Aug
18
Well, the revolving door has whizzed around a few more times, leaving me feeling a bit spinny in the head and wondering where the week (the summer, the year to date!!) has gone. It continues hot and sticky, making everyday functioning a tad challenging, although I know there are a lot of parts of this continent that would be glad to have our summer weather–both in the areas where they aren’t getting enough summer, and those that have too much.
We’ve gone into hot and dry classic prairie mode here, and the fields and crops are all ripening almost visibly as you watch. No more nice yellow canola fields. They’ve dulled right down as they head into their next stage before harvest. I’m not enough of a field person that I can even tell which ones *are* canola any more now that they’re not bright yellow. And it has been years, perhaps decades, since I’ve seen endless miles of golden wheat in the fall as used to be the norm when I was younger. Not a lot of wheat being grown in this area at any rate.
I’ve done a fair few photo outings this past week, starting Monday with a visit to the local zoo with grandson Mark to check out what was happening. We saw the “new” bears that are recent arrivals, two young (as in teenage if they were human, I’d guess) grizzlies in a new display area that has just opened. One of them was making the best of his situation when we were there, interacting with the environment and generally seeming pretty relaxed. The other one, sadly, doesn’t appear to be adjusting well and spent its time pacing in repetitive patterns that I fear don’t bode well for its mental health.
I appreciate the chance to photograph animals like these and the other zoo species, but on the other hand if I let myself think about it at all I find zoos quite depressing and sad places to visit, for a variety of reasons. One “good” thing about the camera is it lets you focus (literally and figuratively) with a different mindset, and is definitely a tool that removes the photographer emotionally from the situation they are photographing. Works that way for me, anyway. This isn’t always a good thing, but it does help in these circumstances. And yes, I do realize that most zoos do the best they can for their animals and are in some cases the main hope for the survival of some species.
I decided this would be a good week to work on my sunset collection, so made a couple of trips out to the country in pursuit of good skies. One of the forays took me past the site of one of my favourite horse herds from last summer, who I hadn’t yet seen this year in their pasture. I was greatly heartened to see them back again when I went by on one of my sunset excursions, so I’ll be going to and from Ebon the long way from now on when I ride in the evenings in hopes of getting some shots of this herd.
An unlooked for but very welcome addition to the sunset shots were some moonrise shots I got the same evening. I was heading south from Ebon to the horse herd road when I glanced to the east and was astonished at the huge pinkish moon just rising beyond the inland terminal buildings by the train tracks. It was enormous and virtually full. Moonrise and moon shots are another on-going fascination for me, and I got some good ones that night. You have to be in the right spot at the right time for these, as with my lens and the fact that I shoot hand-held only (no tripod or long exposures), they are pretty hard shots to capture. Another small victory for my photography this past week has been going manual, where I am setting the parameters for the shots, rather than going with having my very smart camera set the exposure etc for me. It’s taken me a long time to get to this point, but it really paid off with some of the sunset shots where I was able to optimize the images in a way I couldn’t achieve in the past. I’m basically a person with a good eye and art training who doesn’t know the mechanics of photography, so it’s an on-going learning process, and it’s nice to feel that I’m actually making some small progress in my understanding. Well, in truth I don’t *understand* it as such, but I know (sometimes) what to do to get the results I want, which is really all I care about.
No horse events on the week-end, unusually, to be made up for by two happening simultaneously next weekend at different stables. I had a booked shoot at Ebon on Saturday morning that was quite entertaining, with one of the young women riders wanting shots of herself in her graduation dress with her horse. We had planned to do this at the actual time of her graduation (from high school) in June, but the time got away from us then. We beat the worst of the heat and got a bunch of nice shots of the pair of them. I was going to feature one of them here but I have my limit plus I’m having technical problems, so I think I’ll quit while I’m ahead on this one!
Shots (not in the order I had planned, but since the system refused to load them at all the first two times I tried, I’m not going to be fussy about this for fear of it going rogue on me again) are of the big moon rising (no Photoshopping of the moon’s size here!!), sunset over the trees out in the country, the “well adjusted” young grizzly making a quick exit from his pool, and a field of canola taken a few weeks ago when it was in bloom. I love the total minimalism of this kind of landscape shot. That’s pretty flat, even for around here!
Re. technical problems–this is my first blog post from the new computer system, which considering how totally at sea I was a couple of weeks ago represents a major triumph for me. I’m still really struggling to make sense of things (mostly Bridge and iPhoto for downloads and photo organizing) and there’s a discouraging amount of things I still don’t even know how to look up, never mind actually execute, but I am making progress.
Ha!! Decided to give the shot of Kat and her boy a try and I got it to load as well. Maybe by next time I’ll be able to put them in the order I want. Or not.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Aug
11
OK, just to catch up from last week’s report, still working off “Hal” the old and possessed computer for these blog posts, but I am making slow but steady progress with starting to understand the new computer and the new Photoshop program, so last week’s sense of despair has receded considerably. Thank goodness.
As usual, a lot has happened since my last post, mostly on the horse front. We’ve just gone through a muggy, hot and windy (sometimes in turn, sometimes all together) three days of horse shows at Ebon. This year the annual Midsummer Masters Horse Show was combined with the Warmblood mare and foal evaluation and riding horse test, which has hitherto been held a few weeks later, in early September. Folding these two shows into one event was a challenge for all concerned, me included, since I was on tap to do photos for a *lot* of clients at both.
When you’re camped out at these shows for most of the day, you see a lot of horses and riders and how they interact, with the many little dramas that accompany these events. Since it was so hot, I spent quite a bit of time doing photos from the judge’s booth in the jumper ring, as it is raised up and can catch whatever breeze is happening, has a good view of the entire ring (well, as the judge’s booth it pretty well has to) and has a roof over it so there is shade. From this vantage point, I observed and photographed a display of grace and courage on the part of one of our young Ebon riders.
This is a girl who has ridden at Ebon for a few years now. Although she is young enough just to be entering high school this year, she is quite a seasoned rider, with a history of good training and the desire and discipline needed for her chosen area of show jumping. Around the barn she is quiet, serious and business-like in her approach to her riding, although I suspect there is a lighter side that we adults don’t get to witness.
Her horse is a quality European bred Dutch Warmblood, who is talented but has a few issues, especially when it comes to jumping. They have worked on this for the past couple of years and when I took my first outdoor shots of them this spring, I was struck by how much this horse had improved in his gaits and his attitude. They were both really clicking in lessons and at the schooling shows, and it was a pleasure to see them working so nicely as a team and achieving success in the ring. Until the “big” show this weekend. Hunter ring with the slower pace and lower jumps didn’t seem to be a problem. Ditto for the flat classes. It was in the jumper ring that the wheels fell off, with the horse suddenly, unexpectedly (to viewers, anyway) and rather violently resisting jumps partway through his course. This happened several times over a couple of days, with his reaction growing more violent each time.
