Ring-Billed Gull

Birds, part 2! Today will focus on the Ring-Billed Gull, one of many different gulls you can find around here.

Angry bird is angry! I believe he was angry at another gull, but who knows. As you can see, whatever it was, it wasn't close.

I caught this one having a snack. I am very pleased with the timing, but I'm also sharing it because of the vibrant colours. The oranges and reds are stunning.

BE GONE!

Seriously, it looks like the one on the right is casting a spell at the one on the left. And the spectators seem none too concerned about what's going on. "Oh, it's just Maggie getting mad Joe was out late again." Really pleased with a lot of things in this picture, but wondering if maybe I should have cropped it more at the top, or even cloned the people out...

My favourite of this bunch! Really pleased with the timing, the crispness on the bird to the left, and the colours. It was actually quite empty water around them, but I cropped it way in to just focus on the birds. Thoughts?

Skyfire - Wordless Wednesday

(These are the real colours, not post-processed.)

Canada Geese

I recently spent a couple of hours at a local park taking pictures of the birds. So I hope you like birds, because there will be a lot of them over the next few days! This post will showcase some of my favourite pictures from that day of Canada Geese.

A beautiful day to ponder life, the universe, and everything. Or at least whether that gull is going to steal a tasty morsel he wanted.

I think this is my favourite from this set. I caught these two in take off. It's not a perfectly sharp, clear image, but that's okay. I was working more on getting my camera in the right place at the right time. They aren't a completely fuzzy blur, so I call it a win.

I imagine he was studying his reflection. He was probably looking below the surface for a bite to eat. He just looks so calm and stately.

A moment later, surveying his domain. I love his reflection in the water. Not completely clear, but quite nice.

Squirrely business

This little guy was chittering angrily at me one morning as I was leaving for work. I managed to snap off a couple of quick pictures, and I'm quite please with how this came out!

There are a FEW advantages to fall/winter - this little guy would be completely hidden from view if the tree was in full leaf!

"Hadouken" Photography

This is a really interesting video on how to shoot images that look like video game action. It's not super serious, but even if you don't want to do THIS type of action, it might give you ideas for how to shoot other interesting or unusual action shots. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/paqe3pQIiv0

By Request

The other day when I commented that I had straightened the horizon in a picture, a friend asked for a vertical horizon. So...

Just for you, Jim!

May the Fourth be with you all.

Awesome photo

This is not my picture, but it's just too awesome not to share it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/willyc808/8704071668/in/pool-15529695@N00/

Go look! GO BLUE ANGELS!

Winter Berries

I know I've shared something similar before, but I really love the contrast of bright berries on a snowy background. So here's another! This is also from when I was travelling all over the countryside. I took a little break to admire these beautiful berries.

I'm not sure how well my attempts at editing this one worked. In trying to brighten all the details, I think I may have made it a bit grainy or pixelated. I did crop it quite a bit, trying to take in to account some of the things we were told after the last competition. I also tried cloning out a few little dark items from the snow, because they were distracting without contributing anything.

Free Photo Mag!

A free online photography magazine. So far, there are three issues.

Enjoy!

PIX - The Photographer's Field Guide

Wordless Wednesday - Surfer's Paradise

(Here I practiced straightening the horizon.)