All My Blogs

That little +/- function on your digital camera, do you ever use it? Usually available as a button, sometimes through a navigation control or menu, it allows you to alter the exposure the camera chooses. It would be wonderful if your camera's ability to capture an image was without flaw or imperfection, but the truth is that you often have to adjust some parameters. Chief among those is the exposure compensation button. The exposure is a combination of sensor sensitivity (ISO), the amount of time that an exposure takes (shutter speed), and the amount of light that the lens allows into the camera (aperture). Each of these can change up and down by values we call a stop; a stop is just a doubling or halving of light. Change ISO from 100 to 200 means the sensor is twice as sensitive to light (needs one-half the light). Decreasing shutter speed from 1/250th of a second to 1/125th of a second means twice as much light hits the sensor. Altering aperture from f/8 to f/5.6 d...

If you have ever lost a pet you know that it's like losing a member of the family. Most of us have gone through it or will go through it at some point. There are those of us that have been through the process numerous times. There is always risk in love; binding your heart to another living thing, whether human or otherwise, brings with it the chance of certain heartbreak. That's the only way it can be though. If you fail to give in to the relationship you fail to reap the benefits of it. That, I think, would be a far greater loss. Speedy was a happy, energetic Jack Russel terrier. Dear friends of ours, new immigrants from the Netherlands, were looking for a dog that would meld with their family of five. The three school-aged children eagerly awaited the arrival of their new pet; they were not disappointed when she arrived. Friendly, playful, and full of life, she immediately became part of the family. The large backyard boasted plenty of space for the dog'...

The northern pintail is a dabbling duck. Dabbling does not refer to trying one's hand (or wing) at some craft but, in the case of ducks, implies that it is a surface feeder. A dabbling duck spends its time on the water's surface, feeding at or just below the waterline. They will happily take pond weeds, insects, and soft mud. Dabblers, such as mallards, can be seen with their tails pointed straight up into the air as they reach for benthic goodies. I went on a hike this morning along a favourite trail where I have previously found quite a variety of bird and amphibian species. Today I spotted a number of golden-crowned kinglets as well as a host of some of the more familiar birds. I particularly liked the photo I got of the pintail; I patiently waited for it to right itself as it was busy engaging in its dabbling practices. I love the contrasting body colours and the flowing back feathers; the blue-gray bill is also an amazing feature. Females are lackluster, as ...

When is an ant not an ant? When it is a velvet ant. Velvet ants are actually a type of solitary wasp with bright colouring and usually a lot of plush hair. This particular velvet ant was captured in Writing on Stone Provincial Park in southern Alberta. It belongs to the species Dasymutilla bioculata (I think). There is a modest amount of variation within the species; a fellow insect enthusiast who goes by the name of Bug Eric (too bad he thought of that name first) has an excellent article about this wasp in one of his posts (click here ). Male velvet ants have wings and cannot sting. Females lack the ability to fly but carry an impressively painful sting. The wasp in the above photograph is a female; her firey colour a testament to the wallop she packs if provoked. Sometimes called cow killers, the pain evoked by a velvet ant sting may rank up to a 3 on the Schmidt Sting Scale (click here for more information). That is halfway between a yellowjacket wasp (2) and...

What is resolution and why is it important in photography? Resolution is the ability to distinguish detail in an image. Consider the ability to resolve detail in your vision. The best part of your vision is where you look when you try to see fine details; we commonly call it central vision and it is located on a part of the retina called the fovea. As you read this, the words move across that part of the retina and there is enough detail there to distinguish the shape of each letter. People with central vision loss, related to macular degeneration, have a hard time reading because they can't acquire enough detail to discern letters. More detail equals better resolution. Several factors that affect resolution in digital cameras. Chief among them is the number of pixels on the sensor. A pixel, essentially a coloured dot, combines with neighbouring pixels to produce part of the image. They all work together to produce the picture you see. The more pixels there are, th...

