Boats

Boats are one favourite subjects to photograph. I took these three photos on the Great Northern Peninsula near Flowers Cove in July, 2004.

You will notice that all boats are on the land. I suspect that years ago, there would be no boats hauled onto the land during the once-vibrant fishery.

Cats

A friend of mine has quite a few cats, most of which she adopted because they were in need of a good home. One day I photographed 3 of them on her back steps. I converted the three images this morning to black and white.

Seascapes

Soon, the rocky beaches of the Irish Loop on the Southern Shore of the Avalon Peninsula will be visited by thousands of people. Today's photos were taken in Ferryland last August and show a typical day with waves pounding the beach.

I never tire of photographing seascapes anywhere in Newfoundland and Labrador. I always say that I am looking for the "perfect wave". I have thousands of photos of waves crashing over our beaches and steep cliffs.

Old Road

When I was growing up in Grand Falls the path in today's photos was actually a road. Last summer while visiting my home town. I went for a walk and was surprised to see that it had grown over except for a narrow walking path. It is hard to believe that when I first had my driver's license, I drove down this road often.

It does indicate, however, the resilience of Nature. Pavement cracks, plants start to grow, and eventually plant life will take over completely. You can see in the photos that whoever owns the property near the top of the road has mowed and maintained a lawn, but further down the owner(s) have let it go "wild".

Caribou

A baby caribou feeds on the barrens near St. Shott's on the Southern Avalon Peninsula while I photograph it. This baby was alone and came within 10 feet of me. It was "crying" and I assumed it had wandered away from its mother, but there were no adults in sight. After a few minutes, it wandered off, leaving me with photos and memories, both of which I am able to share with you today.

These photos were taken with slide film in the mid-nineties when there were around 6 000 caribou in the herd (now numbering around 300 animals).

Signal Hill

I've visited Signal Hill dozens of times over the years and on this trip I looked for a different view of Cabot Tower. With the sun high in the sky (around 1:30 pm), there were strong shadows so I chose to photograph it with my wide angle lens and looking nearly straight up. I liked the feeling of height and strength.

The second photo was taken a little further towards the Narrows. You can see the lighthouse on the opposite shore. The people walking on the trail add interest to the image.

I'll send the results of my Spring Survey later today.

The Narrows

Yesterday I attended a field trip to Signal Hill in St. John's. We walked all around the Signal Hill Trail from the top of the hill to the Lower Battery. It was a beautiful day with not much wind - unusual for that part of St. John's.

I am sharing 2 photos of fishing boats going through the Narrows, the entrance to St. John's Harbour. The first shows a boat approaching the entrance to the harbour. Because I was shooting towards the sun, the lighthouse on the opposite shore is barely visible. The second shows part of the trail I had just walked over with two boats that just went through the narrows. The trail winds around the steepest part of the cliffs and many people were nervous. There is one place where you have to hold a chain because the trail is so narrow and the cliffs are so steep.

Lichens

Thanks for the comments on Spring in your part of the world. So far I have received 25 responses. I am compiling comments as well. In a couple of days, I'll send the final tally and comments.

Spring is ahead - 4, Spring is Normal - 5, Spring is Behind - 18

Today, I am sharing 2 photos of lichens. Both were taken yesterday on the beach in Mobile, on the Irish Loop. I was a participant in a field trip as part of a conference I am attending this week.

The lichens were growing on the highest rock on the beach. It is because that is where the seagulls land. While standing on the rock, they defecate and provide nutrients for this specific species of lichen. The lichens in the first photo are about 1 inch long. To show you more detail, I cropped a small section.

These organisms live on bare rock in the harshest environments. They are very tough and resourceful in order to be able to survive. Many are also very colourful and make great photographic subjects. I have been photographing lichens for years and have photographed many species around the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Feet

Thanks for the comments on Spring in your part of the world. So far I have received 25 responses. I am compiling comments as well. In a couple of days, I'll send the final tally and comments.

