Here are four views of the marvelous Museum of Liverpool. I know that some people really dislike this building but I think it is an amazing structure although it was incredibly expensive and it leaks so there was some problem with the construction if not the design. It sits on the waterfront alongside the Three Graces and it contrasts and complements the historic architecture.
I really like the black and white images the second one is very like a final render from the architects drawings as it would have been presented to city planners.
Because it is a public building I wanted to get some shots with people in but not so many that there were crowds distracting from the building itself so I waited to snap a single passer by and then in the final shot the three men had waited patiently to one side while I was taking pictures before the climbed the stairs. When they paused half way up I thought it made an excellent shot and I quickly captured the moment. I hope you agree it works really well.
These two shots are taken from different vantage points and showing the view across Canning Dock in different directions.
In the first shot I caught two Chinese tourists posing for a photo in front of the sailing vessel with the Museum of Liverpool in the background. I hadn't intended to photograph them I was just testing out the settings but I think including people in the shot gives the scene a sense of life.
The second shot is looking back towards Liverpool One where millions of pounds have been invested in bringing this part of the city back to life. The modern structures create an interesting and exciting skyline.
While the city was bustling with shoppers seeking bargains in the post Christmas sales I headed down to the waterfront with my youngest son to take some photos of the fine buildings around the docks.
In the first shot, viewed across Canning Dock you can see (from left to right) the Museum of Liverpool, the Open Eye Gallery and No1 Mann Island. In the background you can make out the top of The Liver Building, The Cunard Building and part of The Port of Liverpool Building which together are known as Liverpool's Three Graces and have earned the City Waterfront World Heritage status.
As you can see from the water in the dock it was very windy today and so it wasn't possible to get any clear reflections. I will go back another time when the conditions are calmer, maybe in the evening when the lights are on and see what shots I can get then.
I was going to save the second picture for another day but the words seemed appropriate given that it was a windy day. This was shot inside the Museum of Liverpool and the words which circle around the balustrade of the central staircase are lyrics from "Song For John" by Yoko Ono
I shot these two photos seconds apart looking out across the bay at Pie Island in the distance.
It was a strange day with showers coming across in waves followed by periods of clear sunny skies. It was cold on the edge of the lake but this is a spectacular spot. We had watched a large eagle circling out near the point, I am not 100% sure but it might have been a Golden Eagle although from the pictures I got it is inconclusive.
I have my typical dilemma in that choosing between the colour or black and white images is almost impossible. I like the moody feel to the first image and the sense that the storm is closing in. I like the second image though, with the splash of blue sky and the light on the horizon giving a sense of hope, hope for a brighter day and warmer weather.
Because I can't choose I post them both and leave that choice for you.
Feather
Now that the Christmas festivities are over I am back to posting here.
I spotted this feather floating on the gently rippling surface of Marie Louise lake in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. I love the way it rests on the surface held up by the surface tension and it could blow away so easily without leaving a trace.
I know that it is Christmas Eve and these pictures are not really Christmassy but they are from a beautiful village in Alsace called Bergheim that I visited earlier this year on my roadtrip but I had visited previously just before Christmas and it had a lovely Christmas atmosphere so although ypu wont get that from these images I get all sorts of memories flooding back and that is good enough for me...
Merry Christmas everyone.
Here are a few more shots form the Chateau at Haut Koenigsbourg.
The first shot shows an ornate well in a courtyard hidden away at the top of the castle. The second shot shows the detail of the ornamentation on top of the well. It is a French infantryman, he is looking down on the courtyard with a bit of a sour expression, perhaps because he feels a bit foolish stood on a pineapple.
The final shot is a view from a tower looking along the top of the curtain wall and across the wide expanse of the Haut Rhin region of Alsace towards the border with Germany. It looks like the land is quite flat in the distance but in fact there are gentle hills and slopes which are home to the many vineyards and orchards the produce the regions famous wines and Eaux de Vie.
This piece of wrought ironwork was in a door in the Chateau de Haut Koenigsbourg and I almost missed it walking past but I am so glad I spotted it because I think it makes a wonderful image. I experimented with a few different settings to focus of the ironwork and also on the stonework in the background of all the shots I took this I think is the best.
I like the lighting and shadows and I like the patterns in the lattice itself.
There is a certain fairytale quality about the Chateau de Haut Koenigsbourg in Alsace. Perched high on a rocky hilltop it was apparently the inspiration for the design on the Citadel at Minas Tirith in Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings Trilogy.
It is a marvelous castle, with turrets and walkways in the walls, spiral staircases, a deep will and beautiful tiled roofs as well as some amazing decorative murals and painted ceilings.
Here are four more abstract shots of my Christmas tree viewed through firstly a colourful tumbler from Murano and then two through a crystal vase.
This evening I decided to try something different photographing my Christmas tree lights through a crystal vase.
The vase itself was really heavy so it was a bit tricky to hold it steady as well as using my camera. I think the different effects look really good as the lights went through their cycle of fading on and off and as the caught the ridges of the vase.
Tomorrow I will share a few more shots some using a different glass that I will say more about tomorrow.
The last few posts have been from an early morning shoot at Mission Marsh. I arrived just before sunrise and spent some time watching the sun come up over the Sleeping Giant and across the lake and if you go back over the past few posts you will see some of the amazing shots I captured.
