Sunday posts this month were supposed to be all about elephants, but this lovely visitor changed my plans for the week. I can’t even explain how nice it felt to have the opportunity to get out and take a few photos, and having both weather and wildlife corporate in the process was a bonus 🙂
I’ve seen a couple of different bucks in the neighbourhood on occasion, but have lately been seeing lots of evidence of them around the yard; they’ve been rubbing their antlers on many of the willow trees around, scoring the bark off and knocking down smaller branches and limbs.
This guy was really unconcerned about me being outside with him, but I kept my distance to not put any pressure on him and cause him to leave the cozy spot he found in the sun to relax.
He’s still in the yard as I type this, and has actually been joined by another, much smaller deer. The little ones are sometimes much easier spooked, so I am going to leave this with just the images I have so far, and let all the deer graze without interruption.
This is a topic I haven’t done in a while! I’ve been trying to keep my camera close, as there is such an abundance of birdlife in my yard at the moment. It can be a bit challenging though, with the days being so short, and we’ve had a lot of overcast days recently. But even when the light isn’t great, it’s still awesome to have camera in hand.
This was shot through my office window, as even though the blue jay is now a frequent, daily visitor to both the bird feeders and the deer bowl, it is still quite shy and won’t stick around if I am outside.I’ve taken to having my camera on me when I go out to fill the bird feeders and the deer bowl. This doe was not at all concerned about me filling the feeder about 10 feet away.A red-breasted nuthatch pausing from eating suet.A grey jay I spotted in the yard this afternoon, enjoying some of the cob that I put out for the deer.
I missed putting together my Sunday post, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share this adorable deer and fawn that briefly popped by the yard last week. They showed up for only a couple minutes at the end of a miserable rainstorm, so I am glad I looked out the window at the right time and had my camera handy. I didn’t recognize the mama, so I only shot a couple of images out the window, as I didn’t want to spook them. Most of the local deer are used to me being out walking so it probably wouldn’t have been an issue to pop my head out the door, but I actually wouldn’t have had time as they only popped over for a brief visit to the salt lick and then vanished back into the bushes.
A mama deer and fawn making a brief appearance in my back yard.A bundle of cuteness – I love living in the country 🙂
For February, I have decided that my topic for the month will be revisiting old work. It was one of the shortlisted topic ideas that I had come up with back in December, and lately, it is a concept I have been encountering over and over in the educational resources I am working through, in articles that I read and podcasts that I have been listening to. I think it is an excellent concept as there have been improvements in photo editing software over the years, plus I’ve added a lot more tools into my editing toolbox and my skills at editing have improved with time and practice.
I am going to try to look for a mix of images that I can show both a then and now edited version of an image, and also work on images for the first time. I am sure there are many images that I passed over throughout the years because I simply didn’t have the skills to correct for errors in the field, difficult lighting scenarios or heavy noise.
Here is my first instalment of revisiting old work:
I originally edited this giraffe image upon returning home from a trip in 2014. below is my revisit to the image.Today’s take on the same image; the changes are not dramatic, but textures in the images are definitely a lot more apparent.I love the surreal nature of this deer at sunrise in thick fog. Taken along to Pitt River October, 2013.Way back to the first trip where I had a DSLR camera, a Nikon D5100 with kits lens. I was on a Caribbean cruise and spent loads of time shooting images off the balcony, but never edited any of them till much later. January, 2012.Wild horses on Grand Turk, January 2012. This was a shore excursion on the same trip as the image above. I took a short walk from the main tourist area along the beach and found these two horses grazing. It felt like a rather improbable sighting at the time, but during my travels I have come to learn that many animals can survive quite well in areas that seem to have rather meaner resources.
It’s been fun rooting through my photo catalogues for old images to work on. Pop by next Sunday to see what else I turn up.
For this week, I decided to focus my Frozen World post on the animals that visit my yard during the winter time. Once the cold temperatures set in, and the risk of bears diminishes, I begin to fill up the bird feeders. Once the snow falls, I add in a bowl of food for the deer as well. There is plenty of wildlife to be seen all year round, but with the feeders out in winter, there is activity all day long, just outside my office window. Deer visit frequently, along with chickadees, hairy woodpeckers and nuthatches. This year, the pine grosbeaks and common redpolls are back, along with occasional visits from the magpies, ruffed grouse and northern flicker.
Tracks along the road and through the yard show just how much activity there is. Although I haven’t seen any this winter, I have come across the occasional moose tracks through the snow, along with hare, fox and coyote. I was lucky enough to look up from my lunch a few days ago to find a pair of coyotes in the yard, sniffing around the various feeders. Even though he is always on leash, I was extra cautious letting Spencer out later on that afternoon.
While it is not ideal, all of these photos were taken through my window. When the temperature is hovering between -20C and -30C, the animals would likely be gone by the time I bundled myself up enough to get outside and capture a photo or two. And trying to do anything with a camera while wearing mittens is an exercise in both patience and frustration!
I hope you enjoy seeing what I see when I look through my office window out into the frozen landcape.
