Continuing with my Thursday blog theme of trying out the Fuji XT-1, I took these flowers with the same lens (23mm). I didn’t really think to use a wide angle lens on flowers but I tried it and was quite pleased with the results. I’ve only ever worked with one camera at a time, a DSLR but with a Fuji in my future that’s going to change!
I’m thinking of buying a walkaround camera for street photography and landscapes. I want something lightweight and relatively easy to use and borrowed my spouse’s Fuji XT-1 with 23mm lens. We headed towards a commercial street full of small shops and restaurants. Waiting for the light to change I looked up and saw this spectacular example of wall art.
The camera is tempting – it’s lightweight, handles well and the viewfinder is terrific with excellent magnification. And with interesting subjects for the taking a good pairing.
This female merganser stood out among the other ducks on the lake. She seemed to be the lone merganser swimming alongside the mallards and wood ducks. She didn’t display her crest and with no mate nearby I thought she looked like a young one. Hooded Mergansers are small ducks and are divers not dabblers. Although we didn’t see her catch anything while we watched her, she certainly was trying.
These two don’t have much in common except for their challenging looks. They see me and hold their ground. The cardinal was at quite a distance so I had to crop the photo more than I like but with that expression and amazing crest I just had to feature him.
We missed all the hatchlings this year but still see some young birds once in a while. We came across this scene recently. The adults were off to the side and the goslings were snuggled together, some asleep, a few looking dozy. We took a few photos and let them settle down.
These photos were taken in early spring. You can still see a few snow patches on the ground in the first one. An empty playground on the weekend, always feels a bit off, eerily quiet. Closer to the market district I found a series of these painted cubes in the centre median of a roadway. They were an interesting counterpoint to the old buildings surrounding them.
In the first photo, the play of light and angle of the flower made me take notice. The hedge bindweed, a member of the morning glory family, doesn’t usually catch my eye. The bright yellow salsify is one of my favourites though and I thought the tall reed growing beside it was as perfect a natural arrangement as one could get.
This little bird was a pleasure to see after a hot long walk without too much to show for it. The best part was that it wasn’t ducking behind leaves and branches allowing me these clear shots. I believe it’s a warbler but I’d appreciate a positive ID.
Red-winged blackbirds are among the earliest migrants to return in the spring. We see the males first and often hear their song before we spot them. The females are often found further into the woods gathering nesting material. Their colouring is more subtle than the males but just as beautiful I believe.
Raccoons will eat practically anything, in this case the raccoon was eating some feed that had been left for the birds and squirrels. He was having a fine time of it as we approached along the trail. I have never encountered a raccoon this close up before or one so well fed and relaxed. He ate happily and only left when someone else came along.
Two more wildflowers that I look forward to seeing each summer. The flower in the first photo gets it’s name from the pistils in the middle of the flower which develop into heads of seeds with long fuzzy hairs. They look like smoke. The vibrant yellow of the sunflower attracts me as it did the bee. Like many other areas this summer, we are experiencing drought-like conditions, you may notice the heat stress on the flower’s leaves.
These painted turtles look pretty put out. In other reserves where the turtles tend to dive for cover when you approach, these turtles stay put and glare. Like frogs they blend in well to their surroundings. On a windless day if I see duckweed floating on the surface of the water, chances are a turtle underneath it is propelling it along.
Walking by this exterior wall I thought at first that someone had decided not to finish up the plastering. On giving it a second look I saw a skyline emerging from the surface. I’ll have to return to photograph the rest of the wall as the story continues along the brick. A hidden gem in an older part of town.
This photo was taken on a windy day, and gives the impression that there were fields of chives growing and not just the small patch I saw in the garden. This tasty plant produces such an attractive flower.
Winter or summer, set off against snow or foliage, cardinals are such handsome birds. Often shy, I seldom have a chance to focus on them for very long but not this bird. He stayed put, only moving a bit to change his pose.
We’ve been doing more photo walks in the city, as wildlife at the nearby reserve is pretty scarce right now. We’re taking our time in areas we normally tend to rush through and are finding things of interest and beauty. The plants in the first two photos would look at home in the tropics, lush and dense but they are growing in some containers on a patio. The third photo is of a flower that made its way through a hedge and I liked the strong contrast of white and green. When I set out on one of these walks I never know what I might see and my 24-70mm lens gives me some latitude for nature as well as street scenes.
On a lazy hot day, I passed these frogs hanging out just off the viewing platform. There was nothing much about, a few ducks, a few dragonflies and these two. We went on our way and on our return the frogs had barely moved, waiting it seemed for lunch to show up.
There’s something very appealing about these back porches. You get a feel for the people who live in these houses, from the flowers to the statuary to the pet’s water bowl. They reveal more about their occupants than the street view implies.
I like unruly gardens, although I appreciate that an untended appearance can be very deceiving. As we walked down our street we approached an old home with weathered brick walls and a small garden out front. I liked the contrast of the green against the red brick. I took the second photo further down the street. The sun illuminating the plant caught my eye and working with exposure compensation I took the result you see here.
The orioles arrived right on schedule in mid-May. May is their peak nesting period and we saw more than we normally do this year. Haven’t seen them since though. They are such brilliant little birds and add welcome colour to the spring landscape. This oriole kept popping in and out of the flowering tree, I guess there were many insects about.
