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What's up? I am!

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Yellow-bellied marmot at Kamalaka Lake Provincial Park near Vernon, BC. Climbing to a better viewpoint is not uncommon in the animal kingdom, but it was funny to see a yellow-bellied marmot doing it.  It makes me think of meercats climbing on top of nearby people to get a better vantage point.  While meercats tend to live on savannahs where there are few elevation changes, even from rocky outcrops or the occasional tree, our local marmot populations have plenty of structures to climb.  The difference is that I have never seen one, even in photos, actually doing it. Imagine my surprise when I saw this fellow, about 200 feet away from me in a clearing, taking it upon himself to climb a bench.  As I researched the notion of marmots looking for higher "perches", I discovered that these rather large rodents do, on occasion, climb trees.   Oh, they like to sun themselves on rocks to be sure.  I have seen plenty of that, but the rocks are always barely taller...
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Why photograph the same bird species again and again?

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Savannah sparrow I photographed on May 7, 2026.  Inset - August 31, 2022. Why do I photograph the same species of bird over and over again?  Well, I do, and I don't.  Common birds such as crows, robins, and house sparrows rarely merit my interest.  Other birds that I see less commonly garner my interest, especially ones that I have never seen before.  But why photograph a bird I already have half a dozen images of?  What's the point? There are several reasons, the most alluring is that I may get a better image than I already have.  Examine the photos above; they were taken almost four years apart, one in Vernon and the other in Maple Ridge (inset).  The one I shot more recently is more complete as there are no foreground distractions.  Also, I used a teleconverter on the 500 mm lens, and so I had a bit more reach.  The newer one is just a better photo. Then there is equipment.  My much older photos were taken with what I was using a...
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Investing in outdoor recreation - It's a win-win-win situation.

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Kalamalka Lake along the Okanagan Rail Trail.  Taken with my iPhone 15. Almost 50 km of decommissioned train tracks were torn up and replaced with a gently graded multi-use path linking the towns of Kelowna and Coldstream.  Travelling beside or near three lakes, the rail trail is a perfect way to explore the majesty of the Okanagan.  The inviting scenes, fresh air, and close proximity to wildlife spur many to explore what wonders await them along the route.  And it cost less than $30 million. That may seem to be a lot of money, but the benefit to the community has been, and will continue to be, well worth the investment.  The trail opened officially in 2018, which doesn't seem all that long ago.  In its first full year of operation, the trail had almost 600,000 uses.  The benefit to the local economy over the last 8 years of operation has no doubt been greater than the original outlay of cash.  And it will continue to do so in the future as its po...
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3D image tracking - The camera and lens working together.

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Female northern harrier photographed using 3D image tracking and continuous focusing. A camera may have 3D image tracking, but that doesn't mean it can do a good job.  There are many aspects to tracking an image.  Here are some of the issues to consider: How fast is the subject moving?  Is the subject erratic in its movements?   You can often alter the refresh rate of your continuous focusing in menus, making it longer or shorter depending on various factors.  I keep mine as short as possible. Is there empty space before the subject?  How about behind? Many tracking functions have a problem with clutter, especially if the subject is partly concealed by it.   What model of camera do you have?  Newer/higher-end models will have faster processors and therefore can apply focusing algorithms that much faster than other cameras.   Although I have fairly good equipment, it is not the best, and I know many of my shots could be better i...
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Mountain lady slipper - they only bloom for a short while - in Kelowna now.

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Mountain Lady slipper - I photographed this with my iPhone at Mission Creek Park. I have seen lady slippers before, but never in Canada.  Imagine my surprise when I saw hundreds of them along the trail in Mission Creek Park in Kelowna.  The last lady slipper I photographed was when I was shooting slide film and my kids were in their early teens. The blooms of the plant last for a mere 7-14 days.  I saw them yesterday (May 11, 2026) in Kelowna and expect that most of them will be finished sometime next week.   Lady slippers are a type of orchid.  There are about 40 different species of native orchids in BC, the most of any province in Canada.  Although it is not illegal to pick them, it is strongly discouraged.  The plants are easily damaged.  Transplanting them typically fails.   I do very few blogs on plants as my main interest is in animal life of all types and of course all aspects of photography.  However, I make an excepti...
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The marsh wren - building contractors on steroids

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A very vocal marsh wren sings from a bull rush in the Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary near Vernon, BC. The first time I photographed a marsh wren, I thought it was a Bewick's wren.  The telltale tail identified it as a wren, and they both have a stripe above the eye.  Marsh wrens, however, have a checkered back pattern that Bewick's does not.  And then there is location. Marsh wrens - guess where they live?  In marshes.  I have only ever seen them around cattails, often lurking unseen inside some dense thicket of leaves and stems.  Their song ( click here for a video) is distinctive.  I photographed the above birds while kayaking at Swan Lake near Vernon, and as we paddled along the edge of the reed bed, we could hear their numerous calls.   Marsh wren males are aggressive nest builders.  Their nests are bulbous, covered structures with a hole in them ( click here for image) for the awaiting female.  And, as amazing as they are, they don...
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Happy Mother's Day to my wife, Kathryn.

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Kathryn enjoying her new e-bike on the Okanagan Rail Trail near Vernon, BC. Kathryn wears many hats in her life, in all ways.  Physically, she has two in the photo and another three or four at home or in our trailer.  Metaphorically, she has many more. She is my wife, an amazing thing given who I am.  She could have married anyone, yet she chose me.  We will celebrate our 38th anniversary this year. Kathryn is the mother of my children.  Two kids, now both in their 30's, that we are very proud of and thankful for.  She helped shape their personalities and moral codes. She is well educated, a teacher, and an instructor for the blind.  She has made a huge difference in so many lives.  And her enthusiasm for helping others goes on despite her retirement. Kathryn is my friend; she was my friend first and then my wife.  We camp, play games, walk, ride bikes, watch shows, and eat together.   She loves God.  We go to church, attend a ...
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