I think the milkweed plant is its most beautiful in the fall. The pod stood out against the dry grasses and brought contrasting colour and texture to its surroundings.
Tag Archives: Landscape
MUSKRAT
The reserve we go to has both beavers and muskrats although muskrats are more common. This muskrat was gliding silently through the water in among the reeds. Interesting fact – muskrats are more closely related to voles than to beavers and their tail is more like a rat tail as you can see in the photo.
GRASSHOPPER
Grasshoppers are always fun to photograph, when you can find one. I only saw this grasshopper because it jumped onto a stalk of grass as I was walking by. It gripped the grass as still as could be and I took my shot.
FINAL LAP, WOOD DUCKS
I took this photo in late fall, one of my last sightings of wood ducks for the year. I would have liked it if there was less distance between the ducks, but with water like this I couldn’t really complain.
REFLECTIONS OF THE PAST (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
The Chateau Laurier, an iconic hotel in Ottawa’s Parliament district was built in the Gothic Revival style between 1909 and 1912. It was commissioned by the Grand Trunk Railway and designated a national historic site in 1980. In the first photo you see it reflected in the window of the Senate of Canada (the former Union Station). The second photo provides a view of the hotel taken from a park just behind it.
DOWNY IN A PINETREE
The downy woodpecker landed in the nearby tree. I kept an eye on it, as it kept an eye on a nearby feeder until the larger birds flew off. One of several woodpeckers we see year round.
COLD COMFORT
A scene like this works wonders on a snowy day, a bit of “duck relief”. Mallards always make for good photography subjects and the photo brought back a bit of summer.
FROG ON A LOG
The frog is well camouflaged! A little trade secret – I added a vignette to darken the background and a radial dial to brighten his face, both Lightroom edits. A fine subject, nicely placed, the photo just needed a bit of fine tuning to do this handsome fellow justice.
FEMALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD – 2
This is another photo of the female red-winged blackbird I featured a few days ago. It was a hot day and the bird found a shady spot to rest. We usually see the first of these birds return to our region in late March. The males announce their arrival with noisy song.
FEMALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
We visit a nearby wildlife garden as often as we can. The garden is planted with flowers and plants that attract the local bird and insect population. It’s surrounded by acres of wooded area where we often see a nice variety of wildlife including this female red-winged blackbird enjoying a quiet moment.
HUMMINGBIRD MOTH (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I saw a hummingbird moth just once this year, in mid-September. A friend introduced me to these insects a few years ago and every summer I keep an eye out for them. They are remarkable looking, and unlike many moths feed during the day, so if you’re really lucky you might just see one. In the second photo the moth looks like its had one too many. 😊
NUTHATCH
The low winter sun was illuminating the woods when the nuthatch flew into the frame and sat quietly on the branch. A perfect moment in time.
PAINTED TURTLE
The painted turtle was soaking up the sun on a fine summer morning. Often they crowd together on the same log. This one chose a solitary perch.
COUNTRY CALM (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
A weathered barn in a field of wild flowers. One of the pleasures of a country drive. I’m fortunate that the city I live in encompasses a lot of rural farmland, a short drive from the concrete and high rises.
NOD TO SUMMER (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Daisies are some of our earlier wild flowers, sunflowers appear later in the summer and last long into the fall. They are both members of the same family of plants, Asteraceae, which I look forward to seeing when the warm weather returns.
LADYBUG
A bit too cold for photography lately. I pulled this photo from my summer files. It was taken in August when everything was at its brightest and most colourful. A bit of cheer on this cold December day.
GOLDFINCH IN FALL
It’s always a pleasure to see one of these birds. We saw several goldfinches in the woods this year, this female landed close by and I managed a quick shot.
FALL COLLECTION – 4 (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
This photo was taken in late October. I liked the contrasting shapes and colours of the flowers and leaves. There’s something very appealing about these fading flowers, beauty in their imperfection.
A LOOK BACK, WOOD DUCK
The weather today is cold, grey and wet. I thought a scene like this was a good antidote. The duckling was exploring his new surroundings. There are a lot of predators of these young birds and I wished it well as I walked along.
EASY LIVING
In mid summer, the living is easy for animals in our local reserve. At least it’s easier for this red squirrel than it is now with the approach of winter. The squirrels were busy in the fall hiding their winter provisions. This along with people feeding them, will help them make do until spring.
LAST SUMMER (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
On a drive last summer, we passed a group of horses grazing in a field. A mare stopped to nurse her foal and glanced our way as I took the photo.
