July 26th - 29th July 2018
Location: Here & there in SW Onatrio
Weather: Generally hot & sunny, but a little rain in the last couple of days
| I'm not sure why I haven't got into macro during the summer in previous years - it is absolutely fascinating. Unfortunately I'm as "green as grass" when it comes to identification, and plan to purchase a couple of books to help me out, and to be able to learn a bit more. Anyways getting reasonably sharp images hasn't been too much trouble ... after all it's just applying the rules of photography and of course a bit of luck and a steady hand. |  Partridge Bug |
July 23rd - July 25th 2018
Location:
Weather: Sunny
Over the last few days I have been continuing my macro experiments. As I mentioned in a previous post macro isn't something I've had a lot of experience in, but as I "practice" it seems that I am getting a tad better at it - at least in my mind anyways . It's not always easy to find my subject creepy-crawlies, but again as I practice I'm also finding that subject matter is getting easier to locate.
July 22nd 2018
Location: Kitchener & Cambridge
Weather: Mix of rain, cloud and sun
Weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate today, so didn't travel too far, but still managed a couple of shots.
July 17th 2018
Location: Kitchener, ON
Weather: Continuing hot
As I mentioned in my previous post birds are somewhat difficult to find & photograph during this hot spell, so I dug out my almost unused Macro lens and did some bug shooting. Things are pretty dry in my yard, but I managed to find a few subjects to photograph. For the most part I used a 100mm Macro L-series lens with a couple of extension tubes to get a tad closer.
July 13th 2018
Location: In and around Kitchener
Weather: Hot, hot ... and did I mention - Hot!
Since getting back from northern Quebec, I have been staying not too far from home. Not that the trip had me zonked (which it did, if I'm honest) but this hot and exceedingly dry spell is making birds hard to find and getting them to cooperate is really tough. That combined with the bright highlights and very harsh shadows has been making good photography a definite challenge. Anyways .... I have a extremely good display of Trumpet Vines around my back garden and these have been a hummingbird magnet for the last several years. For some reason, and it could be the extended dry spell has some effect, that I'm getting very few hummers, and those that do show up are not staying around more than a few seconds. However .... you take what comes so over the last few days I have setup a camera and tried to capture one of their brief visits. The other bird is a Red-eyed Vireo that I found in a local woodlot - I love this image as it really shows the red eye
July 1st & 2nd 2018
Location: Perce, QC
Weather: Mix of everything - rain, cloud, bright sun, hot (26C) and cool (10C)
| Another bucket list item ticked off ..... It's been several years since I have seen and photographed Northern Gannets and one of the best known locations in Canada to find them is located at Perce in northern Quebec. Unfortunately for me this location is about a 19 hour drive from my home base in Kitchener Ontario, but over the weekend, along with a fellow (crazy) birder photographer, we made this mammoth drive. The Gannet colony is located just off the coast near Perce, on Bonaventure Island and on the Sunday we made the short Ferry crossing to the Island and the subsequent 5km hike over the Island to the Gannet colony. It was quite a haul, as the Island core is quite mountainous and for a seasoned guy like me (code for really old) it was somewhat arduous especially carrying full backback with super telephoto lens and other bits and pieces. The Gannet colony was large and, according to what I was told, counted approx 50,000 birds. The sight as I came through the tree line to view the birds for the first time was utterly jaw dropping - a sea of birds stretching all along the cliff top - just awesome! I spent the next couple of hours observing and photographing - alternating between closeup shots of the birds during their courtship ritual and then flight shots as they flew past and dropped down to land. Often they were |  Northern Gannets |
carrying clumps of grass in their beaks which was, as it appeared, nesting material and "gifts" for their partner. We had timed the trip to coincide with baby hatchings and many of the birds had what looked like a single chick. The hatchlings for the most part were hidden under the parent bird but periodically one would poke its head out below the parent, but was soon tucked back in by the adult bird.
The walk over the Island was also quite "birdy" with several Warbler and Sparrow species calling and flying to and fro. A nice bird for me was the Tennessee Warbler, of which there were several, but too cautious to come close for the photograph I would dearly have loved to have gotten. (although I did get a distant image)
On the mainland on the high vistas and forests there were also several songbirds making their presence known. Unfortunately for me my high end hearing is gone, but my friend mentioned that in the early morning the sounds were breathtaking with literally dozens and dozens of Warblers calling - it was like an orchestra, apparently.
Reminder: All images are click-able to go full size, and hovering over an image will display species or description
The walk over the Island was also quite "birdy" with several Warbler and Sparrow species calling and flying to and fro. A nice bird for me was the Tennessee Warbler, of which there were several, but too cautious to come close for the photograph I would dearly have loved to have gotten. (although I did get a distant image)
On the mainland on the high vistas and forests there were also several songbirds making their presence known. Unfortunately for me my high end hearing is gone, but my friend mentioned that in the early morning the sounds were breathtaking with literally dozens and dozens of Warblers calling - it was like an orchestra, apparently.
Reminder: All images are click-able to go full size, and hovering over an image will display species or description
