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. 

Stomping Grounds

Hi All,

Continuing my Stomping Grounds portfolio here are a few new images from the past week.
I used to have to drive 25~mins., specifically to photograph Fragrant Water Lily's Now they grow in the lake just a few feet off of my property. Funny how life works, I used to drool every time passing them in a pond or lake and seeing beds in bloom crying out to be shot.

The ducks are always around, with several families again this year, and just can't resist photographing them. But, hey t is a good problem to have. :-)

I also added a "selfie" to give an idea of the atmosphere this spring, and because they are all the rage. ;-)

   
  

Hi all,

While out hiking and scouting recently, I came across Mocassin Flowers in the hundreds in a nearby forest. Among this plethora of them were 3 rare White Phase Moccasin Flowers. 

It is rare to see one, let alone 3 so of course I was back bright and early the next morning. Luckily there was lots of clouds to diffuse the sun, so that is when I timed my shots, Unfortunately, it seemed like whenever the clouds passed over the breeze kicked up blowing the flowers around.
Being the patient sort, I waited the conditions out and made a few images of the white ones, and experimented with the common pink ones .

There was also some other interesting sights, like Cinnamon Fern, and I even threw in a landscape for good measure.

Enoy!
Gary

Duck Hunting.

Just with a camera though. :-)

One advantage to being in the throes of winter is that most bodies of water are frozen over. Most, but not all. the remaining few serve as a gathering spot for birds, namely ducks and through necessity become more approachable by humans. (Us).

I did a little shooting last week, and though the light is tricky to deal with, did manage to make a few images of ducks ( and 1 Gull) that I normally wouldn't be able to get within a country mile of.

Enjoy!
G

More Eagles!

Eagle Watching!

Every Winter people flock to Sheffield Mills Nova Scotia to Eagle Watch/Photograph.

So, naturally I headed in the opposite direction to Pictou County. (Plus I was craving pizza from home).

It was quiet compared to recent weeks, where large numbers of Eagles also gather, but the light was good and I did manage to make a few decent images.

There were also lots of other birds around the waterways that remain open. Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Northern Pintail, American Widgeon, Greater Scaup, were the highlights.

I wish there was 24 hr sunlight like in the arctic, after ordering a large pizza, I was good for days!

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary 

Back From The Grave!

Or, Rumors of my demise....

It's been a few dog's ages since updating this blog, have been busy buying houses, renovating houses, swimming in lakes etc...

I have been updating my Flickr Site - Gary Murray  with a nice mix of Classic, and New images.
 https://www.flickr.com/photos/102019655@N08/

Here's a primer of what you may find if you head on over.

Cheers,
Gary

Don't Blink...

Or it's gone.....fall that is.

Just seemed like it was 30 Degrees Celsius, and I was swimming in the lake, and now the leaves are mostly turned and falling. Went for a walk in the woods near home today looking for photo opportunities and found a few. It is harder work these days, as things are more subtle now, not the Postcard/Grandscape- can't miss shots of spring/summer. But, it is an opportunity to "see" and look beyond the obvious and experiment.

All images made with a Canon 5D, 70-200mm F4L lens, B&W Warm Polarizer,  Manfrotto Tripod, cable release.
*I really miss Fuji Velvia film for shooting landscapes, but not the processing time/cost and scanning!

         Trailside plants, not sure the species against a background of trees providing contrast. 

        Same scene as above, only taken with a slow shutter speed when the wind kicked up. Which one do you like best?

                                       

        Fall foliage along the edge of nearby Hamilton Lake. 

        Closeup of tree trunk showing pattern of bark. 

         View through the trees of the Beaverbank River. 

         Taken with Canon 5D, 17-40mm f4L lens, B&W Warm Polarizer, Manfrotto Tripod, cable release. 

                 Tree snag with holes made by Pileated Woodpeckers. 

                 Cool the way scenes like this tell a story. 

   Ferns turning color, the woods will be full of neutral shades like this until next spring. 

             Bare trees against some trees that for the moment have their leaves providing a neat contrast and sign  of things to come. 

         

          Straight up fall landscape scene, using repeating horizontal lines on the bottom of the frame, and shape of the hillside to add visual interest. 

Happy shooting!
Gary

The Death of Keji. as we know it.

Hi All,

One Nova Scotia's National Parks-Kejimkujik, a paddling gem is now being closed for the winter season due to budget cuts from Parks Canada, which in turn had their budget slashed by Stephen Harper's Conservative government. Ironically, one of Harper's senior ministers is Peter MacKay  from Nova Scotia representing Central Nova. He is touting spending $25 Billion dollars on the F35 fighter jet, but is oddly mum on the Keji./National Parks issue-a drop in the bucket compared to this dubious jet purchase.

Our National Parks system is one of the things that we as Canadians can be proud of, and can hand future generations a legacy of our past before industrialization (progress) destroyed most of it. Now that legacy is threatened, and Keji. traditionally known as a "paddlers park" (when open) seems to cater exclusively to the RV/trailer crowd and it's accompanying generators, barking dogs etc...

A petition is currently online, and I encourage all lovers of the natural world to sign it, then we can tackle the issue of commercialization of nature.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/675/839/922/save-national-park-historic-site-from-winter-closures/



This is just one of a myriad of ways the natural world is under siege, and we as global  citizens are duty bound to act.

End of rant.

Keji. is still a beautiful place, and I have many fond memories and images of it. Some were captured on film/memory card, but many more are in my mind's eye.

I am posting some images of Keji. to celebrate it's magic and may do so in the future.

Feel free to comment, write me, or share stories/images and take action.

Gary Murray

Rumors of my demise...

Have been greatly exaggerated......

Been so busy the last year or so buying my first home (a lakefront setup) and the ensuing chores like settling in, stacking firewood, stacking firewood, stack... you get the idea.

Well, now that I am settled in and the firewood, did I mention firewood? is all put away I can get back to more important thongs like shooting and working on my cloud survey. See image above. :)
( I broke the rules and centered the horizon- a no no in photography). Plus, I was too lazy to get up and get a different perspective- and it is my blog so I can do whatever I want. Long as it's legal!


Will try and keep it updated wit lots more eye candy,

cheers,
Gary.

Keji Backcountry

Hi All,

I had so much fun at Keji last week that I went back for more! The deluge that happened Sunday morning cut my trip, and shooting a little early, but didn't dampen my spirits. Had a great paddle Saturday in the Big Dam area, and am booked in for some b/c camping there next week.

Saw some cool stuff like a family of Loons, Turtles sunning themselves on logs and rocks, and a pair of Barred Owls hooting and preforming near my site.

Can't wait to get back and see what else draws my eye.

Cheers,

Gary

Photo 1. Backpack hanging from a tree to keep the critters away.

Photo 2. Common Loon family photographed handheld from Kayak.

Canon 5D 300mm F4L IS lens, 1.4 T/C

Photo 3, 4, and 5 Still Brook area at the end of Portage "R"

Canon 5D, 17-40mm F4L lens, B&W Circular Polarizer, on Manfrotto Tripod and Cable Release.