Spring is ahead - 4, Spring is Normal - 5, Spring is Behind - 16

I am sending 2 photos of feet. The first was taken around 25 years ago when my youngest son was reading a book before going to bed. He was less than two years old at the time. I used colour slide film to capture the image, but converted to black and white. By focusing on the feet, the book was thrown out of focus.

The second was taken a few years back. I remember thinking that the foot covered by sand had little colour, but the pink nail polish stood out on two toes.

Leaves

Back to 2004 for my Photo of the Day again this morning. The photos were taken around 1:00 pm on May 22. As you can see, leaves had budded and were growing. This year, the leaves are just beginning to bud, and that's only after 4 days of fairly warm weather.

Yesterday one subscriber to this list suggested I poll members of this list to see if Spring is ahead or behind the norm. I thought it was a good idea so I am asking you to send me your location and whether you (or others in your area) believe spring is ahead or behind.

For example, yesterday a person from Calgary emailed and shared this comment.
...we've had dandelions for at least a month already here in Calgary....and for some reason...they are in abundance this year!!!!!

Another person from Conception Bay South emailed as well,
... we have 1 dandelion on our lawn.

And, one other,
... Spring is about 1 month early in Holland, maybe even a lttle more.

If you'd like to participate in my poll, just click on the link below and add you location. Thanks in advance.

Spring is Ahead in Spring is normal in Spring is Behind in

Dandelions

Today's photos were taken May 21, 2004. I wanted to check to see if Spring was ahead or behind this year. As soon as I saw the photos I realized how far behind we really are. I haven't seen a dandelion flower this year, but there were lots of dandelions and pansies all around this time two years ago. Alders were flowering along with many other species of trees.

The three photos this morning show the beauty of the dandelion. The bright yellow colours are cheerful. The second image shows a couple of insects; a small fly and, if you look closely, you can see a the tips of a spider's legs. The third one shows a close up of its reproductive parts. It is a little more gold than yellow because I zoomed closer where the colours are a little darker than the rest of the flower.

Chuckly Pear

I went for a walk in the woods behind my house yesterday and came face-to-face with a young moose. Unfortunately, I did not take my camera with me!!! It was unusual and I had to talk myself into leaving it home. I have walked up through the same area hundreds of times over the years, and have taken my camera 90% of the time. This was only the second time in 25 years that I have seen a moose while walking out there!

This morning I have chosen two photos taken this time last year. I went back through my files to see if we are behind because of the cold wet weather that we have been having for the past 5 or 6 weeks. I think the trees are definitely a week or two behind where they were last year.

I remember that I was walking nearly every day last May, but this year I have only had the opportunity to walk a few times because of the cold, wet weather. It's been warm this weekend - 19°C (68°F) so I am hoping that the trees will start to bud soon!

Trout River

Trout River is located on the southern boundary of Gros Morne National Park. I visited there on a beautiful day last August and took photos of the harbour and river. The fishing stages and wharves line the banks of the river, making for an interesting photography challenge.

Because of the layout of the community wharf it was difficult to photograph the buildings on the opposite side. I was able to change lenses and place myself in strategic, sometimes precarious, positions to avoid boats and/posts in the foreground.

The four photos were taken in sequence over a period of 1 minute (8:41 - 8:42 AM). To get the first two photos, I had to stand on the tips of my toes to shoot above the boats. For the last two I decided to photograph the same scene but this time leave boats in the foreground of each view. As a result, the boats have replaced the stages as the dominant subjects. By trying different angles and views, you will see that each one makes a different photo.

Louisiana Herons 3

This morning I am sending 3 more photos of a Louisiana heron feeding.

A few people yesterday commented on the reflections in the water. I cropped a few more images of a Louisiana Heron feeding as it flies across a canal. Each photo this morning has good reflections.

