Houses

Today I have chosen a few more images of abandoned houses along the Viking Trail. As I stated in yesterday's post, I have photographed many old houses over the years and I know for certain that many of them no longer exist. I often wonder what stories the houses could tell if they could speak to us.

The house in the first image is quite large and looks as though it had been abandoned for quite a while. It is probably twice as large most of the typical two-story houses around the island. The house in the second image is more typical and had also been abandoned for quite a while. The design of the roof on the house in the fifth image is different than most I see during my travels. This building may have been used for storage when I made the photograph in 2004. The house in the last photo may not have been abandoned for long, in fact I wondered if it were still used from time to time because there was a footpath, which didn't seem to be used a lot, in the grasses and weeds that were growing right to the doors.

All of these houses overlook the ocean, which on a beautiful day must have been fabulous, but I suspect it got quite windy and cold during winter storms.

Viking Trail

The towns along the Viking Trail, which runs from Deer Lake to Southern Labrador, have been hit hard by the closure of the Northern Cod Fishery. There has been a steady out migration of people since the early 1990's, which has been very hard on the social and economic fabric of the area.

Today I chose images of buildings I photographed during my drive up the Viking Trail in 2004. The first two were taken in the town of L'Ance aux Meadows. I liked the freshly painted yellow boat in front of the red fishing stage. The large moose antlers on the building, a common sight along the Viking Trail, as well as the weather vane on the roof also added interest to the scene.

I usually photograph buildings that are in a state of disrepair everywhere I go because they will not be around for too long. The building in the third photo was leaning to one side and was boarded up. All the yellow hawkweed growing all around it added interest to the image. The cow parsnip growing in front of the door of the next building and the red siding falling off the third indicates that they haven't been used in a while.

Old Perlican

The Town of Old Perlican, one of the oldest settlements on the island of Newfoundland, is located on the Baccalieu Trail in Trinity Bay. When I last visited in August, 2003 the harbour was busy with fishing boats coming and going. I believe the fish plant was still operating then as well.

The fishing stages in the first image shows a large number of lobster pots stored on the stage head so I assume the lobster fishery was still quite active at the time. I included the fourth photo to show the lack of trees where the land is close to the shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. Though it was starting to clear up when I was there, I imagine the waters in the harbour are not always as calm as the day I visited. The last photo shows part of the town and the houses lining the shores of the wide harbour.

Reflections - Chapels Cove

This morning's photos were taken late one evening in Chapels Cove, Conception Bay. Yesterday I mentioned that early morning is a good time to make photos of reflections because the water is usually very calm before the winds pick up. Of, course, late evening, after winds die down, is also a good time for making this type of image.

These photos were taken looking across two different lakes in the town, each of which was very still allowing for mirror-like images. I also liked the quality of the light at that time of the day.

Reflections

Reflections

Over the years I have photographed Reflections and have a wide selection of images on that theme. In February I shared a few of those images and am sharing more today. I wonder how many of you find these images peaceful and quiet?

The first shows the Nicholsville Bridge in Deer Lake, which I think is gone now. To capture the Humber River when it was fairly smooth, I had to get up early before the wind picked up. That time of the day is excellent for making photos of reflections. After I took the photo of the bridge, I noticed the reflection os a car in a puddle of water on the shore and made the second image.

I made the next two images on a very overcast day in a small pond along one of the trails I walk in the woods behind my house. I zoomed in close and the reflections of the plants were silhouettes, which I found very interesting.

The reflection of the boat by a wharf in Red Bay, Labrador was nearly perfect. This is very unusual for the water in a harbour in the North Atlantic. Again, I was out very early in the morning before there was even the slightest breeze. It was a beautiful morning for photography.

Sailboats

This morning I decided to share photos of sailboats in Holyrood Harbour. The local marina is home to many sailboats and during the summer months there are races in which they, and people from other marinas compete. If I am near the harbour with my camera when sailboats are on the water, I usually take the time to make a few photographs.

The first photo shows four or five boats that were getting ready to line up for a race. These boats looked very close together and seemed to be going in all directions but the pilots were skillful and there were no collisions. I am amazed that they can control the sailboats so well when they are dependent on wind for power.

I have only been on a sailboat once and remember how quiet it was; the only sound was the wind blowing and flapping of the sails. It was an enjoyable boat ride, but it was a fairly calm day and I suspect it wouldn't be quite as peaceful if it had been much windier.

Icebergs

I just checked www.icebergfinder.com and there are a few icebergs in Notre Dame Bay and quite a few off the Great Northern Peninsula and Labrador. Hopefully a few will find their way to Conception Bay before they become grounded or are blown offshore.

The icebergs I am sharing today were located in Spaniard's Bay in 2003 and I was fortunate to have gotten out to photograph them on three or four occasions. What you see in the photos are three remaining pieces of one very large iceberg that remained there all summer.

If you have been on my list for any length of time, you know I enjoy photographing icebergs and have made images of every iceberg I have seen. My son Mark and I created a DVD of icebergs in 2005 which we offer for sale. http://www.lanephotography.com/photo_products/photo_products_02.htm

Sheep

There are many places on the island where one will find sheep grazing on the cliffs overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean. Today's photographs were taken in Upper Island Cove, Conception Bay.

While I was making the photographs I thought that these particular animals looked very healthy and could be a particular breed of sheep. I know Newfoundland and Labrador has its own unique specie of sheep, but have no idea if these animals are that particular specie or not.

These animals were grazing in a fenced area, but they had lots of space to move about. I liked the views with Conception Bay in the background because I normally associate sheep with farms rather than the ocean.

Another Moose

Our local newscasts and open line shows have been flooded with reports of moose on or near the highways all across the province. Most radio stations broadcast "moose alerts" that tell people where moose have been spotted and, since most people have cell phones, there are a lot. I saw a moose while driving on the highway at night (which I avoid as much as possible) last week and another the next morning. There have been several accidents and at least one fatality in recent weeks so please be careful if you are driving on the highways here, especially this time of the year when the mothers have driven young calves away and left them on their own.

I haven't seen the mother and yearling since I photographed them on May 4, but a couple of days ago a large bull wandered onto my property just as the sun was going down for the day. Of course, I grabbed my camera and approached it slowly. I think this is a different moose than the ones I have been photographing for over a year, because it wasn't as used to me as the others were. As I approached, it became nervous and started to move away. I followed it into the woods and it ran from me - the young bull I had been photographing used to approach me, rather than run away.

Gorilla 4

This is the last of my Gorilla series and I hope you have enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed making them. This was the only time I had seen gorillas at such close range and even though I was shooting through thick glass, I was still impressed with the final images.

I remember years ago, Jane Goodall filmed chimpanzees using reeds of grass to catch termites and said it was the first example of animals using "tools". In fact. it made scientists rethink how they viewed the intelligence of animals.

I saw the gorilla in the first image pick up a twig and use it to scratch itself. Another (shown in yesterday's photos) was tapping on a ball. I uploaded a couple of close-ups of its hands to my Blog. In several of the photos I have shared this week, the gorillas were looking at me as curiously as I looked at them.

The last photo shows a gorilla looking at me and almost smiling for the camera. It actually looks a little shy. :)