Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Norris Point







Norris Point with the Tablelands in the background was the view from Neddies Cove on a beautiful summer day a few years ago. You can see the Tablelands towering in the background of the houses in the first image. I zoomed in and liked the effect my zoom lens had on the mountain in the distance and how close it looked. (It was actually 2- 4 miles from where I was standing.) I also liked the boats in the foreground of the third image.

Today's scenes are from Gros Morne National Park in Bonne Bay. If you are planning a trip to Newfoundland and Labrador, I would recommend you plan to spend a few days the area.

Feel free to check my galleries of Gros Morne and the Tablelands:

http://www.lanephotography.com/gros_morne/gros_morne.htm

http://www.lanephotography.com/tablelands/tablelands.htm

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Tablelands







Gros Morne National Park, located on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland, is a World Heritage Site and one of the only places in the world where the Earth's mantle is visible on the surface. The Tablelands are easy to spot in the early morning light as the reddish rock towers above the trees in the first image.

I parked underneath the Tablelands and started to follow one of the trails. In the distance I saw a series of waterfalls so I decided to follow the river in order to make a few images of the water running through the barren hills. In the second photo you can see a little greenery clinging to the cliffs near the steep river valley. Even though these mountains were formed hundreds of millions of years ago, there is very little growth on the rocks.

The last image shows water falling over a 50 foot drop and I wondered what it would be like during the Spring runnoff. I suspect it is a roaring river and waterfall after the snow begins to melt. Today's photos were taken in mid-August, when the least amount of water would be flowing over the waterfall.

Monday, March 29, 2010

One Day of Photography in Florida 10










This is the last of my One Day of Photography in Florida Series. I hope you have enjoyed this series and I hope you see the variety of photographic subjects I see on a typical day in Florida.

The snowy egret was searching for food along the beach. Note the black beak, black legs and yellow feet.

There were lots of brown pelicans soaring overhead and I made many images. I've uploaded several other photos of pelicans to my Blog this morning.

Later that evening, as the sun was getting low in the sky, I photographed a Great Egret flying overhead.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

One Day of Photography in Florida 9







Today's photos were taken on Bonita Beach, around 10 minutes drive from Citrus Park. Every time we visit Florida, we go to one or more of the local beaches a few times. I enjoy walking along the beach photographing people and birds. Unfortunately, I can't really share very many people photos because I can't really show people who are easily identifiable.

The first photo this morning shows a view of the long beach with several people enjoying a leisurely stroll on such a beautiful day. The buildings in the distant background of the first photo are in Naples.

A highlight of any trip to the beach is the opportunity to capture pelicans in flight. Every year, I make photos of pelicans and have quite a few excellent images in my stock photo collection. An identified shorebird walked by quickly, but not before I captured a couple of images.


Saturday, March 27, 2010

One Day of Photography in Florida 8









I hope you are not getting tired of my One Day of Photography in Florida series. It is giving you an opportunity to see the variety of photographic subjects that I see on a typical walk around Citrus Park. That day in Florida, we also went to the beach in the afternoon, so I will continue this series for another few days.

The first photo this morning shows one of the streets in Citrus Park as I headed back to our house for a well-deserved coffee. It was 7:00 when I made the first image of the day, and 8:40 when I stopped for the morning. During my 100 minute walk, I made 330 photos and have shared around 35 with you this week.

An adult loggerhead shrike posed for a few photos before it got nervous and flew away. The light shining through a palm leaf shown in the fourth photo attracted my attention. It seems that I never tire of making these type of images. One of the first photos I made that morning was a brown thrasher and one of the last was a mockingbird. These birds are very common in this part of Florida. I liked the shapes of the palm leaves against the clear blue sky, and the pink flower also caught my attention.


Friday, March 26, 2010

One Day of Photography in Florida 7








Doves are common in Citrus Park and this ring-necked turtle dove was curious about me long enough for me to take a few photos. It is fairly easy to make images of doves, but they are skittish and will fly away if they feel threatened. I usually stand very still and make a couple of photos before trying to get closer. I've mentioned previously that once I make a few photos I will move closer very slowly, take another few photos, then continue the process until the bird (or animal) moves away. I've uploaded a closer view of this bird to my Blog this morning.

I liked the silhouette of the long needles of the whispering pine tree, one of my favourite trees in Citrus Park. I enjoy just standing under the tree and listening to the sounds of the wind as it moved through all the needles.

I photographed one of the swimming pools that morning where I often take a break and have a swim there after my morning walk. I usually swim laps and enjoy the empty pool that hour of the day. As you can imagine, the pools are usually pretty busy in the afternoons on the hot days of April!

The yellow flowers grow wild all over the park and they are usually blooming while I am there in the Spring. The morning dew added an extra dimension to this photo. I've uploaded a couple other images of these yellow flowers to my Blog. The last photo shows a small flower that grows wild along the sides of the roads in the park.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

One Day of Photography in Florida 6








Today I continue with the One Day of Photography in Florida series. Yesterday's photos were taken on a street in Belle Villa, located in the north end of Citrus Park. Near the end of the street stands a small statue which I photograph most years as I walk around the park. It looks best in the early morning light. I have included two images of the statue: the first has a relatively plain background and the second has reddish flowers behind it. I wonder which viewers prefer?

Another palm tree and yet another type of bark! I am amazed at the variety of palms in Florida. Further up the tree is a straw-coloured flower growing out of the trunk. I see these type of flowers on most of my trips to Florida and find them interesting enough to photograph every year.

Tulips

Tulips Tulips are a sign of spring, but my tulip gardens are under a foot or two of snow. It will be a while before we see the beauty of the...