Winter Wonderland

Hi all.

After a recent storm, I went snowshoeing to my happy place here in Nova Scotia.. It was absolutely beautiful, images cannot do nature justice. Breaking trail over hill and dale is hard work, but definitely worth it. Being the first person to make tracks and travelling through an area is also a special experience. Who needs a gym? 

Checking for tracks, and imagining the stories they wrote in the snow is sometimes better than seeing the critters. It's also a good way to inventory what species are in a given area, where they travel, bed down and eat. So much happens in nature that we never see. Squirrel tracks, and mounds of cones stripped apart to get the seeds, Otter slides, Rabbit tracks, and the inevitable Coyote and Bobcat tracks hunting them. 

All in all a great day in the woods, time for another one!

Cheers,

G

 

I'm Back

 

Hi all, after a hiatus and failed attempt at adulting am back at photographing and posting.  

Society is getting faster, attention spans are getting shorter, so I am going to do what I always do. Which is - do the opposite. Am going to focus a bit more on storytelling, about my experiences in the outdoors and with wildlife. Every day is different, especially when one slows down, and moves quietly through the forest. Sitting quietly by a lake, pond etc. is a great way to see wildlife. Water is life.   

Getting to know one area intimately is also great. I know most of the species, and where/when to find them in my secret spots, winter or summer. Seeing the cycles of the seasons, and life is also special. 

That's it for now, just a quick check in. 

And remember - Have Fun!

G

Get Shortie!

Hi all, 

Well, after many years and failed attempts, I finally got some decent images of a Short Eared Owl.  Had a lot of fun recently photographing, watching their hunting and interesting behavior.  

My first attempt years ago consisted of a crudely made blind made of 2x4's and burlap that someone mercifully stole soon after I set it up in an Owls territory.  Thus saving me from the misery of trying to photograph from the contraption that kept falling apart.

Persistence pays off, just ask the Mars Rover!

Enjoy,

 Gary

 

 

Doe in The Snow.

Looked out my Living room window one day recently and saw 4 deer in the heavy falling snow. Grabbed the camera and 2 lenses and started shooting! A rare opportunity,  as snow has been largely missing this winter. 

Funny how some days one can spend the whole day looking for something to photograph  only to come up empty. Then other days are like this one. Sure keeps things interesting!

Cheers,

G

 

Making Lemonade.

Went out this evening to relax by a lake and hopefully photograph some Flickers and Ospreys.  Struck out,  but lucked out and got this 1st Quarter Moon.  I could totally get hooked on Astro.  

Cheers,  

Gary 

Yellow Shafted Flicker nest

Went out to a local lake in Nova Scotia a few nights ago to cool off from the 30 Degree Celsius heat and kept hearing a Flicker call, but the location seemed strange. Finally found some nearly fledged young in a dead tree cavity calling and begging for food. 

Spent a few fun hours watching and photographing them.

Went back last evening, and at least one of them was calling from nearby trees. One kept sticking it'shead out of the nest hole, but seemed pretty timid. Not ready to leave yet I guess. 

Pretty amazing to witness and imagine the whole breeding season from the parents courting behavior all the way to fledged young. 

Feeling priveledged at being to witness, and document this through wildlife photography.  

Home Cooking.

Have been really fortunate this last year in that a family of deer pass through the yard on a regular basis. The hard part is seeing them, and  being ready to shoot as they come at odd times, and often early or late when the light is low. Am slowly capturing some images, these whilst drinking coffee on the deck. Tlk about low hanging fruit!

Enjoy,

Gary

Ospreys!

You can hear before you see them.

 Our provincial bird (Nova Scotia), the Osprey is a common and fascinating bird to watch and photograph. 

As one approaches the nest, you can hear it calling, and if it's mate is on the nest, it will call loudly as it approaches. This makes for great cues to when to be ready to start shooting. Bird photography, and wildlife photography in general is an exciting and ever changing endeavour, and I am not just talking about the gear. My current Canon set up is amazing for capturing the action, a far cry from using manual focus and film back in the day. 

Enjoy,

Gary

Prospect, Nova Scotia

Hi all, Finally getting around to another post on the old blog.

Been doing a lot of shooting, hiking and snowshoeing this winter.

Really into coastal hikes recently, around Prospect in particular. This area owned and protected by The Nature Conservancy of Canada. 

Even though some days have been cold and others cold And damp it was still worthwhile. Our coastline is so beautiful no matter what time of the year it is. 