I have had my bird feeder up for a couple of months now. They were set up a few years ago in my "bird garden," but neighbourhood cats discovered it was a perfect place to hide and wait. I have established it now in the center of my backyard; an open place where any cat will be easily seen. Not only by me, but by my dogs as well. They know the word "cat" very well and bark happily as they search for any kitties that might be within reach. Everyone is happy, well, maybe not the cats. I shot this picture (above) a couple of days ago. There have been lots of chickadees, juncos, and siskins patronizing my bird feeders, but this was the first house finch I have seen since their reinstallment. I photographed it with my Nikon D500 and 500 mm PF prime lens. The image was seriously cropped; tomorrow's blog will be on the advantage of large megapixel counts and the ability to still obtain remarkably useful images from only a small portion of the original fil...

Christmas; a time of gathering of loved ones and celebration of family. Not this year though, Covid has put a stop to that. This photo was taken two years ago as 2018 was coming to a close. My son, Joshua, and Chanelle were newlyweds. My wife, Kathryn, is holding Murphy who was still a puppy. Leanne, my daughter, had recently graduated with a four-year degree. And I am there too. Our family, as imperfect as it is, together. Here in British Columbia, we have been asked to isolate. Not desirable but wise. I read a great statement the other day. "We isolate now so that, when we gather together later, no one is missing." Keeping apart means keeping safe. Covid relies on proximity to transmit. The fact that it takes over a week for symptoms to show means you could be carrying the virus and transmitting it to others without knowing it. Most of us don't have it though, but it doesn't matter. The mortality rate is highest among seniors and those with c...

Is there a better way to live than to do what you love with someone you love? Passion and passion. I can't give you details on the people in the photograph or the environment in which they find themselves, but I can well imagine it. Married for years, they raised a family in a town where they did what they could to make ends meet. They loved being around people and had a lot of friends. Garage sales, estate sales, and auctions were frequently visited; they discovered they were attracted to antiques and memories of the past. What started as a hobby became an obsession. The kids grew up and moved away to start careers of their own. The place grew empty, except for the collections obtained over the years spent combing Americana. They hit upon an idea and it grew, from a thought to a possiblilty to reality. An old building came up for sale; it was perfect. They sold their home of many years and invested in a future that dealt with the past. The building was erect...

Although it doesn't compare to some of the whoppers found in tropical climates, the giant house spider can still install a serious case of the willies to anyone sensitive to members of the arachnid family. Not only are they big, for a domestic spider in Canada, but they are fast. At almost three inches across and traveling at speeds near 2 km/hr, these hairy-bodied predators hide indoors during the day and come out at night to hunt. It is not uncommon to discover one when lifting or moving some sedentary object. They build funnel-shaped webs to hide in. You have probably seen them; I have them in the dark corners of my garage. Their presence is verified by the large number of discarded corpses lying around its home. I found such a scene yesterday as I was cleaning around my freezer in the garage; the remains of dozens of sowbugs laid strewn about the lair evidence of its activity. The female tends to stay within her webbed domicile while the male often leaves his...

You have probably heard one but never seen what makes the noise. Cicadas. There are many species of them across North America; the most famous are found in the east and take up to 17 years to become mature. The mountain cicada is a western species. The length of time between egg and adult is unknown but may be up to 9 years. Cicada nymphs have a subterranean nature. The eggs are laid on branches above ground where they remain until hatching. The young fall to the ground where they burrow into the soil looking for tree roots to nourish growth and development. Found about twelve inches beneath the soil, the young grow to maturity then exit their underground refuge. They will shed the last molt, usually at the base of a tree, and climb to a position where the wings can be inflated and prepared for flying. Male cicadas are the crooners in the family as a rule of thumb. In some species, the female may also "sing". They produce sound by vibrating a pair of or...

Every person who creates art has, in their collection or memory, something that they are particularly pleased with. Of the hundreds of thousands of images I have captured over a lifetime I have a handful that fall into that category. The above photograph is one of them. The beautiful thing about it is that there has been no significant alteration or manipulation of the shot. It was as I saw it and I am thankful that I had the lucidity to capture the moment. I was at a music jam that could be found weekly on an outdoor stage during the warm evenings of summer. I was visiting my dad and step-mother and we had gone to the event as was their custom. Such events are held as revered occasions in the hearts of many, but not mine. As the musicians played their foot-stomping sing-along songs I was meandering about the property with my camera. There were antique cars, buildings, and other memorabilia, but the thing that captured my eye was a historic log cabin. It was the end...

