banjon > Day 163 - Electrifying

...storm that is.  

Tonight we had a lightning storm, a couple of big booms and a handful of flashes.  After shutting down the computers, I thought about trying to capture lightning again.  I've tried several times in the past, but the problem is the fog.  Usually by the time the light show begins, the fog always creeps in to spoil the fun.

After I set up bulb mode and got the remote ready, I set it up and thought about grabbing the wide angle, because you never know where they strike.  As I was digging for the lens, this huge flash of light occurred.  I ran to see the result - wow.  Not one, but two bolts!

This is the first successful lightning image I've taken.  Woohoo!  

You can see the fog rolling in as was illuminated by the strike.  Another 10 minutes and it was hard to see the strikes, just clouds getting really bright then a boom.

This also marks another milestone - today I hit photo #40,000... :) addicted much. 
I'm loving every minute of it. Thanks to everyone - your kind words and encouragement really helps.  I love the daily photos, it really pushes you to be creative and selective. 



July 29 2008
banjon > Day 333 - The Freezing Thaw

Between the freezing rain and very thick fog with temps hitting around 8C/48F, the water saturated everything including the ice in the coves and lakes leaving these strips of water across the ice allowing for some awesome reflections.   

By the way, the temp dropped to -13C/5F in only a few short hours.  Mother Nature messing (trying to keep it clean here)  with our heads. :)

I recommend you view it full screen  (I put it as my desktop). I love the depth to it.

Feb 28 2009
banjon > Day 253 - Wintery Wall

Remnants of ice and snow remain because the sun hid all day.  Snow and ice still outlined every tree and bush as far as the eye could see.  So I headed over to a nearby lake for lunch to see the aftermath.  I was not disappointed.  The water levels were high, so the brooks were flowing pretty good.  It was definitely a great time.

This brick wall caught my eye as I was heading out.  I really liked how the snow was strewn about.

Nov 20 2008
banjon > Day 185 - Models and Muscle Cars

Tonight we had an outing with the local photography group. They arranged for several models to pose for us using some muscle cars and racing bikes. It was my first experience working with models.  Everyone had a great time, including myself.   The models are attending a local community college and use these events to help build their portfolio.

Amazing how fast 3 hours goes by. :) The weather finally held out after two prior reschedules, we were about to call it quits, when we saw the forecast for tonight.  Although a bit chilly, the sun really held out and gave us a spectacular sunset to boot!  :)

I look forward to the next meetup. Its great to meet other local photographers and get to know the models who are very professional.  Finding the right words can be difficult at times, but the models are very understanding and patient. :) 

 
Aug 20 2008
banjon > Day 177 - Blue Tulip

Thought I'd try photographing the incense last night now that I got some more foam core boards. The black is excellent, non-reflective, works perfect.  It took me a bit to get situated with lighting and flow of smoke.. keep the incense lit.. hehe 

I need to find those little triangular incense pellets - they last longer than the sticks.  I mostly crumpled up the sticks and lit them up.  Bill was right, the smoke is thicker and flows much better and odds of getting something nice go way up.

I've had some nice results, but need more playtime.. I mean experimenting..  Trying to get the billowing smoke into the light is tough.  I was adjusting the flash at the end to see how it effects the brightness and clarity of smoke.  I really like the results.

Looking forward to trying this again.  

Why do they sell different scents of incense?
They seem to all smell the same.  hehe

Aug 12 2008
banjon > Day 346 (1/2) - Polly's Cove

This cove is not too far down the road from Peggy's Cove.  Its about a 1K walk up some small inclines which eventually you arrive on top of one of the cliffs about 70ft/25m above the cove.  Peggy's Cove Lighthouse would be located to the right (not in this photo).  It was the first time there, with lots of ice still around on the trails, it was a little tough to explore.  (I landed on my butt, slipping on leaves under the snow, not the ice - go figure).

Geologists dated the rocks/erratics and large white granite back to the Ice Age.  They even traced the origin of the rock to South Africa.   Nova Scotia traveled a long way over millions of years.  As the glaciers moved over the rock, minerals were ground into the marble.  Its very interesting to see.   Trees don't really grow that high here. Locals refer to this area as the barrens - mostly stunted growth and lots of cranberry bogs.

I didn't know at the time, there were three harbour seals sunbathing on the farthest rock.  Seals are very elusive and move quick.  They really hide from man. If you spot one, they have already picked up your scent and begin to disappear.

Funny thing happened while cruising the other coves around St Margaret's Bay, I saw a male Merganser, all in breed colors showing off for some brown ducks.  I think he was a bit confused.  hehe  He got the hint soon enough and flew from the area.

Mar 14 2009
banjon > Day 171 - Everybody Hurts Sometimes

When I saw this dying flower, it reminded me of a song.

This is one of our favorite songs and one I love to play.

"When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

..." lyrics by REM, 'Everybody Hurts'

Aug 06 2008
banjon > Day 239 - Mother and Daughter

We had two visits today from the White Tail Doe and her two, make that three offspring. I think she found an orphaned young buck in her journeys.  They hung around for about 20 minutes, checking for flowers and shrubs.  

She really keeps an eye on young ones.  It's funny how the young are oblivious to their environment.  She does teach them to watch and listen.  I even saw her break down some food into smaller pieces so the little one can share as well.  

I guess it doesn't matter the species, we all have the same basic instincts. 


We really enjoyed their visit today.

Nov 04 2008
banjon > Day 315 (1/2) - Sunset Rain

Today I saw a beautiful unexpected sunset. Why? It was pouring rain, high winds, snow clouds were moving in (the dark ones), and pretty much cloudy and foggy all day. Temps were up in the 4C/38F in February. This is odd because in less than 12 hours, the temp dropped to -12C/8F, with -22C/-10F windchills.

I was watching the rain trying to melt the snow, when I saw an orange glow on the windowsill. I ran to the porch to see what was going on.  I saw the sun breaking through the snow clouds. 

As I was about to tell Barb to come and check out the sunset, I heard the rain pounding the window.  That's when I saw the sunset through the rain soaked window.  

Here's what the sunset looked like from the porch - something you don't see that often, the sun splitting in half by the storm clouds. here


(Some other photos of the sun breaking through the snow clouds here)

Feb 09 2009
Day 171 - Everybody Hurts Sometimes

When I saw this dying flower, it reminded me of a song.

This is one of our favorite songs and one I love to play.

"When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

..." lyrics by REM, 'Everybody Hurts'

Aug 06 2008
banjon > Day 171 - Everybody Hurts Sometimes

When I saw this dying flower, it reminded me of a song.

This is one of our favorite songs and one I love to play.

"When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

..." lyrics by REM, 'Everybody Hurts'

Aug 06 2008
Day 171 - Everybody Hurts Sometimes

When I saw this dying flower, it reminded me of a song.

This is one of our favorite songs and one I love to play.

"When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

..." lyrics by REM, 'Everybody Hurts'

Aug 06 2008
See photo in gallery

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