This photo was taken on a recent trip to Calabogie, Ontario... although I suppose it could have been taken anywhere. Unfortunately none of my wide-angle landscapes turned out. These little rusty bumps on a rail on the side of a bridge reminded me of warts. At first I tried taking macro shots of the 'warts', but they didn't turn out looking like much. On the way back I decided to focus on the chain link fence and let the bumps blur into the background. These ones turned out much better.

This is one of my wide-angle tree shots from the Experimental Farm. The shape of the tree reminded me of the palm trees in Costa Rica. I was lying on my back taking photos of them (albeit not with a wide-angle) and they had the same long and lazy shape. Maybe I'm just sick of winter and everything I see is starting to remind me of the tropics.

A combination of cold weather and illness is keeping me tethered to home, despite having a rare 4.5 days off from work. I don't have many new photos to upload, although I took a bit of a trip earlier on in the week. The photos are not uploaded yet, but maybe some of the wide-angle ones turned out alright *crosses fingers*.

It has been my recent habit to post the best pictures from this blog on Red Bubble. Today I decided to do the opposite. This is one of my favorite photos, but it hasn't received many views on RB. I think the thumbnail is just too small to bring out the detail. This photo was taken on my recent journey to Fitzroy, Ontario when I had a few days off over the New Year. We had freezing rain all through Christmas, and the tree branches were covered with a coating of ice which made them look like they were made of glass. In this shot, the moonlight makes the frozen branches glisten. This was actually an accidental shot... My fingers were frozen and I was trying to adjust my settings when I accidentally tripped the shutter. I had been meaning to take a longer exposure as well as close off the eyepiece to prevent any light from entering through it. In the end, this 'mistake' turned out looking better than any of my planned shots. When I lengthened the exposure, the branches were so blown out with moonlight that the subtle gleam wasn't visible.

There is more freezing rain in the forecast for tomorrow, and I have Tuesday off from work... Maybe I'll get some more icy tree shots.

Here is another of my winter tree photos... This one taken with the wide angle. I was about as miserable and depressed as it's possible for a person to be when I went on my photo journey last week. As soon as I put on the wide angle, it was like snapping a light switch: instant happiness. I guess all of those sayings about viewing the world thorough a different lens or though rose-colored glasses have some basis in truth. Believe it or not, this was actually a short, squat tree in real life. The wide-angle stretches it out and distorts it like one of those funhouse mirrors.

This is another of my favorite photos from last weekend. I like the composition with the trees and the buildings, and the stark white of the undisturbed snow. A wide angle lens makes even the most mundane things look interesting.

This is probably the most interesting photo I took on my trip to the Experimental Farm last weekend. The wide angle lens gives things a different perspective... I was actually standing mere steps from the yellow house, although through a 14mm lens, it looks far away. This photo also contains something that has been rare since I moved to Ontario - an interesting sky! I really miss the vibrant prairie skies. My brother-in-law recently visited and made the comment that the sky always looks the same in Ottawa. He's right. It's always bright white, or a uniform grey... very drab and dull for a photographer. Last weekend I was rewarded (however briefly) with some amazing color and light.

This weekend I took a walk to the Experimental Farm. I wanted to go somewhere further afield... but the days are still too short to allow for that. It's true that there is always fodder for the one lens you leave behind. On my last trip to photograph winter trees, I missed the wide angle. I brought it this time and left my telephoto at home. Wouldn't you know it... The trees and fields were swarming with crows. Through my 50mm lens, they just looked like black specks... black specks that cackled and cawed, mocking me.

In spring, summer and fall, trees are all about the leaves. In winter, I like the shapes formed by the bare branches against the sky. A wide angle lens brings a whole new perspective to these shapes.

Here is the only "postable" photo I took with the 50mm lens before swapping over to the wide angle. To be honest, I think it's the least exciting. I'll post the wide angle shots in the coming days, since it will be a few eons before I have another day off.

Today's photo has an amusing story behind it. I was out taking photos of the cats in the yard yesterday when my eyes were drawn to this little windswept bush in the corner. It was begging me to take its photo. The fact that the wind was actively blowing it just accentuated its 'windswept' character and made it an even more appealing photo subject. The problem was the background... The siding on the neighbors' garage is...well... frankly quite ugly. I was hoping that converting it to monochrome would make it more interesting. Maybe the lines on the side of the garage could represent blowing wind in some abstract, artsy-fartsy sort of way.

I like taking photos, but I really don't care for fiddling with them on the computer... I have no idea how my post-processing software works, aside from the most basic operations. I was wondering if maybe I could summon the motivation to try blurring out the background on the computer, when Graem peered over my shoulder and said (as though he had read my mind), "Nothing you can do with that one. It's always gonna look like siding". And there you have it.

More cute feline pictures today. Jackie was quite aptly named after Jackie Chan. He is the ultimate stunt cat, and when he was a kitten, he'd do flips in the backyard catching snowballs that we'd throw for him. Sometimes he got about 5 feet off the ground!

The weather has been a bit nicer lately, and Jackie has felt up to coming outside and catching a few snowballs. These maybe aren't the most technically brilliant photos, but I was experimenting with a new technique: Throwing a snowball with my left hand and holding/operating the camera with my right. Exposing a dark grey cat against white snow is also difficult. I'll have to practice more.

I took some snowy tree and landscape shots today as well... I'll post them in the coming days.

It has been a while since I posted a photo. Sixteen-hour work days and bad weather have meant virtually no shutter clicks the past couple of weeks. Retiring to a tropical climate could fix both of those problems; too bad I can't do that tomorrow.

I have had a chance to fire off a few snapshots of the newest member of our family. His name is Tuk. He came to us under bizarre circumstances on New Year's Day. He's an interesting cat, and one with impeccable taste (he likes tomatoes and avocado).

The other cats have adjusted to Tuk surprisingly well... Moosh seems happy to have another fuzzy cat around and Jackie is more playful than I have seen him since he got sick. After a few nights of constant yeowling, Synder has stopped trying to evict Tuk from his territory.

I'm not sure why he was given the name 'Tuk'. I call him Tuktoyaktuk, which seems fitting as he has a long, thick coat and big fuzzy paws, suitable for an arctic cat. Maybe he's named after the "Tuk-Tuk", a kind of motorized rickshaw in Thailand... Maybe he is named after Friar Tuck. Whatever the origin of his name, I hope he's a good luck omen for 2010.

I have my fingers crossed for some new photos this weekend.

This is my last icy tree photo from the Experimental Farm. It's also my favorite. I call it "Cold Comfort". I like the shapes made by the frosty branches and tree trunk against the sky.

I'm stuck in a deep and seemingly endless rut where my work schedule won't allow me to see sunlight or eat, much less spend time with my husband, cats or camera. I'm afraid there won't be any new photos until the weekend unless something unexpected happens... It's not unheard of, but I won't hold my breath.

Here's another icy tree photo from our cold and wet excursion to the Experimental Farm. There was moss growing on this tree. I was hoping that the greens and yellows would be more vivid, but as it stands the moss was barely visible in the photo. This one actually ended up looking better in monochrome.

No time for a photo journey today, though I may take a few more shots of the orchid later while it still has flowers! I have a few more winter tree photos from the Experimental Farm to post... but today I thought I'd post the last of my icicle photos. I was amazed by how crystal clear this icicle was. In real life, I could see right through it. I was almost expecting to view my photos on the computer and find the icicle invisible!