In My Studio

 

The Autumn leaves are coming late this year. The few trees that are 'turning' are dropping too many leaves before they change colour. It may not be a great year for Fall photography. Yesterday I turned to my tried and true studio, my back yard, for some photos. Our Red Delicious tree is bearing fruit this year and there are quite a few apples that are not scabby and diseased as in other years. We ate one of the above apples and it was sweet, crisp, and juicy, just like an Okanagan apple.

 

The conditions were ideal yesterday, for a few choice mushrooms to pop up. I am intrigued by the underside of a fresh mushroom so that is what you get in this photo.

 

And then there are the Morning Glory blossoms, so fresh and magnificent every morning. A fresh batch of up to 20 blooms greets us as we open the blinds on the bedroom window. I think I have more photos of Morning Glory than any other flower except Tulips. These are very photogenic flowers and I never tire of trying to get a new angle or shed some unusual light on one or two of these.

 

They have no battery to power the light emanating from the center of the blossom, but it certainly looks that way.

 

Placing a bit of unfocused autumn colour in the background gives testament to the fact that these, for us, are Autumn flowers. The texture, shape, colour, design, clean lines, and delicacy are what make them such a marvel. The fact that they renew themselves every morning gives us a life lesson.

Rainbows

 

When holidaying in Oroville this past August, we were fortunate to have a variety of weather. It can often be hot hot hot for the whole week but this time we had a really mixed bag of weather. On three separate occasions we even had sunshine showers which can provide rainbows if the angles are right.

 

When photographing landscapes, I always use a polarizing screen on my lenses. This circular filter will eliminate reflections when turned the right way and the light is more or less 90 degrees to the angle of the shot. It makes sense, but I discovered, much to my surprise, that when the polarizer is at full effect, the rainbow totally disappears. The reason is because a rainbow is reflected light and the filter eliminates reflections. By turning the filter in the opposite direction, the rainbow suddenly appears. When it is at its most colourful, that is the time to press the shutter.  

 

Everybody loves a rainbow!

 

 

Ice Caves

 

That tiny glacier, or snow bank, in the distance became more intriguing as we approached it. There was an opening with a small stream pouring out from under the snow and as we followed the channel, we discovered the ice cave. Here is Liam and Keith, entering and as long as you could see the entry, Liam was OK with it.

 

Here you can see the look of apprehension as the water is dripping and it is bit darker back here. The wonderful blue green glow in the background is the light filtering through the ice.

 

The smooth, hard, gentle undulations of the surface were icy cold and wet, giving us a great relief from the outside temperature of 28 C. It was a mysterious and intriguing place to be as the water dripped and the branches of the cave spread outward.

 

Here is Nate in the back of the cave where it was very dark and only the camera flash gave light. The walls look pillowy soft but they were as hard as nails so we were not concerned about a cave-in.

 

Here are the boys exiting the cave and ending their most excellent adventure. We got wet and cold so welcomed the hot sun as we returned to the trail.

A Day At Baker

 

The weather this summer has been phenomenal and we realised that it will soon be back to dismal weather, so we decided to do  family outing. We skipped our usual Sunday morning church and attended services in the worlds most spectacular cathedral, Heather Meadows above the Mt. Baker ski area. I am not a world traveller, but I have been to a few places and this is by far the most spectacular place one can get to with relative ease. It had been many years since we last hiked here, and it was even more spectacular than we had remembered.

 

The scale is deceptive, until you start hiking into this bowl. In a few weeks this will be covered in snow and by next spring could be under 25 or more feet of snow and ice. Note the 'little' snow bank in the center of the photo because my next post will be about what we found there. It is not a little snow bank at all.

 

busylizzy enjoying the warm sunshine, invigoratingly fresh air, and spectacular views.

 

My three grandsons, Nathan, Liam, and Chad. It was so great to spend a day with them and enjoy together the sights and the trails.

 

Mid day picnic time in the alpine setting with chipmunks darting about for crumbs, the hot sun on our backs, and a home made blackberry pie. Can it get better?

