Ocean Birds ~ The Sea Gulls

Sea Gulls....you either love them or hate them. Like the Pigeon they do make allot of mess! One thing that the Sea Gull has over the Pigeon though is it's strong history especially for sailors in the days where navigational systems didn't exist. To see a sea gull out at sea was a huge life line letting the sailors know that land was very close at hand. I know if I was a sailor back then seeing a sea gull would be like seeing God I think....the feeling of thank God!!! Land is just over this horizon. Sea Gulls are also a protected bird for those of you who don't know. So killing a Sea Gull would put you in a bad light according to the laws in place to protect them. I personally like Sea Gulls I love the way they communicate with each other at times they can be loud, but so can we. For me they represent water and what we rely from water, and oceans. For food, new and upcoming uses for Hydro Power generated from waves coming into our harbours...so much that I couldn't possibly post it all one one small post today. I'm sure all of you could in some way contribute to this post about how much we rely on water...but really today it's about the Sea Gull!! Beautiful birds indeed over a very large period of time. Happy Monday Everyone!!

Sidney's New Discovery Center ~ A Series of Under Water Ocean Images~ Part 2 Invertebrates and Fish

Happy Sunday everyone. Today here in Victoria we are having a fabulous day. Nice and sunny you can't get any better than that! I managed to get out for a walk today and got some great pictures...lots of editing on the horizon for me. My favorite part. Ahhhh I'm getting off track as usual...so this is the next half of Sidney's Discovery Center. Lots of Invertebrates in these snaps, sorry everyone the fish except for the one I posted today were all too fast moving and I couldn't capture a clear crisp shot of them, which is too bad because there was one female fish and she was giving birth at the time to a baby! Little did I know that some fish give live birth just like we do.... I was truly amazed.

This image below is a Sea Cucumber...very cool. It was cleaning the glass and I was amazed at what the inside of it's mouth looked like. Click onto the image to get a larger image....it's mouth is truly awsome inside.

Sidney's New Discovery Center ~ A Series of Under Water Ocean Images~ Part 1 Invertebrates

Hello everyone and sorry for the delayed post, but I had a project in mind. Sidney has just recently opened a New Discovery Center and this exciting new exhibit features the species that live in our ocean that surrounds our Island! So I thought I would take the opportunity and check it out and was I impressed....There were examples of all kinds of life and I had no idea just how beautiful it is under the water. I'm now thinking I should take a Scuba Diving Course next summer...I would love to see these wonderful creatures up close it would be a very wonderful experience to be able to swim with and explore the ocean. To be able to witness it's abundance of life. Today's post is all the invertebrates....look at the variety you have with this one type of animal in the sea. From Jelly Fish to Sea anemones!! Simply delicate and beautiful...Wow

Fabulous Fruit Fridays!!! ~ Papaya's N Mirrors

The Papaya!! What a beautiful fruit...not only does it taste great but look inside. The seeds are soft perfect for the tropical areas it comes from. Ready to germinate when spread by wild animals....Today I wanted to try a different way of presenting this fruit, so I took my big mirror outside and tried to get some unique shots. Anyone can put fruit on a counter and take a shot...but I wanted a little bit more. Happy Friday Everyone :)

This Morning Bright N Happy Snaps!! A This and That Kinda Day

Well now that my dreamy water series is complete, I thought some nice bright colors would be a nice post for today. From summer grasses to flowers.... a this and that kinda day! The work week is almost done and time just flies by doesn't it. Wow...but in a way I like it like that...I'm not one to sit around looking for things to do. Instead I'm a person who squeezed every minute out of my day...and even on a good day I could use just a few more minutes to finish things off. Go figure not enough minutes in a day, I never thought I would ever say that. :) Have a wonderful day everyone.

