A pause for the cause

Our first set of visitors has come and gone, with impeccable timing - they enjoyed sunshine and warm weather every day, and in their wake we've been 'blessed' with several inches of rain and (for us) unseasonably cool temperatures. But that presented me with the opportunity to crack open the camera manual again (page 166 of 404 now) and I played around with picture style settings in the back yard.

Hopefully I learn enough about all the AF and AF Drive settings in order to capture some keepers of our grandson who arrives (with his parents) this week. Family truly is one of God's greatest blessings to us on this earth. And not to worry - temperatures in the mid-80s are expected in time for their arrival.

If you also need a pause for the cause, have a listen to The Fureys (link below photos) and kick back for a few minutes. Hope to 'meet' you in blogland before company arrives.

plumbago

star jasmine

Walking the plank(s)

We took a long walk today on the planks making up what appeared to be an endless pier jutting out into the Peace River. Apparently there is some truth to the origins of the expression 'to walk the plank' but we didn't meet the same fate as hapless pirates' victims. In fact we had a pleasant conversation with some other folks who were also enjoying the sun and warmth.

Our dog, Sasha, was pining for the bitterly cold weather (-29C/-20F) currently being experienced up north, and had to make do with only a little shade.

But for all you folks bravely battling through the deep freeze, I included a shot from the back yard to help warm your spirit if not your toes. Spring can't be far off (the power of positive thinking ...).

First steps

There's learning by reading and there's learning by trying. I've done a bit of both to start figuring out all the buttons and menu items on the new 5D. Today's lesson was on shooting stills - starting with first steps on the AF system. Centre AF point for now - will leave the other 60 for another day.

Since the EF-S series of lenses aren't compatible with Canon's full frame sensor cameras, I bought a 'nifty fifty' (EF 50mm f1.8) lens for 2 reasons - (1) reviewers gave it high marks, (2) it cost $94. I stepped 10' out the back door and found some willing subjects. I wasn't looking for challenging subjects - that's the camera's role for now. The 4 shots below are SOOC.

Since the 50mm has neither macro nor zoom capability, I cropped each of the 2 photos (#2,4) to simulate a close-up shot (#1,3). Lesson 1 completed - I was happy with the colour, focusing, and sharpness.

on tripod  f5.6  1/160 sec  ISO160 (cropped)

 hand held  f5.0  1/400 sec  ISO160 (cropped)

Party Time !

Wow - has it already been a year ? The days may seem to go slowly but the years go fast ! It seemed only just a short while ago that Graydon made his entrance into the world, and there we were today celebrating his first birthday (well, a day early but let's not quibble). There's definitely more time to watch a grandchild grow up than your own child, since you're not involved in the daily routines.

It's incredible to see how much a child learns in the first year - moving from a helpless baby to a child on the road to independence. And today was the day to celebrate the first milestone on that journey - with a party, balloons, and ... birthday cake !

(50mm  f2.0  1/60 sec  ISO200)

(Day 363) Winter fun !

All good things must come to an end, and so today we said goodbye to family with whom we'd spent the Christmas holidays. We had a wonderful time, and as is always the case the time went too quickly. But before we packed things to prepare for our drive home, there was still time to go sledding with our granddaughters. We walked to a nearby hill which was fairly steep - they didn't seem that steep when I was a kid, though. Some dare-devil youngsters had fashioned a ramp out of snow, which was to be my wife's undoing - on her first run downhill, having thrown caution to the wind, she and one of our granddaughters literally flew through the air after being launched off the ramp, and came to a rather abrupt halt. We're sure her bruises will heal over the next week - my granddaughter had none as she made a 'softer' landing on top of my wife.

After that experience, the following runs were made from just above the ramp, with much better, although less spectacular, results.

(18-55mm  f22  1/100 sec  ISO800)

Lilly

(50mm  f2  1/4000 sec  ISO200)

Hailey

(50mm  f16  1/200 sec  ISO800)

(50mm  f2  1/3200 sec  ISO200)

an unidentified brave person fully utilizing the ramp

 

(Day 262) 20,000 leagues under the sea ...

Sunday Sept. 19, 2010

Well, not quite, but under the sea these creatures live. We visited the aquarium in Rhodes town today and saw some of the creatures that inhabit the waters around here. The aquarium is an impressive building from the era of the Italian occupation (1912 - 1943) on what appears to be the most northerly part of the island. I'm not quite sure what this particular sea creature is but it caught my attention as it caught the aquarium lights.

(50mm  f4  1/25 sec  ISO800)

(70-200mm  f8  1/10 sec  ISO400)

It was difficult finding the time and a place to post during our vacation and I couldn't make Sunset Sunday a few times. I did manage to capture some sunset scenes, however, and will post some of those over the next few weeks. But here's one for this Sunday - could either be sunset or moonrise.

(Day 158 - II) Heart string pullers

I've always had some problems in life following rules (my wife, if she weren't sleeping, would be nodding vehemently in agreement) - but I only don't follow rules that don't seem to make sense to me. Obviously there are many rules that I do follow - because they make sense, like 'look both ways before crossing the street, do unto others as you'd like them to do unto you', etc.

