[Another series of photographs made while traveling in a moving car, although, I confess those birds flew into the first photograph during processing. There are other examples of this technique here and here]
© Karen McRae, 2014
landscape
As busy as…
a beaver.
Where there is open water there is sure to be wildlife, but today is the first time I have seen a beaver in this part of the creek. It has obviously been busy in the area for a while, downing small trees and stripping off the bark for food. I’m not sure where its lodge might be located but I didn’t want to stick around for too long and be overly disruptive. Even with snowshoes on it is difficult to move quietly as the top layer of deep snow has a thick crunchy crust. Even so, some creatures are amazingly tolerant of the human activity on the periphery.
© Karen McRae, 2013
Cold Blue
It’s hard to resist the beauty of a really cold morning (-25c early this morning, according to our thermometre). At the edge of the rapids the turbulent water shifts the forming ice into different shapes and during the cold nights the surfaces grow carpets of feathery frost. The horizon is lost in a fog of water vapour.
A closeup of feather frost on an icy surface
As I was out making photographs I spotted many brave ducks that seem to be willing to tough it out and spend the winter in and around the open water. Pictured are a couple of shy goldeneye ducks above, and what I think is an American black duck below.
A little glimpse of the city which is not far away
[Similar ice compositions to a post I did last year here, but the cold is a month earlier!]
© Karen McRae, 2013
Gold & Silver
Mussel shells just under the surface and golden light on ice
A chickadee in flight and leaves in the creek
It’s quite cold here now. Yesterday I bundled up and spent several hours outside. The birds were very busy foraging for food and the chickadees were especially friendly. They would land on my shoulder or hand, unexpectedly, expectantly. A gentle whirring sound of wings in my ears. And the most tender questioning “peep peep” from a nuthatch that flitted close by, wondering too, if I had little seeds in my pockets. I did.
As it becomes very cold the landscape transforms in strange and wonderful ways. The ice forming at river’s edge is bordering on Seussian but I haven’t yet found a way to make good photographs. Photographs that show the magic of it. Part of the fun is trying to figure that out, I suppose. Anyway, if you are looking for gold and silver, it’s not far away. You just might have to dress warm.
Water reflections and starlings in flight ~ there seems to be a flock of them hanging around for the winter
© Karen McRae, 2013
The Falls
It’s hard to fathom the scale of this place from these photographs but there are tiny avian specks in there – seagulls, actually – if you look very closely. The first image is layered and the second image is what the camera saw. This is the churning water at the bottom of a 165 foot drop.
© Karen McRae, 2013
The Edge of Winter
Yesterday – A snowfall and a pond icing over. You can see a little bit of open water in the dark areas – Winter is closing in.
© Karen McRae, 2013
Wintery
Passing glimpses of yesterday’s snowfall – the first of the autumn. This morning the temperature has been creeping up and the short-lived snow has been replaced by rain.
[These images were taken from a moving car – lazy, I know…]
© Karen McRae, 2013
Cause and Effect
© Karen McRae, 2013
(Previously) Unreleased
These are not recently photographed wrapped trees but they are different from the ones I have posted before. It seemed an appropriate day to let these swathed creatures out for some fresh air.
[More wrapped trees can be found here.]
© Karen McRae, 2013
draw and shoot 