Goldstream Park ~ Part 2 Capturing Moving Water Dreamy Style

Welcome to part two!! Now this little series was the hardest part of my photography challenge. I have seen and worshiped this style of photography where your water looks smooth and dreamy. Not an easy project let me tell you. I have a tripod but it's definitely not a high end one. It's made of light aluminum and the slightest movement causes the tripod to shake. Not something you want to happen while taking these types of shots. I would like to give a big hug and thank you to Claudio, he emailed the details on how to achieve this look. My first day out was unsuccessful...every image was blurry from the slight movement when I pushed the shutter. So I came home and Googled techniques on how to decrease the wiggle problems I was having with my tripod. So the second day I went out I was very successful. Apparently if you take a large breath in then as you release your breath you push the shutter button at the same time...that movement is smooth and you get no vibrations through your tripod causing a crisp and clear shot!!! It must have looked very funny to see a tall woman with a camera and tripod doing deep breathing while taking pictures...but I must say it works very very well. Note when doing dreamy water pictures your shutter speed is extremely high thus the reason for the tripod tool.

Goldstream Park ~ Part 1 Senic shots

Goodmorning everyone!! Well this morning I wasn't about to give up all the goods with the Goldstream post. I had such a lovely collection of pictures that I thought I would post images in fazes. First I wanted to give you a glimpse of how beautiful Goldstream park is. Allot of families go out for picnics, hikes, walks and they love the Nature house where the children can go and listen to a story about nature. Very popular area. My shots though are not of the populated areas, I tend to hike into a world all it's own to show how tranquil things really are and can be. These shots are from different locations of the stream itself. During our rainy season these banks flood and are quickly filled with spawning salmon...which attracts all kinds of wild life including the Bald Eagle...I'm going to go out when this happens to try and capture this wonderful event, even though the smell is something to be desired. The Bald Eagles actually will sit on a dead fish and will stay there while they eat...which as you know is a great opportunity to get that wonderful shot!!

I Stand Alone N Delicate ~ Happy Monday

Ahhh Monday the beginning of a new week. I thought this wee plant kinda represented a Monday Morning. It was all alone in a Field....which was funny simply because the grass had been cut and here this plant was all alone...beautiful actually...so I took a quick snap. I like this image kinda soft. Sorry for only the one image...I started another photo project this weekend and I will be doing a series on Goldstream Park for all of you to see this week. I decided that before the rains and the spawning salmon come and ruin the atmosphere there. That I would get out there and finally practice my moving water shots. I had to give it a few goes before I managed to get some decent shots...Wow I had no idea that getting a dreamy water image was that hard.....but yes it is. I'm sure all of you will be pleased with the results. Tonight will be a large editing night for me....to get a few images ready for tomorrow. I enjoy this part the most with photography...pulling out the good images and dumping the ones that just didn't make the cut. Anyway have a wonderful day everyone.

The Depletion Of Chlorophyll ~ Fall Leaves

Well I didn't do much yesterday...well let me rephrase that I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. But on one of my walks I did notice that the leaves on the trees are definitely turning color. Plants are fabulous don't you think? When they start getting ready to bed down for the winter their leaves loose their Chlorophyll which gives them their green color...then a miracle happens and their true colors shine through...I think it's fantastic. It's like the tree or plant are going to sleep with style. I wish I looked that good before going to bed LOL...I certainly don't look good when I wake up with Chicken hair!!!! Have you ever seen a plant wake up with Chicken hair ...no way not today. :) Happy Sunday Everyone

Kreativ Blogger Award !!! Wow three times given

Wow I have just had the honor of receiving the Kreativ Blogger Award for a third time!!! Thank you WEST COUNTRY BIRDING AND WILDLIFE DIARY ~ http://westcountrybirdingandwildlifediary.blogspot.com/ The first time I did the work required of the award. The second time well I hadn't had the resources to award 7 new blogs. But I have expanded my reading to new blogs and I now have 7 new blogs that I faithfully follow and would like to pass this award off too.