So if there's a project 365 rule that says to only post 1 photo per day, then I've broken it. And if there's also a rule that says only 1 post per day, I've broken it too. Well, that was a lot of verbiage to say that I'm going to do another post for today - depending on where you are, that's either Monday or Tuesday (although in Australia it might already be Wednesday or Thursday - they always seem to be into another day already, let alone another time zone!).

Why am I doing this ? Well, I made some photos of my grandson tonight, and I also had made some (well, many then) of my granddaughters when they were here 2 weeks ago, and I thought I'd share them with you. You'll see why they pull at my heart strings.

(all photos made with my Sigma 50mm f1.4 lens)

In order of age:

Hailey (5)

Lilly (3)

Graydon (5 months)

(Day 152) Pretty in pink

No plagiarism intended - I just thought those words best described today's subject. Our peonies appear to be on steroids and the supports that had worked over the past years are not able to contain the weight of all the blooms this year. And we only have so many vases to fill. We're hoping the weather stays at the lower end of hot for another little while so we can enjoy these just a bit longer. What splendour!

(50mm  f8  1/60 sec  ISO400)

(50mm  f5.6  1/400 sec  ISO400)

(60mm  f8  1/25 sec  ISO400)

(Day 151) Self portrait, and grandpa to a child prodigy

Today was a bit of an arduous day - I spent another full day with my son, demolishing his house, er, doing the necessary demolition work in preparation for renovations. It did feel a bit weird though swinging a sledge hammer through his kitchen wall! But that's not the point of my post today. You see, I took the camera with (yes, ABC) to record for posterity what the old interior looked like, during the gutting and before the  restoration. So - it was with me when, close to home, I spotted Mr. Turtle in the middle of the road - it looked like he was late for dinner  - but he stopped dead in his tracks as I drove up to him. I wanted to get some closeups, but didn't really want the neighbours seeing me lying face-to-face with a turtle, in the middle of the road! So I placed the camera close to him hoping he wouldn't retreat into his shell (he didn't and that's why I knew he was late for dinner), checked the exposure, hoped I'd aimed it ok, and proceeded to make some photos.

Now - why did I call this a self-portrait? Well, if you blow up his eye, you'll see me in his eyeball with an outstretched arm pressing the shutter release (an unintentional byproduct). You may also notice a bug crawling up his nose, as well as some greenery he obviously didn't have time to wipe off his head.

(60mm  f5.6  1/60 sec  ISO400)

After a late dinner (ours, not Mr. Turtle's), my son opened a birthday card he received in the mail, from his sisters. Graydon, his son (my grandson) reached out for the card 'cause he wanted to read it for himself. Imagine that, not even 5 months old, and he's already reading birthday cards - what a child prodigy!

You look skeptical - here, see for yourself:

(50mm  f1.4  1/100 sec  ISO400)

(Day 147 A walk in the woods

I made a little trip back to a favourite spot today. As I wandered (carefully) further into the forest, I got some curious glances from people in a pickup truck slowly making its way up the lane. Fortunately they could pass since I'd pulled my car as close to the trees as possible. Neither they nor I expected to see someone in such a secluded spot. They went on and left me to enjoy this little piece of paradise. Hopefully you'll enjoy along with me ...

(50mm  f8  1/40 sec  ISO100)

(50mm  f11  1/6 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f8  1/4 sec  ISO200)

Do you see the 'face' in this rock? The large hole is the mouth, 
slanting down to the left.

(70-200mm  f11  1/8 sec  ISO200)

I think this is a black damselfly - there were many of these in
the forest.

(Day 143) Of dragons, and flying

There are many pluses to having a couple of small ponds near the house. They attract birds, frogs, and snakes and create a little habitat where the daily cycle of nature can be observed. However, they are also a breeding ground for prolific insects, or as we call them (scientifically) 'BUGS'! Thank goodness that swallows and purple martins have a great appetite for bugs, and we're glad that they've chosen to take up residence near the ponds. But we're especially glad that those voracious bug eaters - dragonflies - come here in abundance to keep the bug population down, otherwise we'd be forced indoors. Here are a couple that stopped long enough for me to capture them this evening.

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/60 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/400 sec  ISO200)

While we were away last week, I was mindful of Scott's Sunset Sunday, so I saved a couple of sunset shots for today's post, even though I was provided another subject (above). Hope you enjoy them.

(50mm  f2  1/8 sec  ISO200)

(18-55mm  f5.6  1/125 sec  ISO100)

(Day 138) In the early morning fog ...

Well, sometimes things aren't really the way they appear, are they. Just like a story sometimes has another side to it. We're wise not to jump to conclusions too quickly, even when things seem pretty obvious to us.

Take this photo for example. I got outside fairly early this morning and made a few photos. Things certainly looked foggy, at least through the lens. Turns out that the warm humid air outside condensed on the lens as I brought the camera out of an air-conditioned room. In my hurry I didn't wait for it to get acclimatized. However, I thought the effect was neat so I decided to post this one.

