The Secret Life of Flowers

Two flower photo posts in a row...it must be spring! I hope you don't mind while I indulge my spring fever by sharing more flower pictures with you. There's just something about springtime that makes me feel...well, flowery!

We've had strange weather here on the west coast of Canada lately. After a very mild winter, March has been unusually cold and we even got a couple of snowfalls. We've also had some incredible windstorms, one of which left us with a tree down over the hydro lines, dangling over our rooftop. All this crazy weather has been very confusing for the flowers, I'm sure. "Should we show our faces? Should we hide for a couple more weeks?" "I dunno, what do you think, Bud?"

The flower photos I want to share with you are a little bit different. I processed them using a Photoshop plug- in called Fractalius. Flower pictures processed with Fractalius remind me of that book, "The Secret Life of Plants"...it's as if you can see the flower's aura. You can really go overboard with this plug-in but I usually like a somewhat subtler effect. Here's a fractal of a Stargazer lily.

Stargazer Lily Macro

It takes some experimenting with your flower photos...not everything really "works" once it's been fractalized (if that's a word).

Here's an overhead shot of a rose and rosebud that I processed using Fractalius.

Pink Rose and Rosebud

I liked the way this one turned out. I also used some other filters on this photograph to change the hues somewhat. In fact, I did so many things to this picture, I kind of got lost and couldn't even tell you exactly what I did!

I thought this fractal of daisies turned out interestingly. I like the daisies in the background, which have become kind of ethereal and look to me as if they're holding hands...or petals, that is.

Daisies Fractal

Next up is a datura, and then some daffodils...

Datura

Daffodils

My last flower fractal is a morning glory. I know that some people prefer their flowers "straight" and don't like any processing nonsense but unless you try a program like Fractalius, you'll never know how much fun you're missing! Experimentation can be very addictive...you can also take what might've been a so-so floral photo (or anything else, for that matter), and spice it up a bit.

Morning Glory

Oh, and just in case you're wondering, I don't make anything from plugging this plug-in!

Flower Photos ~ Time for Some Spring Color!

Lately I've been in the mood to work on flower photos, mostly because we've had very stormy weather around here. In particular this past week we had some amazing wind storms and ended up with a good-sized tree coming down over the power lines that lead to our neighbour's house. The tree snapped through his phone line and was cradled by the power lines and a dogwood tree next to our house. Lucky us that it didn't crash through our roof! A man went up in a cherry picker to attach an enormous cable to the tree and it was airlifted up, up, and away. Just in time for the next big storm that was coming through!

We also got a light dusting of snow on the pot of daffodils that just started blooming by our place. So all this crazy weather put me in the mood to work on some flower pictures.

I like photographs of flowers straight out of the camera but I also enjoy adding floral designs or "textures" to my flower pictures.

Here's an example of a macro shot of some lilacs ~

 Lilac Blossoms

Here's another version of the same picture after I added a damask swirl pattern in Photoshop and changed the hue and saturation slightly.

Lilacs Macro with Overlaid Swirl Pattern

Looks quite different, doesn't it? I really like that pattern and used it here with my picture of lavender flowers but this time I didn't change the hue as much...

Lavender with Floral Pattern

Or maybe you like your flower photos a little more natural... In my next picture I left the lavender garden as it was, with some colorful orange flowers blurred in the background. By the way, this out-of-focus area is called "bokeh" in photography and is achieved by leaving your camera lens open to its widest aperture...by doing this, you get a pleasing blur which can be especially effective if the background is wet or lit by bright sunlight.

Lavender Garden

One of my favorite flowers is poppies. Last summer I had a job photographing somebody's garden and he had some lovely pink poppies. I added a light green background and overlaid a different floral damask pattern to this picture and came up with a softer version...

 Pink Poppies with Floral Damask Pattern

And what would springtime be without tulips? They're one of my favorite flowers to photograph. For my tulip picture I added the same damask pattern as above but also did some other adjustments in Photoshop, such as adding another texture and messing around with the saturation levels. I also added a vignette effect.

 White Tulips with Floral Damask Pattern Overlaid

I took this photo close to where the ferry docks at Horseshoe Bay (in West Vancouver, British Columbia), which is a very picturesque area in case you haven't been there. The flowers were conveniently placed in a planter a few feet above my head so that I could photograph them against the blue sky when I stood on the walkway beneath. How thoughtful of them that I didn't have to get into my usual lying-on-the-ground-in-public position to take a flower photograph! (I wonder how many times I've been asked, "What are you taking a picture of?" when assuming some of these strange contorted positions in public.)

For you purists out there, here's the same photo of white tulips au naturel, without the addition of any textures or patterns, and without any adjustments in Photoshop...

 White Tulips Against a Blue Sky

Which do you prefer?

Hopefully we'll be getting some decent weather soon and when we do, I'll do another post with flower pictures. It's cheered me up a lot just posting this!

