Scenery?

So if you follow the blog at all, you know that I rarely shoot scenics.  I guess my attention is always grabbed by things that move, and the scenery tends to escape me.  I frequently regret this as I attempt to assemble a presentation or slideshow, and have only photos of the animals and not the surroundings.

Occasionally though, I remember to shoot the big stuff.  Recently I decided to have a go at editing a few scenics that were hidden away in sneaky folders.  Here's a few favourites:

Cypress Forest in Illinois

Cypress Forest - a different take!

Twisty Road in Phoenix, Arizona

Betty's Bay (where the penguins are), South Africa

Ruins in the Tankwa Karoo, South Africa

Maybe not my calling in life, but fun to play around with nonetheless!
Kyle

Reptiles! (mostly)

Finally back to the blog!  Starting a new job and moving in to a new apartment have proven hectic, and I have been away from the editing table for some time.  Somehow the computer stuff always gets put off.  Adding to the delay, I have spent the last few weekends looking for reptiles and birds in some of my favourite parts of the province.  The results have been great!  Here are a few photos from these recent excursions...

Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) - southwestern Ontario

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) - southwestern Ontario

Eastern Fox Snake - (Pantherophis gloydi) - southwestern Ontario

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) - southwestern Ontario

Eastern Fox Snake (Pantherophis gloydi) - Georgian Bay area

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) - Georgian Bay area

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) - Georgian Bay area

More to come (hopefully)!
Kyle

Mad Hoppers!

I haven't touched the Africa photos in weeks - it seems the task is so daunting that I can't even find a place to start!  Managed to scrounge up a bit of motivation today and got to work on one of my favourite groups of Madagascar bugs - the hoppers.  This is actually a few closely-related groups of 'true bugs' that exist all over the world.  Their diversity, colours and patterns are often spectacular, but they are almost always tiny - all but the first one are about the size of a grain of rice - which makes them very difficult to see.  I started picking these out on the vegetation during a night hike near Andasibe National Park, and the guide had never even noticed them before.  If there weren't so many other things to see in Madagascar, I could have spent days searching for different species!

Their tiny size also makes them somewhat challenging to photograph, especially with the limited equipment one might carry overseas!  All of these guys were shot handheld with a Canon 7D and Tamron 180mm Macro in the dark, except the fifth one which was taken with a point-and-shoot.

Unknown Madagascar Hopper

Unknown Madagascar Hopper

Unknown Madagascar Hopper

Unknown Madagascar Hopper

Unknown Madagascar Hopper

This last hopper has met an unfortunate end, due to a parasitic fungus which is now growing out of the insect!

Unknown Madagascar Hopper

That's all for now!
Kyle