Kenko Extension Tubes

Tested out my Christmas presents today.

Here's a couple comparisons of my macro lens alone vs my macro lens with the kenko tubes attached.

Macro lens only:


Macro lens plus extension tubes:


Macro lens only:


Macro lens plus extension tubes:


Talk about magnification.

Post Christmas Inventory

Note the DIY (do-it-yourself) flash diffuser...which I made from about $10 worth of stuff from Walmart and the templates from this site.

580 EXII

Santa was good to me this year.
He got me a Canon 580EXII flash.



Combined with my 17-55mm F2.8 lens, I am now equipped to do portrait photography.



If anyone is interested in being a test model for me while I perfect my flash photography, send me an email to info@michaelswerdlyk.com.

Decorating the tree...

Clean up

So I updated the Flora, Other Fauna & Sculpture Portraits galleries with a few pictures from this past summer.

Somebody's Birthday

Yesterday was somebody's birthday.

Doesn't he look so enthusiastic about being the subject of photographs?

American Bittern

So every morning and night I walk the dog, usually before the sun rises and after the sun sets.
And this one bird has been hanging around the cove quite a bit, but I never seem to see him when there is light out.
So, the other night, I snapped a few pics of him anyway.
I put one up in the Aves gallery because I thought it looks pretty cool.
Unfortunately, you can't really tell what he looks like in the picture.

Here's my attempt at lightening a pic so that you can see what a strange looking little guy he is:

Buffleheads

While I was walking the Dogo near dusk last night, I noticed two buffleheads in the cove by my place. Hopefully they will stick around until the weekend and I can snap a few shots of them.

Update:
Apparently these little fellas don't like being near people.
This is as close as I could get:







Notice how in each photo they are in the process of swimming away...
...rapidly.

2008 Holiday Print Sale

The holiday season is quickly approaching which brings with it that horrendous task of finding gifts for those hard-to-shop-for relatives.

Have I got a solution for this dreadful problem? Yes!

Buy my stuff...at holiday discount prices!

5 x 7’s – buy one & get one free
Full Size Prints – buy two & get one free
Limited Edition Enlargements – 25% off selected commissions

For information on delivery options, times and prices, shoot me an email:
info@michaelswerdlyk.com

Galleries Update

So hey, I actually updated the galleries.
New images have been added to the Landmarks & Landscapes, Sculpture Portraits and Other galleries.

Scenic Caves

Headed up Collingwood way and checked out the Scenic Caves.
I may even post some pictures of the place at some point.
But to tide you over for now, have a gander at their lovely mascot:



...and their lovely mascot...devouring me:

Irish Famine Memorial and Tommy Thomson Park

So I decided to head into Toronto on Sunday.
My goal was to walk around Tommy Thomson Park as well as find the elusive Irish Famine Memorial.
Tommy was a nice refreshing walk, but at this time of year the place was pretty desolate and boring. There were a couple swans and some seagulls bobbing about in the water, but that was about it. And shots of the downtown skyline were slightly skewed by that familiar GTA smog.
The Irish Famine Memorial had eluded me previously, but this time I found her!
She was tucked in a corner piece of property, behind some old silos and city works buildings.
I have to admit, the memorial is a pretty cool looking place.
I snapped a few pics during the outing, and may post some up later.
I'll keep you posted...on my posting.

Another Sunny Saturday

Day one of the long weekend was a warm and sunny one so I headed out to Mountsberg, Crawford Lake and Rattlesnake Point.
I was able to take full advantage of the IS on my 70-200 F4L and snap a few pics of the birds at the raptor centre at Mountsberg, as well as try out my new 17-55 F2.8 IS...
...on subjects like these sheep.

New pictures have been added to the Aves gallery.

I BROKE MY TRIPOD!!!

...and Nuit Blanche is less than two weeks away.
Now I am sad.

Mountsberg Conservation Area & Hilton Falls

Continuing my recon to find a great spot to shoot fall landscapes, I traveled up to Mountsberg Conservation Area and Hilton Falls yesterday. The leaves were just starting to change colour so I didn't take any fall landscape pictures, but I did manage to snap some pictures anyways.
New images from the day have been added to the Aves, Mammalia and the Landmarks & Landscapes galleries.

Rattlesnake Point

Tonight I uploaded some images from yesterday’s Rattlesnake Point trek to the Landmarks & Landscapes and the Other image galleries.

Rattlesnake Point

Today was more of a scouting mission than a photo taking day as I made my way out to Rattlesnake Point. Its definitely a great spot to take pictures of the leaves changing colours so I will be back that way sometime in the next month, you know, since they haven't actually started changing yet. Of course, I did snap a few pics today anyway, and I may put a few up over the next few days.

Centennial Park Conservatory

With a rainy weekend upon me, I decided to take my photo hunt indoors and visited the Centennial Park Conservatory. Images from the outing have been added to the Flora and Other Fauna galleries.

Landmarks & Landscapes, well, sort of

I have added a few more pictures to the Landmarks and Landscapes gallery. Of course, the pictures are really not of Landmarks... or Landscapes for that matter.

Garden Blitz

This weekend was a great one for finding and photographing fauna. In the back of my mind I knew it would be one of the last critter catching weekends of the season, as the cold will be setting in, the little guys will be disappearing and I will be shifting my focus to fall landscapes. With the end of the season in mind, I finished my final garden blitz, visiting four gardens and parks over the long weekend: James Gardens, Driftwood Park, Kariya Park, and Edwards Gardens / the Toronto Botanical Garden.

New images from the weekend have been put up in the Insecta, Flora and Aves galleries.

Royal Botanical Gardens

It was a gorgeous sunny day today which was great considering I intended to spend it outside at the Royal Botanical Gardens. I was keenly enthusiastic to wander through the gardens as they hosted three separate art exhibits: Earth Art, Sound Art, and the one that peaked my interest, ScuptArt. I managed to view pieces from each exhibit as I toured the RGB Centre, Laking Garden, Hendrie Park and the Rock Garden.

History

The old family

The xti
The short-back non USM 18-55
The non IS 75-300
The non IF non USM 100 macro
The plastic 50