GREY TREEFROG
These frogs can be grey, brown or green. This one was a lovely shade of green. I’ve heard them calling a few times but had never seen one close up. A friend was focused on a patch of sunflowers as we approached and he pointed to this well camouflaged frog. They overwinter under leaf litter and snow.
END OF SEASON (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Most ducks have left our rivers and lakes as the water begins to freeze. A few mallards remain by the open water in a reserve we visit but the majority have left for the season. These photos were taken a month ago when the fall colours were at their height.
ON THE WATER’S EDGE (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I watched the sparrow as it paused on the edge of the pond and then walked about. This pond is a favourite of frogs too and attracts other birds and insects during the course of the summer. The sparrow is an energetic little bird with striking colouring. Always fun to photograph.
LATE OCTOBER (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Since I took this photo, we’ve had snow, freezing rain and a week of -C temperatures. The weather has moderated a bit but scenes like this are over until next year. Thank goodness for my photo catalogues where I can retrieve sights like these.
BALANCING ACT
Many birds balance on one leg to reduce heat loss. Although it looks kind of comical it’s quite effective. Another photo of a wood duck with attractive fall background.
CURIOSITY (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I wondered if I could photograph a leaf as it floated to the ground. At 1/640th of a second I managed to get one leaf in perfect focus.
The second photo was taken this fall. When I first saw the thing in the water several years ago, it startled me as it looked like an exotic vine or reptile. I later found out that it was the work of beavers. (After all, we don’t have alligators in Ottawa😏 .)
AMERICAN WIGEON
Every year in late October, several pairs of American Wigeons stop here on their migration south. You can almost tell the date by these birds. I took quite a few photographs of them and will feature more over the coming months.
FLOWER POWER (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
With the temperature in the minus single digits today, I thought some summer cheer was in order. I had taken this photo shortly after a rain and the flowers practically shone. They appear to have an old fashioned quality which I like as well.
WOOD DUCK
I took this photo two weeks ago, before the temperature began to drop. The wood duck had a faraway look as though he knew it was soon time to leave for the winter. Snow is on the way tonight, I sure hope all the birds that should have left are well on their way. I’ll have to check on the next sunny day.
CHICKADEE
The sumac provided a perfect landing spot for the chickadee. The bird was in the open and took its time to look around, making this animated subject easier than usual to take.
FALL COLLECTION – 3 (THREE PHOTOGRAPHS)
The way the sun hit the lime coloured leaf reminded me of holiday lights. As I continued my walk I came upon these rich purple berries (which the birds will enjoy in the cold months ahead). Both photos required little cropping, I just moved around a bit to get a pleasing composition.
FALL COLLECTION – 2 (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
This is the second in a series of photographs I took on a recent walk. The colours are not quite as bold as they were in my earlier post, but there are still plenty of opportunities for photos like these.
RED SQUIRREL
The way this squirrel is hugging the tree makes me think he’s a young one. Usually they are pretty spirited, chasing the larger grey squirrels or holding their ground as we pass them in the woods.
REFLECTIVE GOOSE
Fall in the Northern Hemisphere is a short one. The days get colder, and the leaves change colour and fall. But before they do, they dress the water in fabulous reflections which caught this passing Canada Goose.
NUTHATCH
The forest was dark, so to compensate for this I shot at a high ISO which made for a noisy photo. I corrected this in Lightroom using noise reduction and the moire filter.
The nuthatch looks half asleep as he makes his way up the branch, almost sleepwalking.
MALLARD
I feature mallards a lot on my blog. There are plenty of them year round always up for a photo shoot and are sociable, good looking subjects. This handsome male was competing for my attention with the wonderful fall background.
DOWNY WOODPECKER
One of several woodpeckers we see year round, I took this photo in July. Using a narrow depth of field I got the background you see here.
FALL COLLECTION – 1 (THREE PHOTOGRAPHS)
The leaves are almost at their peak now. Sun or cloud, the woods are ablaze with colour. Walking along the paths, I’ve been selecting small portions of the landscape that have stood out for me. Their shapes, patterns and colours make for nice compositions. Black and white works well too.
WHY SO SERIOUS, HERON
This juvenile Black-crowned night heron was a fair distance from me and very high up a tree. I had to crop the picture quite a bit and when I did I noticed its stern expression. It’s a common look for this stocky heron and one that never fails to make me laugh.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 