The final blowup was pretty extreme and it was impressive that the rider managed to stay on his back. What was even more impressive to me was the fact that once she got her horse back under control, having been eliminated from the class by his refusal, she proceeded to the judge’s booth to request a “courtesy” fence. This is common in the jump ring so that the rider can end the ride with a positive experience for themself and for the horse, and so that the horse understands that extreme bad manners and misbehavior don’t get you out of the job at hand. It would have been totally understandable if she had just opted to get out of Dodge before her horse finished her off, but not only did she request the extra jump, she actually said “may I have a courtesy fence, please?” I think it was the “please” that most impressed me. This is one well- brought-up kid with a huge amount of fortitude. We could all take a lesson from her self-possession and control in the face of potential disaster.
One of the little tasks I have assigned myself this year is to keep on shooting no matter how wrong things are going in front of me. My natural instinct is to stare aghast at whatever wreck is happening, but often these are the shots that the riders want, and I’ve been schooling myself to keep on shooting no matter what. Since the action came pretty well out of nowhere, it took me a few seconds to get focussed, also it was pretty far away from me so I was at the extreme end of my zoom. Riders note: if you want really good shots of your wrecks, try to have them not too far from the photographer and without a lot of jumps in the way. The first shot is as a result a bit on the blurry side. I was doing a bit better by the second. These are two of a number of shots I was able to get, as he had a couple of go-rounds before he conceded defeat. Shot number three shows a more typical moment of good form and success, which in truth is vastly more typical for these two.
For a change of pace and to allow us to catch our breath, the fourth shot shows the Warmblood yearlings and handlers seeking the coolest available spot in the ring during the evaluation. It was darn hot and breathless for this part of the show and conditions were a trial to horses and humans alike.
A quick update from a previous post. I was interrupted halfway through writing this by the delivery of the Northern Shrike (from the vet college where it was undergoing treatment) that I had rescued from the barn a few weeks back (see post of July 28, Bird Rescue) . It is now fully recovered from its injuries and was ready to be released. I had to hustle right out to the barn to return it to its’ home territory since the sun was getting pretty low in the sky and we were losing light fast. I wanted it to be able to see where it was going when it finally got out of the box. Of course no good deed goes unpunished and I was in such a rush that I forgot my camera. I consoled myself with the thought that the sky was pretty darn grey and boring over the city so it wouldn’t matter, but of course by the time I was driving west and home from releasing the shrike, I was looking at an achingly beautiful sunset that would have been fabulous to capture. Dang. No matter, we had a happy ending with this one, so one more individual of an endangered species has been restored to the wild. I just hope he/she has learned the lesson about barn cats.
PS–I have written about our young rider with her and her parents’ knowledge and consent. I won’t write about identifiable individuals (espeically minors) or use their pictures without their say-so.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Aug
4
Well, this wasn’t how I was planning on spending my summer hours. I finally got my new computer (moving from a PC to a Mac isn’t as easy as everyone claims!!), then it seemed silly to move my old Photoshop 7 program onto it, so we upgraded Photoshop as well, from a fairly old to a very new (CS3) and quite unfamiliar version. Now I’m at the point where I can do virtually nothing on either computer, and am feeling very stupid and very frustrated.
Consequently, I’ve spent way too many hours this past week trying to understand the most basic concepts on both the computer and the PS program, with no discernable success. I’ve also spent a fair amount of money on books that are supposed to help with my problems, but don’t, and will doubtless be off to the bookstore for more. Actually I’m first going to head off to the main library downtown tomorrow to see if they have something that will assist me before I lay out any more cash.
This sort of anguish isn’t something I am happy about enduring at any time, but it seems even more cruel during the fleeting summer months. One part of me wants to say forget it, and just keep on with the old system for now which, while very flawed, I know how to use. The other part of me is the grim determination part that I employed to learn whatever skills I have achieved, and it wants to darn well put the time in and get on with the process. In case you are wondering, I’m doing this post on the old system since I can’t wrangle the images on the new one for love or money at present. Maybe next week. Or the week after that.
To make the situation more stressful, I’m hitting the peak of my summer horse photo busy time, with client shoots, horse events most weekends, and just a ton of photo ops in general. With every download I have to agonize whether to put the images in the new system where they will sit for who knows how long before I figure out how to handle them, or in the old computer where I can get them whipped into shape, but with a lot fewer options to play with than I could theoretically use with the new Photoshop. I’ve almost decided to double download for the next while, same shots in each computer, until I have this resolved. Sigh.
OK, enough whining. Summer is in full swing here and we are starting to reap the garden harvest. Had our family Sunday dinner this evening, which will add to confusing the attending family and friends since today is Monday. Long weekends will do that anyway so I thought I’d reinforce it by having the weekly Sunday get-together a day late. What the heck. We had beets from our garden, and also tomatoes. I can’t get over that–some years we still haven’t seen a ripe tomato in mid-September, and given the early frosts we can get, some years we don’t *ever* see one. Not sure what I did this year to be so nicely rewarded, but it’s much appreciated.
We had a nice treat yesterday on the food front. A couple of middle Eastern ladies appeared on our doorstep a couple of weeks ago asking if they could harvest some of the grape leaves from the trellis on the west side of our yard. The grapevines are pretty well out of control and goodness knows there are leaves to spare, so we said to go right ahead and take as much as they wanted. Yesterday they returned bearing some wonderful homemade dolmas that they had produced from our leaves, plus a sampling of stuffed zucchini, onions and leeks. We enjoyed them for supper last night and they were wonderful. I’m very fond of this sort of food but am far too lazy to actually make my own, so this worked out well on all fronts. They harvested a bunch more leaves so I’m hopeful we’ll get another dinner treat in due course. Win-win all round.
Photos today are a grab-bag of ones from this computer’s files. I have a beautiful new landscape shot of a canola field in bloom from the weekend, but it’s in the other system and I’ve already explained that problem. Trust me, it’s a very nice shot!! Also some very good hawk images from the same outing, but alas, you won’t be seeing them either this week.
Shot number one is an abstracted horse neck and mane from a shoot I did in late winter. I love the simplicity and patterning on this one.
Shot number two is one I did of my husband’s cello. It doesn’t usually leave the music room upstairs (formerly a daughter’s bedroom) but for some reason he had it in the living room one day in the low and mellow light, and my eye was struck by the warmth of the wood. This one has a “bark” texture filter laid over it.
