nature

Photo of the Day: Rivers gone wild

Specifically the Brunette River, which today started creeping over its banks in a few low-lying spots. I was out in the monsoon to get a little exercise and once I was thoroughly drenched, I no longer cared and just had (relative) fun with it.

I didn’t jump in any puddles, though.

This tree is not normally in the river

Photo of the day: Fall trail, Lower Hume Park

This is one of the trails that wends along the hillside in Lower Hume Park. I took the shot with my iPhone 12, then played around with the settings in Affinity Photo because I am all about manipulating reality. Also, the iPhone 12 has this tendency to make images much brighter than they appeared, almost as if Night Mode is stuck on all the time. It’s weird, but assuming it’s intentional, I suppose the logic is that it’s better to have slightly overexposed photos than ones that are too dark and will only bring shame to you when posted to social media.

Here are the settings I adjusted:

  • Exposure decreased
  • Brightness increased slightly
  • Contrast increased slightly
  • Shadows deepened slightly
  • Highlights brought out a bit
Fall trail

And here’s a comparison between the original and altered shot. The changes are subtle, but I think they improve the look and bring it closer to what I was eyeballing at the time.

Reifel Bird Sanctuary, May 1, 2021

The sun was out and the birds were in abundance.

Crowd restrictions meant we went surprisingly long stretches without seeing anyone else, so it felt very tranquil at times. Except for the constant honking of geese in the distance.

The gallery:

A trip to the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Nic and I went to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary on Saturday and I took a bunch of pictures with my iPhone 8…and my 12-year-old Canon Powershot SD1100. Why did I have my Canon digital camera with me? Because the battery on my iPhone has gone bonkers and barely lasts an hour. I also took a power bank with me and pretty much kept it tethered to the phone.

As a result, I have a lot of duplicate photos from both devices and the Canon held up quite well, given its age.

I also didn’t dress for the weather. I would have been fine, as it was clear and sunny and not too cold–around 8C–but once the wind picked up, I became jealous of the ducks and their down.

We didn’t see any snow geese, which was a bit of a bummer, but more reason to go back, especially since I now know to wear 15 layers.

Photos of the Day, Late Edition

These were taken over the past few days, but I was too lazy/indolent to post them right away.

Fun fact about the first shot: I used Pixelmator Photo on my iPad to remove an out of focus telephone wire from the sky. Yes, this image is not true to life.

But it looks nice.

These will probably grow into horribly sour crab apples or something. I’m not a fruitologist, so don’t quote me on that.

Delicious* Rowan berries!

* If eaten uncooked, the parasorbic acid will actually cause indigestion or, if you’re especially lucky, kidney damage. Per Wikipedia. (I didn’t sample any.)