Foggy Morning

 Some photos from yesterday - it has been foggy lately and I tend to take photos on my typical morning walk so its not always easy to find any interesting subjects. I hopped the fence I normally turn at to check out some tracks in the back quarter so there was a lot more untouched snow. Meg was checking for mice by shoving her head in the snow, so I took a few shots of her - intentionally blowing out the whites of the snow. She came out well exposed and sharp and her behaviour is amusing so it makes the top of today's post. Only cropped this one.

 A bit of a repeat subject-wise from a recent post but more frost and a brighter background. This was shot with my 70-300mm lens, so also a little different that way. I liked how the frost looked like the spray-on stuff they sell to make your Christmas tree look like ... well this I guess. The real deal. I increased the shadows a touch and sharpened it a little bit to get the needles to pop that little bit more.

And a shot from the back quarter showing the general weather. It didn't clear up all day. I increased the shadows a bit, without clearing up the the overall foggy feel from the real deal. A wide angle lens might have done this more justice, but you make do with what you can carry in addition to a 3 month old child under your jacket.

Morning Walk

 Got out before ten yesterday morning for the daily walk. There had been a skiff of snow overnight and some of it was still hanging around in the shady parts. We got a lot warmer weather recently and most of the snow and frost hasn't hung around on the branches. I liked how you could see the texture of the fine flakes and the spruce needles. The dark background and narrow depth of field helps to highlight both of these. I increased the shadows a tiny bit to bring the attention even more to the snow and needles.

 The morning sun - not quite a sunrise (I value my sleep too much for that these days) but still some nice colours. The tall trees are just behind the backyard of my house. I liked the colours of the sky and the silhouettes made by the trees, but not the field. Straight from the camera.

And another, but from a different viewpoint. The sky just looked cool in this one. Minor adjustments in the shadows on this one.

500 mm Reflex

 So this is the accidentally neat shot I took the other day. I was trying to get some shots of chickadees with my 500mm reflex (aka mirror) lens. Its a really cool lens, though it has a rather narrow scope of use. Instead of using a lot of glass and being really long to get the increased focal length, it uses two mirrors. One at the back of the lens close to the camera body facing your subject which bounces the light to the other, smaller mirror towards the front end of the lens that faces back into the camera. Because of this second mirror, the lens has some odd side effects. First, its has to be a fixed focal length (you can't zoom in and out, just focus), second, its a fixed aperture (f 8.0), and lastly, its manual focus. However, that front mirror also turns all the out of focus highlights into blurry doughnut rings - which you can just see in the above photo on the right side of the image. I think they are kind of cool, but I hear its kind of a love it or hate it aspect of reflex lenses. Anyways, an aperture of f 8.0 doesn't let a lot of light in the camera so you have to make do with ISO adjustments and slower shutter speeds. Of course then you either have to hold the camera really still or deal with ISO grain. My new D300 is better on the grain side of things than my old D200 but its still not what you could get with the new cameras (but they cost a lot!). So I usually try to keep the ISO under 1000 and then use the fastest shutter I can. This shot is of the power line to my house and the cable it's wrapped around. I was trying to make sure my exposure and focus would be adequate when a chickadee landed, and surprised myself with this shot. The trees behind it were dark enough to make the background black, and the way details on the cable pop just makes it cool. More of an artsy photo of the everyday I suppose.