Shot number three is from a cattle round-up shoot I did in late fall, again, considerably transformed in Photoshop.
How’s that for eclectic? One more thing to mention. I am the featured artist this month in an online equine magazine. Click on this link to see the article and quite a few visuals
http://www.equestmagazine.com/article-artist-08.php Hope that will get you there. See you next Monday, maybe?? from the new computer!
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Jul
28
One of the interesting events the past week, for me, occured (as is often the case) at the barn when I went out to ride on Thursday afternoon. Things were pretty quiet last week as the instructors and a number of horses and riders had gone to an out of province horse show, so there were only a few of us around most days.
One of the young Pony Club girls was tacking up in the alleyway, and I had Alpac just about ready to go when the other rider that was there gave us a heads up about the barn cats being in the riding ring. Generally speaking they aren’t encouraged to be in the ring for safety concerns (their safety for obvious reasons of potential trampling underfoot by a horse, ours due to the spook factor when a cat suddenly shoots out from under a jump at mach speed and the horse reacts accordingly) but they seemed to be on a hunting mission of some sort from the description given. By the time Alpac and I hit the ring, the cats had both left, so I figured they had finished off some poor little rodent and that was it. I’ve had to retreat to the indoor ring of late, much against my wishes, since the outdoors is often very slippery and muddy due to the many downpours we have had, and (even more of a consideration) due to the appalling number of tormenting biting flies that plague the horses unless we are in a gale force wind. All in all, it’s been easier just to stay in for the last week, although the flies are bad there as well.
I was just tightening the girth when I heard a strange whacking noise in the southwest corner. It seemed a little odd and unaccountable, but I carried on with what I was doing until I heard it again, quite distinctly. I thought I saw some movement in that corner as well, so left Alpac to his own devices while I went to investigate. There in the dirt of the riding ring was a bird, which as I watched rose up and flew blindly at the wall, whacking into it and bouncing back to the ground. This was what the cats had been after, but since there was a triangular jump piece stored in that corner, the bird had been able to evade the cats until they gave up and left. Now it was in a blind panic and was surely going to finish itself off if I didn’t intervene. I got an ice cream pail and was able to capture it in the pail, meanwhile calling for help in the form of a sturdy box, which Oliver the barn man supplied. I got the bird into the box which I duct taped shut and stowed safely in my locker so that the cats couldn’t finish the job while I rode.
Mark (grandson) was with me and I had him check for signs of life after my ride while I was putting Alpac away. He said he was pretty sure he could hear fluttering, so I took the box along and we headed back to the city. Luckily I have contacts in the local wildlife rescue world (see the post of a couple of weeks ago, July 14) so I left a message with Jan that I had an injured bird that would need some help. Her husband Stan appeared at my door a while later, and off the bird went.
After a couple of days, I phoned Jan to see how the bird was doing, and was amazed to hear from her that I had rescued a Northern Shrike, which is an endangered species. When she opened the box and realized what it was, she rushed it up to the vet collage where their bird person was equally amazed and thrilled. At last report (earlier today) the shrike is still with us, undergoing antibiotic treatment to head off potential infection which is common when birds have been assaulted by cats. When it is ready to be released, I’ll pick it up and take it back to Ebon where I will set it free, in an area well away from the cats. I did see another shrike at the barn yesterday, and now realize that they are the birds I have seen fairly regularly all summer, I just didn’t know what they were. Here’s a link to some information on shrikes
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Shrike.html#soundNo shrike photos because I haven’t seen them when I’ve had the camera at the barn, although now that I know what to look for maybe I’ll get lucky later this summer.
I have been working on prairie heritage images this past week, since the gift shop at the local Western Development Museum is going to be carrying a selection of my photos. I did up a couple of new images for them, and have printed a number of others that are on theme.
First shot is of a grain elevator that I have set in front of a Saskatchewan sunset sky.
Second is a new war pony piece, and the third is another war pony one, featuring Homer, who belongs to the Ebon barn man, Oliver. Homer is a favourite subject of mine and appears fairly regularly in my work, especially in his war pony incarnation. I did a photo shoot this afternoon of Oliver riding Homer bareback, which I will work with to make some “historic” looking war pony and rider works, when I get the time (which is to say, don’t hold your breath). Oliver is pretty good about humoring me and my odd requests for photo shoots of him and his horse, which is a real bonus for someone with my interests. And of course I have to add a crow or so on all possible occasions, so there they are with the war ponies.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Jul
21
Seems like the past week has had a heck of a lot crammed into it. I get up in the morning, put myself in gear (with any luck it’s not reverse, although some days it feels like it) and get going. Many hours later, I crash into bed, having had precious little time to pause and reflect in the interval, and fairly sure I was busy the whole day, but often not able to grasp what it was I accomplished. Last Monday’s post seems so far back in time that I can’t really give a complete account of how I spent the intervening week.
I do remember that grandson Mark and I tried walking all three dogs together for the first time (my two Boxer boys and his Dad’s young mixed herding-breeds female who comes here with him in the summer months) in a nature area on the riverbank that I haven’t visited for many years. Turns out it has morphed into an off-leash part (or at least part of it has) which was a mixed blessing. Yes, it is a dog-friendly area (large signs with rules, regulations and veiled threats aside) but that means there are likely to be *other* dogs. Off leash. And their owners.
In the normal course of things, I don’t walk both boys at once, since they come close to outweighing me and certainly can outpower me if they get organized and both make a supreme effort at the same time. However, I feel terribly guilty about taking one on an outing and leaving one at home, and Mark was adamant that he had to walk Arrow, so we decided to give it a try.
First challenge came right out of the vehicle in the form of a Malamute and a large Lab, but we got off to the side of the road and waited for them to pass.
This is all necessary, I guess I should explain, since the boys can over-react rather dramatically to others of their kind. Mickey is usually the one that is mildly serious about it, but Oscar is generally more than happy to join in just for the excitement of it all and for a chance to bark uncontrollably. The owners of the oncoming dogs had their heads up and their wits about them, and got their dogs in close and past us quite quickly, with no noticeable reaction on the part of my dogs, confirming my impression that the boys have made quite a bit of progress over the past couple of years.
