All My Blogs

I have been interested in tanks ever since I lived on the military base at Borden, Ontario, where my dad was a Captain in the Canadian Armed forces. There was a central park that displayed a large number of tanks, mostly vestiges of World War Two. There were one Japanese tank and an assortment of German, American, and even Canadian tanks. I used to go there with my friends, we were all pre-teenagers, and climb them and engage our imaginations to their fullest potential. I also built tank models from the same era; for some reason, there was a fascination with the subject that is still with me today. While we were visiting New Zealand two years ago now (it seems like an eternity) we had a chance to visit the National Army War Museum. It had a stunning collection of more modern tanks such as the Challenger; inside the building was where I found the Sherman tank. Shermans were one on one, no match for most of the Nazi armoured vehicles of the time. However, they held their o...

To get to my gallery page, click here . Over the years I have collected quite a few photos. Certainly not compared to a professional photographer, especially in the sports world where a camera body can easily record 200,000 actuations in a single year. I am probably shooting somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 images annually. This is well over the tally I was achieving during the years when I used slide and negative film; there I may have shot a maximum of 30 to 40 rolls in the same time period. I have gone digital since about 2002. My first DSLR was a Fuji S1-Pro, a 3-megapixel camera that cost well over $2000. I take photos because I enjoy it. I was living in Kingston, Ontario between the ages of 12-16. I had an old Brownie which I used sporadically; the photos were not great but the memories they elicit are invaluable. I graduated high school in 1978 in the town of Sylvan Lake, Alberta. There, for a graduation gift, I got my first SLR camera. It was a Russian b...

Cheam Lake is a pleasant body of water located in a regional park some 15 km east of Chilliwack as the crow flies. The lake itself is off-limits to all forms of surface vessels and is an important wildlife sanctuary. There is approximately 2.3 km of trails that have little slope and are considered easy hiking. I have been there three times now and have seen an impressive variety of wildlife at each outing. Access to the majority of the lake is very limited; the purpose being it is a place where Nature can express herself without being affected by man's influence. The area was previously a limestone quarry that operated from 1940 to 1990. Once a site of intense mining, the area was returned to nature after being abandoned. Two substances were removed from the site. Calcium carbonate-rich limestone was used for the manufacture of portland cement and marl was used by farmers to sweeten (make less acidic) soil. The once devastated area has been revitalized and for the l...

The wonderful thing about wildlife is that it is all around us, even in places that are not so wild. The truth of this statement, however, depends on what you define as wildlife. I take the term literally; it implies all life that is not domestic or planted (in other words, wild). If your idea of wildlife is restricted to larger members of the order Mammalia and unusual varieties of avian species then you will consider the statement to be false. Regardless of your point of view, I love being outdoors and around wildlife. My friend Dave and I were visiting Cheam Lake, a Lower Mainland wildlife sanctuary. We saw a good variety of birds and insects and enjoyed wandering along the various well-maintained trails. While there we took a couple of photos of each other using a pair of glacial erratics to augment the scene. When hiking trails it is my custom to bring two cameras with me. My friend is using one to take the picture and the other is displayed in hand. The camera...

The composite above is a collection of four photos of, what was for me, part of an amazing experience. I quite enjoy hiking and exploring wild areas. On this particular day, I came across a branch of the Vedder River near Chilliwack. It had been hot and dry for a while; the river level was running low and many of the secondary channels had dried up. However, there was a spot I found where a small pool had remained. Each day it existed saw the area it covered become smaller and smaller. As the water evaporated or percolated through the sand and mud the creatures that depended on it were forced together. Instead of there being four or five insects per square foot of substrate there were four or five hundred. You can see by my shadow in the first image that the pool is tiny. The red square shows the area I photographed which is to the right of it. In that tiny section of water are dozens of insect larvae. Most of them were stoneflies (bottom left) or mayflies (bottom righ...

The green bottle fly, a close relative of the blue bottle fly, is commonly found throughout the world. These familiar insects are often mistaken for houseflies because of their appearance and pervasive nature. They do, however, belong to a different family of flies; the blowflies. Blowfly adults will take nourishment from any moist surface that contains sustenance. In the above photo, a green bottle fly is taking nectar from a flowering plant. The larvae of flies, called maggots, are an different entirely thing, and blowfly larvae are very particular in their diets. Blowfly maggots eat only decaying flesh. This sounds hideous to most of us but in fact, it represents an essential niche in the ecology of our planet. Dead things must decay and these insects play an important role in distributing nutrients throughout the environment. Let's say a small mammal such as a squirrel dies. It is soon discovered by a variety of insects that go to work on taking advantage of the ...

