July 31st 2023
| LOCATION: Dundas | WEATHER: Mild, with some sun, cloud and some rain too |
Headed out this morning with a target in mind ... I really wanted to see and photograph a Marsh Wren. I knew of a couple of ponds in the Brantford area that are known to host at least one of these little beauties, but after a bit of time I was coming up empty handed, so on impulse I headed to Urquhart Butterfly Gardens in Dundas to see if I could get a few decent macro shots. It was the first time this year going there and I wasn't disappointed, as there were several interesting species hanging out in this awesome wild garden location next to the Desjardins Canal in Dundas. A bonus was seeing a couple of Black crowned Night Herons along the Canal a bit.
** As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title
July 22nd - July 30th 2023
| LOCATION: Misc places within 25km of KW | WEATHER: Varied, but mainly sunny |
Back to taking a few images after a break of over a week to work on a home project, All these shots were fairly close to home and mainly found and photographed in the mornings.
The Milk Snake images was the exception to the location description. Interesting story - a photography friend actually found the snake in her back yard, and was able to capture it. So with that friend a couple of other friends, we did a couple of setups using the mossy log. The snake was quite cooperative and so we were all able to get some pretty good shots. After we were finished with the photographs the snake was released in the exact same spot it was found, and apparently none the worse for its day in the limelight.
The Milk Snake images was the exception to the location description. Interesting story - a photography friend actually found the snake in her back yard, and was able to capture it. So with that friend a couple of other friends, we did a couple of setups using the mossy log. The snake was quite cooperative and so we were all able to get some pretty good shots. After we were finished with the photographs the snake was released in the exact same spot it was found, and apparently none the worse for its day in the limelight.
July 11th & 12th 2023
| LOCATION: Cambridge area | WEATHER: Cannot remember :) |
With lots going on and with me procrastinating, I have had little time to keep the blog up to date, so just a few images, but all from the dates mentioned.
July 9th & 10th 2023
| LOCATION: Generally in the North Dumfries area. | WEATHER: Continuing sun |
Day1 - Started out along the gravel road near Blair and was delighted to find several Grasshopper Sparrows, Strangely this was the first one I had seen in this area this year, and ended up seeing a total of 5 birds ... ??
On Day2 my target was to find and photograph a Marsh Wren ... I did eventually find a local pond where one was calling and after a bit of a wait one popped up, but I wasn't quick enough for a good shot (I did get a bad shot though)
On Day2 my target was to find and photograph a Marsh Wren ... I did eventually find a local pond where one was calling and after a bit of a wait one popped up, but I wasn't quick enough for a good shot (I did get a bad shot though)
July 8th 2023
| LOCATION: Huron Natural Area | WEATHER: Sunny and a bit hot |
Headed back to the Huron Natural Area to see if we could get a few shots of the semi resident Red-headed Woodpecker. Although we saw it it a few times - it didn't sit around long enough for a shot :(
On the plus side there were a few other species around top make up for missing out on the Red-headed
On the plus side there were a few other species around top make up for missing out on the Red-headed
July 5th, 6th & 7th 2023
| LOCATION: Whistlebear Road & North Dumfries | WEATHER: Sun and cloud, and warm |
With my opportunities diminishing almost daily for decent bird sighting, I find myself staying close to home (no point in travelling too far), but still the odd sighting that was worth shooting .. especially the Brown Thrasher.
A few Dragonflies and other misc bugs around, and for the most part I capture them and bring them home to photograph in my home bug "studio". Generally I do a setup and position the bugs to suit my mood.
A few Dragonflies and other misc bugs around, and for the most part I capture them and bring them home to photograph in my home bug "studio". Generally I do a setup and position the bugs to suit my mood.
July 2nd - July 4th 2023
| LOCATION: In and around Kitchener | WEATHER: n/a |
Now that migration is well and truly over, and songbirds are getting quite hard to find, I, as I do every year, flip to shooting more macro than birds (although I do keep looking when I am out and about for interesting birds.
Probably about 75% of my macro shots are focus stacked - this allows me to capture massive depth of field, as you can see from the images below. I plan to add a Focus Stacking How to in my menu item "How To" in the coming week or so, so stay tuned :)
Probably about 75% of my macro shots are focus stacked - this allows me to capture massive depth of field, as you can see from the images below. I plan to add a Focus Stacking How to in my menu item "How To" in the coming week or so, so stay tuned :)
** As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title"
