Last year the ice began to form on the lake in November. The mallards were pretty firm footed although the duck in the first photo is looking as though she can’t believe what hit her. The angle of the sun and the reflection off the ice made for some tricky lighting on the ducks. Radial filters in Lightroom balanced the exposure quite nicely.
The photograph above was taken in March of this year, we had a late spring and the squirrel stands out against the wintery backdrop. The other two photographs were taken in early October before the vegetation had taken on its fall appearance. We’ve had some cold weather the last few days so I haven’t been keen on heading out with my camera. As we’re supposed to get some sun in the next day or two, I’ll get myself fitted up and check on these little guys and see what else is going on in the woods.
I liked the weathered box on the back of the bike. I thought it added interest to the photo.
I’ve been taking my camera along lately when I go for a walk or run errands, with an eye to doing more street scenes. I began this photographic journey taking mainly nature shots but it’s nice to stretch a little, think about different kinds of subjects to shoot and ways to approach them. It’s fun to try out different lenses too, which forces you to look at things differently. Both photos were taken with a 35mm lens.
When I turned the corner and saw a mass of colour suspended from the building it reminded me of a huge bunch of balloons.
The woods around us boast two species of squirrels: the red squirrel and the eastern grey squirrel, both grey and black varieties (pictured below). With the cold weather settling in it’s a busy time for them. They’re out in force collecting food for the long winter ahead. The sound of the squirrels scurrying through the woods can even muffle the birdsong that we’re straining to hear.
We had been running some errands and I brought a 50 mm lens with me, thinking if the opportunity arose… When we had finished, we weren’t far from a small woodland area and had a look around. The colours along the path were beautiful and I stopped for a few shots. I was particularly happy to see some mushrooms. They were the first ones I’d seen in decent shape after the hot dry summer. The rain has finally caught up with us now. I hope there’s still a bit of fall foliage remaining once the wet and wind taper off and that I have a wide angle lens with me next time.
I’ve always enjoyed long walks in parts of the city I’m not familiar with as they always hold surprises. The first two photographs were taken on a brilliant sunny day. These kinds of conditions make it simpler to get things right in camera. I thought of turning the third photograph into black and white but preferred the tonality of the concrete as it was.
Although city born and bred, in the short time that I’ve been doing photography I’ve gravitated towards nature photography. I love being in the outdoors and a camera by my side has become a natural extension of that experience. A combination of factors has led me to try street photography: weather (it can get mighty cold here in winter and walking through the woods in -20C isn’t that appealing); exploring the more interesting parts of my city on foot (you see so much more than when driving by in a car); and an interest in trying something new and expanding my photography skills. So here goes…
Another sign of spring is the arrival of the tulips, they appear just after the crocus no matter the temperature. It’s not unusual to see them sprouting up even with snow still on the ground. Happily, these shots were taken on a warm May day. I used my wide angle lens for long shots of the flower beds. However, given all the people out enjoying the tulips (and getting in my frame) I had more success with the shots taken at a closer range and would have preferred my 105mm lens that day.
