December's favourite photo is...

Our Final Winner, which caught the taste of the season

Dancing Tree Lights!

Although other photos also received votes, most people felt this one captured December best. I have to admit, the tree lights shot would likely have been my last choice of the five but I must bow to the will of the voters!

Thanks to everyone who voted throughout the year. If I can get my act together and produce a calendar using the monthly winners, I'll try to make sure everyone who participated gets one!

Photo favourites for December

#1: Street Lamp and Decapitated Statue (336)

#2: Starry-Eyed Moon (352)

#3: Bridge at Night (354)

#4: Dancing Tree Lights (358

Raise a glass. With this blog entry, we will have completed our review of last year's 365+ daily photos and chosen our twelve favourites by month.

It turns out December of 2011 was an impressively rich time for me, from a photographic standpoint. I had a hard time narrowing down the selection to five and am happy with the final product. It was an extremely productive month!

#5: Skater (362)

As usual, please look these images over and cast your vote, using the Comments feature or via email or in person. Which is your favourite photo from December? Once I have all the votes in and a winner declared, I'll start thinking about producing a calendar for 2013, using the twelve winners and a select few of the runners up. Want one?

Confirming my Hopewell hopes

A while back I posted this black-and-white photograph of a particular flower-pot rock at Hopewell, taken from the book This is New Brunswick, by Jessie I. Lawson and Jean MacCallum Sweet (Ryerson Press, 1951).

I promised to try to take the same photo, showing the same rock from the same angle, the next time I went to the Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park.

I had found a shot in my collection from 2012 that showed what I thought was the same rock (I was right, by the way) but wanted to make sure with a more carefully planned picture.

The new shot is still not a perfect recreation (I was a bit rushed as the tide was coming in) but it's not too bad.

Amazing how much has changed, isn't it? And yet how much has stayed the same. The "face rock" to the right (which is actually standing behind the rock that is central to the photo) hasn't changed much but a full one-third of the main rock is now gone. Neat, huh?

A Flash of Hummingbird

Hummer, with flash and cropping

Hummingbirds are turning out to be the bane of my photographic existence. I don't know how many times I've encountered one of these tiny little beauties and completely failed to get even a remotely decent picture.

First off, they're small. Very small. Tiny even.

Second, they're quick. Even though one of their most remarkable characteristics is they're ability to hover in the air, hummingbirds don't hover very often, usually flitting from place to place in rapid movements.

Third, hummingbirds rarely land and rest. At least when I'm around.

And fourth, hummingbirds are skittish little things so that any attempt to get even a little bit closer with your camera makes them fly off into the distance.

So I end up trying to take them from at least twenty feet away so as to avoid scaring them. That forces me to use a long zoom (they're about two inches tall, remember) which makes simply getting them in the view finder difficult.

I try to keep the shutter speed as high as possible, in order to try to freeze their speedy wings, but also need to keep the aperture small so that the depth of focus remains good in case they move.

The hummingbird in context

And then, of course, there's that ruddy autofocus which, at twenty feet, is more likely to find the pole to the left of the bird or the leaves down below than the hummer itself. Ugh.

So last night, we're out in our backyard having dinner with some visiting friends and a little hummingbird shows up at our honey suckle bush. We get our cameras and try, try, try to get some decent shots.

The fact that daylight was fading proved both a curse and a blessing. A curse because it meant there was little light to work with, forcing shutter speeds down and apertures wide. A blessing because, well, it actually convinced me to try shooting on the Olympus' automatic settings, using the built-in flash.


I'd never thought of doing that before but, surprise surprise, it worked pretty well. These are the best hummingbird photos I've ever taken. Not that I'm saying much with that but still...

November's photo favourite is...

November's Favourite Photograph: "Impermanence"

"Impermanence". Surprise surprise.

I honestly believe that "Beer Taps" is the best, most interesting photograph of the bunch and yet not one person voted for it nor even mentioned it as being among their favourites.

"Jumpy Lights" is also an interesting photographic experiment but received little support while "Magic Pods", with its interesting shapes and textures, was also mentioned by only one person.

I find this amazing. And yet, I can't disagree with the support that both "Dog Days" and "Impermanence" received. I love both pictures, for their simplicity and their beauty. Maybe I can learn something from this: complexity and technical brilliance does not necessarily make a good photo.

And poor, poor "Waiting for the Wind". I don't think people even noticed it, despite the fact that it was the first shot on the list. I hope New Brunswick isn't insulted by that. And... I think it's a pretty good photo!

Photographic favourites from November

#1: Waiting for the Wind (308)

 So here we are. Trying to choose our favourite photograph from the month of November. I'm sorry to say it but November was not a stellar month and it wasn't easy coming up with shots for this selection.

That being said, I know very clearly which is my favourite. I'm just interested to see if you like the same one I do.

So please use the "Comments" button below, email me or find some other way to contact me to cast your vote for the best shot from November. And please don't hold it against me that I can't seem to get the hang of the new Blogger photograph placement rules.

#2: Dog Days (330)

#3: Magic Pods (312)

#4: Beer Taps in the Sky (332)

#5:Jumpy Lights (334)

#6: Impermanence (317)

Favourite Photo for October is...

