Springtime Moods
Welcome back again!
It’s been a very productive month. Three highlights of the last month have been a canoe trip and two foggy mornings, so I’ll try to stay lean and keep it to that.
The canoe trip was an adventure with new highlights. One thing we noticed was how much pollen was in the air from all the pines and junipers. Just brushing by one released a cloud of yellow dust. By the end of the trip, everything — tent, packs, even the canoe — was covered in fine dust. Though the lake was clear and cold, at times streaks would form, easy to mistake for simple light shimmers, as in this tranquil scene below:
Eventually the streaks would clear, and then start over again. I don’t think I’ve ever camped at that time of year to see this event, so it was pretty fascinating, though no doubt nothing new for the locals.
Birds were up early, and though I got up before dawn and tried to “blend in”, they were still wary. This loon made sure the rising sun was behind, so it could keep an eye out:
I love the textures of its markings, incredibly delicate.
This Spotted Sandpiper was more interested in its own reflection than my presence, so I dubbed it the Narcissus Bird:
Sandpipers move quickly and it was soon gone. After that I become more interested in the shape of the shoreline. Nothing dramatic here, just a study in shape, texture, and balance:
The second morning featured a more dramatic sky, a bit ominous, but uncertain whether it would end up as peril, or paradise:
Due to the high contrast, I expected the above to work best in black and white, more as a study in light. But in the end I found the colour version conveyed more feeling.
The mood was broken by the distant grind of a float plane coming in to pick up fishermen. The pilot came a lot lower than any of the other planes we’d seen out there and ended up buzzing really low over our camp. Already equipped with the long birding lens, it was a fun challenge to pan with the plane and try to get a good shot. I couldn’t see the pilot well in the field (concentrating more on panning and framing), but when I got home, I was surprised to see he was looking right down the barrel of the lens and… I can’t say he looked that happy about it 😄 Still, dude sports such a grand moustache, he’s got to have a sense of humour:
I’ll end the camping trip photos with my frequent goto: using a long lens as a macro. Chaos of life seems apparent here, as last year’s dried plant stalks become a playground for spiders in training:
On to foggy morning #1. I’ve never seen fog so thick here, it reminded me of the San Joaquin valley in winter. Driving out to Bird’s Hill Park I could barely see the turn off. Once there, well:
The pink-white puffs are Three Flower Avens, one of the first spring flowers to bloom.
Eventually the fog began to break up into thick streaks, which seemed to mirror what was going on in the sky:
Once the sun rose it revealed what the fog left behind: droplets highlighting spider trails.
If you could follow the path, you’d eventually end up here:
I guess I have a thing for spiders — or rather what they do — even though they creep me out.
On to foggy morning #2. This took place on the same morning as the Manitoba Marathon. While I was busy with this, several thousand anxious and excited runners were warming up their limbs and firing up their motivation, and many more volunteers and spectators were finding their places to cheer and assist. But I’m a selfish bastard, and knew this meant that almost nobody was at The Forks. It looks lonely and abandoned:
Looking east late after sunrise:
Across the river looking west:
Eventually the fog began to clear, and colour began to return to the world:
I’ll end this blog with some undeniable cuteness.
In the river were several mother ducks and their broods of ducklings travelling up and down the banks eagerly feeding. I was just as eagerly clicking away, but not a single shot turned out, mostly because I had the wrong lens: I didn’t expect wildlife so I only had short primes. I was standing there, frustrated, when I heard a rustle, looked down, and a mother duck was sleeping not a metre away, with her brood packed around her snoozing as well. Since I’d had my face glued to the viewfinder for the past several minutes, I had never noticed. I guess she figured I was busy and would eventually wander off.
She still kept half an eye out: she noticed that I noticed, and I noticed that she noticed I noticed…so she perked up and all the ducklings perked up as well. Opportunity was fading quickly, so as calmly as I could I crouched down and snapped a couple quick shots and backed away. This was the best of those quick snaps, the “chatty” little duck at the bottom makes it for me:
So with that happy mood, I’ll sign off until next time.
Take care, and cheers!
