping the plants watered, and working, life has been darn busy! I'm antsy to go someplace new though, and hope it cools off enough next week for me to hit one of the rail trails in the US.

While it is chilly with blustery winds today, the ice & snow is almost completely gone now, as spring gets even nearer.
The following photos were taken by me several weeks ago, when temperatures were much more frigid albeit less windy.

The initial 5 photos below are of a Great Blue Heron standing on a mostly frozen pond to get dinner through the only unfrozen area of that pond.

The last two shots were taken while taking crunching walks into the woods to find
stream 'winter wonderland' scenarios. I hope you enjoy them.

By the way, clicking on the photo will restore it's original clarity.
This site seems to reduce that when I post them here.

Lets face it. You are one lucky person. We all are.
All those sperm & only 1 egg, and somehow, one beat the odds and combined to make you and then you made it out alive. Way to go !

Another reason you are lucky, is because today, of all days, you get to see
7 of my recent nature photos. OK perhaps not quite like winning the lottery of life,
but perhaps a lot less pain in seeing the photos, than what you might encounter in some other aspects of life.
Plus, not everyone can see....at all. Lucky you !

First here's some background music for lucky people to enjoy, while looking at the photos;



All photos were taken by me with my Canon T6i camera with a Sigma 50-500 mm lens.

First photo up is of a female Goldfinch. Goldfinches are the state bird of New Jersey.
Their diet is almost entirely seeds.
Like cuckoos, there is another bird, that lays eggs in the goldfinch nest.
However, after they hatch, they only survive about 3 days, because, unlike the goldfinches,
they can't survive on an exclusive seed diet.




Next up is the male goldfinch. None his black wings and black patch adjacent to his beak;

Each couple has their own unique call, which
helps them distinguish their partner from others.
Within the couple, the calls are almost identical between the pair.




The following photo is an adult frog in the water between some lilypads




Let it bee... A close-up of a Bumblebee on some flowers




The next photo is of a little baby frog, only about an inch in length




This is a small Sulfur Butterfly on some flowers;




And last is usually a slow running stream, except this was the day after Hurricane Ida;



Not everyone was so lucky as to survive the storm.

I visited a killing ground a mass grave,no markers,bodies stacked on top of each other
the rich discarded along with the poor.

some dismembered


most stripped naked and defiled

who knows their name and who will even remember the sacrifice they made for the good of mankind

RIP

ONE AND ALL

One of the main benefits that photography has done for me is get me exploring new and different places. With our assigned topics, it challenges me to find and photograph something different, but also to utilize my camera to it's ultimate capacity.

In February, I was lucky enough to be at the wetlands for a walk. I was facing east, towards Mt. Cheam to take a photo when I heard this strange huffing noise, much like a horse working. Didn't see anything so I turned back, and I heard it again. Looked again, nothing. Turned back again. The third time I turned around, the noise was quite close and I was a little unnerved.

When I looked into the water, an otter had pushed his way up through the ice and was trying to pull himself up onto the ice. His mate popped her head up shortly after. Although I did get some photos through all the branches in front of me, they aren't that good. I did manage to capture a decent shot when he dove back under the ice and popped up elsewhere.



Then, when I was riding the dike at Harrison Mills, a former hub for trade before roads and bridges replaced the need for boats, I was fortunate enough to see three blue birds in a tree. I was thrilled and took numerous photos of them, although I had no idea what they were, having never seen them before. It turns out they're Mountain Bluebirds and migrate from Mexico to the Yukon every year, and are in this area only a briefly, on their way north.



At that time, the river was really low and you could walk for miles along the river's edge, and with the sunny weather, perfect for photo ops.



Cycling back the other way, I crossed the train tracks and saw a huge old stone building that looks like there was a fire in it at some point. After doing some research, I found that it was the old mill, and despite no trespassing signs, kids were inside the building, letting off some kind of pink smoke bombs. At first I was a bit peeved that the photo I wanted would have this pink smoke in it. But, thanks to photoshop, I was able to take the colour out of it, and end up with a rather (imo) spooky looking building.

Considering we have abandoned buildings as an assignment next year, it'll be perfect for that, unless I find another cool abandoned building on my travels.



I had forgotten about this bike ride, and it seems it may be time to revisit it, unless, of course, I find a new one to check out.