Then we met the cluster of middle-aged ladies (no aspersions cast here, I’m one myself) with their little dogs with big attitudes, all happily wandering down the trail towards us. I got as far off to the edge as I could, and held on to the boys, and all would have been well if the Lhasa and the Pug hadn’t felt the need to head straight towards us with unclear intentions. I waited for the owners to notice and deal with their dogs, but they seemed quite oblivious. So the little dogs got closer and closer, while I was struggling heroically to hold the boys to our bit of ground without getting pulled over and dragged. When it seemed apparent that no-body other than me had a clue that things were about to go south rather quickly, I asked the nearest owner if she would please stop her dogs from getting up close and personal with mine. This request was met with a look of blank amazement and the very slow-motion production of a leash and the collaring of her dog, followed with glacial slowness by the owner of the other small dog. Mark and Arrow, of course, were in perfect control the whole while, and sat waiting quietly for us to sort ourselves out.
Even this felt like a victory for me, given how the boys used to be, and the rest of our walk was uneventful and enjoyable. Having Mark and Arrow as point crew for us was very handy, since much of the trail is very narrow and rather densely treed, so I could send them ahead at all blind corners to report on whether there were any oncoming dogs to be aware of. Needless to add, “off-leash” isn’t something that happens with the boys. They can get very far away very fast, I can’t be sure Mickey won’t assault another dog, plus a lot of people think they are pitbulls or professional fighters of some sort, and it just isn’t worth going there.
That was at the beginning of last week. Mid-week I got a call from the Ebon barn man giving me the heads up that a not-previously-scheduled polo game was about to break out over at the other large boarding stable on this side of town. I love doing polo shots and rarely get to hear when games are happening, so I added this to my list and headed over there for an hour or so. Turns out there was a polo tournament (match?? not sure) in Grand Prairie Alberta on the weekend, and the Winnipeg team and the local team decided to have a practise game since the Winnipeg team was laying over here en route. It was a tad warm for the horses but overall about as nice conditions as you could imagine and a good time was had by all.
Friday was the designated day for a client photo shoot that was left over from last fall, when we got beaten out by the weather. I wasn’t sure what I would find at this shoot, other than having been told I was to be getting shots of cats, dogs and horses. Turned out to be a little like old home week, since the cats were Siamese (my very favourite cat breed, although sadly it’s been many years since I’ve shared space with one), one of the dogs was a New Hope Rescue dog, New Hope being a group I support and have worked with, and one of the mares looked so much like the Ebon barn man’s gelding (Homer the pinto that I have made into a war pony on many occasions and who can be seen in previous postings here) that I thought I was seeing things. Homer is a very distinctive individual and it just astonished me to see his female counterpart. The client had three attractive mares who had a good big pasture for action shots and I was very pleased with the whole thing.
Add in riding about five days of the week, toiling endlessly at the garden, shopping, cooking, more dog-walking, more pelican photos, working on an idea for a fall art show and getting that underway, and that’s about it.
Today’s entertainment was a phone interview by Mel Edwards, an American blogger, writer and generally creative person, in conjunction with a project that she has underway. You can check her site out at
http://www.votrevray.blogspot.com/Two horse shots and two dog shots today. One of the polo match, and one from the photo shoot of the pinto mare Apache. I think both of these shots reflect the “fast forward” concept.
Dog shots are of the boys, taken a couple of weeks ago. Oscar is the one with the natural ears, Mickey has the cropped pointy ears. I never touch the ears on the Boxers I get as puppies, but Mickey was a show dog before I owned him, and ear cropping still tends to be part of that world. I was his third owner before his second birthday, due to circumstances beyond his control. He’s a littermate of Oscar’s and a very dear fellow. Oscar was raised by me from tiny puppyhood, and I’m sorry to report I seem to have created a dog with a strong feeling of entitlement, who feels the world really should revolve around him. However, he shares the breed characteristic of being wonderful with children and he especially adores Mark, so that goes a long way in my books. I’d also like to point out that I have bought them very handsome new collars since these shots were taken, as the old ones really were pretty dreadful. Hmmm–the shots of the boys are a bit big here, but I’ll leave them like this and hope for the best.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Jul
14
As I mentioned last post, I had a chance to do some photos of orphaned and otherwise distressed baby animals that are in the very capable care of a local licensed wildlife rehabilitation person. This was a wonderful opportunity for me and I am very appreciative of the chance to do this sort of photography.
The group that supports this venture is the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Saskatchewan (
http://www.wrsos.org/ ). They are a volunteer group of assorted individuals who are united by their love of nature and its creatures, and their desire to help native wildlife that is in distress.
For someone of my interests, working with a group like this in whatever way I can is a natural. I have partnered with them in the past on fund-raising efforts using my photos and artwork, and am always more than happy to do what I can to support them. As I have mentioned before in regards to dog and cat rescue groups, I am better off using my art skills to make my contribution, since I don’t cope with hands-on fostering very well. Anything that comes to me for care usually stays the rest of its’ life, and that’s not what this group is about.
Wildlife rehabiliation is exactly that–a short-term (ideally) situation of caring for whatever needs the animal in question has at the moment, then returning them to the wild to function as nature intended. If the animal can’t be returned to the wild due to a permanent physical disability, they are housed in the most appropriate lifetime care situation that can be found. Many of them become “educators” in community outreach programs where they provide a living link between their wild kin and the world of humans.
I ended up making two trips to the “animal house” this past week. My first one was Thursday evening, when I met the baby skunks, raccoons, and a host of various bird species. All are young and needy, and all are being fed and cared for in an optimal fashion. Making the photo op even better was the wonderful back yard setting where I got to take my shots. Jan and Stan, the home owners and animal tenders, have transformed their back yard into an oasis of rocks, running water, and ponds, overlooked by the huge trees of their mature neighbourhood.
I use the term “met” in a loose sense when it comes to these creatures. Since they have all come from the wild, and have to be returned to it, they are not socialized to humans or handled any more than they have to be to have their basic needs met. Jan is their main caregiver, and they are comfortable with her, but she tries to keep her interactions on a business-like basis for the benefit of all concerned. I was there with my big lens so I was able to get decent shots without coming particularly close to any of them, and I was instructed to keep quiet (hard for me, but I tried) and to move slowly if at all. I got lots of shots in the nice evening light, although the skunk was not very co-operative about the whole thing.
As I was leaving that evening, Jan mentioned she would be releasing a couple of Common Grackles on Saturday morning (weather permitting) if I wanted to come back to see that. Of course I did, and brought husband Jim (the birder) along as well. The grackle shots aren’t much to write home about. For quite a while they just hung around their enclosure, even though the door was open and they were free to leave. The baby robins next door were about to be fed, and while Jan was distracted by a phone call (Melanie the bat lady about to fly off for a wildlife trip to Africa), the grackles decided to sample the worms and gruel that Jan had set out for the robins. Eventually they took off, awkwardly but quickly and erratically, so I didn’t really get any good shots of them.
