Photography

Photos I’ve taken of scenery, interesting objects and other things.

A gray pipe on a sunny day

I saw this concrete pipe plunked down on the sand at Iona Beach on Saturday, and decided it was time for another addition to my black and white photo oeuvre1I used the High Contrast Blue Filter LUT in Pixelmator Photo to get the actual B&W effect. One day I’ll dip myself in black and white paint and do a gallery showing. In the meantime, enjoy!

(The full colour bird photos are coming soon™.)

More fun with liquids

Another top-down view of a glass of soda, this time shot on the kitchen counter with moody smart lighting.

I may be getting into abstract photography or something.

Photo quality reduced to 80% because WordPress was choking on it for reasons.

A few shots from Nitobe Memorial Garden

I went to a physiotherapy assessment at UBC today (more on that later) and afterwards Jeff and I ate lunch on a bench in the Nitobe Memorial Garden. It was sunny and warm, and the scenery was tranquil and beautiful as all get-out (sorry, I ain’t no poet).

A cute little waterfall:

And a pond near to our bench:

Birding May 22, 2023: Killdeer peeps and diving swallows

Where: Centennial Beach, Delta
Weather: Cloudy, 15C

The Outing

Nic and I headed out for the first time in three weeks, now that he is back in the Pacific time zone, in body, if not in mind. Alas, after two weeks of warm, summer-like weather, the clouds have returned. It actually wasn’t that cold overall, but the wind coming over the bay was a little chilly. Shorts weather, but without the chance of sunburn.

We did technically see two raptors, way up high–an eagle and what Merlin says was a northern harrier. I’ve never seen them fly in proximity before.

The birding turned out to be a bit better than expected, especially as we returned along the trails, with a goldfinch proving elusive, then somewhat more cooperative. All of my shots of it were poo. I did get one when it was up closer, but didn’t have time to properly focus. If it had sat still for two more seconds, I would have gotten a great shot.

I consoled myself by getting a bunch of shots of a positively adorable rabbit. While the first one dashed into the undergrowth before we could get any shots, the next proved suitably chill. And adorable. I’m going to assume there were about a thousand others we didn’t see, just out of sight.

I attempted to get some shots of diving swallows and managed a few that were surprisingly half-decent. Like, you can not just tell they’re swallows, you can see feathers and stuff. Neat!

Overall, it was nice to be back out. While better light would have been nice, at least we didn’t have to find the right spot to avoid the harsh glare of the sun. Yeah, that’s it!

The Shots

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Barn swallow
  • European starling
  • Goldfinch
  • House sparrow
  • Savannah sparrow
  • Spotted towhee
  • Tree swallow

Waterfowl:

  • Gadwall
  • Killdeer
  • Mallard

Common:

  • Crow
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle
  • Northern harrier

Non-birds:

  • Rabbits
  • Some bugs if you squinted or were a swallow

Time for another desperation photo

It’s getting late, and I realized I’d not taken a photo all day. Panic? Yes! But also, as usual, I used this as an opportunity to do something a little different.

I placed one of the drawing figures I have flat on the black mat my keyboard and mouse sit on, then adjusted the light levels for a touch more contrast. He looks like he’s chained to a wall, or maybe just glued to one. The light source is from my desk lamp.

It occurs to me that this is a great way to pose the figure without it toppling over all the time. Hmm.