This image was from before Christmas, but it is not often that I see the male deer around, especially this guy with his impressive antlers.Incredibly skittish, this coyote was constantly running back and forth to this spot. I’d left some peanuts for the birds and squirrels under a few of the trees the previous week; perhaps she found a couple that were missed.The big source of her skittishness seemed to be all the birds swarming around her. There had to be two dozen or more redpolls flitting about, and every time they took off for the trees as a group, she would run around and then stop and gaze into the sky.This one stayed further from the house and didn’t seem to be as skittish or bothered by all the birds flitting around in the area.This morning the whole gang showed up for Sunday breakfast. There were two Mom’s nibbling at the trees in the yard; here the four youngsters enjoy some tasty grains.
Another year has drawn to a close, and I have welcomed 2018 with open arms. I’ve taken a little break from posting over the past week; it has given me a chance to reflect on my blog, and come up with some plans for the future.
I feel like I lost focus with my blog in 2017; at times posts were rushed or forgotten about altogether; shoved to the bottom of a to-do list that never seemed to get any shorter. I’m sure that is something that everyone struggles with from time to time, and I am very grateful for everyone that continued to view my posts and photos, despite the lack of focus.
For 2018, I have decided that I need to add some structure to my photographic life; in terms of continuing education, time out in the field and with my editing. I have a couple of year long photo projects that I am finalizing, but I am also planning to explore a different topic each month, and use that to guide my reading, shooting and editing. I really thrive when I have schedules and plans of action, so I am hoping that this will ensure that I am getting out to shoot regularly, and be able to post some interesting content each month.
For January, I am going to focus on the frozen world. With the cold temperatures we have been having, it is a timely starting point. I’ll be posting on the topic each Sunday in January, and then move onto something new for February.
I’ll be working to participate more regularly in the WordPress topic of the week, and will still be posting my usual Monochrome Monday and Wordless Wednesday posts. I still have lots of images from my last trip that I am working on as well, so I should have lots of content to share over the year ahead.
Below are a few photos from out and about over the last couple of weeks; its not much, but it gets the ball rolling.
Here’s to a fantastic year ahead.
This is why I love getting up early. A beautiful sunrise greeted me while out for a morning walk with Spencer a few weeks ago.A few of the 7 deer that stopped by the yard late yesterday afternoon.Right now, the time between sunrise and sunset is rather brief. We do get a beautiful long twilight period though, which looks even prettier with some snow on the ground and in the trees. A quick snap while out for an afternoon walk, it was too cold to stop and do much more!
Since I started working from home 2 years ago, I have posted quite a few images taken from my office window. There are times when it is difficult not to be distracted by the deer wandering through the yard, the birds congregating at the feeders in the winter, or a rare visit by the fox or bear. The photo challenge for this week is to either feature images that include the framing of a window, or taken from a window.
I hope you enjoy these images taken from my office window.
I have a ground level window, and one of the deer spotted me with my camera and was very intrigued, and kept coming closer to get a better look.Mama with one of the youngsters.When it was very hot and dry in the summer, I made sure there was a small dish of water out for any birds or animals that needed a drink. The mama deer makes use of that on a soggy day.Coming back for a second look.This young deer was very aware of me watching, and very curious.
Happy New Year everyone! I have a few photos from the last two weeks to share; I hope you enjoy 🙂
An elk grazes in the train tracks in Jasper, Alberta.An elk taking a casual stroll towards the highway. Jasper, Alberta.A ruffed grouse tidying up spilled sunflower seeds.After a meal, it was time for a quick nap in a sunbeam for this deer.He spied me taking his photo through my office window.Today was a gorgeous morning for a walk. A lovely start to a new year.
I managed to capture a few photos of some of the local wildlife this week. I hope you enjoy, and have a great Sunday.
I’ve been seeing this rabbit in the neighbourhood for months, and it makes me sad as it is definitely not one of the regular wild hares, but likely a pet that someone abandoned. During the bitterly cold snap we have been having, I make sure there is some of the feed we leave for the deer accessible for him/her.Fluffed up against the -28C temperatures. This flicker spent the day back and forth between the suet feeder and places like this to rest.Just like last winter, the deer bowl was empty, so split-ear raided the sunflower seeds I leave out for the birds. And, she’s teaching her young ones the same tricks!Four deer were in the yard when it was time for me to fill feeders; they are quite comfortable with me and I knew they wouldn’t go far when I was outside, so I took my camera along and grabbed a few photos. Good thing it had warmed up enough that I only needed gloves on, not mittens. Operating a camera with mittens is just not functional.Food fight!Not quite the customer I had in mind for the sunflower seeds!
I managed to capture a few photos of some of the local wildlife this week. I hope you enjoy, and have a great Sunday.
I’ve been seeing this rabbit in the neighbourhood for months, and it makes me sad as it is definitely not one of the regular wild hares, but likely a pet that someone abandoned. During the bitterly cold snap we have been having, I make sure there is some of the feed we leave for the deer accessible for him/her.Fluffed up against the -28C temperatures. This flicker spent the day back and forth between the suet feeder and places like this to rest.Just like last winter, the deer bowl was empty, so split-ear raided the sunflower seeds I leave out for the birds. And, she’s teaching her young ones the same tricks!Four deer were in the yard when it was time for me to fill feeders; they are quite comfortable with me and I knew they wouldn’t go far when I was outside, so I took my camera along and grabbed a few photos. Good thing it had warmed up enough that I only needed gloves on, not mittens. Operating a camera with mittens is just not functional.Food fight!Not quite the customer I had in mind for the sunflower seeds!