I mentioned to Jan that I would appreciate another chance at a skunk, and being the good-natured soul that she is, she kindly obliged me with another session. Either this was a different skunk, or if it was the original one it felt more at ease, but whatever the case this was a much better shoot on the skunk end of things and I went home very happy with my efforts.
My camera had a busy weekend as on Saturday we went to the local pioneer days outdoor (and indoor) show at the Western Development Museum here in the city, and Sunday I did photos at the dressage show at Ebon. I got some good photos at the Museum of the border collie/sheep-herding demo, and also of the heavy horses at work. The dressage show was a very small one compared to what it has been in the past couple of years, but I did have several clients riding in it so I have added a few more shots to their photo folders in the computer. All the local horse events are being hit by gas prices this year with low attendance and mostly strictly local and regional competitors. Time will tell if this is the new reality or just a passing thing.
Lots more photos today as grandson Mark and I went to buy new collars for the dogs and came home by way of my new obsession, the pelican hang-out at the weir. This time we did our photos from the east side of the river for the first time, and it was most satisfactory. I have no idea what I’m going to do with the hundreds of pelican photos I’ve got already, but I have no intention of stopping any time soon.
Far too many options to post even a sampling of all this past week’s shots, so I’ll stick with the wild babies here. First shot is of one of the raccoons. I know they can be little bandits and a problem when they tangle with people, especially in the cities, but darn they’re smart and cute little guys.
Second shot is of the skunk from the Saturday shoot, investigating the waterfall.
Shot number three is of one of the baby robins with a beautiful late peony. Jan was really good about placing these little guys around various picturesque spots in the yard for me. They don’t move around much so they pretty well stay put when they are set down, and they seemed pretty happy just to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine for a bit, so we were all pleased with the venture.
When I get my photo website up, I will have lots of these shots for sale. 50% of the retail price on any sold will be turned over to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society. Or if you don’t want to wait for the website (it’s under way) just email me
judywood@sasktel.net©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Jul
7
Much of my past week seems to have been taken up trying to achieve some level of control over the weeds that have flourished in the vegetable garden since I last looked. The alternating days of steady rain and good hot temperatures have combined to create ideal growing conditions, for the unwanted as well as for the wanted. I got almost half of the area under control before it started raining again yesterday, don’t know what I’ll find when I get out again tomorrow. On the plus side, these same conditions should make for very nice hay for the horses if it can get cut and baled without getting too wet, and also that we aren’t going to be in a drought year which we were starting to worry about. I’m also seeing many fields of canola beginning to flower between here and the barn, and once the intense yellow of the canola is in full flower under a bright blue prairie sky, it’s a sight to gladden the eyes.
Since the weekend was a rare weekend “off” for me, which is to say there were no horse shows or equine events that I needed to be at, my photos went off in a different direction. I got yet more pelican shots since we were on that side of the city on Sunday, then we carried on to the annual “Pets in the Park”event, a fund-raiser for animal welfare groups that is held in a downtown riverbank park. This was my first experience with Pets in the Park as I’d been at horse events the two previous years it was held.
Everyone and their dog (and cat, ferret, lizard and snake) was in attendance, on a lovely Sunday in the summer. There were many trade show and information booths relating to pets and pet welfare, and various doggy activities. We had an enjoyable time taking it all in and playing the “what *is* that breed, anyway?” game. We opted not to bring either of our boys since Mickey can be a bit dog aggressive and wouldn’t have handled the stimulation well, and Oscar was still recovering from a mild digestive virus and taking him out to spread it around didn’t seem like a good plan. Maybe next year he’ll get to come and participate in the outing.
I had a brief chat with a friend who was manning the booth for the wildlife rehabilitation group, and as a result I will be doing some photos of baby skunks and raccoons that are currently in her care. Should be fun!
First shot today is of a desired plant in our yard, a Finnish climbing rose that is growing up an arbour in the back yard. I had to relocate it from the front yard last year where the grapevine was outcompeting it, but it hardly missed a beat and this year is blooming happily and abundantly in the new setting. Speaking of roses, a couple of weeks ago Jim was working on his project of planting a variety of nice hardy roses along our fenceline in the back lane. We made a careful selection of the ones we wanted and Jim worked all weekend preparing the area where they were to go, and planting them. Within about twenty-four hours someone had *stolen* one. Dug it right up out of the ground, leaving only a hole behind. Sometimes I wonder why we bother! Maybe a nice row of stinging nettles back there would do the job.
Shot number two is of a little fellow (accompanied by a very big Great Dane) that we met as we were heading into Pets in the Park. I’m a sucker for blue eyes in dogs, cats or horses, so I had to have a shot of him.
Bonus shot is one that I was working on earlier in the week when it was very hot and humid. It just felt good to play with a winter/snow shot. My studio is up on top of the house, and most of the south wall is windows, so it gets darn hot. I’m working on various strategies to overcome this without having to resort to excessive air conditioner use. It’s a work in progess.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Jun
23
This weekend was one of those interesting ones that I particularly enjoy, when two quite different parts of the “worlds” I inhabit come together for photo ops. The world of horses is a varied one, and with a few exceptions, I’m pretty keen on all of them.
The first of the Ebon Stables dressage shows happened this weekend, and as a dressage rider and enthusiast, I’m generally on the spot for these shows, camera in hand, and list of riders who want show photos firmly in my head.
This year, though, there was a timing conflict, as I had heard about a working cowboy camp that sounded way too good to pass up for enhancing my collection of western themed photos. Once I learned that the camp was being held at the ranch of Dale and Teri Clearwater, where I have done photos before, I knew I had to take in this event as well.
I met the Clearwaters last fall through a mutual acquaintance. I phoned them to say I had heard about them and would love to come to their place to do some photography, and they kindly agreed to my request. When I got out there for the first time, I was just blown away by the landscape and by the type of operation they run. This is classic working ranch stuff of the sort I didn’t know existed less than an hour’s drive from my place. Dale and Teri have only owned the ranch for a few years but have turned it into a functional and well maintained horse training facility, with the bonus of a lot of cattle on the side. They embody the solid character and strong work ethic that epitomizes the best of ranch life, and Dale has a well-earned reputation as a skilled trainer of working cowhorses and of cutting horses. Bonus for me is he and his operation are as classic in look and style as he is in his working methods, so for the purposes of my photography, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Dale and Teri are also very accommodating in humouring me with my sometimes odd ideas of what I want to photograph around their place. I’m used to being mostly ignored when I’m out getting shots, and sometimes just barely tolerated, but the Clearwaters are positively co-operative and welcoming about having me lurking in the background with a big lens, which is a really nice change. I do my best to stay out of trouble and not get in the way too much, but at bottom I’m a city person and there’s a lot I don’t know when it comes to ranch life.
