banjon > Day 365 - Happy Birthday!

We're celebrating a few things today.  

First off, (drum roll) its my birthday. 
Second, the Canadian and US taxes are done!  
Last but not least, the daily photo challenge for 2008.  
What a day and what a year!

Barb and I wanted to express a heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the time to comment on our photos.  
We really appreciated your comments, stars, and all the excellent advice.  We really learned a lot.  

The daily photos has been quite a challenge.  I would recommend it to anybody looking to improve their skills.
I've seen my skills improve tremendously since embarking on this journey.


I gained a great respect for all photographers on SmugMug-- you all make it look so easy. :)


Looking forward to the next round.  :) 
 

April 10 2009
banjon > Day 303 - Sambro Harbour

For how cold it was, the gulls and others were on high alert.  Mostly for free handouts from the fisherman, but also for any predators such as Bald Eagles and Hawks.  The place came alive when a Bald Eagle was spotted, gulls came from everywhere flooding the sky making it very chaotic for the Eagle to single out anything.  It worked.  

It was amazing to look out across the Atlantic and see nothing but mist coming off the water.  It looked like ribbons of mist as far as the eye could see.

Sambro is a very old fishing village that still has operating public and commercial wharfs, along with a few commercial fisheries.  There is also a Coast Guard station here as well. 

Jan 28 2009
banjon > Day 320 - Love

I love photographing water.   It always gives me a nice surprise. :)

Happy Valentines Day


Feb 13 2009
banjon > Day 354 - What Awaits...

Had some ideas working with the flash and green tissue paper. 

This is the 2nd go, trying to get the lighting right.  I had some neat effects, but I noticed it has to be totally dark to help with the green gradient.  I found the setup to be very challenging.   It's not so much the lighting behind the door, its the way the light falls in the dark foreground.  It must be due to the analog to digital conversion that is causing shadow pixeling.  I definitely want to pursue to see how to beat those blasted pixels.  Sort of like a dark scene on a DVD - waves of pixelized gradients.  Any suggestions would be great.   I thought about a remote flash trigger or longer exposures.



We got snow last night - not much a few inches.  Oh well.  Winter's back. :(


Mar 24 2009
banjon > Day 255 - Eastern Coyote
This morning I traveled to Hartlen Point in search of Eiders or other Arctic birds which are starting to appear in the area. I was hoping to see some Black Headed Gulls with their bright orange beaks. No luck

As I was about to head out of the area, I thought I noticed a dog in the distance alone on the beach. It had a reddish sheen somewhat like a fox, but it was larger than a fox. I positioned myself and waited for him to get closer for a better shot.  It was only when I zoomed in that I noticed it wasn't a dog or a fox ... it was a coyote. I couldn't believe it. Whats a coyote doing in this part of Nova Scotia?  

I guess he was distracted by his search and didn't hear me right away because of the surf, but he was getting closer and closer. I was beginning to get concerned when he spotted me and stopped dead in his tracks. He froze for a couple of  seconds and I snapped this photo. He then turned in the opposite direction. WOW! What an exciting encounter that was. 

He has been injured. Perhaps he's an Alpha and got into a fight with another Coyote. He didn't seem to be handicapped by it though and was busy hunting. Later I read that there are about 8,000 coyotes in Nova Scotia. They arrived here in 1982, and are larger than the Western Coyote weighing up to 50lbs. There is an abundance of food (deer, fox, and other wildlife) for them in the Annapolis Valley, but probably only large shore birds and hares by the ocean. 

Nove. 23,2008.
banjon > A Rare Close up.    I am sorry to have to tell you all that our beloved Patches passed away from a chronic bowel obstruction infection.  We miss her dearly.  She was with us for 11 years and we have wonderful memories of her unique character .  Sometimes we called her "last word Patches".  She responded favorably to "the oh so pretty the Patches".  Thank you all for your wonderful comments. It makes us feel warm to know that we weren't the only ones who thought she was "oh so pretty". :)    Regards  Richard and Barb.

More photos of Patches  here .
banjon > Day 232 - Autumn Leaves Collage

At lunch today, it was so nice out, I decided to take a walk on the trail (where the lady was walking her bike).  The sun helped me get some really nice foliage shots today.  Along with a few shots of a bee, red dragon fly, and a big green grasshopper. :) Usually they all flee when I walk the trail. 

There were so many nice photos, Barb suggested doing a collage today.  I tried gathering some of the color backgrounds to give the feel of Autumn.  I really love the colors.  I think its the first Autumn that we had the chance to get out and really enjoy the foliage closeup.  Usually we just admired it's lovely colors from afar. 

I added some more photos to the Fall gallery (here)

Oct 08 2008
banjon > Day 317 - Red and White Scallop

I was looking for my next victim, I mean subject for the daily's.  I tried a few things, when a little scalloped trash bin caught my eye.  I tried a few things with the flash inside the bin.  Then I started experimenting with diffferent colored objects to see what would bank the light nicely.  I found a blue piece of plastic that gave off a nice powder blue color.  Then I found some red tissue paper laying around from Christmas (hehe).

It took me several attempts to get the paper just right to work with the fill flash.

I really like the colors and lines. I had a few other ideas I'd like to try. I think they would come out nice.

Feb 10 2009
banjon > Day 256 - The Old Fishing Shed

An abandoned fishing shed sits idle as the snow piles up and another cycle of the tide reveals frozen mud reflecting the blue sky. Don't be fooled by the calmness of the scene, the windchill was in the negative numbers and made you quite aware winter has arrived.

Fishermans Reserve, NS


Nov 25 2008
Day 320 - Love

I love photographing water. It always gives me a nice surprise. :)

Happy Valentines Day


Feb 13 2009
banjon > Day 320 - Love

I love photographing water.   It always gives me a nice surprise. :)

Happy Valentines Day


Feb 13 2009
Day 320 - Love

I love photographing water. It always gives me a nice surprise. :)

Happy Valentines Day


Feb 13 2009
See photo in gallery

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