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Daily 2013

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Me, me, its MY turn!<br /> <br /> Baby barn swallows with mom. The babies are growing fast and I think they will leave the nest in the next 2 or 3 days. The male and female are both excellent parents and take turns feeding the babies.<br /> <br /> This was a challenging photo shoot today, because of the location of the nest. There was very low light under the deck and I needed a fast shutter speed, a long telephoto range AND a good depth of field! The only solution was to crank the ISO and use a flash.<br /> <br /> It was too difficult to choose between this shot and a shot where dad is bringing an insect to the babies, all of whom have their mouths wide open, so I've posted both today - sorry, if I've broken some unwritten rule :-}<br /> <br /> Self critique: I think the shot with the mom is technically better, but the shot with the dad has a higher awww factor, but the dad is a little out of focus. <br /> <br /> For individual portraits of the mom and dad see here: <a href="http://goo.gl/Up7eB">http://goo.gl/Up7eB</a>
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Me, me, its MY turn!

Baby barn swallows with mom. The babies are growing fast and I think they will leave the nest in the next 2 or 3 days. The male and female are both excellent parents and take turns feeding the babies.

This was a challenging photo shoot today, because of the location of the nest. There was very low light under the deck and I needed a fast shutter speed, a long telephoto range AND a good depth of field! The only solution was to crank the ISO and use a flash.

It was too difficult to choose between this shot and a shot where dad is bringing an insect to the babies, all of whom have their mouths wide open, so I've posted both today - sorry, if I've broken some unwritten rule :-}

Self critique: I think the shot with the mom is technically better, but the shot with the dad has a higher awww factor, but the dad is a little out of focus.

