Solitude

We were at the cottage to 'close it up'.  We got up Saturday morning to snow (more slush than snow...).  Made for soggy work doing stuff outdoors.

My daughter went down to look at the lake.  It was quite the contrast - her dark coloured clothes against the white and grey of ground, water, leafless trees and sky.

It was a day of striking stillness and quietness.  No birds sang, people were indoors keeping warm and dry and the slushy snow seemed to absorb all sound.  It was so very, very quiet.

Times like this are rare:  Time to be still and quiet and alone.  Time to listen and reflect.  

We need times like this.

Whatzat(3)

Are you stumped yet?

MC (middle child) and I were out for a canoe (quite a rare event as MC is more into motor-driven watercraft) and he spotted something in the water.  I couldn't see it.  We paddled back and eventually found it again.  I think the only reason we saw it was because the sun was at just the right angle.

It was a log in the water - appearing to be perfectly vertical and right below the surface.  MC stuck his paddle in the water and had to put if right down under the water to touch it.  This meant it was about five feet below the surface.

We tried to take pictures of it, but that was tricky because the canoe is never perfectly still and, as mentioned, the sun had to be hitting this log just so.  The picture above was taken by sticking the camera right in the water and hoping for the best.

This was yet another example of the happy discoveries that can happen when you are WITH someone.

By the way - did you catch the pun in the first line?

Raft

A bunch of loons in one place is called "A Raft of Loons."  I didn't know that - I had to look it up (Nifty web site that lists what groups of animals are called)

It's rare to see loons congregate like this.  As I happened upon this scene, there was a family on shore taking in the site.  When there is an unusual gathering - others notice.  Often these unusual gatherings are of an unpleasant nature (riots, etc).    

I belong to a church - it would be great if when the Church gathers it get's noticed - but for all the right reasons.

'Shrooms!

Fall has been the best time (for me anyway) to find and photograph mushrooms.  All these pics were taken within a matter of minutes - these were just the ones I found as I casually walked around.  It is amazing that all of these fungi are just the visible part of a much larger organism that exists underground.  Their variety, fragility and briefness add to their appeal.  When I go back next time - these won't be there.  As with many things, we need to be very intentional to enjoy and appreciate that which we 'stumble upon'.

Vivid

What a wonderful fall morning for a kayak!  The sun was just coming over the trees on the eastern shore, the sky was blue like only the sky can be, the water was blue like water should be, and the kayak, well, it was red!  The air was crisp, the sun was warm and so very bright.  It was one of those times when creation seems to be crying out: "Alive!"  What a privilege to be in the middle of it.

Focus

 

In the image above I am attempting a macro shot of a water drop on a flower petal.  To do this I use the setup shown in the photo at the bottom (more explanation there).  Doing this type of photography requires a great deal of patience - which I don't necessarily have yet. 

 

The photo below is the same water drop but with the focal point adjusted ever so slightly. 

 

The photo above focuses (more or less...) on the far shore of the lake - the photo below on the trees on our property (more or less...).

 

What's the point here?  Well, the obvious point is water drop photography is cool!  But beyond that, it shows what a difference in outlook a very slight shift in focus can achieve.  Life's like that too, isn't it?

 

 



Here's my macro setup.  At the front of the lens is a Raynox macro adapter. Behind that 70-300 zoom.  Between the tripod and camera is a 'macro rail.'  With this type of macro setup you don't focus the lens, rather you use the macro rail to move the whole rig fore and aft to achieve focus.  For the pictures above the front of the lens was about 2" from the water drop and I changed the focus within the water drop by adjusting the rail by about 1/16 of a turn of the little adjusting knob which moves the camera by about 1mm.  My setup is on the low end of the budget for these types of things - but it works (more or less!).

Black

I've never seen black mushrooms like this.  There were a bunch of them in one spot.  Tried to find out what the name is - searched my mushroom book (yes, I have one...) and online - nothing.  Does not knowing it's name or details about it diminish my enjoyment of it - nope, not at all!  I realized that I actually have never bothered to look up the names of the mushrooms that I find and photograph.  It has never entered my mind that I had to know their details in order to enjoy them.  Perhaps I need to have that attitude about other things in life - stop analyzing and trying to understand - just enjoy.