Nature Pics from Long Weekend

A random collection of pics from the last few weeks - most from Star Lake and a few from home.

My flower-collecting daughter Chelsea.

I'm really bad at remember names of plants but amazing colors that just pop like fireworks beside the busy bee hunting for pollen.

I have no idea how old this can is but finding litter like this in the park after so many years is a little disturbing - so I changed it into art.

I liked how the sunlight caught this wild grass - interesting greens & oranges.

Using the same light as the shot above only with daisies - playing with the lines of the stems somewhat to.Another daisy shot with a special guest using it as a landing strip.

Sunsets at Star Lake are never dull it seems - great time to play with the camera!

A shot taken after a T-storm from the park behind our place - some cool clouds!
A closer look at those wacky X-File'ish clouds - a flying saucer would look perfectly normal with that apocalyptic skyscape.

An alien-looking caterpillar taking strides up grass - extreme sports perhaps?

Another great Star Lake sunset...

I picked some daisies and threw them in the lake to play with my camera during a sunset and this is one of the results...a little surreal & yes pretty artsy - no apologies!

Another shot utilizing the floating daisies - no tripod - used the dock which due to all the rains is almost the same level as the dock.

The Mighty Ducks of Star Lake

Another series featuring a clearly identified subject - the mighty ducks of Star Lake. They happen to rest upon our shoreline occasionally - I guess they like the beach?A classic headshot - good color in the shot but not overly exciting.

One of my personal favorite shots in this set - I love how the middle duck pops amongst his blurred siblings. I got unbelievable close to these presumably wild ducks who only got nervous when I got closer than a couple feet from them or made an unnatural sound.

Another tight closeup - wildlife photographers recommend focusing on the eye of the subject but ducks are tough because of their large beaks which tend to become the focal point - so I focus just behind the eye.

Another group shot of the ducklings - not sure how old these babies are but they still can't fly.

I like the huddle of the ducks on the beach with the lake within squawking distance!

Another headshot - with a curious nip of feather in its' beak - probably from grooming itself or one of its ducklings.I'm in the water for this shot - which panics the mama duck a bit until all the ducklings leave the beach and start to explore the shoreline. They calm down eventually and I get a whack of pictures of them in the water. I had to really play with my exposures here with the fading light of the sun setting.A shot taken basically right above the duck in the water - I wanted to capture the webbed foot utilizing the almost clear water that magnifies the sandy bottom. The orange-y color is the result of the light & sand below.Another favorite shot of mine - taken at their level towards the shore with the sun setting behind me. My camera was inches from the surface of the lake & I managed to still get their reflection in the water along with some color from the sun.

Bug Photos...

Okay apparently there are a lot of insects at the cottage these days and so I have an entire section of photos just focused on them crawly creatures...enjoy?

My favorite bug has gotta be the dragonfly - I'm an aviation buff and they are the equivalent of the A-10 Attack plane...they come in low and eat up mosquitos!

Best time to shoot dragonflies is just after they've left their aquatic bodies - nymphs...
...they spend a bit of time drying out their wings.
They climb onto fingers are very willing to be placed in different settings or in this case plants.

I think this is a wolf spider but I'm not sure...I love their beady eyes - I got a pile of shots of them but again missing my big lens - next time!

The elusive dock spider - again they probably have a more official name but that's how I know them. Chelsea and I found this one on our dock and it was about the size of my palm...big mother!!!

One of the nights at Star resulted in a number of disoriented moths perched on our cabin front. This shot is a temporarily capture Luna moth being held by my darling daughter Chels!
I should note my sister Kiki made the discovery of these Lunesta wonders...

Another mysterious Manitoba moth - to be identified.

An inch-worm makes a daring ascent up a rain-drenched stalk.

Latest Outdoors Pictures

Here's the latest in photography attempts by yours truly on one of my family's escapes to Star Lake:

An experiment with motion via swings & a unique exposure - thanx to the aerobatics of Chelsea!

A classic Star Lake sunset...there will be more!

A mother & fawn - I'm still kicking myself I didn't bring my telephoto lens for a second weekend in a row!
Playing with light, exposure & motion...a little experimental.
Some mushrooms lit up by a flash & a setting sun...shot at ground level obviously.
The rain fills the stream that runs along the border of our property and of course is game for exploring photography.
Our transportation to the cottage is ironically via the Ford Escape we've had for the past few years. For more photos & brief write-ups check out musings.

More Snow But Warm Temps!

Wow - we got a dump of snow this weekend of about a half foot which made for a winter wonderland in the Whiteshell Park. It was great to back in the great outdoors for some skiing and family time. March is looking way too busy and I suppose this past weekend was my breath before the plunge.

On Saturday, I managed to take Chelsea on a short ski on the lake along with my Dad. I later took an extended ski on the actual West Hawk ski trail system for about an hour and a half. I did a little off-piste skiing across along a river/marshland area but literally got a full on leg workout pushing through the powder. The groomed stuff was much better but definitely sluggish as well.

We were only at the cottage from Friday to Saturday unfortunately and had to drive home through a bit of a storm just after supper. Lots of slow traffic and unplowed roads made it somewhat of a challenge. Blaine & Andrea & kids ended up staying at our house for a temporary refuge overnight before heading home on Sunday. All in all a great weekend and ironically a calm before the storm of March...lots to do in so little time!

More Recent Shots...

Last weekend was a great time to getaway from it all! I spent some time working on my new mtn bike trail near our cottage at Star Lake. I completed the loop on Saturday and rode it about 3X on Sunday. Interestingly, I came across my share of nature including this porcupine:

Unfortunately, the porcupine (the white spikey thing) wandered off rather quickly and I only was able to fire off a few shots before he escaped down a cliff. Maybe next time I'll get a shot of more than his prickly butt!

Some unidentified flower that grows along my newly constructed hiking/biking trail!

Me & my bike (posed and shot by timer on a nearby boulder)

My girlz relaxing on the deck - Wendy took this pic at home while I was away on tour.

While I was away out west - my lovely daughter ended up breaking her arm - thankfully it has healed quickly!

We have an interesting visitor at the cottage - a silver fox who is becoming a bit too friendly! These shots were taken Sunday morning at around 8 am.

Note the sneaky eyes of swiper the fox!

explore play via digital slr