 This one I took yesterday from my back porch across the yard with the same lens. I've cropped it some, and fiddled with the highlights/shadows/sharpening in Picasa. I find that without a really good brace its hard to get a sharp image with this lens. It does have a lot more reach than my auto-focus enabled 70-300 lens though so I haul it out on special occasions... like the next two photos below

The best two shots of an adult female (I think) goshawk that flew through my yard after I filled up the bird feeder and landed at the top of this tree way off in the neighbour's yard. I only knew it was a raptor when it landed, and actually had to use the lens like binoculars to find the bird on the tree top when I came back out with my camera. I walked through the field between us and the neighbours house, using different bits of the horse fence to help steady the shots. I've included them here because the subject matter is cool and they were taken with the same lens as the others. They aren't really very good images at full size - between trying to get the focus right without a split circle viewfinder like in the old film cameras, the high ISO needed, and that the hawk was still small in the frame, they are pretty grainy and not print quality. That said, you can see some of the details on the grey feathers on her wings and can easily identify the species, so they are kind of neat. I cropped both of these and adjusted the highlights/shadows and sharpness in Picasa.

Front Yard Visitors

 I took Meg and Anna out on a morning walk with the camera, hoping to find some good shots with no luck. I had resigned myself to posting my one accidentally cool shot I took yesterday and was getting ready to give Anna a bath when I heard a bird run into the window. I bundled up to go check it out, and was pleasantly surprised to find some Pine Grosbeaks at the feeder in nice light. I took some time to get as many nice shots as I could - including some of a Hairy Woodpecker that showed up and started having a go at the willow bushes just outside my front door. I haven't done much to these shots - mostly cropping (to get rid of things like the scuzzy bird feeder or some blurry christmas light wires) and a bit of fill light/highlights/shadows/sharpening in a few. All shot with the 70-300mm. I am very pleased with the results - sharp, neat compositions, great light, and even eyeshine! Yay! Maybe I'll post that other photo tomorrow.

 

 Male grosbeak with two females in the background

 

Close-up of the male investigating some sunflower shells dropped by the chickadees in the snow.

Hairy woodpecker in the willows. I love the contrast with the background in this one.

Male Pine Grosbeak by the feeder when I came out at first.

A Trip to Town

 Took the camera into town with me today in case I found something interesting to photograph while going about my days tasks. The Nechako river, which flows through town, isn't frozen over yet, and made a nice contrast to the white landscape. Unfortunately, it started snowing again while I was grocery shopping and so the water didnt look as dark when I had a chance to stop the car and take some photos. The tree and the fence just worked here.

Some straw bales on Loop road harvested just before it snowed. I liked the way they are capped with snow. The irrigation pipe in the foreground added perspective and interest, think I'm going to try to paint this one..

More Snow

 

 I took lots of photos today, many of them good, so here's my favourite five. Its been snowing pretty well all day and around -10 C, perfect weather for a longer walk. I headed out the back towards the spring, thinking to get some contrast of open stream with the snow. I put the neighbours' horse first as its by the top shot here. I love how you can see the falling snow in front of him and how the focus on him contrasts with the background. I cropped this in picasa and increased the highlights a smidge to brighten the snow.

I found this little spruce tree growing at the base of the old barn wall. I like the texture of the boards how it contrasted with the smooth snow. The tree gave it a subject and more interest. Straight from the camera.

 

I've been trying to get some good chickadee shots from around my feeder for a while, but have been unhappy with the lack of sharpness in the details at higher ISOs. I turned off the high ISO noise reduction in the camera and have been happier with the results. Got this guy in a more natural setting and was able to crop it down without the softness of before. Now to get some of these little dudes in flight!

Trees and rosehips on the side of Birch road at the start of my walk. Something about the scene is just right. I liked the added red from the rosehips to bring a bit more cheer to an otherwise chilly image. Straight from the camera.

 The view from partways up the hill to the spring. Again, the spots of the falling snow is just neat. The tall spruce looks a little forlorn in posture, giving some focus and setting the tone. Thinking I will use this as inspiration for the background of a painting... we'll see. Straight from the camera.

Snowscapes

It was snowing pretty hard this morning and I thought it would be fun to get out in it and take some photos. I love how the snow can completely change how the scenery looks so I brought the wide angle lens for some landscape shots. This is the start of my typical daily walk, the drive out into the back field. You can see Meg's fresh tracks on the left hand side - I think she was pretty well at the other end of the field by then. I increased the highlights a bit on this to make the snow a bit brighter, but otherwise straight from the camera.