The reason for my visit however was to search for beavers. A few days before I had been for a walk nearby and I had seen the freshly chewed stump of a felled tree and not far away was the tree itself, abandoned across the path and I figured that we had disturbed the beaver and it had run off to take cover. We searched for a little while around the edge of a small lagoon but without luck and I determined to come back in the morning to see if I would have any better luck.
As you can see from these pictures I was not disappointed. As I walked along the edge of the pool I heard a splash and turned just in time to see the ripples as a beaver disappeared beneath the cold water. I thought that that might be my last sighting of a beaver but decided to hang around for a while longer and I am so glad I did because I was able to watch not one but four beavers busily working on preparing their lodge for winter and having breakfast. I was so excited that I went back a couple of days later and the whole family of five beavers were there. This has to have been one of the highlights of my visit and an experience I hope I will never forget.
Later on the day of my second visit I went to see the Fort William museum, a replica of the original trading post on the banks of the Kaministiquia river. Although it was a fascinating insight into the history of this region and the importance of the fur trade to the prosperity and growth of the North West territories it was also sad to see piles of furs/pelts including beaver that were shipped to Europe and used to make top hats in London. I thought about the family of beavers I had watched that morning and I was pleased that they would be safe from trappers because they have the good fortune to live in a conservation area.
So the first two shots are of Pie Island viewed across Lake Superior from the boardwalk at Mission Marsh. It was just after sunrise and the face of the mountain has a rich glow and the lighthouse on Mission Bay also has an early morning glow.
I like the view from the boardwalk as it give a sense of scale and perspective but I also like the second "close up" shot because you can make out a little more detail in the landscape.
The third shot is of one of the small islands between Mission Marsh and the Sleeping Giant. I shared it for two reasons, firstly because on the sky, I love the layers of clouds illuminated by the rising sun but also because of the trees silhouetted against the sky and if you look carefully you can see a bald eagle perched in one of the trees. I had watched fly across the lake and take up this vantage point to fish for its first meal of the day.
I took these shots across the lake early one morning as the sun was rising behind the Sleeping Giant. There was a chill in the air but there was barely a breeze so there was hardly a ripple on the lake.
I love the golden light in these shots it was a perfect start to the day.
As the day begins night ends and as I was watching the sunrise the moon was still high in the sky behind me. It seems so odd with such a contrast between the golden sky over the lake and the cool blue cloudless sky over Mission Marsh
Today I have picked two shots of Kakabeka Falls from the opposite bank of the river. It really is a spectacular location and I think the de-saturated contrast treatment adds a nice tone to these images.
I have seen images of the falls recently where there is ice forming on the fringes as winter temperatures plummet.
Here are two views of the amazing waterfall at Kakabeka. It is a sight that has some really good memories for me. The last time we visited I had watched a juvenile bald eagle take flight from the forest across the river and then we sat watching a majestic adult eagle as it perched in a tree 20 metres away.
This year when we went back as well as watching and listening as the water thundered over the falls and through the gorge on its way to Fort William and Thunder Bay I watched another Eagle fishing along the river and then went for a delicious lunch at The Eddy a really great diner that I would heartily recommend and that I will definitely go back to.
I wanted to capture this abstract view of the footbridge across a little gorge that leads down to Ouimet Canyon. I think that with the fog it is a really atmospheric image.
I originally shot it in black and white and I really really like the finished result. I like the different lines with the vertical supports and the thick horizontal beams held together with the metalwork cross braces. I like the way the rigid structure is balanced with the softness of the trees emerging from the mist. The black and white image gives a good sense of how damp and cold it was.
I also decided to see how the scene looks preserved in its natural colours and it looks good, but I think I prefer the first image, what do you think?
As promised I have chosen a different subject today having posted pictures of fungi for the past three posts. But if you want more fungi you could always check my instagram today (chipster_63)
The first of todays pictures shows the path through the forest on the way to Ouimet Canyon in Ontario. It is a spectacular sight however on the day we visited there was thick fog or low cloud obscuring much of the view although it was really atmospheric.
The canyon itself is 100m deep, 150m wide and 2km from end to end. The origin of the canyon is glacial erosion but the erosion continues as a result of wind and rain.
One of the rock features that you can see in the above photos is known as the "Indian Head" which eerily peers through the mist.
The bottom of the canyon is out of bounds because it is of special scientific interest due to the many species of arctic flora found there. Normally they would only be found 1000km to the north but the conditions at the bottom of the canyon allow these species to flourish.
So for the third post in a row I have chosen fungi. I will pick a different subject for my next post but rest assured I will certainly be coming back to fungi in future as I have loads more interesting pictures. I should probably try to learn a little but about these things so that I can identify them and at least know a little more about them.
Nevertheless I think they are pretty amazing. All of the specimens today are really tiny, even smaller than those in yesterdays post and they are all really lovely.
I was going to start off by saying something about the red discs in the first image but I now know that they're not red at all so I won't embarrass myself by saying anything about the colour and just say that these tiny discs look amazing against the dark of the damp log they were growing on.
The second one is probably no more that 1cm tall and you can see from the pine needles on the ground around it that it is quite thin too.
Not as thin as the ones in the third shot though with their cotton thin stems and pinhead caps. You may be able to see the way one of the tallest is bending under the weight of a tiny water droplet. These would have been so easy to miss, again the pine needles provide a sense of scale. It is amazing how they even support themselves .
I really like the final specimen which I am reliably told is a mustard yellow. I have seen other varieties like this in a range of colours like purple or grey (I think). I love the pattern on them that makes them look rather like a collapsed umbrella.