Take a moment to consider what is the motivation behind snapping a photo. What is the driving force that causes you to compose then capture the image? There are many answers to that question; some may not be able to convey the thought in words. A better question then is, "What do you plan on doing with the picture?" The answer to this may lead you to alter your technique. I enjoy the challenge of capturing the beauty before me in an attractive and pleasurable manner. The subjects of my passion tend to be outdoor places and wildlife of all sorts. Over the years I have developed an eye for knowing what will and won't work, but even then I rarely approach a scene with only one frame of reference. It is not just to render proof that I was somewhere or found something interesting but to capture the essence of the moment in a memorable manner. One of the techniques I use is to shoot an object of interest from many positions. I actually took twelve images of...

There are so many fascinating birds in the world, and Canada is home to many of them. Grebes are fish-eating birds with webbed feet and specialized bills that allow them to both spear fish underwater and to catch/hold onto their slippery prey. They are the largest grebe in North America and easily identifiable because of their long necks, red eyes, and two-toned appearance. Western grebes have a most interesting behaviour when it comes to mating; they are easily the most intricate of all the grebe species. The courtship display of the western grebe is an amazing behaviour. They perform a "rushing dance," sometimes called the "weed dance," where a pair will rise out of the water using their feet and patter across its surface in tandem for quite a distance (click here to see video). It is called a weed dance because they sometimes will hold small pieces of reed or other aquatic plant in their bills while performing. Although I have seen many western greb...

One of the reasons I enjoy taking photos of insects so much is because there is so much to learn. I have photos of insects that I have never identified; my downtime during covid has allowed me the opportunity to peruse through many of the images I had previously taken but not worked with. Today I found an interesting black and red insect I have only seen the one time and knew nothing about it. I found my blog of the day. All insects can be classified as undergoing complete metamorphosis or incomplete metamorph0sis. Butterflies are an example of the former where there are two distinct stages; a larval form and an adult form. Beetles use a similar system with a larval form and an adult form. Incomplete metamorphosis involves a young insect growing up looking very much like its adult form; grasshoppers are a good example. True bugs also develop this way. As an insect grows it has to shed its exoskeleton because the tough chitinous shell does not expand with the develo...

If you look at the above photo carefully you will notice that the mountains in the background are a little blurry. Would the photograph be better if they were sharp and in focus, like the cactus, or if they were even more out of focus? So, I decided to take the image into Photoshop and play with the Gaussian blur filter. I selected the mountains and land just before them and applied the filter. I then feathered the selection tool and added the area closer to the cactus to prevent a harsh line from appearing. I wanted the blur to look natural. I got the results below. The difference may be hard to see; in a larger image (more resolution) you can see the difference clearly. What you should notice is that the cactus stands out better in the image where the background was blurred. The sharpness of the cactus remains unchanged. If you look closely at the spines on the side of the cactus that extend into the mountain background you will notice the line where I stopped the selec...

Have you ever been outside, doing nothing important at all, and then suddenly discover something amazing? That was my experience the day I came upon an Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar. I was out tending my backyard garden. Although I enjoy gardening, I can't say that I am terribly good at it. Things get fertilized and watered on an occasional basis; bedding plants get thinned very irregularly, and the weeding gets done when I find both the time and impetus. As such, the weeds tend to do better than the desirable plants they compete with. One day, when the urge struck me, I was out saving my burgeoning crop from its evil nemesis when I came across an enormous caterpillar, the biggest one I have ever seen. It was a surprising find; the body was blotched tan and gray and there were four large eye-spots just behind the last pair of true legs. I was in for another surprise when I picked it up. The behemoth tucked its head and neck into the upper abdomen causing the le...

The great spangled fritillary is a common butterfly throughout southern Canada and the northern US. It is unusual in the fact that there are many variations of the wing pattern. At first, I thought the butterfly I photographed was a checkerspot, but I could not find any internet images that quite matched the one I had taken. Further research made me conclude that it may be a fritillary; that was corroborated when I found numerous images that corresponded to mine. The issue that came up in my search was that this particular butterfly did not have a specific morphology. The variations in appearance of this particular insect are very broad and yet they are all the same species. Some butterflies, like the well-known monarch, travel over great distances and seem to have a uniform morphology. The great spangled fritillary lives over a widespread area but seems to have developed many morphs (shows polymorphism). I find this amazing, something akin to diversity in human morphology...

