All My Blogs

Guisachan Heritage Park in Kelowna - Milk shed window, woodpecker holes, and nest. I visited and photographed some of the buildings at Guisachan Heritage Park today.  Given that my current blogs have been on window photos, I thought I would take some images of those very structures on my excursion.  I came across one that was particularly interesting in that it was nearby evidence of woodpecker activity. You can see just to the left of the above woodpecker nesting hole; there are two holes, likely created by woodpeckers in their bid to extract insects, that have been covered up with something like chicken wire.  This is a problem that some buildings with wooden exteriors have.  Woodpeckers can detect the presence of insects underneath bark or even further into the wood of the tree.  They detect would-be meals by hearing the insect activity, by sensing their vibrations, and by smelling them (albeit to a lesser extent). What's interesting is that the insects may n...

Photographed near McCall, Idaho, in 2008, with my Nikon D70 camera. This easily could have been the photo that started my obsession with windows.  It turns out I also have an obsession with benches, if you caught my earlier blogs on the subject.  But, I have to admit, I love this shot.  Not only that, but it was taken with a 6 mp camera - My first DSLR made by Nikon - and I have made numerous prints of it. This brings up a good question about pixel count.  How many pixels are enough?  With cellphone and some digital cameras, pixel count has gone through the roof.  You can now take 200 mp photos with some Galaxy cell phones, and medium format cameras often provide 100 mp capability.  Full-frame mirrorless cameras are often around 50 mp, with some of Sony's cameras boasting 61 mp.  The truth is, do you really need that many megapixels? My Z7ii has a 45 mp sensor while my D500 is limited to 20 mp.  Yet the truth is that this is often enough....

Geraniums in a window box I liked this photo because of the appealing framing going on with the plants and the tidy nature of the whole scene.  It was the geraniums, though, that really caught my eye.  I quite like them because of the deep red colours of the flowers, the fact that they seem to bloom all year long, and how easy they are to care for.  There are some white ones there too, although I am not a fan of them. I have always liked the colour red in my photos - there is something dramatic about certain shades that always captures my attention.  The scene would be quite bland without the central colour boost to the photo that just adds the right amount of oomph. Although I plant new ones every year, geraniums are easy to take care of over winter.  The key is to remove them from the garden before the first frost and to shake the soil from their roots.  You keep them in a cool, dry place until the spring and replant them.  They have to be cut back s...

Door and window in the Dominican Republic.  Where there is trust, there is no need for locks. When it comes to having things, one of the best things to have is the trust of others.  And the thing about trust is that it is hard to earn and easy to lose.   Think about the people in your life that you trust, not lightly, but with deep conviction.  What is it about them that has led you to this place of confidence in their character?  It has nothing to do with how they look, their bank account, or their popularity.  It is something that has developed over time.  It is based on common experiences and witnessed behaviours that stand out.   There are several qualities that stand out about why you can trust this individual.  They care about you and what happens to you and your loved ones.  They are there when you need them, in whatever capacity.  It is also likely that they are well thought of by others.  If you lend them som...

Detailed view of a building in Antigua at Nelson's Dock Yard. I find that buildings and surrounding landscapes interest me, but not always the entire compound at once.  Rather, parts of a building get my attention, usually doors and/or windows, that are surrounded by colour, patina, or compelling objects. Such is the case above. My wife and I have enjoyed cruising.  The upside is that you get to visit a great many places in a short time; the downside is that each location is often limited by that short time, and so there tends to be lots to explore with little opportunity.  When my eye catches something interesting, I point my camera towards it.  So it was in this case. " Nelson’s Dockyard Marina is the only continuously working Georgian Era dockyard in the world. English Harbour offers one of the most beautiful and safe natural anchorages in the Caribbean. Two hundred years of Royal Navy heritage alongside stunning beaches and modern amenities makes Nelson’s Dockyar...

A gardener in Palm Springs posing for me - I'm sure he's proud of the work he does. When I photograph people, I like to have something that speaks to more than just the person's image.  I often find photographing relationships to be rewarding.  When photographing an individual, I often like to do what I call a character shot. Character photos are less about what someone looks like and are more about who they are as an individual.  This may encompass any number of aspects of traits, but I often find that the best associations are with work or hobbies.  They are almost always photos of an individual, often in a setting where they spend a lot of time or find peace, and something that they have positive feelings towards. In the above photo, I asked the gardener if I could photograph him.  He posed very simply with a pair of shears; there was nothing special about how he stood.  I loved the greenery around him and the flowers in the background.  I used flas...