The view back the way I'd come. I liked the grass as a foreground and the haziness of the distant trees made by the falling snow. One of these days I'll try to duplicate the effect in watercolours - a lot more likely these days with more of my time spent at home. This one was straight from the camera.

A snow covered cow parsnip skeleton. I though the little flowerette bits full of snow looked particularly like little hands with their boney little palms out to catch the snow. I used the angle, shallow depth of field, and dark sticks in the background to contrast the snow blobs. I like how the required speedy shutter also froze some of the nearby falling snowflakes. Cropped in Picasa but nothing else.

Waxwings

 Found a flock of these winter migrants in the top of a poplar tree yesterday. I couldn't see them clearly, even through the camera's zoom on the viewfinder as the sky behind was too bright. As it was, I should have stopped down the aperture more than I did so the exposure was darker and the depth of field deeper. As it was, I had to increase the shadows pretty severely in Picasa and sharpen them to make them satisfactory. I still liked the shots, though, especially the lower one when they took off. Taken with the 70-300mm.

Transient Art

 I found some frosty "art" on my afternoon walk with Anna and Meg yesterday. The ground was still frozen, the sun was out, and anywhere it hadn't touched yet was still frosty. I liked the patterns of the air bubbles stuck in the puddles and tried a few different angles on a different puddle without getting the kind of image I was thinking of. Then I found this puddle - with the unique little round bubble and leaves around the lines - and took one shot. this is straight from the camera.

And some frost fingers on a leaf, highlighted now, but soon doomed, by the late fall sun. I only had my wide angle lens so I wasnt sure how it would come out. I had to pretty well kneel on the ground and get the camera up quite close with a wide aperture to get what I was aiming for. I cropped this and enhanced the shadows in picasa to bring the focus more to the leaf and its frosties. I didn't see it at the time, but the shadow of the leaf's stem on the leaf itself also looks cool. It has since warmed up and both of these have melted.

First Snow

 

My daughter, Anna, decided to be awake this morning before noon, so I took the opportunity to go for a morning walk and catch the fabulous fall light and the first snow before it all melted. It was coming down pretty thick last night but I knew it wouldn't last. Both made for some more interesting shots so I've decided to include all my favourites, rather than just one. Besides, I can hardly argue that this thing is daily anymore. Above is some frosty rose hips, shadows adjusted a bit in Picasa.

 

Here I liked how all the grasses were laying down together with their details brought out by the snow on top. I noticed how their pattern kind of lead to the little leafless sapling which was also caught by the morning sun. The shadowed background capped it off. Straight from the camera.

 

And the neighbour's horse again. I was going for the haloed effect from the sun, I like how he wasn't also completely silhouetted. I actually was trying to get the picture where he was further in the field grazing, but when I got closer (I only had my wide angle lens) he came over to say hi. This pose of him was the best, I liked how his nose wraps around the fence post. Also straight from the camera.

 

On my return over the fence rail to my backyard I noticed This little squirrel larder of half eaten rose hips in the lichen. The light was cool and I figured I could make something of all those textures, especially with a really narrow depth of field. I had to adjust the white balance for shadows while capturing it, which made the image warmer like it looked to the eye. Straight from the camera.

 

And lastly, a shot of the back field that was oats this summer. The snow and the hills caught in the light were very impressive - as they always are when its been so long since you've seen them dressed that way. I'm sure it will be less so in January, after 3 months of winter. Anyways, I stitched this in ArcSofts panorama maker, and of course the small size doesnt do it justice. Click on the image to see the full size in the gallery. One retouch to remove some sensor dust in the sky, otherwise straight from the camera as well.