Telephotos are camera lenses that magnify an image relative to how you would see it by the naked eye. Also called long lenses, they are commonly used in sports and wildlife photography, especially those preceded with the word "ultra". I have several zooms that fall into this category; many of the wildlife photos you see in my blogs are taken with them. Outside of the obvious benefits of image magnification, telephotos have another property which gives them great value. This involves something called compression. Compression is the term used to describe the effect that telephotos bestow upon a scene. In order to see compression there have to be two elements being photographed; a near one and a distant one. In the above photograph, the two major elements are the ferry (called the Seabus) in the foreground and Canada Place (with the large "sail" structures) in the background. If you look carefully you can see a second Seabus just to the right and much furt...

Flickers are one of my favourite birds. They are amazing in just so many ways. First off, they are a type of woodpecker. Not that woodpeckers are uncommon, but there are many places in the world where such birds do not exist. Woodpeckers use their beaks to broach bark and excavate cavities, all in the name of gathering food. The skull is designed to withstand the pervasive pounding by a singularly unique method - their tongue is enclosed in a sheath that wraps around the brain to protect it. The tongue generally about four inches long making up about a third of the bird's length. The barbed tip juts through air and into crevasses to remove invertebrate morsels. Another reason why I like flickers so much is because of their ground-dwelling habit. It turns out that they eat a lot of ants, larvae, pupae, and adults. They do this by finding an ant's nest site and raiding it. What is especially amazing is that they seem to have the ability to smell out the location of...

I can't blame the raccoon for thinking it was the perfect place for a den. It was dry, the entrance well hidden by a weeping maple, and near an ample supply of food. If I was furry all over and sported a mask, I might share the same sentiment. However, I happen to own the deck which allegedly houses the creature and I had to do something about it. I discovered it about two weeks ago. It was time to prune the herbage around the house. This involved using both a hedge trimmer and large pruning sheers to force the sprawling vegetation into an acceptable form. I do this on a small scale once or twice a year, but it was time to go to town as things were starting to get out of hand. One of the worst offenders was a red weeping maple I have in my front garden. Its branches were touching the ground and engulfing other plants. After giving it an extensive "haircut" I noticed a mound of fresh dirt just underneath. Further inspection revealed a large hole providing ...

What is hyperfocal focusing? In a nutshell, it means getting the most depth of field you can in a photograph; this usually includes objects both far away (sharp at the "infinite" setting) and near. The way to do this involves following a series of steps. Fortunately, they are relatively easily achieved. Before starting the procedure it is important to select the scene you want to capture, the focal length you hope to employ, and the closest and furthest points you want in focus. The concept of "in focus" needs a little refining, because whether something is in focus or not partly depends on the size of the print and your relative position to it. This gets somewhat daunting, so we will go with an 8x10 print viewed from arm's length; this tends to be satisfactory most of the time. Pay attention to your lens' focal length (the mm value of the lens which can change in a zoom lens but is fixed in a prime lens). Lower focal lengths are easier to w...

Rainbow Lake at Princeton Castle Resort. The lake occurs in a natural basin and is home to a wide variety of plants and animals, including the protected Western Painted Turtle. We are blessed in this country. We have amazing natural treasures in the land and in the flora and fauna that inhabit it. In recognition of this, public areas have been set aside to help preserve these legacies. Land under private ownership often exhibits qualities that also make them invaluable, both environmentally and commercially. One of the great investments of future generations is in eco-tourism, a concept marrying the beauty nature has to offer with the opportunity for others to enjoy it. A good example of this is the resort found near the town of Princeton, British Columbia. Princeton Castle Resort exhibits all the characteristics of an environmental wonderland. Allison Creek runs through the property. It helps maintain the water table and indirectly is the source of water feeding the t...

Yesterday's blog ( click here ) was on stoneflies with an image I shot of a nymph feeding on another insect larva. Today's blog features the adults, a male and female, involved in mating. The male is smaller and is riding on the back of the female. If you look closely, you can see his abdomen wraps underneath the female's where the copulatory process is taking place. What I found interesting about this was that the pair was still ambulatory. The male hung on tight but the female could move about using her legs; flying was out of the question. There were many individual stoneflies about and numerous mating pairs. They were heavily distributed in the vegetation alongside of the river. They seem to have emerged at once, or at least within a very narrow time period. I did not go down to the rocks by the river as it was dangerous, but I am sure I would have found quite a few discarded ecdyses - the last molt leading to adult emersion. The adults were very lar...

Stoneflies, which belong to the order Plecoptera, are aquatic insects as juveniles. When mature they leave their watery existence and emerge as winged adults capable of flight. The nymphs, which are what stonefly larvae are called, goes through several molts. Young larvae tyically are detritivores or herbivores and feed on whatever is available, typically choosing seclusion as a means of self-preservation. As they get larger some species become predatory. The photo I took shows a more mature stonefly larva attacking a beetle larva. The first image (1.) shows them in close proximity to one another and the second image (2.) shows the stonefly in the process of feeding. Some stoneflies can become very large, measuring over two inches in length. It may take two or three years to become that big. As they grow and live in that environment they are both hunting and being hunted. It turns out that many fish are fond of eating stoneflies. Avoiding fish isn't the only challe...