I was able to get to the ranch for the Saturday afternoon session, which was calf roping. There were a lot of participants in this clinic, all working cowboys/girls with their own horses, and four guest instructors besides Dale. There was also a camera crew filming for the Cowboy Country television show, which was my first hint that this was a fairly big deal. The level of organization that must have gone into putting this event on was impressive, as they were handling not only the clinics for the participants, but also providing camping facilities, a grand Saturday night dinner, live entertainment, and a Sunday morning church service in addition. Many of the participants came with their families for the weekend, and there were swarms of little kids zipping about, being ably cared for and entertained by helpers. Mercifully the weather was decent, as the pouring rain we had earlier in the month would have meant trouble for this event. Mind you, Saturday was darn hot and it was stressful for all concerned in the clinic–instructors, participants, horses and calves, but this is a cowboy operation and they are all used to functioning in whatever extremes nature chooses to throw at them.
I learned a bit about the ins and outs of roping and handling the cattle as I watched and did my photos, and I was impressed that all the instructors emphasized ways of working with the horses and cattle that were the most efficient, safe, and least stressful for the animals. Just get in, do the job right, and get out. No carrying on, no dramatics, no grandstanding. It’s always a pleasure to watch professionals do what they do best, and here I’m referring to both the human and the equine participants.
So of course I can’t pick just two shots for this post, and none of them is going to be of the dressage show. There’s another dressage show coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’ll get yet more shots at that one, maybe some I can post here.
The first shot shows some of the guest instructors waiting for the afternoon’s work to begin. They were just hanging out and visiting, with Dale’s beautiful hundred year old barn in the background.
In shot number two they are heading in from having brought the calves in from the pasture. Here they have been joined by Dale, who is second from the right. When I got this shot the border collie had momentarily taken over herd wrangling from the riders.
Shot three shows Dale organizing his rope in the nice new large round pen he has constructed since I was last there. It’s a great work area to contain horses and cattle safely while they are being worked with.
Shot four is of a couple of the women riders and their horses taking a break from the heat in the relative coolness of the tree-lined approach to the house. I did a little bit of Photoshop work with this one–will do more when I get the time to make it look more like a painting.
Dale and Teri have their own website up now. You can check it out and learn more about them by following this link
http://justaboutaranch.com/Next weekend, weather permitting, I have two more horse events to photograph–a heavy horse ploughing competition on Saturday, and a combined driving event on Sunday. There seems to be something (or several somethings) every weekend once summer hits. I really think the federal government needs to deal with this by legislating extra weekends over the summer months so we can fit everything in.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Jun
16
My life in the past week has taken on the aspect of being in the movies. Sadly, the movies it most resembles aren’t ones in which I would voluntarily be found.
First came the ever increasing rate of disintegration of the “brain” of my computer. It’s been pretty shaky for quite a while now (well, in truth the only reason I got a computer of my own about four years ago was because Jim couldn’t stand dealing with it and got himself a new one, fobbing this one off on me. I’ve been stuck with it ever since, although in fairness at the time I wasn’t as deeply immersed in digital imagery and Photoshop so it wasn’t as much of a trial as it has become) and I think is coming to the end its’ useful life.
In addition to being painfully slow, which it has been for quite a while, it has now started down the slippery slope of personality disintegration, with random acts of irrational behavior, which include making totally uncalled for remarks and warnings, arbitrarily shutting down programs while I’m in the middle of working, summarily ejecting me with no warning or expressions of remorse, denying that it knows anything about functions that it did perfectly well only moments ago, and in general showing signs of extreme stress. I’ve taken to calling it Hal.
For those of you too young to understand that reference, Hal was the master computer that controlled the space capsule and the lives of those within it in the movie 2001:A Space Odyssey. It’s an old enough movie that when I saw it the first time out, 2001 seemed an impossibly far away date, but time flies when you’re having fun. Hal suffered a total nervous breakdown at a critical point in the movie and went “rogue” and homicidal. Can’t tell you how it all ended as I don’t actually remember! Sorry about that.
So that’s movie reference number one. Tomorrow we plan on shopping for a replacement computer and I think it will be just in the nick of time. I do have all my truly precious photo files in an external backup drive so if Hal snaps overnight I won’t lose them, but it would still be pretty catastrophic and I hope we don’t have to go there, but I can’t say I wasn’t warned.
The second movie theme is a general horror movie one. I was always too scared to go to horror movies when I was a kid (also I don’t think my mother would have let me) and haven’t felt the need to experience them as an adult either, but I think I know some aspects of the genre when I experience them.
I was tootling around in the front yard a few days ago, camera in hand, and whipped around the far corner of the property to photograph some irises that the light was hitting in a particularly appealing way. Whoa! What the heck! “The Attack of the Worms”, or “They Came by Night” was being played out on the west side of the house. There were hundreds of hideous little canker worms hanging from web-like filaments all over the yard. These wretched little things hit the city cyclically every few years, according to I know not what. What I do know is that every so often we’ll get an infestation and it ain’t fun.
They hatch in the treetops, often in American elms, with which this city is still blessed until Dutch Elm disease arrives, then they proceed to eat all the foliage they can get their little munchers on, and when they are done desecrating the trees, they spin sticky white weblines and descend to the ground by the hundreds, where they presumably move on to some other phase of their nasty lives. Walking on the sidewalks while this is in process is especially hazardous, due to worms getting all over you, the sidewalks being slick with the side-effects of their voracious eating, and the spooky effect of the sticky white webbing material swaying with the breezes. So far this year the infestation isn’t too bad, but some of our trees have taken a fair hit. It’s stressful for the trees to have to releaf a second time in one season, and if we get too many bad canker worm years in a row some trees just can’t recover.
An interesting side effect of this year’s worm outbreak has been the new neighbours who have moved in to help out. We were on our usual dog walking route after supper this evening, rounding the corner at the north end of the crescent on the way home, and there in the middle of the road were two wild ducks. Jim had reported seeing a mallard drake on the west sidewalk beside our house a few mornings ago, gobbling canker worms like mad. Apparently he likes the neighbourhood as he had his lady friend with him this evening. This is quite unusual as we are nowhere near the river or anything other than pretty sold suburban landscape. We chatted briefly with the neighbour across the street as we went by his place, and he reported they had been making use of his backyard fishpond as well. We haven’t seen them in our little pond yet, but likely the presence of two large Boxers isn’t too welcoming. Mickey has a bit of a bird fetish at the best of times, and I had quite a job getting him past the ducks without anyone getting hurt, so likely they are wise in giving our yard a miss.
