Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise Heron

I've taken photos of a heron on this rock a few times but I think this is my favorite so far. I like the cool blue in the bottom half contrasting with the warm pink of sunrise reflected in the top half.

Sunrise

A rare colorful sunrise in Victoria. Usually it's either clear (in the summer) or solid cloud (in the winter). These were taken with my iPhone. The colors seem a little exaggerated, but it does a surprisingly good job considering it was quite dark. I really should have gone outside to get a clear view. Instead I was moving from window to window trying to find the best angle.

Sunrise

Victoria in the winter is usually covered by heavy cloud, but occasionally we get a colorful sunrise or sunset. Our place doesn't have a good angle on the sunset, but the upstairs bedroom window gets a decent view of the sunrise over the harbor. This morning was a good one. You can just make out the "Empress" hotel sign on the left side of the photo above. As usual, the gulls were out and about.

Here's one from before Christmas, just after our big snowfall.

And an iPhone photo from before the snow. It's interesting how the magnolia flower buds develop in the fall, ready to bloom in the spring.

Photo of the Day

Another sunrise from my home office.

Sunrise

One of the benefits of this time of year is that I get to watch the sunrise from my home office (without getting up early).

Macro Sunrise

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower 

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour

- William Blake

Look close and you can see the sun rising behind the trees through the lens of the water drops. These are closeups of condensation on my home office window. They're worth looking at larger if you get a chance.

Icy Walk to Work

This was one of the first really cold mornings this fall. I get less fond of Saskatchewan winters each year, but this morning the sun was rising and there wasn't much wind, so it didn't seem too bad. Of course, my bare hands got cold taking photos.



I'm fond of this tree. I'll be sad when it finally dies. It's far enough back from the riverbank that the beavers probably won't go after it, but you never know.





I'm still getting used to the ultra-wide lens on the iPhone 11





The wide angle view obviously takes more in, compared to a more normal angle:



Notice the birds in the sky. Probably migrating Canada geese, there are lots of them still around.

Photos of the Day

Another foggy frosty sunrise.

Photos of the Day

Spring seems reluctant to arrive this year. First a big dump of snow, just when it was starting to disappear. And then more cold. -23c this morning and a breeze that probably made the windchill -30. So I wasn't really thinking about getting my camera out. But the sunrise across the park was too good not to try, so I thought, "just one photo, it'll be quick".



Of course, it wasn't (either one photo, or quick). The light was changing fast as the clouds and fog blew past. Several times I put my camera away, only to pull it back out a few minutes later. I should know, once I overcome the inertia and start taking photos, I seldom stop at one!



I was basically taking my mitt off, shooting till my hand got too frozen, and then putting my mitt back on. A glove would have been nice, but I only had my big mitts which were too clumsy to operate the camera.



Closer to the river, there was lots of fog. The common goldeneye ducks were drifting in and out of view. And a Canada Goose actually appeared (more or less) at one point.



Of course, the bridge is always a good subject, especially with the foggy sunrise.  I like that I caught the pigeon, so typical of the bridge.





Much as I enjoy the views, crossing the bridge is always the coldest part of my walk. No matter how calm it seems down below, there's always wind (and windchill) on the exposed bridge. Some mornings I'm very glad to reach the end of the crossing!



The last few days a flock of Bohemian waxwings have been hanging around Innovation Place, sometimes in the tree right outside my office window. They seem to be pecking at the bare tree but I'm not sure what, if anything, they're finding - no berries, maybe some kind of insects left over from last summer? Unfortunately, the gold tinted windows of the Galleria aren't ideal for photography. The camera struggles to focus and it's hard to get rid of the tint. This is the best I managed.



Meanwhile, indoors, the amaryllis are continuing to bloom. They're beautiful but they're not in a great spot for photography, with cluttered surroundings and a distracting background. Your eyes tend to  focus on the flowers, but that doesn't work as well for a photograph. I tried blowing out the background, which sort of works.



Then I switched to closeups which avoid the background issue. And I always love the details anyway.





See all 15 photos (all taken with the little ZS100 and processed with Lightroom)

Window Seat

Despite my guilt at burning fossil fuels by flying 10,000 km around the world, I do love to see the world from up high. Crossing the prairies didn't supply much scenery other than the occasional farm lights.



And some interesting drainage patterns:



And ripples in the clouds:





Finally reaching the Rockies:



It's always a challenge to identify where you are from the air. I think that's the trans-canada at the top left and the back of Mt. Yamnuska at the left.



The rising sun lit up the mountains and the clouds



From Vancouver to Hong Kong the great circle route goes up the west coast passing not far from Whitehorse and Anchorage before heading over the Aleutians to Kamchatka. There are lots of mountains for much of the way. We must have passed Mt. Logan and Mt. McKinlay but it was hard to identify them. We left Vancouver at noon and arrived in Hong Kong at 5pm, chasing the sun so it never set.



Some big icefields and glaciers along the way.





Some of the terrain made interesting abstract patterns:







See all 37 photos