When is a woolly bear caterpillar not a woolly bear caterpillar? Well, there are many answers to that depending on the area you live in and what you believe. The standard woolly bear has a black front and rear with a brown center and exits its cacoon in the spring as the Isabella Tiger Moth . However, if you do a google search for "types of woolly bear caterpillars" you will see that there are quite a few varieties that fall into that category. The one in the photograph above is the Spotted Tussock Moth Woolly Bear caterpillar. It is also known as the Yellow Spotted Tiger Moth. The Woolly Bear Legend is one steeped in research, although the truth is probably more in line with superstition than fact. If you examine the size of the brown center relative to the black ends of the Isabella Tiger Moth caterpillar (not the one in the above photo) you can predict the severity of the coming winter. The larger the brown central area the milder the winter. Conversely, a s...

Where is your happy place? It should be somewhere that you find both peace and engagement. For me, it is being in the outdoors by a lake, or possibly a slow-moving river, where people are few and Nature is in her glory. The nice thing is there are so many places where that combination exists. The caveat to the whole thing though is the need for water, power, and the opportunity to acquire supplies. Although I fancy myself a woodsman, the truth is that I like my comforts. I can't be away from my camera, computer, and movies for very long. This explains why I have a giant 36 foot RV parked in my driveway. I took this photograph of me while camping at Fish Lake, Alberta. I was doing what I love best. Being outdoors, taking pictures, kayaking, and hiking with good friends in good weather brings me the kind of deep satisfaction that I long for but rarely experience. Even though retired, the opportunity for these elements to coalesce is somewhat rare, especially with the...

When we see something we like, we tend to get closer to it. Not only to see it better, but it makes sense to photograph it from a better position. After all, closer is better, right? That axiom doesn't always hold true. In the case regarding the above photograph, moving closer to the far shore (and thus the mountains) would end up blocking out the mountains. That may be hard to initially believe, but put yourself on the far shoreline and all you would see is trees when facing toward where the mountains were. As you back up you would see the cloud and then eventually the tall peaks would be exposed. It wouldn't be until you were a significant distance away that the whole scene would lie stunningly before you. There is another reason why being farther away works. As you get closer a wider angle lens is needed. This causes a perspective change in the image and undermines the tops of the mountains. Consider expressing the distance from you to the bottom of th...

When I was growing up I used to spend a lot of time down at the local creek and pond. I always marveled at the aerobatic displays put on by dragonflies. I watched with interest as their maneuvers allowed them to capture other flying insects. I could throw a pebble near an airborne dragonfly and it would chase it until it hit the ground or water. Ever since I have had a passion for these flying juggernauts. While paddling on a mountainous lake I noticed there was quite a population of dragonflies. They were all blue-eyed darners, a large insect commonly found through much of North America. The one in the photograph is a male; it has two diagonal stripes on its thorax and blue blotches along the length of its abdomen (tail). I found one that had become trapped on the surface. Its vibrating wings sent ripples over quite a distance and I'm sure in time a fish would have answered the metaphoric dinner bell. However, I pulled it out and left it to dry and warm itself on my ...

As a photographer, I believe in going to new places and exploring exciting environments to capture. I am always amazed at the beauty of our planet (and equally horrified at our destruction of it). After I find a landscape that captures my imagination I then turn my eye to things that will enhance the shot. The first thing I do is to move along whatever access I have and see how the setting changes. I usually take a few photos in the process and check histograms and play with other settings. This way I will be fully prepared for the photo I hope to end up with. Next, I look for possible foreground enhancements. This usually ends up being plant matter of some kind. It could be flowers, things that point or frame, and trees with character that stand out are always appreciated. Sometimes I will find rocks that fit the bill. When human elements are present, such as old barns or wooden fences, I like to include them in some augmentative fashion. After I discover the fo...

One of my favourite times of the year to use polarizer filters is during the fall. There are a couple of reasons for that which I will point out below. Polarizers cut out any light coming from a particular angle which happens to be polarized. This helps deepen blue skies and provides excellent contrast for clouds. Polarizers make it far easier to get a correct white balance. The fact is that polarized light is often very blue because of its source. When you determine the white balance of a scene (auto white balance) you are averaging the bluing effect of all that reflected light. A polarizer takes out that polarized light and makes the scene less varied in terms of differing amounts of polarization. It produces colours with improved saturation thus making fall shades more vivid. If water is involved, a polarizer can reduce the reflection off its surface producing more desirable results. There are a variety of polarizer manufacturers on the market that make...

