Today I headed out to Claireville to take photos at the feeders just off the main trail/road.
The Old Bridge
I had to get some shots of the bridge. It’s one of the more interesting things to photograph here in Claireville. The shadows from the late day sun from vines and the other side give this photo a lot of character.
Posing
At the feeder, the nuthatches were flying back and forth getting their food for the day.
Grabbing a Snack
They are even willing to land on your hand if you have some seeds to share with them.
I had a lot of fun getting photos of the birds and always look forward to the cold temps when it’s okay to feed them like this. In summer they are too busy to be bothered with us and our seeds when there is so much more to eat.
Another fresh snowfall has hit the city and I snuck out for a quick shoot down in the creek by my home.
Winter Streets
The city always looks so pretty when fresh snow falls, at least until the dirty streets encroach on the beautiful white.
Freshly fallen snow
When I get to the creek it feels ethereal. As though at any moment a fairy or possibly a white rabbit will come and take you through a portal to wonderland.
Winter came back!! We received a little bit of snow today and I raced out to the creek near my home to get some shots of me celebrating the snowfall.
Jumping for Joy
Those who know me probably won’t believe I did this as I’m not winter’s biggest fan. However, over the last few years I’ve been spending my winters hiking or snowshoeing and I’ve come to embrace it, just a little.
Winter happiness
I embrace it when I don’t have to deal with driving in it or I’m far away from the city enjoying the wilder parts of Ontario.
Since doing some work on the islands over the winter I realized how beautiful the islands and the city are at this time of year. So my friend Nigel and I decided to take a trip to the Toronto Islands to explore and photograph the area.
Toronto Harbour
The Toronto ice breaker ferry only travels to Ward’s Island, which is located on the eastern point of the islands. From here you can walk along the boardwalk on the south shore or the main road down the middle of the islands. We decided to walk the boardwalk to Centre Island and then take the main road back to catch the ferry.
Ward’s Island path – Colour
Instead of heading directly to the boardwalk we explored some of the homes and parks on Ward’s Island first. Near a beach we found this path surrounded by birches. I played around with a fog filter to get the effect you see in the photos.
Ward’s Island path – B&W
I can’t decide if I like colour version or the black and white version. Which do you prefer?
Skating on the harbour
Heading back toward the ferry on the main road we came upon some ice skaters enjoying the sunny winter day. The inner harbours around the island are shallow and freeze quickly and they also make a nice ice rink with a spectacular view.
One of the things I decided to do while I was up here camping was to shoot a few different lifestyle shots. Although it’s not the typical thing I post here I decided to share with you one of the photos I created.
A Walk
This particular shot was quite challenging. I’m barefoot in the photo and that rocky path was pretty darn sharp. After a large number of shots and walking back and forth more than a dozen times, I finally got something I liked. What do you think?
Sunset View
After the shoot, I had to boot it over to Singing Sands where I joined a guided hike from the National Park Service. The hike was supposed to be a night hike but it was still a little early in the season for it to be dark out. We learned a number of things about how night animals use their other senses to find their own and to hunt. It was quite a lovely walk and a great learning experience.
After the hike I took the shot above. I lucked out with someone posing in a good spot as the sun went down behind the tree line.