Hairy woodpeckers are a little less common in our woods than the downy woodpeckers which they closely resemble, so it’s always a good day when I spot one. This female was intent on finding some insects and my presence didn’t deter her in the least.
One of the first spring migrants to our region, yellow-rumps are a sure sign of the change of seasons. Our local reserve had so many that when we asked a fellow photographer in passing what he had seen, he answered “nothing, just yellow-rumps”. As they remain for only 2-3 weeks I can’t imagine tiring of them that quickly.
All kinds of subjects are vying for my attention this spring. Our senses are inundated by colour, scent, movement and life! New wildflowers seem to appear from one day to the next, the first two shown here just popped up.
This young woodpecker was aware of us as she made her way from the tree to the water’s edge. She remained on the ground for a good five minutes having a drink and looking around. I have never been as close to a pileated before or seen one on the ground, it was pretty thrilling.
A few of my recent posts have had river based themes. As I walked by this scene what first caught my eye were the fungi on the fallen log. I had just seen some mushrooms further up the trail and I guess I was on the lookout. But taking in the surroundings, I was again struck by the stillness and the serenity of the scene, so very appealing.
I wouldn’t have noticed this leopard frog if I hadn’t been looking in its general direction. Perhaps my footsteps startled him and he leapt for cover under the dandelion. These frogs are so well camouflaged that I wonder how many I may have overlooked so far this spring, this being my first sighting.
We don’t see too many chipmunks anymore. They’re outnumbered by red and grey squirrels. I was happy to see this little fellow enjoying his cracker with no competition from the bigger guys. It looks like his snack just fell out of a picnic basket, his for the asking.
The water is still high along the river. The winter thaw and runoff is a constant in Spring. This part of the province isn’t too badly effected this year although parts of the country are having a very hard time of it. This is about as close as we get to “swamp-like” conditions and like the other images from Hudson, Quebec I featured last week, I was struck by the tranquility of the scene.
Montreal is a very walkable city and I love exploring its streets. These photos were taken in the east end, where commercial and residential buildings share the same space. It’s alive with colour, activity and fine old architecture. And you’re never far from a cafe that serves good coffee.
It was nice to see this sparrow on the ground at a relatively close distance. I usually spot them high up in the trees flying from branch to branch. The bird was nicely framed by new vegetation and seemed to be listening for something.
Nothing announces spring like tulips. With their scent, colour and perseverance, they appear soon after the last snow has melted. These photos were taken at Ottawa’s annual Tulip Festival. Given the late spring we’ve had, the tulips are a bit slower to open this year and there are still tulip beds that haven’t completely bloomed. Still though, a beautiful sight.
These photographs were taken on the banks of the Ottawa River in Hudson, Quebec. We had stopped for lunch and took a short walk along the shoreline. I was struck by the quiet and stillness of the park and the dappled light, a place I will have to visit again.
There are many wood duck pairs at the lake this spring, it should be a good year for them. I was told that a wood duck had been seen entering a nest in a tree trunk whose previous tenant had been a woodpecker. It shouldn’t be too long before we see the first ducklings.
This cliff side view of Canada’s Parliament Buildings is an impressive sight. The photo was taken on a brilliant spring day but I thought the Gothic Revival architecture lent itself to a black and white treatment. The Parliament Hill complex was rebuilt in 1916 after a fire raised the original to the ground, only the Library of Parliament (the building on the far right) survived the fire. After more than a century the buildings are in the process of being renovated but at this writing, you can still walk around the grounds, toss a ball on the lawn, even raise a protest sign!
The first time I photographed a female red winged blackbird I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. The female is so unlike the male in appearance. They are quieter too, often in the underbrush gathering nesting material as this bird was. They do blend in quite well so I was pleased to have taken this shot.
Spring hadn’t quite arrived in this laneway yet. The homeowner was prepared for what ever came his way as you can see by the traffic cones, snow shovels and garden tools propped up again his shed. I liked the textures of the wood and plaster and worked in Tonality Pro to bring them out.
Two very different photos of the same subject taken months apart. In the first, the bird was very close by and I was struck by his dramatic eye. The other was taken last summer and I couldn’t have posed him better myself.
The shape and colour of these old fashioned hats reminded me of the fondant candy I enjoyed as a kid. There was nothing sweeter or better tasting I thought.
The antique market was below street level and the illumination was low. I raised my ISO to get some speed but still only shot at 1/80th of a second. I think the lighting added to the mood and worked quite well.
In the first photo the bird is checking his progress so far. In the other two the woodpecker has just landed. The condition of the tree is the result of a short lived but powerful storm that hit this area last fall and left hundreds of trees severely damaged or destroyed. Fortunately for the birds and we nature lovers enough remain for the birds to breed and build their nests. Always a treat to see these flashy birds in the woods.
These little birds blend in so well that often it’s only their song that alerts you to their presence. We were joined on the trail by some avid birdwatchers who happened to point this one out. Song sparrows migrate to our region in the warmer months to breed, along with other summer visitors. Always a pleasure to see yet another species return for a while.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 