 

Liam had been under the weather just the day before, having to spend part of the day in bed. He was totally recovered and hiked like a trooper, not once complaining about the length or steepness of the trails. What a fun kid! He will be 6 in a few days.

Next post, I will show you the bonus we found which was the highlight of our day.

Early Morning On The Lake

 

    The light is starting to filter into the dark bedroom and it is time to end a night of tossing and turning. The temperature dropped to 32 C by 3 am and now at 6 am it is down to 26 C. Stepping out onto the cooler deck, and then down to the water, is a relief from the hot bedroom and the drone of fans.
      With camera in hand, I indulge in my daily ritual of waiting for the sun to rise in anticipation of taking a unique photo.  It will take a while yet, so I go back to the kitchen and make a cup of coffee. It will be the coolest part of the day and coffee will not be so appealing later in the heat of the day.
      I make myself comfortable at the beach and wait. I watch and I listen and begin to realise that there is a lot going on at this early hour. There is only a breath of wind, hardly enough to break the calm demeanour of the surface of the lake. I am surprised to see the family of Mergansers swim past me without breaking their stride. They are not scooting forward with their heads under the water as they do some mornings, a strange and entertaining antic that these birds are known for.  They are swimming in perfect formation and eventually disappear around the other side of the boat.
      I am startled by a large fish jumping out of the water with a loud splash, not more than twenty feet away. He is one of the lucky ones who is still alive as the heat wave has taken a toll on the newly added sockeye salmon, leaving a half dozen dead ones on the beach by the end of each day.
     Out of the bay to the north I hear a ski boat. What a perfect time of day to water ski, with no wind, and calm smooth water! It is only one boat, and at a distance, so it does not disturb the peaceful morning as I thought it would. I patiently watch as the boat's wake slowly but surely makes its way toward my beach. As the rhythmic waves break onto shore, I am delighted to see the angle of the light casts diamond like reflections along one small stretch of shoreline.
     The light is getting stronger and I know from yesterday exactly where the sun will break over the eastern shore. There is little colour in the sky this morning which is surprising because of all the smoke from the forest fires to the south. It must have drifted away overnight.
     In the corner of my vision I see a Kingfisher land in the Willow tree to my right. These are very shy birds and as long he does not sense my presence, I may just get a photo. Before I can raise my camera, he darts out of the tree and like a rocket hits the water about 50 ft. out. He struggles to the surface after having gone right under, and flaps his way back to the tree. Again I slowly raise my camera. Again he rockets out of the tree and this time he comes up with  a two inch minnow in his beak. I can just see enough of him on his perch to see that he is struggling to angle the fish the right way so he can swallow it. And then down it goes. Seconds later, he is diving into the water again, and again comes up with a small fish. This time he flies off with the fish wiggling in the clutches of his beak, no doubt going to a nest where he will be breakfast for the youngsters.
   

     I did not get the photo but was rewarded with a rare experience, like when the big owl flew out of the night and onto our windsock pole only the previous evening. It was only a few feet from where we were sitting on the sundeck just after dark. We froze and I debated about getting my camera, but before I could make a move, he whispered off into the night as suddenly and as silently as he had come.
      And now the sun is just breaking over the mountain ridge, a slit of brilliant light throwing diffused rosy light to the underside of the scattered clouds above Anarchist Mountain. By now the resident Sparrow family is busy feeding its young and there is constant chirping. The quails are scurrying in and out of the hedge row, snatching a cool drink from the drip irrigation. A fisherman's boat has anchored not too far away and I hear muffled voices as they set up for another morning of fishing. In the distance I hear the chatter of a sprinkler system beginning its day's work.  And there is a faint barking of a dog, the sound of a motorcycle gearing down as it approaches the border station, and is that a baby I hear softly crying? The world of Oroville is waking and coming to life.
    The sun is now fully up and I can feel its heat already.  It will be another warm one unless those towering cumulus clouds in the south develop into a storm. We have no devices standing by on our vacations so I do not know the weather forecast, nor do I care to hear it. I am taking life one day at a time, and one hour at a time, savouring the moment, drinking in the beauty and the experience. The more deeply I can impress these images into my mind, the more vivid will be the memories in the coming dark winter months.
   Many before me have, and many after me will, experience these same pleasures. To observe, to really watch and listen, and then to remember, is a gift to treasure. Memories sustain us through difficult times as we transport ourselves back in time when all was peaceful, calm, and all was right in the world.

