Friday, January 01, 2010

Happy New Year!

I'm back in Tobermory after a bit of travel over the holidays... first to visit my Mom for Christmas and then to hang out with my friends on eastern Georgian Bay for new years eve. My holidays have been full of food, wine & socializing... and my camera has not been out much.

There were about a thousand Bonaparte's Gulls in Wheatley Harbour, just a short drive from my Mom's place... so I spent a few hours photographing them around Christmas. The light conditions were fairly dull, but it was a perfect chance to shoot them in flight. It pays to practise your technique on common species - this keeps your skills up so you're ready when a great opportunity presents itself.
























Photo 1: Bonaparte's Gull (winter plumage) in flight, Wheatley Harbour, Ontario.
Canon EOS 1DsIII; 500/4 IS lens; Wimberley II head and Gitzo tripod.
ISO 400; 1/1250s @ f/4; Vertical image cropped from a horizontal frame.

It was snowing quite hard today while driving home from my friend's place. I could not resist stopping to shoot this snowy scene on the Nottawasaga River.

















Photo 2: Nottawasaga River in snow - near Wasaga Beach, Ontario.
Canon EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; ISO 200; 1/160s @ f/8; handheld. Converted to Black-and-white in Photoshop.

I've been working on the plans for my upcoming Panama trip lately, and the more research I do the more I get excited about it. Panama has an incredibly high diversity of birds and I'll be traveling with some friends who are excellent photographers... so we're going to have a heck of a trip. Will tell you more about it later.

Wishing you all the best in 2010!

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:41 PM

    It's a good thing you couldn't resist. Beautiful snowy scene.

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  2. Incredible shots!
    Happy New Year!!

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  3. Happy New Year!
    Thanks for the many great scenes of 2009.

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  4. What a wonderful shot, Ethan!

    The white edges of trees are beautifully standing out below the sky.

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  5. Carolyn6:55 PM

    Wow, didn't notice your winter shots! I had previously clicked on your recent Tweet, which I guess took me straight to your most recent post. Really nice shots. We haven't had a good snowfall here in Toronto yet -- at least not that I noticed (work has been hectic).

    Really gorgeous, all.

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