Creativity. The desire to take the mundane and ordinary and turn it into something exceptional. The artisan works with both raw materials and preformed consumer goods to create something new and beautiful. Each of us has an inner artist desiring to express themselves; it just turns out the canvas on which we craft our image takes a myriad of different forms. For me, the canvas is the focal plane of a camera and the light-sensitive medium that sits upon it. I use this to capture the world around me. To take a moment in time and record it in such a way as to evoke a sense of pleasure or awe on the beholder. Others use pen and paper, a keyboard, wood, or in the photo above, glass. Every occupation and every niche in our communities allows individuals to express themselves. The end result from their labor of love shows the essence of Art. Or John, Sally, or Patty. When we do what we love we inspire others. It brings satisfaction to ourselves but also to the world ar...

The question, "What will I do today?", seems to be a frequent one lately. It's the perfect storm, as it were, where I live in a house that needs some attention, I am retired from my teaching career while my other income avenues have temporarily dried up, and I am sequestered indoors. There seems to be only one answer. Fix the house. Jobs about the house that I have left for the opportunity to ply my interests in more enjoyable ventures have come to my immediate attention. Long overdue promises and increasing needs have urged me to take up various tools and attend neglected tasks. This fall has been busy with me rebuilding my back deck, tearing out half of my garden, replanting and placing landscape fabric and mixed-surface materials in place, and getting rid of an unwelcome raccoon and critter-proofing my front porch. With the rain dampening more than my spirits, the time has come to carry on indoors. First I painted the upstairs hallway, all five miles...

Yesterday's blog was on the Geminid meteor shower . I decided to go out and see what kind of luck I had with getting some shots. And so, shortly after 6:00, I departed with camera and tripod in tow. My original plan was to head out to one of two places north of the city where there were only empty skies. No trees, lights, or hoards of people to get in the way. My spirits plummeted as I got near my first destination; the fog had rolled in. Both places were near rivers and small bodies of water. Seeing as how these lowlands were fogged in and open sky did not exist I decided to head to points of higher elevation. Rocky Ridge is a newly developed community in northeast Maple Ridge where I live. As I got closer the skies opened up and the fog disappeared. I knew of a position that offered an unobstructed view of the heavens and headed there. Indeed, I found an excellent spot to photograph what I hoped would be an excellent display of comet trails and northern lights. ...

According to Jiminy Cricket, you could have a whole pile of wishes coming true in the next couple of days. The Geminids, as they are commonly called, are meteor showers that take place between December 4 to December 17 each year. As the Earth revolves around the sun it travels at an astonishing 107,000 km/hr (around 30 km/second or Mach 14). Comets that have passed our way leave a debris field along their wake. When the Earth passes through one of these debris fields some of those particles smash into our planet. The speed is fast enough to cause them to ignite in the atmosphere; the oxygen causing them to burn up. Millions of impacts happen regularly during this time, but it peaks on December 13. In order to see the meteor trails, another term for falling star, a few conditions are required. It has to be a clear night for one. Cloud cover blocks any view. Even if there is a perfectly cloudless sky nothing is guaranteed if light pollution is present. The lights ...

I have had the privilege of seeing dowitchers twice; once just north of Calgary in 1983 and once at Red Deer in 2008. They are a type of sandpiper which means they spend their time on or near the shoreline of water bodies. Their migratory paths take them through most of Western Canada but do not actually breed there. They nest up north on the Aleutian Islands or at the northern tip of Alaska. Sandpipers are carnivorous feeding on whatever aquatic invertebrates they can catch and swallow. This is done by a rapid piston-like movement of the bill into the soft substrate of mudflats and shorelines. Smaller prey is consummed immediately with bills submerged while larger items, such as marine sandworms, will be removed from the water entirely and eaten. Watching them eat can be rewarding; they tend to feed in groups and their quick undulating head and beak motions are quite comical. I was living in BC at the time and was visiting Alberta as I frequently like to do (not so ...

