Water
Female Red-Winged Blackbird entertaining Eastern Painted Turtles: ISO 500, 368mm, f/6.3, 1/1000
This picture was taken the same day that I took the Geese Family photo below.
The turtles seem to be watching this bird rather intently.
02/05/13 Filed in: Spring
Playful Waxwing: ISO 400, 140mm, f/8, 1/4000
Air Brakes: ISO 400, 400mm, f/8, 1/1600
Crows: ISO 400, 110mm, f/6.3, 1/500
I believe that spring might finally have arrived in Red Deer, Alberta! The snow is almost gone and the temperatures are finally starting to rise. It was a nice sunny day yesterday but there was still a nip of cold that you needed a jacket.
My camera has been collecting dust the last few months. I felt I needed to take it out for a walk and shake the cobwebs from the camera and the creative side of my brain.
I thought the best place for it was the Kerry Wood Nature Centre which is just a few paces from our backyard. I knew some of the migrating waterfowl should be there for a rest or, in the case of the grebes, their final destination.
As the afternoon went on, I started practicing my panning skills. Panning is trying to freeze a subject by following it with your camera. As I was using a long telephoto zoom this turned out to be quite difficult. If you zoomed in too close it was card to keep the fast moving birds in sight. Also a long zoom lens tends to be quite big and heavy. Yesterday afternoon turned out to be a workout both mentally and physically.
28/07/11 Filed in: Summer
Just returned from a trip from Ontario visiting family. My father and brother in law (who was visiting from South Africa) decided to go fishing at Youngs Point one night after supper. I went along with my camera.
Dad called me over to his fishing spot and told me that I had to check out the Great Blue Heron standing at the bottom of the dam. It was close to sunset so I had to set my ISO to 800 in order to get a fast shutter speed while using my telephoto lens.
Dad and my brother in law never caught a fish that night but while watching the Heron he had caught two. Looks like he had the better fishing spot picked out!
12/06/11 Filed in: Macro
All Roads Lead to the Centre: ISO 200, 200mm, f/5.6, 1/125
We have had plenty of rain the last 2 weeks. Our plants are loving it especially when the burst of heat comes.
This is leaves of a lupine waiting for the suns rays.
21/09/10 Filed in: Fall
Like Water off a Ducks Back: ISO 400, 190mm, f/6.7, 1/350
Fall is here. I have seen Canada Geese flying south for the winter.
I took this in August at Bower Ponds in Red Deer. These ducks are pretty tame and you can get pretty close to them. These two might already be headed south for the winter as this shiny pond will soon become a cold hard surface in a few months.
Playing in the Water
Okay, now I am worried Mother Nature is teasing us with warm weather making us think winter is over and spring is finally here. She is such the cruel jokester!
I wanted to play with water today. I heard the birds all around but they were high in the trees enjoying the warm sun where my zoom couldn’t reach them. So, I thought I would try water droplet shots and long smooth flowing water shots. I actually moved out of Av mode and into Tv mode. Talk about getting out of my comfort zone. I still think I need more practice and next time use my tripod.
Slowly but Surely
The melting continues. The last couple of days the temperature is staying above freezing throughout the night.