Red Sky at Morning.

Although a number of photos received some support, this subtle but beautiful image of the morning sky was loved by many and at least mentioned by most. Thanks for voting and watch this space for the next chance to contribute, when I post the selection for November's favourite photo.

A Hopewell Rock: Then and Now

During a recent visit to the Owl's Nest Book Shop here in Fredericton, I was looking for books on New Brunswick history to help with a writing project upon which I am working. I was pleased to find a hardcover book called This is New Brunswick, written by Jessie I. Lawson and Jean MacCallum Sweet and published by The Ryerson Press in Toronto in 1951.

In this book, these two women write about their travels to the four corners of the province of New Brunswick in 1950, providing a first-hand account of the province's many towns and villages, its rivers and valleys, and its people. They also provide a great deal of New Brunswick history, all written in an approachable and enjoyable style and accompanied by a collection of black and white photographs that were taken during their journey.

I was pleased and excited to find the top photo taken at the Hopewell Cape, which shows quite clearly some of the magnificent rock formations created by the ebb and flow of the world's highest tide as such rocks appeared in 1950.

So I went to my iPhoto archives to look at my own shots of Hopewell, taken on several trips to the Provincial Park over the past several years. I wanted to see if I could find a photo of the same rock, but as it appears today, 60 years after Ms. Lawson and Ms. MacCallum took their picture.

And I think I've done it. My photo is from a slightly different angle but I am convinced it's the same rock, even though it has changed a great deal over the years.

Now don't laugh. They are the same rock, I'm certain. First, recognise that the modern shot is taken with the photographer standing in a slightly different position - I am to the right of where the photographer for the first shot must have been, such that the rock in behind the main one is more in the shot.

Second, you have to accept that, in the 60 years between the photos, a full one-third (the left third) of the main rock has completely disappeared. The vertical lines on the face of the rock cut it into three parts in the 1950 photo while only two of those three parts remain in the newer shot.

Just look at the horizontal lines on the face of the rock in the modern photo and compare them to the horizontal lines on the face of the righthand two-thirds of the rock in the older shot. They match perfectly. And, in the old shot, you can see the bumps on the side of the rock in behind the main rock that look so much like a face in the modern shot.

I think it's the same rock. And I think it's amazing to think that, in a mere 60 years, the tide has wiped away a full one-third of this massive form. That's why it's so important to visit Hopewell every couple of years, since things are constantly changing.

In fact, we're going back to Hopewell this August and, when we do, I'll bring this interesting book and try to reproduce the original photo exactly.

Or, as exactly as time and erosion will allow.

The Best Photographs of October

If September presented too many great photos from which to choose, October appears to have been a bit of a dry spell, photographically. I have chosen the following six from that month but I'd be very hard pressed to find a seventh worthy of this list.

Take a look, think about it and then cast your vote for Favourite Photograph from October. You can use the "Comment" button at the end of this post, send me an email or speak to me in person. And thanks for your help!

#1: Urban Farm (281)

 #2: Spectacular Orange (283)

 #3: Framed Front Entrance (291)

 #4: Red Sky at Morning (297)

 #5: Catching Fire (298)

#6: Reflections In Sharp Focus (304)

September's Favourite Photograph is...

September's Winner

 #3: A Swath of Sunlight!

What an interesting vote for the photo of the month for September. Everybody seemed to agree that it was a strong group from which to choose but nobody seemed to be able to agree on a favourite. As you can see from the online comments, our three voters each preferred a different first choice, with one going with the Sunlight shot, one the Cake picture and one the Wilmot photo.

The same went for people who emailed me or talked to me in person. Lots of interest, little consensus on a first pick. But just about everybody mentioned "A Swath of Sunlight" as a wonderful photograph, most saying that, if it wasn't their first choice, then at least it was their second.

So it's the big winner this month. I have to admit, I love all five of these shots so I'm grateful for all the help in picking the best of them.

Watch out for the next vote, Favourite Photo for October, coming soon!

Truro's Victoria Park, in all its glory

Jacob's Ladder

 After hearing about my own battery-operated debacle with my camera, our friends Tiziana and Marco very kindly sent along some of their own photographs of Truro's stunning Victoria Park. You'll notice, of course that the first two shots were taken during the summer while the bottom two are winter scenes.

The park is beautiful in all seasons, apparently.

The swimming hole

There are boardwalks and wooden stairs criss-crossing the place, including the daunting Jacob's Ladder, a challenge for even the most fit stair-walker. And you'll find any number of water falls, large and small, the size of each depending on the season.

Can you imagine that the second and fourth photos capture the same scene? Kind of amazing, isn't it? Thank you, Tiziana and Marco, for sharing these lovely shots!

Cascades in winter

Yep, that's the swimming hole in winter

Make Tracks for Truro... and glorious Victoria Park

Man, I hate those rookie photographer mistakes. I'm no pro but I'm a lot better than forgetting to recharge my camera batteries the night before going to one of the most stunning, and surprising, city parks in Canada.