Last of the Colours

I had been planning to capture this tree in all its fall glory for a few weeks, and finally got a chance yesterday on my walk with our new little daughter, Anna, and the dog, Meg. Its short a few more of the leaves than I would have liked and I got it in the afternoon light rather than the morning, but still looked cool, and with the wind over last night it was probably the last time it had any leaves this year. The angle worked well and I liked the light in the high branches. I adjusted the shadows a touch in Picasa, taken with my wide angle lens.

Horse

Went out after lunch today instead of in the morning as I had some things to do in town. Made for a change in lighting though I still was taking shots in my own back field. The neighbour's horse was happy to see me - I'm not sure his name - and came over to the fence. I figured I would try to make him into a more interesting subject, and as I was armed with only my 70-300 lens had to stand fairly far back. It works well for some close up detail stuff though, and right at the end I shot a couple close ups of his notes. I liked how his plethora of white bristly whiskers contrasted with the brown of his body behind him. The trick was getting the exposure and depth of field right in the ever-changing lighting (darn clouds) while still catching the horse in a position that worked. I think he was a bit annoyed that I wasn't up close feeding him some alfalfa from my field. Finally got this one towards the end. I used Picasa's highlights and sharpen tools to bring out that extra pop from those whiskers.

And one more shot of him - the first one I took actually, before checking my settings. Came out one of the best exposed shots - go figure. I liked how the barbed wire fence was in focus and how none of him was too dark for details or blown out. Must have been that perfect light before the harsher sun came out.
Cropped but otherwise straight from the camera.

Safe

This guy managed to escape Meg after a very intense chase involving him hanging onto the top of an eight foot tall twiggy tree while the dog caused it to sway wildly in her attempts to catch him. He jumped and missed the larger trees at least once from that perch, narrowly avoiding getting munched on the ground. I think once he got here he needed to catch his breath. Not long after this poor Meg discovered the neighbours' electric sheep fence hiding in the trees and went home at top speed howling a good chunk of the way. Payback from Mr. Squirrel, perhaps?
Not the best photo of a squirrel, but the leaves made kind of a neat frame and it was the best image I took today. I cropped this in Picasa, nothing else.

Dragonflies

From Friday. I was going to post these in the afternoon but after some appointments and a significant grocery pricing and reward points fiasco sort out were completed, I was tired and didn't get around to it.

 A Blue Darner (named for how the shape of their body resembles a darning needle) - he was patrolling a patch of soapberry bushes and trees and obliged by sitting still for enough time to get some good shots of him. The typical large dragonfly, and so when he parked himself not far from me it was easy to get a good shot with the 70-300 lens. I really liked how sharp his features came out - the details in his wings, hairs on his legs, and the patterning on his eyes. Straight from the camera.

Another kind of dragonfly - not sure what this one is called. He was very small for a dragon fly, maybe an inch or two long, as you can see from the comparison to the dandelion leaf he's resting on. This one was more of a challenge as he was hard to see when he landed and was less inclined to hold still. Couple that with his small size and it was tricky for sure. His eyes are not as focused as I would have liked, but the photo still has its merits. I like the shadow of his wing veins and on the leaf and the lighting is interesting. I cropped this one in Picasa to bring the focus back the the dragonfly and make him a more significant part of the image.

Signs of Fall

Delayed by processing of bulk produce (apples, peaches, nectarines, tomatoes, etc) available at this time of year, here are some photos from the last couple of weeks. All photos were shot with the 70-300mm lens and are posted as they came from the camera.

 A moulted goose contour feather in the harvested oat field behind the house. I liked how morning sun cast shadows across the feather and the texture of the downy part could be clearly seen. There aren't as many geese now, not sure if they've started heading south for the winter or are just spending their mornings elsewhere.

 And they are starting to fall... Some of the leaves are changing colours now, but this one might have been lost due to the dryness of the summer rather than the changing seasons. This was taken on a cloudy and smoky sort of morning so the colours are muted. I liked the texture of the veins in the leaf, not sure if they are particularly visible on the smaller sized image. An overall melancholy sort of photo.