For individual portraits of the mom and dad see here: http://goo.gl/Up7eB

  • Very old graffiti!<br /> <br /> I've enjoyed the 'modern' graffiti that many of you have posted on this site in the past. I thought it would be interesting to post this example of ancient graffiti that I saw on the wall of the Sulamani temple in Bagan, Myanmar. It portrays a sailing ship with three anchors (two fore and one aft), that the artist likely saw in the harbour in Yangon (Rangoon). From the shape of the masts I think it was likely an East Indiaman, which plied the waters between England, the Cape of Good Hope, East India (Bombay), the West India ports of Madras and Calcutta, and China, between the 17th and 19th century. Yangon is just across the Bay of Bengal from the Indian ports and on the way to China.
  • Portrait of a young lion peeking out from behind a tree, Ngala, South Africa<br /> <br /> After not seeing any lions for several days, on the last day we found a huge pride of lions on the move though the thick bush. You could hear them all around, but only see them if they moved though a clearing.
  • Kazerne marshalling yard from the air, near Johannesburg, South Africa (best seen at the largest sizes)<br /> <br /> From your posts, I know that many of your are railroad buffs. I saw this gigantic rail yard from a small plane on the way to Johannesburg, returning from safari, and was captivated by the shape of the converging rails and the huge numbers of rail cars.
  • What is it?<br /> <br /> Took this photo today in the yard. Can you guess what it is? (an extra star as a prize for the 1st correct answer LOL).<br /> <br /> Update: This is a leek blossom (Allium ampeloprasum). Onions are a different species (Allium cepa)
  • Portrait of a woman bringing a flower offering to Sulamani Temple, Bagan, Myanmar
  • Wrought iron gate, Sulamani Temple, Bagan, Myanmar (best seen at larger sizes)<br /> <br /> As my talented photo friends in SmugMug know, it's fun playing with light and shadow. I was inside the Sulamani Temple and looked out to see a friend admiring this beautiful gate. There was a huge dynamic range to accommodate for the shot I wanted. I needed to capture the details of the gate and my friend in semi-silhouette, while not blowing the highlights and washing out the fine gate details against the overly bright sky. I underexposed by a couple of f-stops, knowing that I could retrieve some detail in the shadows from the RAW files in Photoshop, but that there was no way to recover detail from blown highlights. I also chose an aperture that resulted in the gate and my friend being in sharp focus, but the distant background unfocused so I didn't draw attention away from the gate....all within a second or two for this unposed spontaneous moment. <br /> <br /> In the days of film, I would have used a neutral density filter to hold back the highlights, but at the expense of losing some of the light in the top part of the arch, which would have unbalanced the photo.
  • Me, me, its MY turn!<br /> <br /> Baby barn swallows with mom. The babies are growing fast and I think they will leave the nest in the next 2 or 3 days. The male and female are both excellent parents and take turns feeding the babies.<br /> <br /> This was a challenging photo shoot today, because of the location of the nest. There was very low light under the deck and I needed a fast shutter speed, a long telephoto range AND a good depth of field! The only solution was to crank the ISO and use a flash.<br /> <br /> It was too difficult to choose between this shot and a shot where dad is bringing an insect to the babies, all of whom have their mouths wide open, so I've posted both today - sorry, if I've broken some unwritten rule :-}<br /> <br /> Self critique: I think the shot with the mom is technically better, but the shot with the dad has a higher awww factor, but the dad is a little out of focus. <br /> <br /> For individual portraits of the mom and dad see here: <a href="http://goo.gl/Up7eB">http://goo.gl/Up7eB</a>
  • The four sopranos! <br /> <br /> Lucky capture of all four babies in full throat with dad bringing a nice tasty bug. Their eyes are wide open now and they are developing pin feathers.<br /> <br /> This was a challenging photo shoot today, because of the location of the nest. There was very low light under the deck and I needed a fast shutter speed, a long telephoto range AND a good depth of field! The only solution was to crank the ISO and use a flash.
  • Praying woman, Sulamani temple, Bagan, Myanmar<br /> <br /> As soon as I saw this woman kneeling on the temple floor in her colourful robes, before a statue of Buddha, I knew that it would make a great photo. She was outlined from behind by the light coming in from the temple door and her shadow was projected in front of her. There were some remains of frescoes on the wall behind her and the stones had a lovely warm colour. The natural quality of the light, her pose, and the colour palette just captivated my attention. I can only hope that I did it justice!
  • Happy 4th of July!
  • Oxen (Bos indicus) plowing field, Bagan, Myanmar<br /> <br /> These gentle, beautiful oxen are the main means of ploughing fields, and they also haul carts full of produce and other goods. They are commonly seen throughout Myanmar and I always enjoyed seeing them.
  • Baby barn swallows singing 'Oh Canada' (the English version). June 30, 2013.<br /> <br /> Happy Canada Day! (Since Canada is officially bilingual, it is customary to sing our national anthem in both official languages). <br /> <br /> These barn swallows used to build their nest at my neighbours house. When she moved, the spring that she left they moved over to my house, and now they build their nest under my back porch. I like to think that this is the same family of swallows that got used to living with humans at the neighbours. They have been excellent at keeping my back yard insect free and can be seen every day swooping around the yard 'cleaning up'. These babies were hatched only 2 or 3 days ago. There are actually 4 chicks, but one refused to participate.
