Brighton Train Museum

The tiny resort town of Brighton has an original station house and a number of artifacts and equipment in various stages of restoration. I passed the site on a Via Rail trip to Montreal, and it was so interesting I had to go back in the car later to take photos.

Sailboats in Moonlight

Cobourg has a marina and beach that get rave reviews from boaters and sun seekers throughout the Great Lakes region. Our beach is reputed to be second only to that of Sandbanks Provincial Park. I like to walk here at all hours and all seasons, because each time it is different. This moonlit night is particularly peaceful.

Forest Paths

Here are two similar scenes. I am attracted by what might lie ahead on the path or behind the trees. The first one is in the James Cockburn Park in Cobourg, ON.; the second is at the Warsaw Caves Conservation Area in Warsaw, ON.

Frog Pond

My friend Helena has a lovely little pond in her garden with a few small golden koi and some lilies. Recently a couple of frogs moved in, and the pond is a peaceful haven. I remember the late-night singing of the frogs in the springtime when I was growing up - this brings it all back.

Beach Bonfire

It's summertime and there's nothing better than a bonfire on the beach, roasting marshmallows with friends. This is the same fire but it changes as the night grows old.

Cobourg Waterfront Festival (Canada Day 2011)

Taking night photos was a first for me, and I had such a lot of fun getting some longer exposures of the rides at the carnival. Here's the Ali Baba ride - reminds me of Spirograph as a child.

The fireworks were magnificent - and photographs cannot do them justice,

but here's the best one anyway.  

Baltimore Oriole - what a beauty!

I was lucky this week to see a pair of Baltimore Orioles attending to their nest and chicks. This pretty fellow, with his beak full of grubs, posed for me.

Butterfly Weekend

This must have been my weekend for butterflies. We saw quite a number of them while out hiking and at the beach, and these four obligingly sat for a portrait. Update: Thanks to TH for identifying these for me - I never knew you were a butterfly fancier! Sizes are approximate. 

Papilio Glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) - Size 3" across




Vanessa Antiopa (Mourning Cloak) - Size 3-1/2" across




Celastrina Ladon (Spring Azure) - Size 1-1/4" across




Hylephila Phyleus (Fiery Skipper) - Size 1-1/2" across



Donkey and an Apple

Nesting Swans

Summertime is Dandelion Time

Queens Park, New Westminster

I was at opposite ends of the country in the same week - here's a different sort of architectural example from near our home in BC.

Montreal Evening

We found ourselves last week amid the well-known beauty of Old Montreal. This is the Marche Bonsecours by night - just one of many fine examples of the architecture there.

Bleeding Hearts

Woodhaven Swamp (Belcarra Park, near Vancouver, BC)

A swamp is a great place to find interesting shapes, like this dead tree, reflected in the perfectly still water.

Swan Love

It is spring at last, and this pair of swans was courting and preening at the Brighton Marina. Ansel Adams, renowned photographer, said it best: "Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."

Supermoon - Closest in Years

When the moon is as close to Earth as it will be for another 18 years, you just have to go out and take some photos. This is the result.

Oldsquaw Duck (clangula hyemalis)

This pretty little fellow and his friend were paddling in the harbour in the sunshine the other morning. I looked him up to find his name was Oldsquaw, and then was told this has been changed to Long Tail Duck - a sadly prosaic name for such a charming specimen.

Forest Stream

While we wait for summer and warmth to return, here is something to remind us. We were in a stand of aspens in the Northumberland Forest. The trail passed the edge of a south facing cliff, and the sun poured in through the trees. You can see a bit of blue sky reflected in the water. The green tint is natural - no retouching was done. A trick of the light, I suppose, taken with my pocket camera.

Tree Shadow

Today, I was looking for interesting shadows and found this. Do trees grow on pavement? Only under the brightest sunshine.

Harbour Sunrise

One aspect of this blog is to provide a record of my growth as a photographer. Here's one to benchmark myself by. Next year, when I shoot a scene like this, I want to be able to look back and see improvement. For now, even though I think I can do so much better technically, this beauty still makes me catch my breath.

Winter Grasses

Cobourg recently installed an all-season garden at the beach. I'm not sure that was their intent, but I am happy with the result. The summer flowers gave way to fall foliage, and then winter set in. Now that spring is near, these lovely seed tassels, in the muted winter colour palette of straw and blue, are all that's left.

Ice Shelf Under The Trees

Out for a hike today, we spotted this huge ice shelf supported by the trees when the snow melted away from underneath.

First Sunny Day

On this, the first sunny day in what seems like weeks, I found our shadows on the beach walk to be worth commemorating.

Bulrushes

Out with our hiking club on Sunday, I wanted to capture the misty weather in this monochromatic scene, and plunged thigh-deep into the snow filled ditch at the roadside while trying to get the right frame. Cold and wet, but happy with the result - and the rest of the hike got me warm and dry again.

Harbour Lights

This is the result of the first date with my new love - a Nikon D3100. I was hoping to catch the sunset, but delays gave me this instead. The cold was brutal, but the spectacular blue and gold colours in the ice made the frozen fingers a small price to pay. I also really like the vertical lines of the light reflections being crossed by the lines of snow on the ice - a subtle texturing that draws me to look more closely.

Red Sails in the Sunset





This scene reminds me of a painting my father did.The sunsets at the Cobourg Yacht Club can be stunningly beautiful, but the red-sailed yacht in the harbour was the perfect accent this evening.

Wicklow Beach

In this photo of the mouth of the boat launch area at Wicklow Beach, I was entranced by the curved shapes of the rocks and the ice on the water, and the sunlight dancing off the waves. What a perfect day!

Ice Sheets on the shore

Zoom in on the lower right area of this photo to see the delicate sheets of ice pushed up on shore by the wave action. This was taken at Wicklow Beach on Lake Ontario.

Cobourg beach in January

I took this photo low to the ground to capture the sun sparkling on the fresh snow, and used software to enhance the colours slightly to bring out the hints of a storm coming under those distant clouds.