Taken yesterday in the morning sun (which is coming notably later and later these days). My patch of wild fireweed has gone to seed - looking for all the world like a cotton candy farm. The backlighting really highlighted the seeds of the one stalk particularly. Viewed up close the details of the seeds are very clear, contrasted with the lack of focus and lighting on the background stalks. I'm quite happy with this one.

Wide Angle

 Took the wide angle lens out yesterday instead of the long one. I was hoping to try and fluke my way into getting a shot of a flying grasshopper, but it did not work. At all. The scenery out the back field was nice though and there were a few unharvested oat stalks to give a foreground... then Meg so kindly obliged with her stance. I liked how I could get the clouds and the land to expose properly. Straight from the camera with the 18-70mm lens.

This one I thought of on Monday but only had my long lens with me. There is some shoulder-high grass by the beaver pond in the field behind the house. To get this one I had to lie down on my back and shoot up. I think I rotated this to make it look like the grass was in front of me, but nothing else. Again shot with the 18-70mm lens.

On a walk

 I guess the other critters are benefiting from the plethora of grasshoppers up here - I spied this guy carrying around a hind leg of a hopper on my Friday afternoon dog walk. I liked the texture and contrast of the leg, and just the uniqueness of the situation. I cropped this in Picasa to get rid of some of the foreground blur from the narrow depth of field and bring the focus back to the ant and his cargo. Other than that, it is straight from the camera with the 70-300mm lens.

I took this one yesterday - I had originally spied what I think was a goshawk chasing a pair of ravens around and was hoping to get a couple shots of the hawk, but my camera auto-focus failed to find my targets before I could get any shots and the hawk took off. The ravens came back to check me and Meg out so I took a bunch of them cruising around. I thought I had overexposed all of them, and they were all too light originally, but I could see enough details in this one that I figured some simple post shooting corrections could fix it up. I jumped up the shadows in Picasa to make him come out more raven-black, and really like how the lighting on his body and tail covert feathers came out along with his curious expression aimed at the camera. Who knows, maybe I'll use this one to do some drawing eventually. I also cropped this one a bit in Picasa.

And lastly, again from yesterday, a still life of an opened fireweed seed pod. I liked the textures and the symmetry of the seeds here, and their contrast with the background. I made some minor increases to the shadows in Picasa to bring out that contrast, but otherwise straight from the camera.

Cheslatta Lake

Taken in May 2016 with the D200 and stitched with ArcSoft panorama maker pro just recently. The small size doesn't really do it justice, I have it as a new desktop photo on my widescreen monitor and even there is not quite good enough. I was really impressed how it came out - I guess cloudy weather actually works really quite well for even lighting. Anyways - this was shot from the monument pictured below looking down the hill side. Cheslatta lake became the new route for water flowing from the Nechako reservoir that was created by Alcan's Kenny Dam in the 1950's. They decided against putting a spillway in the rock-fill dam itself, and so instead the water flows out through the Skins Spillway on Ootsa lake into Skins lake, then Cheslatta lake, Murray lake, and out over Cheslatta falls into the old Grand Canyon of the Nechako to supply water to the Nechako river that flows through Vanderhoof. There is a portion of the old canyon upstream from Cheslatta falls that is now dry. All this water supplies the energy required to produce power at RioTinto Alcan's smelter in Kitimat and for much of BC. In the process of creating this elaborate system, the government and Alcan at the time were required to move people out of the to-be-flooded areas - including farmers and First Nations people. The monument pictured below is intended to commemorate the previous home of some of the Cheslatta people and where their dead remain buried. An interesting lake to visit for sure, though the large spans of dead zones along the shore line from changing water levels (associated with being part of the reservoir) made it feel a bit odd.

 The monument to the Cheslatta people, and another shot of it with a view of the boat on the shore below.

A broken headstone with dates and (what I assume is) a different script for writing First Nations mostly oral language.