But for those of you who are now new to my blog and are following me I guess you would like to know 7 things about myself...yes that is part of the award to let your readers know a few things about yourself 7 to be exact!! So here it goes:

1. I love Chocolate...I can smell it from at least 6 blocks away.

2. Photography is a passion for me I love it fully

3. I have three children Ages 12, 11 and 10 Yes they do keep me busy!!

4. I'm a warm compassionate person, who has a large shoulder and ear to cry on (So I have been told)

5. I'm Irish and Icelandic and English. I'm also Third Generation Canadian.

6. I love to travel and would like to do more of that as my children grow up and leave home.

7. I love to Hike, Garden, take very long walks, swim and stalk wild life whenever I can.

Now the 7 blogs that I would like to award. Usually with the 7 nominated blogs you would give a brief description about the blog. But in this case I would like all of you to go and check them out for yourselves see if you like them too. If you do follow them, some are just bran new and would love to have you follow their progress...help the new ones they have fabulous things to see and read!!

1. A Photographic Journey ~ http://carolmattinglyphotography.blogspot.com/

2. BrainWorker's Photo Gallery ~ http://brainworker-photo-gallery.blogspot.com/

3. Claudio G. photo's blog ~ http://gcphotoblog.blogspot.com/

4. Daily Discovery photos ~ http://www.daily-discovery-photos.com/

5. Lizzy's Photos ~ http://frizzfrockphotos.blogspot.com/

6. Things about Who, What, When, Where and Why ~ http://thingsaboutwhowhatwhenwhereandwhy.blogspot.com/

7. Faith, Fabric and Photos ~ http://faithfabricandphotos.blogspot.com/

Thanks and have fun everyone!! :)

Fabulous Fruit Fridays!!! ~ Cherries N Water

Morning everyone!! Happy Fabulous Fruit Friday!! Todays feature Cherries....

The Dazzeling Dynamic Dahlia!!

My post this morning...because I'm simply just not awake enough to connect my thoughts yet is simple. I'm so NOT a MORNING PERSON...thank GOD I have only one more shift to wake up early for..Yay :)

The Ocean Is Not Only A Food Supply...But

Yesterday after dinner my Husband and I went down to the ocean....and the light was perfect. Not to bright just right coming to dusk actually....the best light to work with. So what really grabbed my interest was the activity on the water. All the little Sea Cadets were out there with their adult partner learning to sail. It was very beautiful to watch as they practiced their maneuvers on the water....there was alot of nice wind last night. The whole evening was perfect fort them. Not only did I notice the sail boats...but I managed to capture a crow enjoying the beach. I have found photographing crows a bit of a challenge...if you don't have good light it really washed out their feathers and you picture is ruined. But finally I thing I have a decent shot of one....and enjoying the beach no less.. :)

Our LOVE/HATE Relationship With Pigeons

Ahhh the Pigeon....We sure don't like them...they make their nests and homes in our tall buildings and their waste is something to be desired. Some of us have gone out and bought fake Owls that we attach to our balconies, roofs and anywhere they might see them in hopes that they will stay away. I feel sorry for them though...as we keep building homes and taking more and more land away what choices are we giving wildlife? Where are they going to nest? Take the Barn Swallow for an example they love to nest in old barns, car ports, sheds...why because it's better than a tree that's open to the rain right? Their nests are mainly made of mud so why not utilize what we have put up...yep a dry place to raise children....I would choose that wouldn't you? Even though Pigeons are considered dirty, and simply a pain in the butt....I love them. I love the colors of their feathers, the noises they make and the way they walk. I think these birds are beautiful....

Ducks Can Really Live It Up!!

Well I did it I managed to get everything done on the weekend that I wanted to get done. Wow too much work....the boys when they get home are going to have a heart attack for sure. Their room is clean, de-junked and organized just in time for school, won't they be happy! (NOT) Oh well I'm happy so that should count for something right? Luckily I managed to get out for a bit yesterday. I jumped onto my scooter and away I went down to the break water to see if I could spot anything exciting. What luck I did...but I don't know if three little ducks in a row napping is exciting or not, but I was sure able to get really really close. So close I could have put one in my pocket and taken it home. In the picture above I just marvel at how they can sleep while on one leg without falling over, I think that is amazing all in itself don't you.

This litte beauty let me get right up to her.....look at the details in her feathers and the lovely colors on the top of her head when the sun hits her just right. Love this shot.