A second post today, just to make up for my recent negligence. The Iceland photos seem kind of stale, and it seems lazy on my part to be posting them. Nonetheless, there were some amazing things there that I haven't yet shared on this blog.

This is a photo from Jokulsarlon (Glacier Lagoon). Pieces of a larger glacier (known as 'calves') break off and float in the lake. The colors are amazing (I expect they would be even better in good light). One thing that you don't get in a photo is sound. The creaking and groaning of the ice was amazing... and frankly a little bit creepy when the tourists went away and everything else was silent.

Jokulsarlon is a major tourist attraction, and boats even run out onto the lagoon at regular intervals. We stayed away from the tourist lookout. In fact, we found another glacier lagoon nearby which was very similar to Jokulsarlon but less popular with tourists. This photo might have actually been taken there, although it's impossible for me to remember now.

When Graem and I visited the Rideau River, we walked right across the frozen water at one point. That sort of thing always makes me nervous, even if there are tire tracks on the ice indicating that someone drove a vehicle that was (presumably) much heavier than me across safely... Maybe they just weakened the structural integrity of the ice!

We made it across safely and alive, and I even took time to gingerly crouch and examine this swirled bit of ice. When we lived in Edmonton, there was a glass shop nearby where we would always stop to admire (and occasionally buy) expensive glass bowls and sculptures that we couldn't really afford. This ice reminds me of one of those sculptures.

This is another ice-and-water abstract taken at the Rideau River. I like the contrast between the still ice and the moving water. The chunks of ice had been formed into interesting shapes by the splashing water.

An inhumane work schedule and a sick cat have eaten up my time, and even most of my interest in taking new photos this week. We can always hope for better in the days to come.

This macro shot was taken near the Rideau River. As with my last ice/snow abstract, I found that monochrome conversion helped to accentuate the texture of the ice. Ice and snow make nice macro subjects, but I can't wait for spring to have something a wee bit greener in front of my lens.

Here is one of many ice abstracts taken at Hog's Back Park. I think (hope?) that my composition is improving for landscape shots and for things like flowers that I photograph all the time. Where I've noticed my composition lacking lately is in this type of abstract shot. I always get excited about things that look cool through the macro lens (lichens, rocks, icicles), and I happily snap away expecting masterpieces. When I review my photos later, I'm always disappointed. Yes, the subjects are interesting, but the photos are a visual cacophony with no real focal point. These ice abstracts are decent shots, but I know of some photographers who could have made them far more interesting. In this particular shot, the monochrome conversion really helped bring out the texture in the snow, even though it was essentially a black and white photo to begin with.

I have taken a few photos over the last couple of weeks, but didn't have time to look through them and edit them until today. This is turning into a monthly photo blog, rather than a daily one!

These photos were taken at Hog's Back Park in Ottawa. The park features a small waterfall and some rocky cliffs which are turned into dramatic ice-scapes at this time of year. I thought that "Hog's Back" was an odd name for a park. I guess the name refers to the big rocks jutting out of the Earth. To quote a sign found at the park:

These rocks, sandstones and limestones were formed at the bottom of a shallow sea which covered this region in Ordovician time some 400 million years ago. Note the ripple marks formed by the ancient waves. Later the region was uplifted and the strata here were folded and broken. A major break or fault can be seen here at low water just below the East end of the bridge. The present course of the river over these rocks was established at a still much later date.

That explains the geological features of the Hog's Back. Whoever was responsible for the man-made features did not have photographers in mind. The whole park is surrounded by an ugly black fence. I spent a lot of time trying to keep the fence out of my shots. Most of my wide-angle photos of the waterfall were marred either by the fence itself, or the shadow of the fence creeping into the frame. As a result, the best shots were taken with longer lenses, and I have quite a few closeup abstracts.

With the first photo here, I thought it would be cool to photograph the snow mounds (complete with shadows), crisp in the foreground with the waterfall blurred out in the background. It didn't turn out exactly as I wanted it to, but I still like it.

The little bush in the second shot looks like its branches are dripping with icing. It looks like something that belongs in the front yard of a gingerbread house. If only there were jujubes...

Here is another shot taken on the Calabogie trip. It's not immediately apparent (to me at least) what this is a picture of. It's actually dark water with ice chunks moving rather quickly under a bridge. I was using a longer lens, so the shot loses its wider context. When I was viewing my photos, I got a bit confused and thought this was actually a closeup of a faceted rock... and I couldn't remember taking any photos of rock. It could also be that I'm just losing my mind.

This is the last photo I have saved up to post for a while. Hopefully I'll find some time and some subject matter for evening photography... Otherwise nothing new until the weekend.

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.

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.