Occasionally I come across something amazing. I had just parked my RV and exited the cab when a large insect buzzed loudly beside me then fled away into some nearby underbrush. The unexpected encounter startled me severely, especially without knowing exactly what it was that was so large and noisy. I had heard of the invasion of giant wasps and wondered briefly if this was one of these massive beasts. I didn't get a good look at it as I was still recovering from my start, and it flew off with great power and agility. This was something I had to find again. Over the next couple of days we did some hiking and paddling, but mostly just enjoyed the vestiges of summer slipping away. I had another opportunity to see the insect and just could make out the yellow and black bands it sported. It was indeed huge, for an insect, and I marveled at its winged prowess. While walking the roads in the campground I came upon some fellow campers and asked if they had seen any such creat...

The Oregon Coast is a wonderland of forests, ocean, beaches, and trails. Whether by foot, bike, or car, any excursion along the splendiferous region will satisfy even the greatest wanderlust. Last summer I had the privlidge of traveling there and spent some time at Pacific City. We toured the Three Capes Scenic Loop and enjoyed hiking along the Cape Lookout State Park trail. It was early when we started and the fog was relatively thick, even though we were still a significant distance from the shoreline. The trail passed through a coniferous forest populated with Sitka Spruce; magnificant trees which have as much character as they do height. The photographed many scenes, but the one above is one of my favourites. It has a number of things going for it, the nature of the tree being of prime importance. The fog reduces background clutter and helps the main subject stand out. The etherial lighting also plays an important part reducing shadows and making the vegetation appear...

Upon first glance, you might think this was a caterpillar of a butterfly or moth. It is, however, the larva of a sawfly. I had quite a banner year photographing insects and was thrilled to find that many of my acquisitions were either sawflies or sawfly larvae. Many sawfly caterpillars look like the larva of their insect cousins, the Lepidoptera. However, there is an easy way to tell them apart. All insects have six legs. Like the adults, caterpillars also have six legs, but they have an additional set of false legs called prolegs. They are at the rear of the larva and help it to adhere to and move along whatever substrate they happen to be on. Lepidoptera prolegs are usually limited to five or six pairs and are found only near the larva's posterior. Sawfly larvae have more prolegs and go right up the caterpillar to just behind the six true legs. If you find a caterpillar with only a few pairs of prolegs it is a butterfly or moth. If it has prolegs going all the way...

I posted a blog a few days ago about a red-necked grebe's chick (go here ). The above photo is a photo I took of the adult; males and females show no visible dimorphism and cannot be told apart in the field. If you click on the link you will get a new window and you can move back and forward between blogs to see how they are similar or different. As I said in that blog, I find it amazing to see how the feathers of a young bird change into that of a mature one. The presence of grebes in a freshwater ecosystem is always heartening to see. Not just because I find them to be interesting, attractive birds, but also because it speaks of the relatively low levels of substances that bioaccumulate or biomagnify. Heavy metals such as mercury and lead and halogenated compounds like DDT and PCBs are persistent chemicals that build up in the tissues of organisms. Bioaccumulation refers to an increase in the concentrations of these materials over time while biomagnification involves ...

Red-necked grebes are often a common sight when paddling during the spring and summer months. Early on a pair of these fish-eating ducks build a nest out of aquatic plants heaped in a pile until it emerges above the waterline. When the nest appears eggs are laid (2-6) and both parents incubate and tend the impending brood. The chicks have a comical zebra pattern when their feathers develop. They are gradually replaced by the adult plumage as summer turns to fall. I was paddling on Lake Nakuman, northeast of Edmonton one day, and came across a number of juvenile water birds. I saw young pied-billed grebes, western grebes, and red-necked grebes. Each one differed from its adult facsimile to the point that I had to refer to a few of my bird books to verify identification. I found the juvenile red-necked grebes relatively easy though as I recognized elements of both chick and adult patterns. To see what I mean by this, look at the head of the bird in my photogr...

The large beetle is a punctured blister beetle that I photographed while wandering through a patch of wildflowers with my macro setup. The two insects behind it are an unknown species of true bugs. I remained motionless for a period watching the insects' behaviours. The two bugs were following the beetle mercilessly; it was my opinion at the time that they were attempting to procure the larger insect for food purposes. The blister beetle was adamantly avoiding any association with its pursuers. I did not wait around long enough to see how the chase ended. Blister beetles are remarkable in their own right. They get the name because they secrete a chemical called cantharidin which irritates the skin and causes blisters to later form, usually a few hours after contact. They have interesting feeding behaviours; the beetle larva feeds on the eggs, provisions, and young of ground-dwelling bees; grasshopper eggs may also be consumed. Adults are herbivorous and may be agricult...