Goldstream Park Part 2 ~ The Sands Of Time

Time what a precious commodity...like sand in an hour glass it just slips through your fingers so fast that you can't believe that it has slipped by you. I'm finding that now that I'm working two jobs...good intentions end up being put on the shelf for later. I've started a new job at the hospital I now work 8-1600 Monday to Friday, I'm in my second week there and I'm defiantly going through brain melt...it should subside soon though as things are starting to click in my brain with working between two data bases and 8 Excel spread sheets!!! Where I input data from one system into another. Wow!!!! allot to learn...but I've always been up to the challenge...just exhausting that's for sure. So since my new job is 90% Computer work now coming home and sitting in front of another one has not been a motivator for me that's for sure. For my post today I have finished my day at Goldstream for you...with I believe some lovely pictures of song sparrows and some scenic shots I hope you enjoy them.

Happy Thanksgiving ~ Rose By Candle Light N Mirrors

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! From my home to yours I hope that you are enjoying this holiday day. I wanted to try something new and interesting for my Holiday Post today. Experimented with some candles and Mirrors to get a different effect for a flower shot. I hope all of you enjoy these pictures. I'm heading out now to enjoy the day and when I get home I will be putting our Turkey in the oven....love turkey a rich meal indeed but worth it. Not only the meal but what the left overs offer in return. Turkey Soup, Sandwiches yummmm.... Have a wonderful day!!!

The Last Of The Summer Flowers

Victoria B.C has been very blessed this year...we are deep into fall yet our temp has reach highs of 19-20 degrees still even in October. So it has prolonged the life of our summer flowers by about two months. My hanging baskets are still in full bloom and my roses are now on their third set of flowers after trimming them back. We still haven't had our first frost and the temp has only gone down to 6 at night. For those of you who are getting snow now...sorry to hear that...so here are some lovely summer flowers for you to see. Don't worry our winter will come...just later than yours if your season now is winter. I know that in Africa and Australia they are currently in spring and should be seeing their spring flowers now. Have a wonderful day everyone.

Dew Drops Part 2 ~ The Dynamic Dandelion

Well I'm very pleased with the results of my Spider's Web pictures. Thank you everyone they definitely look like the spiders during the night decked out their webs with special jewels!!! You can only see them if you get up early enough in the morning to catch the decor. Well for my follow up encore of the same them......right within the same location actually I took these shots. I at first just zoomed in to see if the detailing of the dew would even be visible to see... or if you just had a soaking wet Dandelion. WELL to my amazement you could actually see every individual dew drop. I was totally stunned and awed with the beauty in what I was seeing again through the lens of my camera. I have to tell you I just love my camera it's like my third eye into a world I would never ever see or notice. If I was just going for a walk without my camera I would have never ever have notice this.

Fabulous Fruit Friday ~ Fall Apples Harvest Time

There is nothing more appealing to me than coming across an Apple Orchard in the fall. Looking at these trees reminded me of my Grandma and Grandpa. They had 5 apple trees in their yard when I was growing up. Fall time was time to make apple sauce, apple pies, apple dumplings and apple crisp. Ahhhhhhhhh the smell was a piece of heaven......I will never forget the way my Grandma's house smelled during September. I simply loved going there and licking whatever bowl was offered to me. :)

Managed To Fit In A Walk Between The Drops ~ Part 2

I'm posting the second half of my walk....I tend to notice the smaller things the simple things that seem to make me happy. Doesn't take much does it? But does something need to be large to make us happy....I figured out long ago that Grandma was right it truly is the small and simple things in life that make us happy or what you make of life makes you happy. One or the other are strong and true statements. Take your time and you will see nature reflected back at you in these lovely drops. In the leaf in particular you can see the reflection of a tree turning color. Have a wonderful day :)

Fabulous Fruit Fridays!!! ~ B.C's Native Plants The Oregon Grape

Ahhhhh another Fabulous Friday has come upon us...Wow time just flies doesn't it. I know I can't keep up. Today is about our Native plants here in B.C. This plant is called Oregon Grape and these berries are very edible and were a main source of food for our Native Indians that lined our coastal waters and interiors of BC. These wonderful berries were dried and eaten throughout the winter months and where a valuable part of the Native Indian diet. If you ever get a chance to come to Victoria B.C we have a wonderful Museum. They feature a very large section about our Native Indians and how they lived a long time ago. Not only featuring the foods they ate but the wonderful talent they have at carving. They could create a canoe out of one large cedar tree...I believe it's referred to as a long boat. Don't quote me though. These berries also make wonderful jams, jellies and are extremely tasty. As you can tell from the bottom pictures other animals find them tasty too. LOL Happy Friday everyone

Soft Light and What It Can Do For Your Photo's

Morning everyone I thought I would put a small bit of softness into your day. I have really learned allot with my photography lately and one is light. I really does make the difference on how the image looks and turns out. If you have morning or evening light for some reason it's the softest light the best light for your subject matter. Midday light is too intense and will bounce off your subjects and cause a bright exposure problem. Let's use my post from yesterday as an example. My Woodpecker shots would have been stunning in the morning light...but because I spotted him in the afternoon the exposure was too bright causing the top of the birds head to become a beacon rather than showing how beautiful he really is. To accomplish a better look I had to modify the Woodpecker. With these two shots today I didn't have to modify anything the light was perfect giving both the animal and flower the best way to enjoy it's colors and contrast. What do you think ?

Water Effects ~ The Beauty in a Water Drop

Morning...yep here I am again obsessed with water...LOL what else is new. I find it truly fascinating what water can do for plants and for a photograph. This is an area that I need allot of practice on. I have seen what you can do with water from Flickr...stunning work on there....Wow. My objective though is to bring the beauty in everything that Nature has to offer us. There is so much that I haven't even touched on yet...and look forward to investigating over time. I wanted to bring a little sparkle for all of you today when you come. I hope you enjoy my Water Drop post. Have a wonderful day 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