We all carry burdens. That is a non-negotiable part of the human condition. Some burdens are heavier than others; one person may be better equipped to manage a load while someone else will falter under half the strain. That's another part of the human condition; life isn't fair. We strive to treat others equally, to be fair to those we are responsible for, and to dispense blessings and chastisement in an equitable manner. Yet it is all to common too hear the cry, "That's not fair." Consider the lady in the picture. She carries a heavy load and yet she is smiling. Put that same pot on my head and I would collapse in seconds. And I can further tell you that, for whatever short period of time that I wobbled about attempting to remain upright, I would not be smiling. Oh, I could maybe work with a small serving bowl with some bedding plants growing in a lightly-watered vermiculite laden soil, but I am not gentle nor graceful and would soon see my effo...

Natives of Western Mexico, these large lizards are pervasive in the Mayan ruins of Tulum. I have only seen them once; the occasion was an excursion to the ancient city from a cruise during the spring of 2001. They were everywhere. There apparently was no fear of humans as the creatures enjoyed obtaining delectable bits from tourists and guides alike (see image below). Juveniles are mostly carnivorous while adults (1 year +) eat about 75% vegetation and 25% invertebrates with the occasional rodent consumed for good measure. The males can reach lengths of five feet, the females are a bit smaller. It turns out that adults can be aggressive when harassed and are capable of inflicting a significant bite. The general philosophy seems to be to leave them alone. The lizards are a favourite of the pet trade and, it turns out, as a food source for a wide variety of animals, including man. They do not seem to be at risk for extinction, especially considering the fact they have been in...

If there was ever a teacher who represented the best of their profession, it was Gordon Hausknecht. Not just because he was smart and capable, but because he was well-liked. By everybody. Students, parents, teachers, support staff; it didn't matter. He had an enormous presence and when he talked, people listened. I think the thing I liked most about him was his genuine concern for people. He put on no airs, had nothing to prove, and loved teaching. I think he was looked up to, not just physically, but with great respect and esteem. You couldn't help but to love him. His passion was people; everyone was important. His devotion to them was evident and showed most poignantly through his work with dry grad. It was an important event and his tireless efforts ensured that the graduates of that year would be safe and have fond memories that would last forever. He inspired the leaders of tomorrow in his work with student government. My favourite story about him...

Puns, plays on words, are a source of amusement for me. I find that I constantly manipulate words in my mind to see if there is something silly to be said, sometimes when alone and other times in the midst of company. Occasionally I will attempt to physically compose one to photograph. I shot this image in 2006 and used very simple lighting to accomplish the task. That's the nice thing about table work; you don't need a lot of equipment and often you can get reasonable images. The bottom and background should be something uniform, although there are always exceptions. In this case I used white 20x40 inch corregated plastic sheeting. You may want to consider buying a simple and inexpensive light tent; there are lots for sale on Amazon. I like to use a mild telephoto lens; it allows you to shoot from a number of positions without being too close or uncomfortably far away. In terms of camera settings it is a good idea to use a small aperture (f/11 or smaller if poss...

That's my daughter, Leanne, who graduated from Columbia Bible College two years ago. I brought my full-frame DSLR with me and took numerous photos of her, the ceremony, and some group photos. I have just recently painted my upstairs hallway and was asked to put family pictures up. We chose this as one of the images to display. Outdoor portraits are best done in soft light. The harsh, direct light from the sun produces hard shadows that adversely affect the image. Look for shady areas when it is sunny out to get better quality light. The day was overcast and was perfect for photographing people. In addition, I like to use an external flash to add contrast, improve saturation, and prevent the occurence of soft shadows under the eyes, nose, and chin. You can see evidence of the flash from the slight sheen on her forehead. You can use makeup to dampen that effect, something I have never done. When doing any kind of portrait, albeit individual or group, the first t...

I mentioned a while back that I have acquired a new lens, one that I have held out for quite a while. I have always been passionate about wildlife photography and have attempted to equip myself with appropriate gear. The challenge, as most of us find, has been obtaining the best equipment for available funds. The truth is most of us would rather eat and look after our loved ones than to have a better car, camera, or house. And so I have played the long game, buying what I could obtain, both new and used, as opportunity provided. I have bought and sold 10 or so long lenses, each time bumping up the quality and power culminating in my latest purchase. I photographed a pine siskin in the fall (left image) with my existing best long lens, my Tamron 150-600 mm. I have found it a very capable lens and have achieved capturing numerous photos that I am very happy with. It was time to upgrade as I haven't bought a long lens for a very long time. The Nikon 500 PF f/5.6 lens ca...