Fall!

This is it!

The time of year photographers dream of.

Fall Colours.
If only we could be everywhere at once! We can't however, so we have to pick our spots, work them and hope for the best.

The 2 photo's below, were shot in Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia. "Keji" is my favorite spot in the province after Cape Breton which has to be one of the top spots in the Continent to photograph fall colours.








Aspy Valley, Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Just because it is foggy and or rainy doesn't mean one has to stop shooting. crop out the bleak sky and look for interesting compositions within the landscape.





Brookvile, Pictou County Nova Scotia

Another example of shooting on a dreary day. Here I concentrated on the colours on the Maples and the way they contrasted with the trunks of the trees.




Sunset at Kejimkujik Nova Scotia.

I found it really interesting how trees can grow out of rocks, and the thin soil available. Very shallow root systems in these cases.



Cheers, and enjoy the fall!
Gary .

http://www.pbase.com/pgns/gmurray
http://garyamurray.blogspot.com/

Brier Island NS

Hi All,

Here are a few more images from the trip to Brier Island. I was really psyched to photograph whales, something I have been wanting to do for a few years. As often happens though, the best opportunities happen along the way. I guess it really is about the journey, not the destination.

the first two images below are prime examples of this. the were taken within 10 minutes of each other, while waititng for the ferry to Brier.

Image 1

Taken with a Canon Eos3, 300mm F4 Image Stabilized lens, Fuji Velvia 100 Film.

As I was waiting for the car ferry, this image appeared out of the fog. I couldn't believe my luck. I grabbed my gear, and ran back to a suitable spot to frame it. the scene kept changing, and normally would have hung around to keep shooting but I had a boat to catch!




Image 2, was taken while waiting for the same ferry, before the image above.

Again, the light kept changing, and I kept shooting, and this is my favourite image from the series of images made. I like the way the light is hitting the wharf, and the boat is silhouetted in the distance.




Image 3

A little cove in Grand Passage on the island, and the foggy morning caught my eye on this image.

Image 3, 4 and 5 made with a Canon EOS3, 70-200mm F4L lens, Fuji Velvia 100F Film.




Image 4


Made at Western Light, the western most point of land in Nova Scotia. It is a photographer's dream, as every day seems to be different there. The stunted trees are common along exposed areas.







Lighthouse at Grand Passage on the island. When photographing lighthouses, it is a good idea to wait until the beam comes around, as it adds more visual interest to the image. keeping the subject off centre is another method.

Whales!

Humpback Whale diving, with water driping off of it's tail flukes




Humpback Whale surfacing, and vapour can be seen coming out off it's blow hole.




The scarred back of a Humpback Whale. If it could only talk....




Whale watchers on another tour operator, taken from our boat.


All images taken with a Canon EOS3, 300F4 Image Stabilized Lens, with a 1.4 Teleconverter. Fuji Provia 100f Film, and pushed 1 stop.

Last weekend a group of friends packed up and went to Brier Island at the end of the Digby Neck of Nova Scotia to spend the weekend birding and whale watching.
Brier Island is an amazing place, and is a migrant trap for birds, with some very noteworthy sightings over the years. It is also a photographers and painters paradise, with lots of photo opportunities often enhanced by the mood the fog brings.

I highly recommend it as a destination.


The whole time was "Pea Soup" fog, up until the time were getting ready to go on the whale cruise. The fog dissipated, and the sun came out. what luck! Lots of pelagic birds, and several whales including a mother and a calf were seen. An amazing time was had, out on the water on such a nice day.

Be sure to check back, as I have lots of other images from the trip, which I wil post shortly,

Cheers,
Gary.

Trip to Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia.

Hi all,

posted above are a few images taken whilst on a quick shooting trip to "Keji" on the Labour day weekend.

The first one was from my campsite, what a scene to wake up to! a family of loons were calling all night, in addition to a pair of Barred Owls that were hooting "who cooks for you" for a long period very close to my tent.

The second image is of a spider web taken early one morning, while the light was good and the dew drops were still shining like diamonds.

the third shot is a vertical composition form the same campsite.

the fourth and fifth images are of a fawn captured while feeding in the park. they were taken at a fifth of a second, and was surprised they were as sharp as they are. when in doubt-shoot.

hope you enjoy, and get out to our wonderful natural areas.

