Niagara without the falls

Can you believe we spent an entire day trip down in Niagara Falls without getting anywhere near the falls?
We actually spent the day at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory and the Bird Kingdom.
I love those places - great locations for taking photos.

I've updated the Aves and Insecta galleries for the trip out to Niagara.

TTPBF

So we checked out the Tommy Thompson Park Butterfly Festival.
Not too many butterflies, but there were some nice birds and bugs.

I've updated the Aves and Insecta galleries for the trip out to Tommy Thompson.

Mountsberg!

Its hard to believe that its been two years since we visited Mountsberg.
I remedied that situation this past month.
And I really enjoyed being introduced to their new addition: Pawgwashiing Migizi
(Young golden eagle female).

I've updated the following galleries for our Mountsberg visit:
Aves
Insecta
Other Fauna

Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve

So I've definitely been enjoying the summer...
...and being out and about taking photos
...and not processing and posting them
Time to change that.
The first destination was Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve.
We headed out hoping to catch some star trails...
...but instead, caught the clouds rolling in at dusk, which hid the spectacle.
I did manage to get a few sunset pics, as well as a bug or two...
I've updated the following galleries with images from Torrance:
Landscapes
Insecta
Flora
Other Fauna
Enjoy!

Lately

Spent a couple days outside over the past few weeks and I've updated a few galleries for the resulting images.
Canadian Landmarks
Flora
Insecta
Sculptures

One Down, One to Go

My second last gallery from the Finland trip is up.
Laitila & Malko
The two towns where my grandparents are from.
Enjoy

My favourite photos from the past year

For bokeh, subject, story, memories, colour, or whatever reason I have, these are the photos from the past year of which I am most proud.

June 2009 to May 2010 Fav Photos:

Birds, Butterflies & Bears...

With the weather being spectacular, and breaking records for warmth this past weekend, we emerged from our hibernation and headed out on a couple photo seeking trips. First up, on Friday we headed down to the Niagara region, stopping by both the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory and Bird Kingdom. Then, on Saturday it was off to the Toronto Zoo.



And here it is Sunday, and I've already got the images up.
Seriously.
Check them out:
The Butterflies
The Birds
The Bears and others

Friday Drive

Niagara drive today - butterfly conservatory, aviary.
Expect gallery updates at some point in the near future.

February IV Photographs

So, hey, remember way back in February when I said I'd post some pictures from Wings of Paradise and Barbers Mill?

Well, its only taken me a month, but here they are.

A few birds

Some butterflies

And the mill

mkIV, baby. Mark. Four.

So I went out Sunday to test out the new (heavenly) body.
Stopped by Wings of Paradise in Cambridge and tried out the higher ISO settings paired with the 300 and the 100 macro.



Then dropped by an old abandoned mill and paired it with the 17-35 and the fisheye.



Hopefully I'll get some pics up soon.

Image Update!

So I actually updated my image galleries for my Thunder Bay trip.
Updated are the Mammalia, Landmarks & Landscapes, Automobilia, Flora, Insecta, Aves, Waterfowl, Other Fauna, Sculpture Portraits and Other galleries.
I've also updated my flickr with some more picture sets.
Expect even more updates on both my webpage and flickr soon.

Wings of Paradise

So I spent the morning at the Wings Of Paradise in Cambridge, Ontario.
Its a butterfly conservatory which also has a few bird species.
In all honesty, it pails in comparison to the butterfly conservatory down in Niagara and Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls.
Still, it was worth the shorter drive if only to see the Indian Walking Stick and the Chilean Rose-Haired Tarantula.

Hopefully once I've checked out the pictures I'll be adding a few shots to the Insecta, Aves, and the Other Fauna galleries.

Simple Equation

Canon 50D
+
Canon 100mm macro lens
+
Kenko 36mm extension tube
=
THIS close to a butterfly's eye.
Nice.



P.S. I've managed to update the Insecta, Aves, Other Fauna, Sculpture Portraits and the Other galleries.

Day Tripping

In one day I managed to use all my lenses, both my cameras, my off camera flash cord, and even my extension tubes. And what single destination had such diverse subjects to require such use?

Niagara Falls.

Our day trip down to Niagara Falls included a stop at the Butterfly Conservatory, which resulted in some interested images thanks to the extension tubes and my macro lens.



That headless shirt is actually me. Apparently, while setting up and taking a shot of another butterfly, I looked like a pretty attractive place to land.

Of course, we stopped to see the falls.



And walked up Clifton Hill.
So who else would utilize his off camera flash cord to take pictures while at Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum?



Yeah, I got some great images...and some odd looks while shooting there.

Finally, we ended up at Bird Kingdom, a massive aviary.
Some birds cooperated...



...some, not so much
Its like he's screeching "no pictures! no pictures!"

I'll be uploading pictures this week to the Insecta, Aves, and the Other galleries.

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.