Week 47: Fluid Fruit

citrus in fizzy water

I have done this idea several times now and somehow I keep thinking that I can improve on it.  Yesterday it took me a while to remember how to set everything up then I found it boring just photographing the bubbles on the fruit so I decided to mix it up a bit.

That required getting out some wine.  Oh, the sacrifices I will make for my photography!

Just add fruit...

More fruit...

And enjoy.

Well, that was a short and sweet (ha ha) week.  

Week 46: Flowers Feed Also The Soul

delicate

Last Sunday I was reading in bed, hoping to doze off for a nap when the phone rang.  It was my friend Solange who used to come out with me to take pictures.  She has trouble with her hands and hasn't been able to handle her big camera for a while so she got a new Canon One Shot which is light and easy to manage and she wanted to head out and give it a test drive.  We went to the greenhouse at Bellevue Park and enjoyed the tropical atmosphere for a while before heading over to Whitefish Island to go for a walk and shoot the supermoon at sunset.  It was a great photography day but I guess I lost my oomph because the camera has not been out since then and it has taken me this long to get the last two blogs up.  Is there such a thing as the fall blahs?

The quote in my title this week in full is "Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul" and it is from the Koran.

Anyway, here are some photographs from the greenhouse.  

And here is the supermoon.  I need to find a place where the moon rises over something interesting...our mall and the radio tower just didn't cut it so I zoomed in to avoid the ugliness.

Week 45: Let The Sun Shine In

sunrise

A couple of weeks ago when the time changed, I decided to pretend that it hadn't and I got up in time to head out to Echo Bay in time for sunrise.  Instead of taking advantage of the extra hour of sleep, I was productive!  Well, I tried to be anyway.  The sun didn't cooperate and it decided to stay behind the fog for the most part.  I drove around for a while hoping the fog would burn off but eventually I had to concede.  I headed back into town and decided to check out Bellevue Park to see if the sun was shining there.  Again, nope.  But at least there was some interesting fog on the river.

Later in the week, while on my way to Blind River for work, I had to pull over and capture that sunrise...it was the most colourful, vibrant sky I have seen in a long time.  

And that is where we begin.  I did not adjust the colour at all - this is how the sky looked.

When I pulled over to make this photograph, the pinkish orange stripes in the sky were so vivid but by the time I was parked safely and the camera was pointed, the colour had already faded.

I have several photos of this lone tree on the shore of the St. Mary's River at Bellevue Park.

I wonder if the owners of this lonely boat have taken it out yet.

This is another view of the vivid sky on my way to Blind River.

Heading out for the sunrise, I was foiled by fog.

Week 46 should be on its way in a few minutes.

Week 44: Levi's in Charge

ask Levi for an idea

Here's our conversation...

Me:  Levi, what should I photograph today?

Levi:  You're going to Whitefish Island?

Me:  Yes.

Levi:  Running water.

Me:  Where will I get that at Whitefish Island?

Levi:  The rapids.

Me (whining):  But I'd have to carry the tripod.

Levi (with finality):  You asked me and that's what I chose.

So I listened.  Partly since I did in fact ask him, partly because again, I left it until the last minute and partly because frankly, I had no other ideas.  It was a beautiful sunny and warm afternoon so I guess I should have expected the park to be full of fair-weather folk but I was disappointed nonetheless when I ran into people at every turn.  As soon as the snow flies it will be just me and the determined dog walkers so...patience.

I didn't bring the tripod however, I just rested the camera on the railing of the shelter to capture some moving water.  Lazy, I know.

While wandering around, I noticed some last berries.

And a lonely leaf.

This milkweed was shining in the low sun.

I haven't photographed a chickadee for a while so here is a cutie.

And finally we have some backlit milkweed struggling to escape its dying pod.

Week 43: Monet Has Nothing on Me

oh for heaven's sake, I give up

We did a little rearranging on my desk earlier this week (you will see why later) and now I can't even find my list!  I may or may not resume following the plan for the final nine weeks but I sure as heck have to find a way to do something with a structure I will follow for next year.  I have gone off topic too many times this year so this plan was a bust.

We came home last Thursday and on Friday, my awesome-times-a-thousand friend Donna arrived for the weekend.  Many, many thanks for your company, conversation, support and your house-cleaning services.  Donna and I headed out into farm country on Saturday looking for photographic opportunities but we ended up mostly just doing a scenic drive.  There is one photo from that day in here.  On Sunday, despite the threatening rain, I wanted to show Donna my favourite place (maybe second after Whitefish Island) in the Sault...the end of the Pinder trail at Hiawatha.  We walked around the trail and I had no urge to take out Hermione until we arrived at the cathedral/tunnel of trees.  I then proceeded to take a million shots and ended up playing with motion blur.  I already did this topic this year but doing that kind of photography is so much fun.

This first photo was created by moving the camera up and down while the shutter was open.  

Next is a shot that was zoomed while the shutter was open.  Or, maybe Donna was double-riding me on her bike and I took pictures from the back!

This is what the ground looks like when you move the camera in circles.

And this is what the trees look like with the same motion.

This is sort of what it looks like normally (but with a wide angle lens close to the ground).

Here are some trees just past their prime in the Sylvan Valley.

And here we have the reason my desk was rearranged.  I now share this workspace with Smaug, a Cuban Knight Anole.

This last photo is how he got himself ready for bed last night.  It is also how I found him this morning.  He reminds me of Kermit in this pose.

Look at that...all caught up and even a day early for this one!

Week 42: Finding Beauty in Sadness

off topic yet again

I didn't bring my list of photography assignments to Ottawa and frankly, I probably wouldn't have followed it even if I had it with me.  I was just hanging in there, spending time with family and coming to terms with the loss my family suffered.  One of the places I wanted to go when I decided to get out with my camera was the National Cemetery.  When I googled it to find out where it was, I found out that the Beechwood Funeral Home and Cremation Centre, where John's service was to be held, was the same place and it was only ten minutes from the house we had rented.  Again, I set my alarm to head out just before sunrise and again, it was a beautiful, peaceful morning.

I am glad that this is the place where we said our goodbyes to John.

Week 41: Finally! Fall Colours Abound!

fall colours

Thank you so much to Chantal for reminding me about some very lovely places in Ottawa.  

Petrie Island is a nature park in Orleans and it was a five minute drive from the hotel where we were staying.  Friday morning was supposed to be sunny so I set my alarm and planned to be there for just after sunrise.  Overnight we had a heavy frost so for the first time since June, I had to put on long pants and real shoes!  I also had to scrape the windshield with the lid of a food container that was in the car because the scraper was not yet in the car (it is now).  There was only one other car at the park when I got there so I enjoyed some quiet time to myself.  As the tears rolled freely down my face, I looked for the beauty in nature that grounds me in my life.  There was awesome fog for the first little while and some frosty plants that shone in the early morning light.

It was a beautiful morning of peace.