Gary.

Spider in Arethusa

Above are 2 of a collection of images I made in the Maple Lake Bog in Pictou County NS.

It is of a crab spider catching a fly while hiding in an Arethusa(Dragon's Mouth Orchid).

I went to the bog to do some macro shooting of some bog orchids, and totally lucked out (as is usually how I make most of my images). I laid out in the bog for about a half hour braving black fly's, and I mean braving! They were absolutley brutal that day. Add in 31C temperatures, and a backpack full of camera gear, and you have one very happy photographer to come across this scene.

cheers,

Gary.

Newborn Fawn, Bridgeville Pictou County NS.

One never knows what one will come across while out and about in the great outdoors.

The photo above is a great example of that. While out birding for the Maritime Breeding Bird Atlas Project, I came across this little fawn on the way home.

I have been dreaming for years for an opportunity like this, and wasn't sure if it would ever happen. I feel very fortunate, and blessed to witness, and capture experiences like this, as they could very well be once in a lifetime happenings.

A great day it was, as I also had a Bittern, that looked to be on a nest, and some other notable sightings for the project.

Cheers,

Gary.

Kildeer!

The kildeer (Charadrius vociferus) , is a shorebird that resides and nests in upland habitats, sometimes far from water.

They are well known for their "broken wing display" which they use to lure predators from their nests. being very vocal, they are hard to miss, especially during this display.

This bird is from a nest not far from where I live, and they are currently incubating as I write. The weather the last week or so here has been cold and damp...it even snowed the other day! amazing how they can survive and raise a brood in our climate.

A new threat is all terrain vehicles, and since they are ground nesting, they are especially vulnerable. the dwindling Piping plover is another bird under threat since they nest on beaches, and people, unleashed dogs and 4 wheelers are increasingly common there. there are believed to be under 50 pairs in Nova Scotia, making them a species at risk.

enjoy the images, and tread carefully.
Gary.

Artist's Profile

This profile on yours truly was in the Saturday March 24th edition of the New Glasgow Evening News by Raymond Burns. . Article and photo courtesy of the Evening News.

Gary Murray comes by his skill as an outdoor photographer naturally.A lifetime spent hiking and camping developed into the craft he works hardto perfect on a near daily basis.Skill and passion for the outdoors is evident in his work, whether it's themajesty of a grazing Caribou bull shot in the wilds of Newfoundland or thesubtle beauty of a fallen leaf captured in the ice at the Steeltown Park inTrenton.Murray is a self-taught photographer."I took every photography book out of the library I could. I memorized andthen practised. I would shoot and write down everything I could. It's a goodway to learn exposure," the Stellarton resident said in a recent interview. Over the last seven years he's received lots of exposure in Atlanticpublications (he's a regular contributor to magazines like Saltscapes andEastern Woods and Waters) as well as being published in a calendar andhaving one of his prints used by the Nature Conservancy of Canada as afundraising auction item.It's not fair label him as just a nature photographer though, outdoorphotographer is a much better term, if it happens outside he'll shoot it.His body of work covers just about anything that takes place outsideincluding sports, airshows and even the odd wedding or two."I've just always been passionate about the outdoors. It's just like bikingor skiing, it's another excuse to get outdoors."Another drawing card is the fact photography draws on the physical and themental."You get to use your body and your mind. It's physical, you've got to lug 20or 30 pounds of gear around on your back and then before you use it you'vegot to think about composition and exposure."He describes his work as more of a "documentary style" meaning that what yousee is what you get, there's no jazzing things up in Photoshop. But he willtake the occasional artistic shot by juggling with lenses, filters, shutterspeeds and exposures.Of the thousands and thousands of shots he's taken two stand out as hisfavourites: a Common Merganser photo and pic of a sunset at Abrahams'sLake, both for the simple majesty of nature in its different forms. (Thesephotos can be seen in the slideshow on ngnews.ca)As much as he has favourite shots, Murray has favourite times and places forshooting.He likes photographing the most in May, June and October."The birds are back, the leaves are out and everything's new. In October Ilike the fall coloursSthe rest of the year it depends on what's out therereally."As far as favourite places go, the Cape Breton Highlands and Gros Morne inNewfoundland top the list.His advice to budding photographers is simple."Read your camera manual, buy a tripod and use it, get a polarizing filterfor your lens and read everything you can."As far as his own future in the art, Murray wants to keep learning, keepshooting and keep getting outdoors.

