At journey's end

After 2,519km / 1,565mi and a few days of settling in and getting things ship shape, we were ready to take in a quiet evening at the waterfront.

(I did manage to capture a few images of our journey down here, although the pixels were flying by at 120kph / 75mph - I'll include a few in an upcoming post).

To satisfy my own curiosity, I tested our internet download speed here (www.speedtest.net). Turns out it's 433 times faster than our connection back home ! I think I'll be able to start catching up on visits :-)

Day of Rest

One of the great pleasures we derive from having a pond (actually, 2) is to look at the amazing, almost artificial looking, water lilies which we've 'planted' over the years. Each day new ones open, and old ones close up and return to the bottom. The rhythm of life around a pond is fascinating to watch, but it can't be caught in quick glimpses as you rush by. Sundays were given to us by the Creator as a day of rest, in which we could cease from our daily labour and reflect on the rhythm of life.

"This is the day that the Lord has made,
Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
(Psalm 118:24)

(70-200mm  f11  1/160  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/320  ISO200)

(Day 295) Autumn's last hurrah

We're rapidly approaching what I call the calendar dead zone - no more autumn colours, days mostly gray and sometimes wet, trees barren, and blooms finished. The world around us seems to have already gone to sleep but has not yet received its blanket of snow. Sasha and I walked around a little this afternoon and ended up near the pond. A  maple tree beside the pond had just shed another leaf, and a water lily was trying in vain to open a flower one last time.

We await the next scene.

Note: we will be gone to Denver this weekend for a niece's wedding. Camera is travelling with me but I will be unable to post or visit till Monday (maybe Sunday).

(70-200mm  f14  1/200 sec  ISO800)

(70-200mm  f11  1/125 sec  ISO400)

(Day 177) Seize the moment!

It didn't look like a promising day for any sort of outdoor activities today. The sky was downright gloomy looking and a steady drizzle greeted us already early in the morning (so my wife reported - I didn't see it till a little later). The garden peas had been awaiting our return and needed to be picked for the freezer but that didn't look likely to happen either. However, just after lunch, the drizzle subsided and the sun even shone weakly through the thin overcast. Donning my rubber duck boots, I grabbed a pail and headed toward the garden.

As luck would have it, on my way to the garden I passed the pond, and there before my eyes a beautiful water lily had opened - probably in response to the bit of sun. Its siren song beckoned me to come have a closer look. I knew then that the peas would have to wait their turn as I got my camera so I could share the lilies with you. It was a good thing that I acted when I did, because I just got the peas picked after my little pond-side photo shoot when the heavens opened with a downpour that lasted most of the afternoon - when I went to check the lilies after the rain had finally stopped, they were closed up tight. Another little photography rule reinforced - the moment may not return!

(70-200mm  f7.1  1/400 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f7.1  1/320 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f7.1  1/160 sec  ISO200)

(Day 158) Pond(er) this

Oh boy, that's a pretty lame title once you see today's photos. Hopefully the photos make up for it. I was out after dinner 'playing' near the pond with the 70-200mm f2.8 lens. A few months ago I had bought the 2x extender for it and although it reduces the amount of light available it's great to bring those hard to reach subjects in a bit closer. Have a look.

On a different subject, I think the blogger issues from last night are fixed. Thank goodness I had it to blame because it was the day I was honoured by Scott by being featured as his special guest photographer and my thank you comment on his blog was replicated 4 extra times! After that experience I decided not to comment anywhere else.

On to today's shots:

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/320 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/250 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/100 sec  ISO200)