Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A beach walk

In the latter part of yesterday afternoon, Black Jack and I started out near David Lam Park and walked along the seawall and beach.  A cormorant with shaggy white eyebrows stood out, 
 among the others on this sculpture.
The cormorants are very busy right now gathering material for their nests under the bridge.
 I thought ten dogs must be some sort of record.
This male House Finch was very handsome.
 I am curious about this flower.  I don't think I've seen one like it before.
 There was a warm light over these trees by English Bay. 
 Autumn shades in May.
 This seagull sat in the warm light and gazed out to sea.
A young man was doing flips.  We talked and I gave him my blog address.  He is working towards his dream.  I admire his talent and his drive and am including a lot of pictures of him here (even though I am disappointed in the fuzzy focus) so that he can study his form. 































I didn't ask this young man's name, but if he sees this, I would love the opportunity to photograph him again and hopefully improve my captures. If we don't meet, I send him my thanks for a delightful encounter and my best dream-realizing wishes.  
 A pink sandwich with blue filling, 
 Black Jack's fascination with shimmery water, 
 active skies over green trees and grass shadows,
 a crane and a palm tree,
 a playful dog,
and a golden sunset were some other fun moments that made this a very pleasant walk.
 Thanks for visiting the blog.  Happy Wednesday to you!

15 comments:

  1. I like your movement photos. Today is the first time I tried, some students were jumping from a tree, but mine were no good.

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  2. The closest tree in the "autumn colors" picture looks very similar to the little oak tree in our front yard. After 10 years here I've finally gotten to where I I know it's still alive, every spring, in spite of the fact that it holds onto it's fall leaves all winter. It is only just now starting to drop them, as it's new growth "pushes" them out of the way, like baby teeth making way for permanent ones.
    Allan is the camera guy, but he confirms my guess that you need to adjust the shutter speed and "ISO" to improve your action shots. Iforget what you shoot, but the Nikon "VR" [vibration reduction] lenses help here too--Allan says other brands have different settings that do the same thing. Another trick he's taught me is to focus the camera on something at the same spot as your anticipated moving subject (such as the log he was flipping over) first, then the camera doesn't seek out something more linear (like the retaining wall in the background) when it auto-focuses. He also suggest checking out the site http://www.dpreview.com/ for ideas.
    Gotta go now--SOME people have to work for a living! ;-D

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  3. I am dizzy now, with this young man's jumping around, lol ! beautiful bird pictures and the man with the lot of mini dogs is also so cute !

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  4. My dear,
    All I can say is..."thank God" he is OK. Yes, great shots of animals and nature. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Carol, I am really enjoying these action shots of people. They show how spectacular the human form can be when at its best. I think the mystery flower belongs to the lavender family, by the way, but am not entirely sure about that. :)

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  6. Excellent shots of the acrobatic man! I am always amazed how anyone can flip around like this. Your nature photos are beautiful!

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  7. I like your cormorant. Nice looking critter,

    Your action shots are amazing.

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  8. Ah, of course. I should have smelled the flower. Thank you Penelope :)

    Interesting tree info, EvenSong, and thanks for the photography advice :)

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  9. Bra fångat !! Fantastiska bilder!!

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  10. The cormorant with the shaggy white eyebrows and the handsome male House Finch are what I call million dollar photos. I agree with Min fotogen, Bra fångat, Fantastiska bilder!

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  11. I love the shots of the cormorants, those shaggy eyebrows are very cute. I believe the blue flower is a type of lavender.
    Your captures of the acrobat are incredible, really enjoyed that series. Thanks for all these.

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  12. The cormorants with the shaggy white eyebrows are fantastic -- as are the acrobatic shots. Great post.

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  13. I love the shots of the young man doing acrobatics although I feared for his head when he seemed so near to the logs! Was he doing it for exercise or was he training for something? Phyllis

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  14. Hello Carol, it's me, Rimvydas, the guy from the beach. :] Thank you for the photos and your time. I really like how they were taken as I can see my movement more clearly through them and this helps me improve. You're an inspiring photographer and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

    Gattina, I hope my jumping didn't make you feel too much dizzy. :D

    Andy David, no need to worry, I am completely fine and feeling even better after the training. :D

    Phyllis, it looks close but my head was actually far from the logs. :D I was just practising my flipping skills for fun.

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  15. Wow! that is quite a bit of flipping! I admire his courage for doing all of that on the beach! In fact for being able to do it at all. Great shots of a lovely and interesting walk.

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