Departure Looms

Hello!

The time is drawing near for my Costa Rica departure.  I am finally getting things together and preparing to go.  I leave early Thursday morning and fly into San Jose, with a short stopover in San Salvador.  I will be spending Thursday night in a hostel in San Jose, then catching the 4.5 hour bus to Santa Elena early the next morning.  Then a half-hour walk with all of my gear and I will arrive at my destination.  Should be quite an adventure!

To get an idea where exactly I'm headed, have a look at this Google Map:

View Larger Map

I can't believe that what seemed like an eternity away is now just the day after tomorrow!  The next post I make should be from Costa Rica.

Until then,
Kyle

Cleaning Up the Blog

Hello!

I have been spending some time cleaning up the blog...apparently when I changed the appearance (or for some unrelated reason) much of the formatting on previous posts has gone all wonky.  Not to worry though!  I think I've got it mostly remedied.  I have a suspicion though - that the blog appears differently on different computers.  So, if you are viewing this blog and it looks strange (big empty spaces, text where it shouldn't be, etc) let me know!  Not that I'll be able to fix it, but I am curious to find out.

In other news, I am pulling things together for my impending trip to Costa Rica.  More on this definitely to follow!

Kyle

Merry Christmas!

Hello!

My Boxing Day of birding and photography thwarted by rain, I decided to head to a nearby provincial park for the promise of Barred Owls with my father.  We were not disappointed, and found three Barreds in the dim, gloomy weather.  I haven't yet sorted all of the shots, but wanted to get one up while I had a moment.  Hope everyone's holiday is treating them well!

Barred Owl (Strix varia) - 100%

The dark overcast conditions (and admittedly a slip-up on the white-balance setting of the camera) give the image a bluish cast...I'm not sure if it works or not, but I'm happy all things considered.

Cheers!
Kyle

Sunny Florida

Hello!

After a long, snow-less fall we are suddenly blanketed here in Orillia. Makes me think of sunny Florida. To encourage warmer thoughts, here are some photos from a previous trip to the sunshine state.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) feeding chick

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) eye detail

Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) - endemic to Florida

American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

Think warm!

Kyle

Kyle's On Sale!

Hello!

I am officially on sale!  Some of my work is available as plaque-mounts in the gift shop of the brand new Scales Nature Park.  Everyone should run out and visit this exciting new facility (and buy a print)!  See their website at www.scalesnaturepark.ca.



Cheers!
Kyle

New Website!

Hello!

After an initial plan and months of procrastination, I have finally applied myself and gotten a website up!  Clearly I am no web designer...I am hoping that someday I will take the time to learn, and break out of the template imposed by the idiot-proof site-building software, but for now it will do.  My ultimate plan is to sell photography from the website, but in the meantime it will act as an online portfolio of sorts.  I can be found at www.kylehorner.com (confusing, I know).

Cheers!
Kyle

Southern Illinois

Hello!

I have been a long time from the blog, but have been thinking I should return. Thus, a couple of photos from a recent herping trip to southern Illinois. Legendary Ontario herper Steve Marks led a crew of us to the great Snake Road to look for a variety of southern herps. Great success! Here are some of the favourites:

Western Ribbon Snake

Southern Leopard Frog

Green Tree Frog

Spider

This last one is not an excellent shot per se, but shows an interesting behaviour that I've never seen in Nerodia before, possibly mimicking a Cottonmouth.

Yellowbelly Water Snake

Anyway, that's all for now, I will try to post more regularly.

Cheers!
Kyle