November, December, January Images

Haven't been shooting as much as I'd like. Life seems to be getting in the way. But as always, my photography (and other 'creative endeavours') remind me that life needs to be ignored for a while from time to time - even if it's twenty minutes here or maybe an hour there. And so, these are some results of me ignoring life for a while, here and there.

the wonderful world of macros still enchants me

River front park at dusk

Deer Lake reflections

Mossy trunks, Queens Park

It's January and things are budding?

moody park path

shrouded in mystery

on the ledge

extraterrestrials landing?

Here's to everyone finding that perfect work / life balance

The Wonderful World of Macro Photography

It's been too long since I last posted anything here. Haven't been doing too much of anything lately. Especially taking pictures. The photo-mojo just wasn't happening. But a dear, dear friend has successfully rekindled my love of looking through the lens again by introducing me to the wonderful world of macro photography! I'm hooked!!! Thank you Shutterbug! Every aspect of this style(?) of photography is so enjoyable. From gathering your 'props', setting them up on your table-top, to lighting them and then shooting them. It's just so much fun. And I really believe that you do your best work when you're having fun or are happy. Even the learning-curve is fun. I'm still pretty bad at it but the key here is 'I'm having so much fun!'
So, I'm posting a handful of my first attempts at uh - gee what exactly is it called anyway - tabletop photography? macro photography? product photography? miniature photography?

I dunno, I'm gonna to call it a whole-lot-of-fun and calorie-free!

an aluminum orange juice thingamabobber

a free-form soapstone carving done years ago

a glass orange juice thingamabobber

a (resin?) mould cat figurine

teeny tiny drums

spilled beads

one pissed off looking nutcracker

vertebrae

my little buddy Pixel supervising a sewing session

 yet another cat-themed figurine -  more proof that I am indeed a crazy cat lady

Keep it all in focus.....

Redwood Nature Trails, Surrey BC

My friend found this little jewel in Surrey while, of all places, in his flight simulator and checking out 'Google Earth'. Redwood Nature Park covers a steep sloped hillside. The park has clear manageable trails and off-shoots to explore under a soothing green canopy.

Early pioneer and homesteader David Brown Sr. gave his twin sons - David and Peter  - for their 21st birthdays, 40 acres each of the logged hilltop of the property. 
The two immediately began planting exotic species of trees from around the world.

The brothers lived on the property all their lives, becoming more solitary and eccentric. They eventually built a two-storey tree house and lived there together for many years. And although their bachelor abode burned down on more than one occasion, it was rebuilt and is still a feature of the park.

Today Redwood Park is a major collection of exotic trees, particularly evergreens.

The replica of the brother's lifelong secluded home

Today's visitors to the park can enjoy visiting the 'fairies' grove where their front doors can be found at the base of some of some trees

mossy limbs

looks like the rock is bound in stone rope

heart-shaped reminder of a long lost limb

peaceful resting place

(another place to see an wide variety of exotic trees is on the Riverview Hospital grounds in Coquitlam, BC)

Deer Lake Park July 15, 2012

Just a block or two in off of Canada Way in Burnaby, you can find a little escape from the traffic and noise of the city. In one concentrated area you have the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, the Hart House Restaurant, the Burnaby Art Gallery, the Burnaby Village Museum and the scenic 5.7km boardwalk along Deer Lake. The well maintained board walk is wide enough for two way traffic, clusters of joggers training for the 'Sun Run' and happy-to-be-out dogs walking their humans.

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday - sunny, breezy, hot - the perfect summer weekend. And based on that, I decided to hit the Deer Lake boardwalk first thing Sunday morning before the temperature climbed and literally everyone and their dog was out there with me.

The sun never materialized on Sunday. I walked around a practically abandoned boardwalk in a cool light drizzle. The sky was white-grey and a challenge for me to meter. The lake is beautiful on bright sunny days, but it's dramatic and moody in shades of grey.

The start of the boardwalk

The lake was smothered in blooming lily pads

I didn't see these two tykes until mom swooped in to round them up

Another blooming lily

Nestled in a shaded dip in the lake

Lighting can create drama

drizzle drops collected on the pedals

The lake is choked with lily pads

Berries(?) along the boardwalk

 

 

Rounding the bend back to the start

A drive along the Fraser River

It seems that summer is having second thoughts about spending any time with us this year. Our weather has been anything but predictable. It's cold, it's windy and it won't.stop.raining.

But if we waited for perfect weather out here, we'd never leave the house. So, keeping an eye on the sky, my driving buddy and I decided to go for a morning drive - along our stretch of the Fraser River. Weather be damned, eh?
Grumpy clouds followed us nearly all the way out to Richmond before they started to break up and let brilliant sunshine come pouring through. 

he'd kill me if he knew I posted a shot of him

Looking back at New Westminster's rising skyline

threatening clouds adding mood to a shot

left for dead

corny but: "what are ewe looking at?"

abandoned

silt-laden river

neatly stacked shipping crates

Making due with what's around you

'Urbanized' wildlife has managed to adapt to its ever shrinking territory quite cleverly. Raccoons charm food right out of some home owners' hands. Skunks cheerfully waddle down alleys under the cover of dark getting to pick through the best trash this side of a landfill. Even skittish coyotes can find a plump house cat (sorry fluffy) from time to time as they succeed at the survival game in the human's arena.

This chilly wet and windy spring, the front brick planter of a local office building on *the* main intersection that runs right through New West has been turned into a nursery for a brood of Mallard ducklings and its attentative mama duck.

The locals - who've noticed either the ducklings or the endless line of people stopping to a. feed them. b. count them. c. take pictures with their cell phones. d. try and pick them up (not a good idea btw) - are buzzing with opinions, concerns, questions and plenty of suggestions of what 'we' should do with, or for them. Do we leave them alone? Do we box them up and relocate them? Where are the Wildlife People? We all want to make sure they're 'rescued' before harm comes to them!

They're cute and fuzzy. And seem to even be warming up to all the attention they're getting. The office staff in the building are keeping them supplied with fresh water in a silver cookie tin since there's no natural water supply in the planter. The little ducklings' needs are simple and they wedge themselves into the cookie tin and blissfully splash about under mom's watchful eye.

Best of luck to you little mama duck. You have adorable babies and we are all praying no harm comes to any of you for the duration of your stay with us in the "big bad city". // 6th&6th //