Tag: landscape

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2016-01-10: What I’ve seen this week

Earlier this week, I was getting concerned that I would end up with another weekly post dedicated to deer and bird, birds and deer; so I headed out in the yard with my macro lens to play around a bit and see if I could come across anything interesting.  Also, it was simply a gorgeous, brilliant blue sky day, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend fifteen minutes while taking a lunch break from my work.  I also got out that evening for a few night sky shots.

Don’t worry though, most of the photos are still deer and birds!

I hope you enjoy my selections for the week.  Have a great day!

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An older male with lots of scars. I wonder what his story is? Clashes with other males perhaps?
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This girl has a very unique left ear… and a hearty appetite for birdseed! She makes quite a mess, but the redpolls and grosbeaks seem to enjoy pecking around in the snow for all the seeds she’s dumped out.
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A younger male who happened to be heading into the yard while I was outside with my camera (and refilling the bird feeders). He kept to the bushes, luckily in some beautiful light.
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Beautiful light on a beautiful bird – a northern flicker.
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It was snowing quite heavily at the start of the week, and this young deer was cloaked in snow from tip to tail. I loved this view though, something a little different.
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The young male pausing for a portrait.
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My little walking buddy, wanting to get in on the photo action when I took my camera out on a morning walk for a pretty sky at sunrise.
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For the past few weeks, I’ve had a few common redpolls every day at the feeders. Early this week though, I ended up with an entire flock in my backyard. Here is a smaller part of the group, all trying to get to the suet cake.
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Not a great shot, but I included it anyways just to show a part of the redpoll flock. I counted 28 on the ground, and there were loads up on the feeders as well.
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Something startled one of them, and they all scattered. That repeated a few times throughout the morning.
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An evergreen with a light dusting of snow.
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This could have been so much better, if I hadn’t been too lazy to go to the detached garage and turn off the exterior lights. I’m including this as a reminder to self to take the time to do the proper prep work!
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2016-01-05: WPC Circles

As soon as I saw this week’s topic, I knew exactly what I would share – the fairy circles of the Sossusvlei desert in Namibia.  I was lucky enough to see them from the air, and also from the top of a small dune while out quadding my first evening in the desert.  No one had an explanation of how they were formed; nothing grows in them, the are simply barren sand surrounded by scrubby plants.

There’s a Wiki pages with more info about them, in case you are interested: Fairy Circles – Wikipedia

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A view of the fairy circles from the top of a dune (taken with my mobile phone). April, 2015
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A view of the fairy circles from the air. We saw several areas with these on the flight from Windhoek to Sossusvlei. April, 2015

WPC: Circles

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2016-01-03: What I’ve seen this week

Last week it was all about the birds, this week, it was pretty much all about the deer.  They stopped by singly, in pairs and in a group of four, and were around every other day, if not more.  The one day I didn’t take my camera out on my afternoon walk, I spotted the great grey owl again.  I got a snapshot with my phone, but as it was getting dark, I didn’t head back out with the camera and try to capture some better photos.  I spoke with one of my friends in the neighbourhood, and she said that the owl has been spotted in her yard a couple times, and I am quite certain I caught a brief glimpse of him or her as she flew into the bush last week.  Fingers crossed I’ll get to spend more time with the owl in the future.

I picked up some additional editing software during black Friday sales, and have finally had the opportunity to play around with some of it.  Hence all the photos look completely different this week, as I wanted to see what different filters and treatments did.

I think that’s about all, so onto the picture.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week.

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Browsing through the selection of evergreens in the yard.
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The lovely grey jay, enjoying a nibble from the deer feed bowl.
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The whole gang together. In the fall I would see either a group of two or a group of three in the neighbourhood. Either they have lost a member overall, or just split into different groupings when I saw them before. Regardless, it was great to have them all here.
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A few moments after I shot this, two of the deer headed off into the forest.
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A pair of pine grosbeaks perched on a small evergreen in the back yard.
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Enjoying a new years eve lunch.
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Taking a pause from eating. Isn’t he a beautiful boy?
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I keep the bowl full and what do I get? She sticks her tongue out at me while I’m taking her photo! The nerve 🙂
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On my afternoon walk today, I found a happy face in the snow. When the universe smiles at you, smile back 🙂
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A watery winter sun tries to peek through a combination of clouds and fog.
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2015-11-29: What I’ve seen this week

Cold temperatures and sunny skies this week have made for a some beautiful walks.  I was delighted Tuesday to see a pileated woodpecker for the first time in a few years; I was even happier when it decided to fly from the thicker trees to an electrical post, and perch in the sunlight long enough for me to take a few photos.

I hope you enjoy my selections from this week – have a great evening!

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There was a light breeze this morning blowing snow and frost off the roofs and tree branches, and when you looked into the sun, the sky was glittering. I captured a little of it, but trying to freeze that in time really didn’t do the moment justice. 1/800sec, f5.6, ISO 900
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Simply a beautiful day 🙂
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I took a quick trip to Vancouver this weekend; this was a snap out the window with my cellphone.
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Coming into land in Vancouver.
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The rising sun illuminating the wingtips of a passing crow.
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I absolutely love the light on the underside of the crow’s wing. 1/500sec, f6.3, ISO 500
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Climbing up the post.
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A beautiful pileated woodpecker on such a convenient perch.
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Climbing to the top of the post.
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A bit cluttered with all the components and wires, but it does give a better ideal of this woodpecker’s size (around the size of a crow).
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I didn’t zoom out in time, and cut off the wings, but I included this anyways because I think the sunlight coming through the wingtips is just too beautiful not to share.
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