The Owls of Boundary Bay

After my first visit with the snowy owls of Boundary Bay, I went back to Delta, B.C. to visit with them again at the end of January. Now it's March and I hear they're still there along the beach by the dyke but I have no idea how long they'll stick around. Apparently there was something of a population explosion of snowy owls due to a good supply of lemmings last year so many breeding pairs ended up hatching as many as seven young ones (compared to only two hatchlings normally). This has driven mostly adolescent males to the south in search of better food supplies. Apparently this happens every six or seven years. By the way, the adolescent males and female snowy owls have the dark markings and mature snowies are more pure white.

I drove out to the provincial park early in the morning to visit with the owls and spent some time with this group that was perched on some driftwood.

Snowy Owls

I was amused by the owl in the background on the left...he kept his eyes on me most of the time. I decided to focus on the pair of owls on the left.

Snowy Owl Couple

Eventually the owl in the back flew off, leaving his buddy to observe me casually with one eye while he roosted.

Snowy Owl

Snowy owls weren't the only owls that I saw during my visit to Boundary Bay. I was also treated to a short-eared owl's hunting session as it flew over the field along the dyke, gracefully dipping into the high grasses occasionally but never catching anything. It was my first-ever short-eared owl sighting.

Short-Eared Owl Hunting

The owl was a fair distance away so I've cropped this picture down considerably. I love the way he matches the golden tones of the field in the early morning sun.

The owl didn't manage to catch anything while I was watching though. He didn't have a chance...a pesky crow came along and chased him off. The two of them flew off into the distance.

Crow Chasing Owl

I've seen crows (usually gangs of them) chase off hawks many times but this was my first time seeing a crow pursuing an owl.

snowy owls art
owls art

My First Bobcat Pictures!

So as I mentioned in a recent post, I saw my first wolf and my first bobcat within an hour of each other last week. My husband tried to convince me that since it was the day after Valentine's, he'd arranged it all as a gift.

We were walking the dogs back to the van half an hour after seeing the wolf and I realized that the reason a big group of ravens was hanging around going kind of crazy (flying around and calling out) was because of a dead elk.

Since the wolf had been walking in the direction of the elk carcass, I figured he might be heading that way for a meal. So we took the dogs home and I returned in my van, ready for action.

I parked my van on the trail and felt safe enough because there was at least 100 feet of dense bush between me and the elk. The only problem was, I couldn't get a clear shot over the bushes so I opened my van door and stood on the chassis, propped my foot on the open door, and had a look through my lens. That's when I realized there was a bobcat there!  I've never seen one before but they're pretty recognizable.

After half an hour or so I saw the bobcat looking up into the woods nearby and lo and behold, another much bigger bobcat shows up! I later Googled for information about bobcats...I figure the second cat on the scene was the mother because they usually stay with their young until the following spring when the bobcats go their separate ways. Mom's stomach was already pretty huge from eating but she helped herself to more. I won't show you the pictures of the younger bobcat or the two of them together because a) they're kind of gross with the elk carcass there and b) both cats were behind bushes so the shots aren't at all good. I was having a hard enough time getting clear shots anyway because of my precarious position standing on the chassis and the weather was getting increasingly dismal.

Anyway, eventually the younger bobcat wandered off into the nearby forest. After eating for awhile, mom started marking her territory by pawing at the ground continually. She sent the turf flying time and time again and kept it up for about 20 minutes before disappearing into the woods. Here's a shot I got of her before she disappeared though.

Bobcat Picture

I waited around for about an hour but neither bobcat returned so I went home to grab some lunch. I drove back an hour later and found a slightly better spot to park. I had a look through my lens and didn't see anything so I walked around a bit, making sure that I wasn't missing any choice locations to shoot from. When I returned to my van I had another look and realized a bobcat was there and most likely had been there all along. They're very well-camouflaged, in case you didn't notice!

Bobcat Photo

This time the bobcat didn't seem to be interested in eating at all, only in pawing at the ground, marking her territory. Once in awhile she'd look directly at me.

Bobcat Looking at Me

Overall, though, she didn't seem the least concerned with my presence. In fact, I'd noticed as I drove up to the spot that one of my wheels was making an incredibly loud racket...I think there was a rock caught somewhere. In any case, it didn't seem to bother the bobcat in the least.

Eventually the bobcat was satisfied that she'd marked her territory. She climbed up onto a log and struck a pose.

Bobcat Striking a Pose

Then she trotted off into the woods very casually but not before gazing at me for a few seconds from behind a bush. I waited an hour or so but she never reappeared. All in all I'd had at least an hour's time in the company of bobcats.

The next day I was back, bright and early. Well, I shouldn't say "bright" because it was raining. To my complete shock, I saw that the entire elk had been devoured down to the ribs, which had been dragged about 25 feet away from where the body had been the day before. I think I can make a pretty safe assumption that a wolf pack had feasted on the elk overnight.

I immediately spotted the bobcat pacing around, pawing at the ground again. She spent about 20 minutes doing that and barely gave me any notice at all.

