I was really lucky a few weeks ago as I was able to get out with my camera several times during a week off work and I got loads of great shots. I then had a bit of a lull until today when I went out to Formby and the National Trust reserve there to photograph the red squirrels. I had a lovely time and I can hardly wait to share some of the pictures because I can promise there are some really good ones.
However I still have lots from my week in March to share so I will have to wait, and therefore so will you.
I still have some good shots from my last visit to the zoo as well but for today I am mixing things up with a couple of shots of this magnificent Little Egret who was using the utmost stealth in his search for a tasty meal at the RSPB reserve at Burton Mere.
I like both of these images but I really like the second shot because of the birds' pose and also the warm colouring which has been achieved by shooting through the reeds which reflect some of the morning sunlight.
I was able to watch the bird for several minutes and I can say that he was a very successful hunter.
I have seen lots of pictures taken from this spot before but had never realised where it was but now I know I will probably be back to take more pictures in future.
The thing with landscape shots is that no matter how many times a particular scene is snapped every picture will be different, whether it is because of the angle or the perspective chosen, the detail in the sky, whether there is snow or no snow, the position of the sun and so on.
I saw a picture posted by someone on instagram just the other day and it was very similar to the second of my shots today (although these were taken a few weeks ago) and the photographer had commented on the tripod marks in the ground indicating that this was a well photographed location and in particular this view. But there is nothing wrong with that, often landscape images can look like holiday snaps as a friend of mine will often tell me, but retaking a good scene to get a perfect image can be a worthwhile challenge.
I love this scene and I think it would look good with a clear blue sky or with fluffy white clouds reflected in the lake which is probably how it looked later in the day, but here with an overcast sky and the sun fighting to break through the muted colours make for a really atmospheric image.
So I am home again, I have actually been home for 5 days but I have had so many things to do I haven't had time to get back to my blog.
As you can imagine my trip to Canada provided so many great photo opportunities and I have over 1600 images to review. I could so easily have taken more and on the long drive across country I saw so many things that I wanted to capture but just didn't have the time. I hope to go back in the future and I have a few ideas of photo projects that I would like to do but that is for the future and here in the present I have some great pictures to share.
I was able to see so much wildlife and some great scenery so deciding where to start was quite tough.
I could have begun at the beginning and worked through each day but I don't think that sort of linear approach will work since there is such variety to the pictures I have and so I will be mixing things up.
So for today's image I have chosen a shot of some abstract artwork by the marina in Thunder Bay, Ontario which was the main base for the trip. This shot was taken in the early hours, just before sunrise and you can see the lightening sky reflected in the silvery globes. If you look closely you can also see me in the top and middle sections but fortunately given the lighting that doesn't detract from the image.