Belly Up

 

Over the last few years, Osoyoos Lake has been stocked with salmon. Apparently it has been a success as we witnessed almost daily the fishermen, a few hundred yards off our beach, hooting and hollering as they reeled in another one.

Unfortunately, the lake temperature is rather on the warm side and these fish get quite stressed as the this happens.

Every morning there were three or four of these otherwise healthy looking fish, about 14 inches long, floating dead on the beach. One could always see a half dozen off shore as well. The inland seagulls were overwhelmed and something they would usually relish, became too much of a good thing. They got picky and plucked the eyes out only, leaving the carcass to drift to shore. I buried many of them under the trees and every one was sightless, so to speak. Too bad, really, because they looked good enough to throw on the BBQ.

Beavers and Berries

 

We travel Highway 3 (Hope Princeton) quite often and I never tire of the variety and the beauty. We used to rush through it in the old days, but now I am rarely in a hurry and we love to stop at our favourite places, and occasionally a new spot. Just east of the Manning Park Lodge there is a road side attraction called Beaver Pond. It has been many years since we stopped and explored here. It is a small meadow that was flooded many years ago when the beavers decided to build a dam here. Not much changes over the years, but this time, in mid August mind you, we discovered a bumper crop of ripe succulent Saskatoon berries.

 

 

 

 

These berries are not all that uncommon in the interior, but by August they are usually done, with only dry raisons left on the branches. We ate our fill and were happy to have been rewarded with more than a Beaver Dam.

Super Moon of 2014

 

I had not had time recently to get out and do the thing I enjoy most, which is photography. I thought the Super Moon event would be a good chance to get some unique photos. The moon shots were taken on South Gladwin road just north of the Canada/US border. It is a nice vantage point.

 

 

 

The bad air gave the moon a very yellow/orange hue.

 

I was going to delete this photo but when busylizzy saw it she loved it. Is it worth keeping? She likes the glow in the window.

 

This is Mt. Baker from Gladwin Rd. just south of King Rd. This photo was taken only minutes before the moon broke over the ridge of the mountains just to the north of Mt. Baker. I jumped in the truck at that point and headed further south for the preceding photos.

 

 

Super Moon

 

I took one of my Grandsons with me to the High Street Mall on Saturday night to photograph the Super Moon that was hyped in the media. There were a few other photographers out with their iPhones and Tablets but none with any serious cameras.

We set up the tripod and fixed the settings on the Nikon and then waited. It was 20 minutes later than the night before but well worth the wait.

 

These next three photos show the slow progression, some zoomed in and others zoomed out.

 

At one point I just stood away from the camera and stood in awe of the moment, drinking in the warm night air and watching the moon visibly rise above the mountain ridge.

 

Next time I will try a different location, a bit closer and a bit further south to get the moon rising over Mt. Baker.

 

One last photo to share and that of the evening light kissing the glaciers of Mt. Baker before the moon made its appearance.  

Spring in the Valley

 

Only a few more days and all the trees will be a solid green. The winter look will be gone for another year.

Spring Runoff in the Rainforest

 

This is the final collection of over 250 images I took on our waterfall photo tour. It was not easy narrowing it down to the top ten, in fact I have eleven.

 

It is still surprisingly cold in the rainforest, yet the greenery is in full swing.

 

We visited three falls in close proximity to each other. Two of them we had to hike to, and the third was beside the narrow gravel road on the way to Silver Lake.

 

The water is in continual motion and using the slow shutter speed captures it in motion.

 

What a great day it was, and what a joy to take the experience home with us, and share it with you. We will re-visit these sites in the Fall when we can put some orange and yellow into the photo. I can hardly wait and I hope there will enough water cascading down the rocks to get photos like these.