Category: Forest

Great Grey Owl

Forest, Photo of the Day, Wildlife
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

Aparently, besides showing photos from my Banff trip, I’m a little focused on birds, thanks to my class. Here’s a Great Grey Owl I spent some time with a while ago. In the last photo, if you look closely at his bill, you can see he’s recently had a meal (if you’re squeamish don’t look too close). Right around his bill (especially on the first photo) you can see his “rictal bristles” which help him feel his food while he’s eating, a little like a cat’s whiskers.

p7082360

p7082361

p7082362

If you’re wondering why I’m using all these terms, no, I’m not trying to seem smart. I’m trying to do whatever I can to remember it all, and blogging about it should help.

Palm Warbler in the Forest

Forest, Photo of the Day, Wildlife
Friday, January 14th, 2011

I took my first Wildlife Biodiversity and Ecology class last night and it was fascinating. It was a three hour class on Ornithology (birds) and it seemed way too short. It’s always awesome to see a whole new world open up before you, that you vaguely knew was there, but had no idea what it involved. I hope I have the time and motivation to follow up on this brief introduction (although I suspect I’m going to hope the same thing for every other class). John Acorn is a very interesting prof, and I’m really looking forward to the rest of this class.

I thought I’d post a bird photo in honor of the class, but ironically I wasn’t able to identify it. I obviously need more classes and/or experience. So I suspect this is some sort of warbler (maybe a Palm Warbler? edit – yup, it’s a Palm Warbler — Dendroica palmarum). I found it in a poplar forest in northern Saskatchewan.

p9018140

Snowy Letters

Abstract, Forest, Photo of the Day, Winter
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

I’ve often seen the alphabet photo people spelling out “love” or “joy” at craft fairs, and always thought the letters are kind of interesting and a little cheesy at the same time. But our minds often see random shapes and interpret them as symbols we recognize.

Anyway, I’m sure this photo says something, not quite sure what.

Taken in Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park.

mg_9379

Melting Ice on a Tamarack Branch

Forest, Macro, Photo of the Day, Winter
Monday, January 3rd, 2011

Another shot from the same day (as the last pic of the day). It was a warm December day and a fresh snowfall was melting and re-freezing into ice on the Tamarack trees (Larix Laricina).

The background is a completely natural artifact of having a large telephoto lens, leaving the aperture as open as possible, and having a fairly low quality lens. The telephoto focal length along with the wide open aperture (f5.6 in this case) made the background completely blurred out. The bright highlights become circles. If I had a much nicer lens, they might be softer-edged and not as distracting. I kind of like the way they turned out though. I suspect the little specks in them mean I had a lot of dust on the end of my lens.

b242492

Balsam Poplar at Beaverhill Lake

Forest, Photo of the Day
Friday, December 31st, 2010

I’m taking one university class this winter, and I’m getting pretty excited about it. After getting half way through a design degree I’m switching gears completely and taking “Wildlife Biodiversity and Ecology”. Should be very interesting in a completely different way. This is possibly an explanation for my renewed interest in correctly naming trees and animals in my posts. I’d love to know all this stuff thoroughly.

I grew up differentiating poplars between white poplars (what I now know is trembling aspen – white poplar is actually a completely different tree from Europe) and black poplars (a kind of balsam poplar). Not sure if these were local names from Saskatchewan or mistakes. Anyway, these are a kind of balsam poplar near Beaverhill Lake. Not sure if they’re Ontario Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera) or Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa).

dsc0212

Fall Birch Trees by a Small Lake

Forest, Landscape, Photo of the Day
Sunday, December 19th, 2010
mg_4384

Paper birch trees (Betula papyrifera).

Yes, these are getting shorter and shorter. But at least I’m mostly keeping up. In January I should have a bit more time to expound on all things photographical. Till then, enjoy the photos.

Magical Mushrooms

Forest, Macro, Photo of the Day
Sunday, December 12th, 2010

Mushrooms are one of those subjects that help photos feel just a little bit magical. Maybe it’s the books I grew up reading, but I end up wondering when a little gnome will step into the scene. In fact, a lot of my favorite photos I’ve taken have this fantastical feel. Not necessarily on the small scale, but something that hints at otherworldly creatures and epic adventures.

mg_5856

Small Mossy Creek

Forest, Photo of the Day, Water
Saturday, December 4th, 2010

Goldstream Creek is an awesome creek on Vancouver Island, although I’m sure it’s not the only one. I could spend a month exploring a creek like this. It’s such a peaceful otherworldly place.

8168753-1