(50mm  f8  1/250 sec  ISO200)

Just to show you that it was a beautiful clear day, however, I'll post this shot which was made minutes later - after I'd cleared the lens by holding it up to the sunlight.

(50mm  f8  1/320 sec  ISO200)

(Day 137) Morning beauty

I had a few minutes this morning to make a couple of photos, and another few minutes this evening to post. It's wonderful to be in a place where these beauties grow outdoors, naturally. At home hibiscus can only be grown indoors. And yes, I made this photo :)

(50mm  f8  1/320 sec  ISO200)

(Day 136) Shots 'from the road'

I've got a few minutes at the hotel to get online and post a couple of shots for today. Credit for these photos goes to my wife (well, I'll claim director's credit since I did the virtual composition and gave the order to press the shutter release :)  I couldn't choose between the two so posted both.

(50mm  f6.3  1/1000 sec  ISO200)

(50mm  f6.3  1/800 sec  ISO200)

(Day 135) No colour, no life

Whilst I was on my forays out into the yard and garden lately I kept seeing interesting shapes and textures. I even made a few photos but they didn't fit with a particular day's theme, so I left the opportunity for another day. Today that other day arrived. I found it interesting how the weather over time has fashioned these.

NOTE: I will be traveling for the next few days, and will remember to ABC, however, I'm not sure if I'll be able to post each day. I'll try.

(50mm  f16  1/25 sec  ISO100)

(50mm  f16  1/40 sec  ISO100)

(50mm  f14  1/5 sec  ISO100)

(Day 134) Lowly, but not forgotten

I recall that as a youngster I had an early fascination with flowers - perhaps it was the colours; I'm not really sure. And while I don't remember specific instances, I do remember picking 2 varieties to bring home and put in an old peanut butter or other empty jar - dandelions and forget-me-nots.

I used to have a few forget-me-nots growing around the pond but they disappeared a few years ago. They grow rampant at one of my daughters' homes and I took some home with me last weekend. I promise I won't forget them this time.

(50mm  f8  1/80 sec  ISO200)

(60mm  f8  1/60 sec  ISO200)

(Day 133) A kayaker's dream

At this time of year you wouldn't think that this placid little stream would even get a second look from a kayaker. But you should see it in March and April when the spring runoff is at its height and it becomes a raging torrent. No, there are no class 6 rapids, but the water overflows the rocky ledge on the right in the photos below, and rushes through some of the pasture land on either side of the stream bed. The water gets churned up pretty good, and we have actually seen kayakers here. The rocks in the ledge at the right of the stream are typical of the ground structure in this area - shallow, rock-filled 'soil' sitting atop layers of sedimentary rock, wherein I've found many fossils.

(50mm  f8  1/250 sec  ISO200)

(50mm  f8  1/250 sec  ISO200)

(50mm  f8  1/125 sec  ISO200)

(Day 129) Equal exposure

Recently I shared a photo of our grandson Graydon. Well it was only fair that I provide equal 'exposure' for our 2 granddaughters Hailey (5) and Lilly (3). They live about a 4-hour drive from us and we were able to visit them this Mothers' Day weekend (along with their parents and our other 2 daughters, of course!).

(50mm  f1.4  1/3200 sec  ISO800)

Hailey

(50mm  f1.4  1/400 sec  ISO800)

Lilly

Sunset Sunday
Perhaps you aren't aware of Scott's photo blog at Finding Another View. He has a little fun thing every Sunday where he invites people to post a Sunday Sunset. Well, as we were nearing home tonight I saw what looked to be a nice sunset getting ready. I made it home, got the fire started in the wood stove (the house was cold since outside it had dropped to 3C/37F), and snuck outside for a couple of quick shots. Here's my contribution for Sunday:

(18-55mm  f5.6  1/60 sec  ISO200)

(Day 122) Two gifts today

I always find it amazing how quickly a newborn goes from being little more than a completely helpless baby to a (still) little human being who can react to and interact with their environment. Today our almost-4-month-old grandson, Graydon, came over for a visit (he's 17 lbs and doesn't drive yet, so yes, his parents brought him). Of course we had a great time with him - it's always great as grandparents because someone else gets to feed and clean him and take him home again :)

His surname, translated literally from Dutch, means 'the sweet one'. I think you'll agree, based on this photo, that he lived up to his name and underscored the point in my first sentence (that's his dad's dessert he's eyeballing).

(50mm  f2.8  1/80 sec  ISO200)

gift no. 1

Now, I don't know if you're familiar with Scott's blog 'Finding Another View'. Scott celebrates and invites others to celebrate Sundays by posting a sunset shot. Where I live we're not blessed with fabulous sunset opportunities on the same regularity he is, but I thought this evening's was worthy of being posted. So to make up for lost opportunities I'll post 2 shots.

(70-200 mm  f11  1/13 sec  ISO200)

gift no.2

(50mm  f11  1/160 sec  ISO200)