Featured photos (provided with the assistance and co-operation of Hal the computer) are of the effects of the canker worms and of the helpful ducks. One shot shows the damage done to one of our young trees, which this time a week ago was solidly leafed out with lush foliage. Shot number two shows the webbing. In a bad year, this will be in large sheets that are very like—well, sheets—albeit sheets that are rather ragged and tattered, and can go from the top of a largish tree right down to the ground.
Shot number three is our friends the ducks, taking a break in a yard down the street. I’m a bit worried about these guys as they get right out in the middle of the street just beyond a sharp corner, so cars don’t see them until they are right on them, and they don’t seem to have any understanding of the concept of getting out of the way of moving vehicles, but we’ll just have to cross our fingers for them and hope for the best.
Just a word in closing about accessing these blogs. I do a new one every Monday, so that’s when to look for them. If you want to sign up for the email version, just put your email address in the box on the left where it says to, jump through the little hoops it tells you to, then you will get any and all new postings to your inbox, unless it gets hung up in your junk email filter, in which case you’ll have to sort that out on your own. I’m having fun doing these posts, and hope you (whoever you are) are enjoying reading them.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Jun
9
I’ve been beavering away at my vast number of recent image files, trying to sort, delete, organize and generally wrangle them into some sort of order. Since the amount of shooting I’m doing of late has grown exponentially, staying on top of it all is pretty important.
I spent the morning and much of yesterday (and part of the day before) doing edits on the multi-hundred shots I took on our Edmonton area outing of a couple of weeks ago. I did some horse shots for a friend who plans to sell her young warmblood, some farm and under saddle shots for the owner of the dressage facility where she boards, and a whole bunch of shots of general interest and for future art use.
Going through the Edmonton visuals brought back some of the visits to friends and the strange new form of entertainment I picked up while we were there. On our first evening we went to visit with an old (as in long-standing, ahem) friend and fellow artist Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com/ and her expanding family. The expansion is in the form of a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law, both of relatively recent vintage in that capacity, and both being met by us for the first time. These are all dog people so talk centered to a fair extent on our doggy friends, both current and from days gone by.
Ali, now married to Noreen’s son Angus, also has a Boxer past, so of course we had to have some Boxer discussion. One of the things that struck me as very entertaining in the midst of this was Noreen relating the story of a visit to a dog show where she encountered a number of frantic people rushing about the grounds crying out “Seven Boxers running loose!”. Ali finished the knitting stitch she was working on, then remarked with a totally straight face “Isn’t that a sign of the Apocalypse?” Of course this set us all off, and now one of my current new activities is looking for “signs”.
As these things work out, we discovered another one that same evening, when we were chatting before bedtime with our friend Brenda, at whose place we were staying. We told her the Boxer Apocalypse story, and talk moved off in an equine direction, Brenda being a horse person. We were talking about farriers and she had a story about her farrier who also did team roping with various of his cowboy friends. Apparently a couple of them had purchased an electric cow (no, I’m *not* making this up) to spare wear and tear on the real thing while they practised their roping skills on horseback with a moving target. My understanding is that it would lurch off when started up and carry on fleeing until a rope landed on its neck to trigger the “off” mechanism.
The farrier happened by one evening to find his friends working on the cow who had some mechanical problems. They were toiling away trying to find out what the problem was, when the “on” switch was accidentally triggered, the cow was miraculously cured, and took off into the distance, leaving them staring and cursing with no ropes or horses with which to pursue and subdue it. Of course we all instantly recognized this as yet another “sign” by which we would be able to foretell bad things in the offing. If it was being pursued by seven loose Boxers at the same time, heading for cover would be a prudent thing.
There’s nothing for it but to post Boxer and cattle pictures here. I couldn’t choose from the Boxer shots, so am putting up a few more than usual. Both these dogs belong to a local breeder and friend of Boxers in particular and dogs in general. She has a huge amount of heart and kindness and fosters many Boxers and Boxer mixes that find themselves in bad circumstances until they can locate new homes. I have a huge amount of respect for her.
I got these shots at Ebon Stables last week. There are a couple of dog agility rings north of the barn, and I was lucky to catch a lesson with the Boxers in it. Marco is the more standard looking one. He is one of their stud dogs and an absolutely loveable goof. I was thrilled to see him in action since he makes my boys look relatively sane by comparison. Anyone who knows Boxers will understand the one where he is sitting. He’s under orders here and is waiting to be allowed to zoom off on his mission, but it’s really tough for him to stay still. The second shot of him shows him in action over a jump, ears and jowls flying.
Spryte is the little white female who is flying over her jump. She’s a small little package, but powerful and strongly muscled. If she was a horse, she’d be a feisty little Quarter horse mare for sure.
The cattle shot is one I got in Alberta a few years ago. My daughter and I (and grandson Mark) spent pretty well all of Mother’s Day that year driving over four hours each way to take a bearded dragon lizard to its’ new home at a reptile sanctuary. This is a whole other story, but I did get some nice shots of these cows as a reward.
Noreen’s daughter, by the way, is an up and coming artist in her own right, and also relatively newly-wed to her military husband (who Mark was thrilled to meet) Clancy. I was going to post a link to Chloe’s website, but darned if I can find it!!
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
Jun
2
Early summer seems firmly entrenched now, with even the fear of a late frost (possible in this province in just about any month of the year) now a receding memory. The lilacs are in bloom in our back yard, and around much of the neighbourhood, with the scent almost enough to knock you over if you pass by too closely. I’ve got early irises in bloom, and things are greening up fast. We don’t get a whole lot of spring here, going from late winter to early summer without much time spent lingering in between. Our growing season is relatively short (late May to early September) so a lot gets compressed into that time frame, and once the snow is gone and things have warmed up a bit, get out of the way, as things are changing fast.
This past weekend saw the first of the outdoor horse shows at Ebon, another sure sign of the summer season being well on the way. This show was formerly on the third weekend in May for many years, but in the interests of not freezing to death during the inevitable downpours of rain (and occasionally snow) that traditionally occured (the combination of a long weekend and the first outdoor horse show being more than the weather gods could resist, for the most part), it has been moved to the first weekend in June. This year, conditions were as perfect as could be imagined for a show at any time of any year, leaving aside the ten minute downpour on Saturday. Sunday was one of those rare utterly idyllic days, with little wind, blue skies, sun but not excessive heat, and, almost miraculously for around here, no mosquitoes. It just couldn’t get any better.