Even though it looks like its feet are in the water, it is really flying. I guess it uses it's feet to keep is balance as it sticks its head in the water as it flies.

Louisiana Heron 2

This morning I am sending 3 photos of a Louisiana heron feeding.

The first photo shows the heron as it started its feeding activity, the second photo shows it sticking its head in the water in mid-flight and the third shows it as it is just about to land on the opposite bank.

As I indicated yesterday, I captured many sequences like this with a variety of species of birds.

Louisiana Heron

I stopped by one canal in Citrus Park where there were many species of birds and a family of otters hunting side by side. The photos of the wood storks I sent yesterday were taken in the same area.

The Louisiana herons were interesting to watch. After it got comfortable with me being close by, this heron stood on the bank with neck outstretched. Then, in a flash, it would fly across the canal grabbing for food in mid-flight. The second photo shows how it actually immersed its head in the water while flying.

I took many other photos of the hunting techniques of the birds I saw there. No doubt, I'll share a few over the next while. :)

Wood Stork

Thanks for the comments on the brown pelican photos I sent yesterday. Today I am sending photos of the wood stork, another species that I photographed for the first time during my trip to Florida in April.

There had been a drought in the Bonita Springs area of Florida for several months and birds feed in the same few shallow canals. Most ponds had nearly dried up when I was there, so there were only a few places that birds could feed. In the first photo, there are 4 or 5 different species feeding in the shallow pool. The most predominant bird in this photo is the wood stork.

The second photo shows two storks feeding together and the third shows a single bird. They walk around with their open beaks in the water hoping to catch a fish. While I was there, one of the storks walked up on the bank and dropped a fish. As soon as the fish dropped out of its beak, the others made a mad rush to try to get it. There was a flurry of activity with wings flapping and the fish disappeared. I am not sure if the stork that caught it actually ate it!

The wood storks are fairly rare in this part of Florida, but there was a flock of twelve there for a couple of weeks in April. I photographed these birds a few times in different locations.

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelicans are excellent fliers. They soar through the air, sometimes barely moving their wings. I especially like watching them soar close to the surface of the ocean.

One day while walking on Bonita beach, I saw a lone pelican dive for a fish. As I approached it, I noticed that it would take off, fly a short distance, circle, then dive straight into the water with wings still outstretched. I know that birds are creatures of habit, so when I reached the bird I was waiting for it to follow the same pattern. I was not disappointed and photographed the pelican as it dove into the ocean for a meal of fish.

The three photos today show one of these sequences. I took photos as it dived, but had no idea what I was capturing because it happened so fast. Until I downloaded the photos from my camera, I wasn't sure if I captured the pelican or not.

Of course, I am also a creature of habit. I followed the pelican for a while and took many photos of the pelican's dives. I will make a new gallery and post them on my web site. It probably won't be for a couple of weeks because I am extremely busy.

Sunrise

The two sunrise photos this morning are similar, but different. I chose these two photos, taken one and a half minutes apart, to illustrate a point. If you look closely, you will see subtle changes in the cloud formations and changes in the light as the bright sun rises above the horizon.

You may have noticed that I like sharing sunrise photos, especially the recent ones that I took in Florida. There, I get up every morning and walk, or bicycle, as the sun rises. When I see a scene I like, I stop and photograph it. Many times I took over three hundred photos during my morning walk. No two sunrises are the same and the lighting in the early morning is excellent.

I recommend getting up early to view a sunrise to listen to the world awaken for a new day.

Flowering Tree

I saw a tree that was full of bright yellow flowers and wandered closer to get a better view. It was very interesting to see tree whose branches were completely full of flowers with few leaves visible. The lawn was also full of yellow petals from the flowers.

I made a vertical image in order to include the entire tree and show where it was located in relation to the houses. Then I zoomed in to show how the flowers grew on the tree. Finally, I wanted to show that petals fell off the flowers and nearly covered the lawn.

I am not sure of the type of tree.