Choosing the Best Tool for the Job

Over the past few years I haven’t used my macro lens much. Somehow it got sidelined. I didn’t think it was as sharp as my new shiny 100-400 zoom. And maybe it isn’t, but I've started using it again this year. For some reason I was struggling to get a sharp image of a Juniper Hairstreak butterfly. So I pulled out my old 180 macro lens to try and get something I liked. To my surprise it worked.

Juniper Hairstreak

I did end up getting sharp Hairstreak images with both lenses but it reminded me that for small things the 180mm macro is still a good choice.

The park across the road from us has lots of mushrooms and lichen to explore. It has been nice and damp lately. Perfect conditions for this kind of thing

Trumpet or Pixie Cup Lichen

Coprinus Fungus

Mushrooms on Log

Waxcap Mushrooms

The 180 works well when nothing is moving and I have time to set up with a tripod. Often I focus stack several images to increase the depth of field. Working very carefully, I can still get excellent results from this lens.

The 100-400 is the best choice if the subject is moving and I need fast autofocus. I can hand hold it and move very quickly with this setup.

Smooth Greensnake

Red Squirrel

Grey Squirrel

The 100-400 has become my most used lens for everything other than landscapes.

My 500 f4 lens is a big cumbersome thing however it gives that extra reach when needed.

Great Egret in Flight

Yellow Warbler

It is wonderful to have all of these tools at my disposal. Picking the right one for the job at hand comes with experience and anticipation.

Travelling Again

It has been 2 years since we were away for more than a weekend. It was exciting to load up the van and head out. We visited Lori’s mom on Manitoulin Island. It was wonderful to be able to go into her home and give her a hug.

Misery Bay Provincial Park, ON

Philadelphia Vireo

We spent three days on Manitoulin and then traveled up to Lake Superior Provincial Park. The weather was great. Not too cold or warm. The water was warm enough for extended swims and the trails were not too busy.

Lake Superior Waves

Sand River Beach, ON

While in Superior, our friends James and Li dropped by for a cup of tea on their way to Pukaskwa National Park.

I have spent so much time here over the years. I can’t count the number of times we have camped in the park. It never disappoints.

Baldhead River Falls, ON

Baldhead River Falls, ON

It was great to get away and great to get back home.

Longing for the Open Road

I’m getting a bit antsy. Our last big trip was 2016 when we drove to Yukon Territory. We were away for 3 months and drove to the Arctic Circle and back. It was a wonderful, productive trip. When we travel, we work everyday and are constantly moving, exploring and of course taking photos.

Termination Dust, Kluane, YT

Northern Lights, YT

Black Bear at BC-YT border

There is something to be said for sitting in one place and watching the seasons change. We have tried to make the best of this by shooting locally. But I still long for the open road.

Barn Swallow, ON

Yellow Warbler Male, ON

Male American Redstart, ON

Blanding’s Turtle, ON

Crystal Palace, Picton, ON

Sandbanks Provincial Park, ON

Every time I finish a long road trip I think ok, this is the last one. I’m done with this. And then, with time I start to think, maybe we could go to Newfoundland or Jasper in the fall. I haven’t dared start to plan a big trip during the pandemic. Hopefully we will be able to get away somewhere this year. It may not be out of the province but a change of scene would sure help perk up our spirits. This has been a long haul…

Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day. -- A.A. Milne

To lose patience is to lose the battle. -- Mahatma Gandhi

When you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. -- George Harrison

Spring Wanderings

We have been enjoying the trails around home. There are lots of things to discover. Wildflowers, birds and landscapes take up most of our time these days.

Sandbanks Provincial Park, ON

Picton Courthouse, ON

It always seems to be windy here. It makes shooting flowers a challenge.

Sharp-lobed Hepatica

Red Trillium in Snow

While we walked a trail, a woman told us she was seeing lots of salamanders. It took us awhile but we found a few as well.

Eastern Red-backed Salamander

Warblers are starting to move through. I found Ruby-Crowned Kinglets in the local graveyard.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

I didn’t get many shots of these frantic little birds. But I did have good luck with a Pileated Woodpecker.

Pileated Woodpecker Male

Pileated Woodpecker Male

It has been cold and wet the last week but we will keep walking the trails and see what we can find.

Life without a Schedule

When I worked as a college professor I had large blocks of time when I did not have a set schedule. True freedom is an open agenda. So I have had a lot of preparation for a pandemic! Boredom is my inspiration. When you let the tank empty you can fill it with whatever you want. These days I fill my days with music, art and literature.

Prince Edward Point Lighthouse, ON

My world is in many ways smaller lately but I’m able to watch the seasons change in one place. I’m able to know my backyard better than I ever have. There are so many worlds within worlds.

Surface Hoar Frost

When all this is over and we get back to life as it once was before masks and constant hand washing, what will you have learned about yourself and the world around you?

Snowy Owl

Mariners Park Museum Lighthouse

I have learned that I have just enough self motivation to keep me moving forward. I have just enough curiosity to keep me interested in the world around me without a timetable to get in the way.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Goodbye 2020...

Prince Edward Point, ON

What a year! A new house, a new town and a pandemic. Such mixed emotions. Still we are hopeful for a better year in 2021. Not that this year has been bad for us. We have been limited in where we could go and what we could do but we made the best of it. I’m so glad we moved when we did. Just in the nick of time.

I worked most days. There is so much to see here in Prince Edward County (PEC) and nearby area. Here are a few images that stand out to me.

Point Petre, PEC, ON

American Mink (PEC)

Gray Ratsnake (Frontenac Provincial Park)

Male Northern Bush Katydid (PEC)

Beaver (PEC)

Barred Owl (PEC)

Cardinal Flower (PEC)

All the best for the New Year and bring on the vaccine!

Working Close to Home

Ostrander Point

The world seems a little smaller these days. We are adjusting to our new reality. Sometimes limits can enhance creativity. Keith Richards once said about open G tuning on his 5-string Telecaster – “5 strings, 3 notes, 2 hands and 1 asshole”. One of the first songs he used this tuning on is the brilliant “Street Fighting Man” from Beggars Banquet. Limits sometimes create a box that forces you to work differently.

I love reducing images to black and white or at least monotone. About 7 years ago, I started using an aging process to “rough up” my images.

Old Shed

Vegetable Stand in the County

This process starts with a colour image. I convert it to black and white and add layers of texture and blur parts of the image. The result is a photo that looks damaged and worn.

Old Trucks

Nude in Nature

Sometimes I will leave a bit of colour.

Red Doors, Yellow Flowers

The resulting images become more of an illustration than photograph.

Tree in the Fog

Engine 1095, Kingston, ON

Steam Engine

With all that is going on in the world, I find I’m escaping into my own world of creativity. The world around us is as big as we make it, even if we are confined.