This is about my favourite show of the year as everyone is so darn happy just to be able to be outside, it’s a “user-friendly” and low key show, and the atmosphere is pretty relaxed. The majority of the competitors are younger riders, keen to apply the knowledge they have acquired during their winter lessons in a show setting. I spent a couple of days and one evening at the show, getting client shots for my rather alarmingly large list of riders that want photos this year. I enjoy doing it (for about the first five hours each day, then it gets a bit old) but the ensuing time spent organizing the hundreds and hundreds of shots is a major chore.
Funny how when you are looking at scores of tiny thumbnail photos in the computer it’s a bit hard to sort out. Far too often I’m peering at the screen wondering which dark bay horse with a rider in dark hunt coat and light breeches *this* one is. Of course I’m the person that walked right past my own elder daughter once at a show, to ask her friends if they had seen her. That’s because she was holding a dark bay horse and was wearing a dark hunt coat and light breeches. Thank goodness for the occasional gray horse, or, better yet, Paint.
In previous years I just downloaded, did a rough sorting, and left it to deal with it later. When “later” did come at the end of show season it was such a nightmare that this year I have vowed to stay current, and I’m proud to say that by dint of a lot of hours of work, so far I’m on track. Mind you, it’s early days and there’s still lots of time for me to go astray.
First shot today is a garden one. This is one I took on our Edmonton trip of last weekend. We stayed overnight at Fort Edmonton Park http://www.fortedmontonpark.ca/pages/FortEdmonton/default.aspx at the Hotel Selkirk (check the links in the park site for the pictures of the hotel) located on 1920s Street. It was a wonderfully quiet place to stay as the only people at the park after hours are the hotel guests. We walked all over the site once it had closed for the day to regular visitors, enjoying the feeling of peace and quiet in a tourist destination that was devoid of tourists. There were Canada geese wandering on the boardwalks and trolley tracks, and a happy little group of wild rabbits playing on the lawns. Across the street from the hotel was a recreated special peony garden of historic interest to the Edmonton area, and that’s where these beautiful bleeding hearts were in bloom. If you check the Fort Edmonton and/or Hotel Selkirk links, give it a few minutes as the main pictures are in slide show format and you’ll get a nice feel for both areas if you look at all the photos.
Shot number two is of a lineup in the hunter ring at the horse show, awaiting ribbon presentation. A point of interest is the concession building in the middle background. If you look back in my blog archives to the January 22 posting, you’ll see this same building with the snowbanks up to the rooftop after the big blizzard. I could actually snowshoe up to the same height as the roof (and did!) at that time. One of the things I always remark on is that in winter in Saskatchewan, it seems like no other season has ever or will ever exist, until you get into summer, and it’s the same story there. Fall and spring don’t really enter into this equation as they can be pretty fleeting and never have that feeling of permanence that the other two seasons convey. Odd.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
May
26
We (husband Jim, grandson Mark and I) have just returned from a four-day weekend trip to Edmonton, Alberta, which is about a 5 or 6 hour drive northwest of here. Mark is staying with us for ten days while his parents are off in Scotland, where his Mom, my daughter Margaret, participated in a marathon relay leg this weekend in support of arthritis research (read about it on her blog, link is upper left on my main blog page). Then his folks are touring around Scotland for a week before getting back next Sunday.
Mark is a very good student and is missing “official” school for the duration, although he has been sent a bunch of homework to complete during his “holiday”. His math assignments are mostly already beyond me (I’ve always maintained there’s a reason I’m an artist and not an accountant) so we will have to draft Jim to help out there.
We thought it would break up the time for Mark if he had an out of town trip himself, hence our excursion. Edmonton is a bit of a drive, but it’s been years since we’ve been there, and there are a number of attractions that appealed to us all, plus the opportunity to visit with several sets of good friends whom we haven’t seen for way too long. I won’t go into great detail here, suffice it to say that a good time was had by all, we’ve pretty well walked ourselves into a stupor, and I *almost* filled up my big memory card, which takes some doing. I haven’t yet downloaded, as it’s going to take a while, but I’d estimate I’ve got something in the region of 800 or so photos to deal with. Luckily I’ll likely be able to delete quite a few since I usually overshoot any given subject then select the one(s) I like best to keep, but it’s still going to be a chore.
I was simultaneously thrilled and dismayed at the number of ravens I saw and heard in the area while we were there. Ravens leave here in the early spring when the crows return, and I don’t generally get far enough north to see or hear them in the summer. Of course the usual frustration ensued most of the time when I tried to actually get photos (that would be the “dismayed” part) , due to the speed of the birds, distance from the camera, and the ever popular “wrong setting” option for the digital. We were in and out of doors at various historical parks, and I would change settings to optimize for low light situations and stationary objects, then forget to switch back when we went outdoors again. That would always be the moment for a crow or raven (or pairs of both, having a serious territorial disagreement, in one case) to come swooping into view. Great excitement and elation on my part until I reviewed my shots and wondered why the heck they were so blurry. Dang. I’m just hoping that at least a portion of the many I took will turn out to be good enough for my purposes.
I’ll write about aspects of our visit and post some of the many and various shots I got in future blogs, once I get the images sorted out a bit. For today, I’m going to show a laterally related image, which is the latest incarnation of my panel for the Cadeau du Cheval / The Horse Gift mural mosaic. I say “laterally related” since the home base of this mural project is in Edmonton. I had thought briefly about trying to visit the artists behind this wonderful project, but realistically I knew (and I was right) that we were going to be more than busy just doing the few things we had planned. Here’s the link to the equine mural http://www.muralmosaic.com/Cadeau.html
This version isn’t too far off the original concept I posted a while back. I’ve done a lot of work and refining of details, which doesn’t always show but is necessary for the success of the image. I’ve started a second variation on this theme, but am not quite sure where I am heading with it as yet. If I can get it to a point where I feel satisfied with it, I’ll post it. There will be a lot more of the “Gothic” themed works in the year to come, but for now I have to apply myself to this project, as I’m on a deadline here. The other ones will be on my own time and terms, so I’ll be more at liberty to change colours and concepts with them.
Shot number two today doesn’t relate much to anything, just one I did up recently that I like. This is one of my favourite horses, Sparky, in his War Pony incarnation. The ones I’ve done of him so far have all been in winter settings, so I thought it was time he got to warm up away from the snow. I’m hoping to get some more shots of him to work with. At the moment what I have is limited, as I’ve been shooting him in his normal turnout which is a bit small for my lens, also a bit small for his comfort level when I’m t