  • Spectacular sunset with temples, Bagan, Myanmar<br /> <br /> Which one would you have chosen?
  • Stupa with full moon, Bagan, Myanmar<br /> <br /> I find it difficult to capture the wonderful light you get in the sky with a full moon and clouds. The dynamic range is huge, and our eye can accommodate this, but the camera cannot. This one was taken after sunset when there was still a little light in the sky. It is 'as shot', except that, in the next frame, I stopped down the f-stop to expose for the moon and then in Photoshop replaced the blown-out moon in this frame, trying for a natural look. Critiques and comments welcome!
  • Fisherman and outrigger near Kitava Island, Trobriand Islands, PNG (details best seen at larger sizes)<br /> <br /> This scene is from a small uninhabited island near Kitava Island. A local man had his outrigger drawn up on the beach and was standing in the beautiful turquoise water enthusiastically waving at us with his spear gun in his hand. I think the photo speaks to the idyllic life style of the islanders, who lead a simple subsistance life style with few modern conveniences. He was probably trying to catch a few fish for his small family that are barely visible in the shade of the tree behind the outrigger.
  • Lioness with wound on face, Ngala, South Africa<br /> <br /> Several times I have mentioned that zoo animals look so well groomed compared to animals in the wild. This lioness was a member of a large pride of lions, and appears to have been kicked in the face, maybe by an impala or zebra. The wound appeared clean and to be healing nicely, and she was otherwise in good shape, although not pretty to look at.
  • Spirit bear coming down to the river to fish for salmon, Princess Royal Island, BC<br /> <br /> Today's post is a spirit bear seen in the context of the environment that it lives in.
  • An unusual pet!<br /> <br /> Portrait of a 'pet' coconut crab. Port Vila, Vanuatu (Andy is right, they are also called 'robber crabs')<br /> <br /> The coconut crab is the largest land-living arthopod in the world. They are eaten by the locals and are considered to be a delicacy and an aphrodisiac. In some areas they have gone extinct due to human predation. They can weight up to 9 pounds, and there are reports of some people keeping them as pets. But they can give a painful pinch with their large claws and to get them to let go you have to tickle their abdomen with something soft - how's that for an interesting bit of trivia LOL.
  • Spirit bear on kelp bed, marked with salmon blood from a recent feed, Princess Royal Island, BC<br /> <br /> We didn't see any spirit bears on our recent trip, so these are photos from my archives. These rare bears are much easier to see in the fall when they congregate on the salmon rivers to gorge before their winter hibernation.<br /> <br /> The Kermode Bear (Ursus americanus kermodei) is called the spirit bear by the native tribes of the area, who have long revered and protected the bear and its habitat. It is a rare subspecies of the black bear that lives on Princess Royal Island and a small adjacent area, with a population of around 400 animals. It is not an albino bear, nor is it related to the polar bear. It has a cream-coloured coat due to a recessive allele that is present in around 10% of black bears in the area, so it is not unusual to see a black bear with one brown and one white cub, or even two white cubs. <br /> Because of their spirit-like appearance, spirit bears hold a prominent place in the oral stories of the Canadian First Nations, where they are called mooksgm'ol. Interestingly, white bears are around 30% more effective at catching salmon than black bears as their light colour makes them less visible to the fish. The bear's habitat is another one that is potentially under threat from the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, whose planned route passes near the Great Bear Rainforest. The Gitga’at, Tsimshian and other native groups are opposing the pipeline.
  • Bonaparte gull, early morning, Rescue Bay, BC<br /> <br /> This is a new species of gull for me (meaning just that I didn't know about them before I saw these; they are quite common in the area). I was out in a small row boat in the early morning, and found that the birds didn't spook very easily if I went upwind of them and just drifted down on them like a piece of driftwood. I liked the branches extending into the fame and the reflections of the forest in the water

  • nelli

    on July 7, 2013

    Awww you are so lucky to have them. Your family is beautiful!

  • Gene Hyder

    on July 7, 2013

    Terrific shot. This is the best shot of two great shots.

  • fotoeffects

    on July 7, 2013

    I think you made the right choice; this is the better shot, technically, but there is something about all those little open mouths that creates an immediate connection with the viewer.

  • Donna McCommon

    on July 6, 2013

    Another good one.

  • DanThompson

    on July 6, 2013

    Nice shot in tight quarters. Dad looks a little confused by the flash.

  • Lgood

    on July 6, 2013

    I like both shots, but I think the "Dad" photo is my favorite.

  • kjakes1

    on July 6, 2013

    Sweet capture! Love both shots.

  • brickroadphoto

    on July 6, 2013

    Both shots are great, I am glad you posted both of them. I am partial to the "sopranos" version, hard to pass up the awww factor, and of course the caption was perfect!

  • Art Hill

    on July 6, 2013

    This is marvelous but you're right, you can't beat the other shot. Nobody notices that the dad is a little out of focus. :-)

  • keyphoto

    on July 6, 2013

    Very nice.

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