Week 8: The Grass is Always Greener...

texture

I headed to the greenhouse this afternoon planning to photograph "pattern."  I have frequently found patterns in the ferns, leaves and flowers that I have thought were interesting but today it was the textures that were calling to me.  I wandered through the warm, humid room and enjoyed this quiet oasis while waiting for photos to jump out at me.  It was just me and the sound of the waterfall...quite a peaceful hour.

That was following a very warm ski this morning.  By the end of the lesson, most of the kids had their jackets undone and mitts off, faces were red and heads were sweaty.  What a weird winter we have had.  The last two lessons were cancelled - the first because it was way too cold and the second because of rain.  We have only two left; one is the Jackrabbit Olympics and the other is the family fun day so today was the last official lesson.  As I hauled out my tracking sheet to make sure all the kids have all the skills necessary to pass the level, I noticed a new skill had been added (it must have been added at night in my closet where the coaching backback is kept because I didn't notice this skill at the beginning of the season).  Oooops!  This kids are supposed to be able to do snowplow braking and we had not practiced that at all.  I told them we had to ski as quickly as possible back to where the practice hill is and they actually did!  We made it back in record time and had the chance to practice on the hill.  Whew.  Note to self:  read list of required skills more carefully next year.

Well, to the photos.  First we have something budding.

This pineapple was only about six inches tall altogether.

This is two overlapping ferns.  Do you remember making placemats by weaving construction paper like this?

This was the coolest tree.  The leaves were shaped like maple leaves but the pattern on them was so different.  Initially I thought it was disease but every leaf had it so I figure it is supposed to be there.

I have photographed this particular cactus many times and usually with this framing.

I'm not sure what this leafy plant is but it is certainly colourful.

I didn't capture the detailed texture of the leaves on this succulent.  There was a tiny fuzz there.

Patterns did still catch my eye but the little dots on this fern were what drew me to it.

The velvety texture is on some past-their-prime poinsettia leaves.

Happy leap day on Monday.

Week 7: Just Wingin' It

wing it - being lazy

I'm pretty smart...when I made the list for the year, I left a few items blank in case I think of ideas as the year progresses and I put in "wing it - being lazy" as a topic.  I figured there might be a week in which I took photos but didn't go out purposefully looking for stuff.  As a matter of fact, that seems to be what I am doing every week but today I couldn't find a topic in the list that matched the photos I took this week.  So lazy it is.

Last Sunday I braved the icy temperatures and went for a walk with my birds.  The blue jays were back, the hairy woodpeckers were active, the chickadees were flitting about as usual and a lone bald eagle posed in a tree for me as I quietly neared his perch.  An excellent hour, all in all.  I think I then spent the rest of the day trying to get warm.  On Family Day (another of our fake Canadian holidays as my Aunt Irma likes to say), I took my Little Sister and her friend to the last day of the bumslides.  I was enjoying watching all the little and not-so-little kids enjoy themselves so much and I was feeling kind of nostalgic for having small kids.  Then suddenly I was surrounded by no fewer than five screaming children (tired? hungry?) and I came to my senses.

Would somebody get this poor guy a brush?

He was sitting up so nice and tall for the longest time but the closer I got, the more suspicious he got.  He crouched like this then took off flying.

It's more fun to slide with a friend so I asked Amanda to bring one along.

Now, to make an actual plan for this week...

Week 6: Candy and Cats...That's All I Need

something festive

I think when I included this topic I assumed it would revolve around Christmas but considering the festivities around the special day tomorrow, I figured that my photo would apply.  

Now you might wonder, if you know me well, why I would consider acknowledging V-day in this manner.  The reason of course is the plethora of photographic opportunities...candy!  And the bonus is that we now get to eat said candy.

Today, you also get to admire our kitties.  They were "helping" while I was playing with the candy.  I figured you hadn't seen these girls for a while so here they are.  Eclipse was hiding out in my room so she does not get center stage here.

On another note, Hermione is back, apparently fixed, but I am not holding my breath on that.  She is responsible for today's photos.

I really liked these candies so here is another one.

Bellatrix

Narcissa

Both of them entranced by the light reflecting from my watch.

Week 5: Kids Rule

ask a student for an idea

The photo of the week is from my drive to Elliot Lake on Thursday.  There had been some snow overnight and a bright sunny sky in the morning.  The sunrise made the tops of trees so beautiful with the pinkish orange hues but sadly, there was no safe place to pull over and capture those sights.  I admired them from the car and later, on my way back, I stopped at the ride sharing spot for a few photos.  Three other cars pulled in just after me - I thought they were also going to take photos (who wouldn't?!) but they all needed to throw snow on their windshields as they were out of windshield washer fluid.  Snow does have its downside, I guess.

Anyway, after lunch I asked my next student what I should photograph for this week (I explained what I was doing first).  I admit, I led him in the direction of "snow covered trees" by first talking about how pretty it all was and how lucky we were to have such a nice sunny day that day, since the sun has only made rare appearances this winter.  So I guess I didn't really "ask a student for an idea" so much as "guide a student into saying what I wanted him to say."  Oops.

The other photos are from the Fireworks Extravaganza, part of the opening ceremonies for the Bon Soo Winter Carnival.  Last year we enjoyed them from the Mill Market parking lot, practically right under the blasts.  This year I wanted to photograph the fireworks so I moved farther away to the waterfront boardwalk.  It was much better for photography but the awesomeness was much less spectacular - either from being farther away or from a smaller carnival budget, I'm not sure.

I set up my tripod and was just getting the camera set up when the fireworks began...right on time!  I started shooting the way I normally do - long exposures with the lens covered part of the time - in order to catch more than one explosion and full lines of colour without overexposing.  As I watched the photos briefly pop up on my screen I noticed they were all blurry - my gear was moving in the wind.  I thought the tripod was firmly planted in the snow but with the overall height of it all, I guess the wind was enough to move the camera during the ten second exposures.  I even had trouble with two second exposures.  As a result, I tossed all but about 15 shots when I got home - and they are not perfectly crisp either.  Next year, I need to bring a shovel to clear an area for the tripod.  I guess there are always lessons to be learned.

That's all for this week.