One of many tiny waterfalls

Patti and I visited friends in Truro this past weekend for a birthday party, our first visit to the city that calls itself the hub of Nova Scotia. Truro's slogan is "Make Tracks for Truro", which is a lot of fun to say, by the way, and recalls the city's railroad past, I guess.

At the party, we had several locals tell us of the glories of Victoria Park, an inner city park that was supposed to blow us away if we got a chance to visit. I'm always skeptical about these kinds of comments, since too many people in the world suffer from too much civic pride, in my opinion.

When I got the chance to visit Victoria Park the following morning, however, I learned very quickly that Trurorians (I just made that up) have every reason to be proud of this magnificent park.

The placid stream

Victoria Park is absolutely beautiful. Centred on a narrow river valley, it features a gorgeous wooded setting, complete with complementary wood bridges and stairs that lead up the sides of the valley. It's quiet and lush; you feel like you've left the world completely behind.

Unfortunately for me, however, I had neglected to recharge the Olympus' batteries before my visit and suffered the ignominy of hearing the "Batteries Dead" chime immediately following my second photograph of the day.

Even worse, the two shots I did manage to take before the batteries gave up the ghost are pretty bad. They capture none of the park's beauty and, in fact, insult my memory of the place. The bottom shot is especially awful, making a beautiful stream look like a sewer. Oh well. We'll go back and I'll get more, better photos. I promise.

September's Choice of Photos

#1: Slice of Life (266)

#2: Warm, Deep Colours (248)

 September of 2011 produced too many photos worthy of being considered for favourite of the month (if I do say so myself!).

Please vote on your favourite from this narrowed field of five, using the comments button below or any other mode of communication you can devise.

#3: A Swath of Sunlight (255)

#4: Imposing Wilmot (271)

#5: Union Jack in Front (273)

WasSUP Lake Ontario?

Warren heads for the power plant

 Stand Up Paddling, that's what's up. My brother-in-law Gavin is the water sport king and he's really gotten into SUPing lately.

Gavin in a power pose

He and his friend Warren can be found most evenings (warm, cold, rainy or clear) paddling up and down the coast of Lake Ontario in Scarborough, often in the shadow of the nuclear power plant. It's great exercise, especially when you go for hours (and dozens of kilometres) at a time, as these guys do

I don't know if brightly coloured clothes are a requirement of the sport or just a fashion statement.

August's favourite photo is...

"Afternoon Moon".

Although four out of the five photos in the contest received votes, "Afternoon Moon" got the most first-place votes and was mentioned in a surprising number of peoples' comments as being their second favourite.

And, just to keep things up to date, it would seem that I am about the only person who prefers the original, greenish presentation of "At the Owl's Nest" over my sister's colour-corrected version of the same photo. The votes were overwhelmingly in favour of the less-green image.

Thanks to everyone who voted and keep a look out for the competition for September's favourite photo, coming soon.

Freddie's Queen named "Canada's Great Street"

Queen Street in downtown Fredericton has been declared Canada's Great Street in the Great Places in Canada contest. The contest, run by the Canadian Institute of Planners, found our own little Queen Street to be Canada's Great Street. So I thought I'd share some of my nicer photos of Queen Street from the past year or so. Pretty nice place, isn't it? Amazing to think, however, that in an entire year of trying to find new photos to take of Fredericton, it never occurred to me to take a night photo nor a winter photo of Queen.

This top photo shows the Queen Street sign amidst the banners and posters that adorn the street in summer time.

The second shot is more of a street scene, looking east from York Street.

Shot number three shows the shadow of a barren tree adorning the wall of the historic barracks building.

The fourth photo gives an example of some of the lovely architectural details on the buildings up and down the street. There's a lot to see on Queen Street, both big and small.

This fifth picture shows the ceremonial historic guard in front of City Hall on a hot summer day, with the strange fountain in the foreground.

And finally, Queen Street hosts a number of buskers and street musicians through the warmer months, their tunes mixing with the singing birds and the chatter of the pedestrians to bring the street to life.

Halifax In Pictures 2 - On the Waterfront

Today, more photographs from my visit to the port city of Halifax. I admire this city and the way if combines tourism with its continued work as an active sea port. The walk along the waterfront is amazing, filled with scenes of natural beauty and the industrious of the citizens.

In today's first photo, taken on that waterfront, we see the Canadian Navy's frigate Ville de Quebec cruising serenely out of the sun-speckled harbour, past the lighthouse on historic (and often tragic) George's Island.

I have a natural affinity for these ships since, in my youth, I served briefly aboard the then elder statesman of the Canadian Navy, HMCS Assiniboine, and got the chance to experience Halifax Harbour as a sailor as well.

The second image shows the beauty of the rocky shoreline, shot through a chainlink fence intended to keep the tourists off the slippery stones. And image three is more of the sun-dappled morning water, George's Island front and centre (or at least front and left) once again. I love Quebec City but I'm not sure there's a more beautiful town in Canada than Halifax in the sunshine.

And the final two shots are fairly self-explanatory: me trying to be a bit artsy in capturing details (of a wooden dock or a ship's sail) of the scene. Not bad shots, I think. They won't win any awards but they do give you a nice idea of the beauty that you find at every turn along the Halifax waterfront.