Below are a few images to get the party started. 

Will likely do another post on here as there are more images to share the beauty of this windswept place. 

Kejimkujik Time Lapse

A short time lapse, my first made while backcountry paddling and camping at Kejimkujik October 2016. What an amazing few days, the weather was awesome, as was the shooting, food and fires.



Enjoy!

Gary

Long Lake Wilderness area - East Hants NS

Hi all, First paddle of the year and blog post!

Had an amazing day scratching the surface of the Long Lake Wilderness area yesterday.  Just a beautiful spot, and day for it. You know it is going to be a good day when the first thing you see getting out of the car is a pair of Geese. The air was 11-13 degrees C, and not much wind.

There were a few pairs of Loons on the lake with their haunting call periodically, and especially moving when in a cove echoing of the walls/forest, and at sunset. Ditto for the Geese- does anything seem more spring then their honking overhead?

Was photographing the beaver dam, when I heard a slap behind me, didn't realize it was out in the late afternoon. Watch your six!  Also, heard the first Osprey of the year.

Part of it is developed with Cottage Country, but most is undeveloped. Was partly bummed, and but wanting to live there, so hard to knock it when feeling that way.

Can't wait to return!


Google Maps of area

Cape Breton Highlands.

Just got back last night from "The Highlands" where it was super hot and super busy. Can stand the heat, but not the crowds so I bailed even though 1 or 2 more nights would have been great. Oh well, there is always October when the colors are out and the crowds are not.

Did more swimming than hiking it seems, but what better way to cool off after dragging a bunch of camera gear around eh? Even the Moose were caught in the act as shown below. Ironically, the waterfalls and their pools were a Lot colder than the Bay at Cheticamp Island Beach where the salt water was beautiful.

Till the next time, enjoy and get outdoors!
G


French Lake

MacIntosh Brook Falls

 MacIntosh Brook Falls

Black Brook Beach

                                         

  Igonish Island taken from Middle head. 

                                                       

Rock Art, Middle Head Beach. 

 Black Legged Kittiwake, Middle Head.

 Bunchberries and weathered stump, Middle Head.

Weather!

Or, What to shoot when there is not much else happening. 

Hi All,

Was sitting in the yard drinking coffee this evening, and with an itchy trigger finger. Problem was, there was not much going on. The Eagle which has been terrorizing the ducks, and crows nest nearby was not around so things were pretty quiet.

But, as has been the case recently, and often is in the Maritime Provinces, the weather started to change. And fast. What was sunny and a few clouds deteriorated to black clouds and pound rain in about 15 minutes. If you don't like the weather- wait 15 minutes goes the saying around here, so the saying was bang on tonight.

Plus photographing clouds, and an ongoing cloud survey is fun, and good practice to look at things differently, and sharpen up the exposure skills, as the sky will be underexposed if one does not compensate.

Pro Tip:

Take a meter reading off of a mid-tone neutral subject, then shoot the composition whilst bracketing your exposures, as the "correct" exposure isn't always the best. Sometimes I will underexpose, or overexpose a subject to add drama. (The only kind of drama in life I like).

One other thing that applies to all photography, don't forget to include some vertical's in each shoot, no matter what the Instagram crowd says. Plus, one may just end being up a magazine cover!

Hopefully, this post encourages some of you to get out and try this, or some other out of the box shooting exercise, it always helps to try new things in life eh?

Feel free to comment, share or ask questions, and I will be happy to try and help.

Cheers,
G

Salt Marsh Trail, and Willet Encounter.

 Hi All, 

Did something new yesterday, which was photographing with my pro gear while cycling. A Compact camera is way lighter, but just doesn't do justice when in a beautiful area. 

Yes, it was heavy, and awkward with a full size tripod strapped on it. 

But was glad to have it as I had the most amazing Willet (shorebird) encounter. I rode right by it about 10 ft away where it was perched on top of a bush. After pedaling past, I stopped, broke out the gear and worked my way back slowly. It flew off a few times, but always returned to the same perch Lucky me! Got to within 10-15 ft, and fired away. It didn't seemed bothered at all. By far the closest I've ever gotten to one, they were on my rather long wish list. 

This took about 40 min., and left it still there, and continued on to do some other shooting. Will definitely be making this a regular stop, though will start hiking it, to do some birding, and taking in hopefully more sights. 

Enjoy! 

Gary 

                                          Reflection. 

                                          Willets:

                                          Landscape along the Salt Marsh Trail. 

The tools of ignorance.