I’m starting 2014 with a photo from Sara’s and my new years trip to Portland, OR. I was looking for Lesser Goldfinches in a tiny little park on the outskirts of Portland. I got skunked on the goldfinches but I did end up with this vibrant sunset photo. I really like the purple hues of the sky.
Well I went back through the 52 photos of the week for 2013 and picked out my favourite image of the year. I think I have taken some of my best shots this year so there were lots of serious contenders. The combination of a great subject, an interesting angle, great symmetry, and my best macro lighting yet clinched the win for this image of a Morning-glory Plume Moth. I talk more about the moth in the original post. I liked the photo so much I gave my parents a 2 foot wide print for Christmas.
Some notable runners up include my favorite bird shot of the year, showing a pair of Black Oystercatchers and my favourite non-nature shot, showing the redeveloped Woodward’s Building in Gastown, Vancouver. You can see a slideshow of all of my photos of the week from 2013 below. [click to continue…]
I thought I’d round out this year with a festive photo lit with just christmas lights captured with my fast 35 mm lens. Happy holidays everyone, hope to see you all in the new year.
I find that when I photograph a insect against a white background like a sheet of paper the photo will have a light grey background rather than a perfect white (R-100%, G-100%, B-100%). While the photo looks fine by itself when it is presented against a white background like that of this site or a photosite like flickr the light grey background of the photo can look quite dingy by comparison, as in the photograph above. [click to continue…]
Poecile rufescens, Parulidae
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Larus glaucescens, Laridae
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Aix sponsa, Anatidae
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Sciurus carolinensis, Sciuridae
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Tamiasciurus douglasii, Sciuridae
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Regulus satrapa, Regulidae
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 35 mm f/1.8
November 14, 2013
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
November 14, 2013
As I mentioned in a previous photo of the week Sara and I visited Stanley Park on a sunny day last month. For a change on this outing we headed for Beaver Lake instead of Lost Lagoon. [click to continue…]
Yesterday on the shortest birding day of the year I set out towards Boundary Bay in search of a few last minute additions to my year list. I was lucky enough to relocate the Long-eared Owl (lifer!) that Sean and Mike saw last weekend. The owl was roosting low in a thicket making a clear shot impossible so I didn’t think much of this shot as I was taking it, but after getting on the computer I really like how the green twigs frame the owl.
This week I spent a little time photographing some of the ladybugs from the aggregations the corners of our apartment. Ladybugs like this Multicolored Asian Ladybug can live up to three years and will often form winter aggregations in buildings. I find ladybugs tricky to photograph because they are so round and shiny. It’s difficult to both get the whole insect in focus and to avoid a bright highlight on the insect from the flash (damn you specular reflection!).
Oxytropis splendens, Fabaceae
Jasper Townsite, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6
July 7, 2012
Dryas drummondii, Rosaceae
Jasper Townsite, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6
July 7, 2012
Elymus innovatus, Triticeae
Jasper Townsite, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6
July 7, 2012
Hedysarum alpinum, Fabaceae
Jasper Townsite, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6
July 7, 2012
Signal Mountain & Mount Tekarra
Jasper Townsite, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6
July 7, 2012
Clematis orientalis, Ranunculaceae
Jasper Townsite, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6
July 7, 2012
Dryas octopetala, Rosaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Potentilla villosa, Rosaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Silene acaulis, Caryophyllaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Anemone drummondii lithophila, Ranunculaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Erysimum pallasii, Brassicaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Oxytropis podocarpa, Fabaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Cerastium beeringianum beeringianum, Caryophyllaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Erigeron pallens, Asteraceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Saxifraga cernua, Saxifragaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Draba macounii, Brassicaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Ranunculus grayi, Ranunculaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Cardamine bellidifolia, Brassicaceae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Pardosa, Lycosidae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 105 mm f/2.8
July 8, 2012
Eremophila alpestris, Alaudidae
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
July 8, 2012
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
July 8, 2012
Whistlers, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nikon D5100, 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6
July 8, 2012
This post is the last in a series about last summer’s trip to Vancouver. On the way back to Edmonton we stopped in Jasper National Park for the night. That evening I took a few photos along Wapiti Trail on the way to the Jasper Brewing Company. The next morning we took the Jasper Tramway up to the top of the Whistlers. The tramway is a great way to see the alpine without all of that pesky hiking (3-5 hours). It also a great place to photograph the alpine flora with a bunch of plants found only at high elevations. In addition to the plants there is of course great mountain scenery. You can see our route on the map below. [click to continue…]
This week we are diving back in the archives to the summer of 2012 with this cheeky Ground Squirrel shot. I took this photo at one of my favorite birding spots where I really cut my teeth as a birder. I find this shot very reminiscent of a certain default Windows XP background image, but with a little rodent thrown in for colour.
Well this post isn’t exactly from the field, but my fingers were too numb to blog. I was out by myself at Klootchman and Whytecliff parks this afternoon. At Klootchman, I saw a flock of Surfbirds (lifer!) on the grebe islets along with my second ever Long-tailed Duck. At Whytecliff Park I was lucky enough to spot pod of Harbour Porpoises surfacing offshore in Howe Sound just as the sun was going down. I was pretty excited as these were my first wild cetaceans. Sara who has been hoping to see a whale since we first moved was understandably jealous. While the picture isn’t great it does show the hooked dorsal fin that is characteristic of the porpoise.
I’m a research scientist at the University of Washington. My research deals with the visual ecology of insects, such as butterflies, mosquitoes and other biting flies.
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