Today is a special day. Not only is it New Year's Eve, it is also the 1 year anniversary of the day I bought my DSLR. One year and ~13700 shutter clicks later, I hope I'm a better photographer. If nothing else, it has been fun.

It snowed all day today... not really a blizzard, just fat flakes falling relentlessly. I had to wrap the camera in my toque to avoid getting it wet between shots. We walked to the Experimental Farm, where I took quite a few photos this fall. Different seasons bring different subject matter. In the fall, about 90% of my Experimental Farm photos were taken with the 50mm lens, and the other 10% split between the macro and the Lensbaby. Today I put the 50mm on the camera and brought the new 70-200mm zoom in case there were any birds to be photographed. As it turns out, I spent much of the day wishing for the wide angle and the macro. There was too much distracting background material in the fall to take wide angle shots... now the trees have lost their leaves and the corn fields have been replaced by a clean blanket of white snow. Everything is much more open. The trees are encrusted in ice and snow - perfect fodder for the macro lens. Nonetheless, the best lens is the one that you have with you and know how to use... and the 50 is a versatile little gem. Here is one of the icy trees I managed to photograph. I might return later on this week with a different selection of lenses, weather and life permitting.

Here's yet another icicle photo... At first I thought the roof in the background was distracting, but the more I look at it, the more I think it actually adds something to the picture. The icicles are getting more interesting every day. It has been melting the past few days, and today there is freezing rain. I took some interesting shots a couple of days ago which are still sitting on the camera. Hopefully a few turned out!

Here's another icicle photo. I was pretty enthralled by the detail on the tip of this 'ice talon' (probably best viewed big). This is one of the few photos of it that didn't come out blurry. I hope my icicle photos don't get tiresome. Truth be told, I only have a couple more to post. My work schedule won't let me take any new photos until Dec. 28 at the earliest. I've taken another look at my snowboard binding macros and deemed the rest unpostable. Maybe I'm just in a picky mood. Assuming I don't change my mind, I'll post my remaining icicle photos in the coming days, and maybe a Red Bubble reject if I find one I deem worthy. Other than that, there might be a brief hiatus until I have a chance to take more photos.

I hope that some of you people out there in Internet Land have a few days off from work/school and manage to enjoy the holidays!

Time stands still for no one. But at this time of year, it certainly seems to. This is another of my icicle macro photos. I thought it quite suitable for posting on the longest night of the year.

Today I took the macro lens out to photograph icicles. I got a few interesting shots. I was in a mood for simplifying things, and I was striving to make my shots as clean and uncluttered as possible. I intended to convert everything to monochrome, but when I finally sat down with the images, I decided I like my icicles better as nature made them - with a subtle tint of cold blue.

This photo was an exception. The icicle was bright white, the background baby blue, and for some reason the base of the icicle had a pinkish hue... The whole thing looked like a decoration one might find on a cake at a baby shower. Despite that, I really liked the photo. It's not the typical cliched icicle photo. I therefore decided to rescue it with monochrome conversion.

I'm not even sure if this can be called an 'icicle', as it was not hanging down, but rather jutting up from the railing on my porch. Are icicles analogous to stalactites and stalagmites? Is there a special term for ones that jut upwards?

This Red Bubble reject was taken on March 3, 2009. We had gone out into the country so I could take some photos of Graem riding his snowboard in the drifts. On the way home, we discovered this man-made waterfall and a stream that went with it. The sight made me so incredibly happy it is hard to describe in words. In the middle of a bleak, drawn-out winter, this was the first non-frozen water I had seen in a long time. To top it off, the stream bank was composed of sand! The whole world could be collapsing around me, but if I had water and sand to look at, touch and smell every day, my existence would be a blissful one.

We followed the stream to a lake where ducks were swimming around, taking off and landing. The ducks were much too skittish and far away to photograph. There was an ice shelf at about waist height beside the stream bank. I knelt in the muck, peered under the shelf, and was rewarded with the most amazing sight ever. Ice stalactites hung down from the shelf and were illuminated by the late afternoon sun reflecting off the water. The whole thing looked like a palace made of gold. I took several photos, careful not to bash my (then new) macro lens on the ice shelf or get it wet. I couldn't wait to get home and see the photos, but they unfortunately turned out as a white mess of lens flare and blur. Some of the most beautiful things in nature can't be adequately captured with a camera... at least not without patience, skill and luck - at least one of which I am lacking on most days.

On the way back to the car, I took some photos of the waterfall while standing ankle-deep in the stream. I wanted to take a lot more pictures of the ice-tongues flowing down and the rusted bit of wire on top of the waterfall. It was then that I discovered my winter boots were not as waterproof as I wanted them to be. The photo journey was curtailed, with plans to return in the spring. Unfortunately, I have no idea where this was.