Late Winter- Early Spring Photography

As shades of winter pass, and we are eagerly waiting for spring to begin in earnest, one must sometimes search a little harder when making images.

The first is a good example of that. while hiking in a park in my hometown of Trenton, I saw this leaf frozen in the ice in a ditch! it is important to capture a scene like this when one comes across it, as it was a moment in time. it surely would have been gone, or very different the next day.

The next image is of maple sugar buckets, which will be making an appearance in Nova Scotia shortly.

A Ruffed Grouse drumming on a log is another sign of spring if you can get close enough to one!

Nesting usually begins in late April, though "drumming" begins earlier than that.

After a fresh snowfall is always a great time to head outdoors as great shots await. all that is needed is a little imagination, and tramping around.

gotta run, it is beginning to snow!

cheers,

Gary.

Winter Photography.

Just because the temperature drops, does not mean we have to put the camera away till' the spring.

Winter affords many different opportunities, including winter bird photography.

In many areas, the breeding birds that migrate south are replaced by birds coming from colder northern areas, such as the Purple Sandpiper in photo 1.

Photo's 2 & 3 are of Common Mergansers, male in the 2nd photo, and female in the photo above, which are resident species.

As with all wildlife photography, patience is the key. the sandpiper was photographed in the open, and after a few hours of stalking totally ignored me.

The Mergansers images were the result of many hours over several days shooting from a blind.

Blinds are great, as one can get close images with little or no stress to the subject, as it is not even aware you are there!

hopefully, others will get out and enjoy all that winter has to offer. (it makes it go faster too!)

cheers, and happy shooting.

Gary.

Seal Island Nova Scotia

Welcome to Seal Island Nova Scotia.

It is the southernmost part of Nova Scotia, Canada.

In October I had the good fortune of going to "Seal" with a group of birding friends.
We spent 5 days on the Island with sunny skies and warm temperatures the entire time, which is uncommon, considering it is in the Atlantic Ocean 20 miles offshore.

From sunrises, to sunsets, moonrises, and great company, Seal was an amazing trip.

There are fisher folk living seasonally on the island, as well as many, many, free range sheep.
Having sheep on Islands was a common practice years ago, so the survivors of the many shipwrecks around Nova Scotia would have a readily available food source.
Going there is almost like stepping back in time, and seeing a piece of our Maritime history.

Seal is a great migrant trap during migration, and we had about 103 species, including a few good ones like Peregrine Falcon, Gyrfalcon, Eastern Bluebirds, Indigo Bunting, and Long Eared Owl, to name a few.

All in all, a great trip, enjoy the collage of images!

Gary Murray.

Barred Owl Sleeping

Howdy!

Here are 3 images from an encounter I had with a sleeping Barred Owl in October 06'.

I went for a hike in my "usual spot", sans camera gear and encountered this owl.

I usually see one about once a year in these woods from point blank range- always when I don't have my gear!

This time I hiked out ( about a half hour), drove home 11 miles, grabbed my gear and then travelled back to the spot.

Imagine my surprise when I found that the owl had not moved an inch!

2hrs., and a few rolls of film later -yes film, the owl woke up preended, stretched checked me out then flew about 100 hundred yards away to another perch.

Not wanting to stress it, I packed up, kissed the ground, thanked the gods and continued on my merry way.

an amazing experience, not to mention a great capper after being foiled for the last several years.

cheers,

Gary.

Dunes in Winter, Pictou County Nova Scotia

late afternoon sun after a clearing storm makes for great images.

Welcome to my blog!

Hi, I am Gary Murray, an Outdoor Photographer from Nova Scotia Canada.

I have decided to create this blog to bring my work to a wider audience.
hopefully after viewing my work, and reading my postings, it will motivate others to get outdoors, and to think about how rich and diverse the natural world is.
I believe that is the first step in protecting it.

I will try to update it as often as time permits, and of course add lots of nature's eye candy!

Gary.