It was raining pretty steadily by that time. To my surprise, the bobcat climbed onto the fallen log and sat there for about five minutes in the falling rain. And I thought cats hated the rain!

Bobcat at the Edge of the Forest

Here she is apparently making sure that I was suitably impressed by her beauty. I was!

Fat and Sassy Bobcat Looking at Me

Eventually she climbed down from the log and gave me one last look before leaving.

Picture of Bobcat Watching Me

I again waited for at least an hour for her to return but she was a no-show. There was no food left, so no reason for her to come back, I suppose. But I kept hoping. Because you know what? Watching bobcats is kind of addictive!



60% off on Canvas Prints at Zazzle

If you're in the market for a canvas print, now's a good time to go shopping. Zazzle, the print-on-demand company that I use, is having a 60% off sale on canvas prints this weekend only.

There's a lot of artwork to choose from besides my photography though. There are some truly amazing artists with shops on Zazzle so why don't you have a look? Or maybe you have a photograph or artwork that you've always wanted to have made into a canvas print...if that's the case, you can upload your own work and have it printed and still get the discount.

Use the code "CANVASDEAL60" at checkout to get your 60% off on canvas prints this weekend only!

Here's a photo of a Blue-Grey Tanager posing on a palm tree that I just uploaded to Zazzle. I took the picture last year in Costa Rica. Click on the picture to be taken to the canvas print of this photo.

Blue-Grey Tanager

Of course there are all kinds of photo products at Zazzle besides canvas prints, so check it out!

My First Wild Wolf Photos

I got my first wild wolf photos last week. It happened the day after Valentine's so my husband tried to convince me that he'd arranged it all as a gift. He'd seen wolves three times before and here was me, the nature photographer with my big ol' lens, with not a single wolf sighting. I had seen their big pawprints before and I'd seen their scat (at least I'm pretty sure it was wolf scat and not from a coyote...coyotes are quite a bit smaller so need I say more?) Speaking of coyotes, I hardly ever see them anymore and I think it's because wolves have moved into the area and are pushing them out.

Anyway, here's the story...I was walking the dogs with my husband and we were coming to where he saw a wolf pack a couple of years ago. He suggested we have a look around the bend before turning back. So we rounded the bend and lo and behold there's a black wolf loping towards us! I noticed he had a slight limp. He was way down the trail and for some reason he didn't even notice us. Luckily the dogs didn't see him because the vegetation was too high. It was lucky because one of our dogs is a big barker and she would've definitely blown any chance I had at a good shot of the wolf.

I took a few quick shots. Here's the only one that wasn't blurry. He was still pretty far away...I've cropped this picture down a little, by the way.

Black Wolf

I could tell that my view of him would be blocked by that bush you can see on the lefthand side of the photo, and I also knew that my dog would start barking once she spotted him. So I tossed Osa's leash to my husband and he held onto both dogs. Then I climbed onto a little rise so that I could be ready to take his picture when he rounded the corner and got clear of the bushes.

My heart was beating pretty wildly while I waited for him to round the bend...it was probably only a few seconds but it felt like a lot longer! The second he came around the bend he spotted me. I only had time to get this shot of him standing there in surprise before he trotted across the field about 150 feet into the woods. This picture is cropped, by the way.

Black Wolf Photo

I could see that he had beautiful grey markings on the backs of his legs as well as the markings you can see on his face and chest.

Four days later, the same wolf (I'm 95% sure) ran across the highway in front of us as we were driving home from the same area.

And here's the most amazing part...I've never seen a wolf in the wild before. I've never seen a bobcat before either. But within one hour that morning, I saw a wolf and two bobcats!

I'll save the bobcat story and pictures for my next post. Stay tuned!

Published in Canadian Geographic Magazine

One of my photographs has been published in "Best Wildlife Pictures 2012", a collector's edition of Canadian Geographic magazine. This special edition has been on the shelves since October and apparently is still available. I forgot to do some bragging about it earlier!

The magazine (which is almost more like a book due to lack of advertising) shows off the impressive talent of my fellow Canadian nature photographers. I felt very honoured to be included.

Here's the picture that was published, which introduces a section about animals and water.

Deer Fawn Bobbing for Apples

Here's the story behind the photograph... I'd seen four deer (two older fawns and two adults) visit the creek a couple of days in a row. They were after the crab apples that grew by the creek. The ravens and crows were feasting on the apples but would knock part of their bounty down into the creek. 

So I waited on the boardwalk overlooking the creek and sure enough, this fawn made an appearance. He sauntered towards me, pretty much oblivious to my presence, seemingly entranced by the possibility of some fine crab apples. I had to actually back up to take the photograph. In the picture you can see a couple of huge big-leaf maple leaves, which makes this picture all the more Canadian...in case you didn't know, our flag has a maple leaf on it.

For anyone who enjoys nature photographs, or for you aspiring photographers out there, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of "Best Wildlife Pictures 2012". I guarantee you'll love it!