Photography – Page 5 – Ripple Effects

Saturday Snapshot Dec. 3: Late Autumn

After I came back from London in mid October, the Pond already looked deserted. Suddenly in the last few days my Air (Avian) B&B was buzzing with activities again. The Pond had become the meeting place of waterfowls making their last stop before heading south.

Here are some of them on a sunny, cheery afternoon. So glad to see signs of life before the big chill. Forecast for next week’s lowest temperature: -24C (-11F).

late-autumn

riverview

Pardon me for not showing my regulars the Mallards, but it’s the infrequent guests that I treasure more; although still ‘common’, there are just less of them than Mallards. Here are the Buffleheads. Like they’re right out of a Monet painting. No colour alteration here:

buffleheads

bufflehead-couple

My favourite has to be Mrs. Merganser. No matter what time of day, she looks like Lucille Ball just out of bed. Her uncombed, red hair stands out particularly:

lucille-ball

lucille

Up in the sky, more Canada Geese getting ready to land on the Pond, joining the late Autumn sendoff party:

canada-geese

Less convivial on land, I’m afraid. Why, it’s all brown and barren. The white-tailed deer filling up in the evening sun. Yes, it looks desolate. Dry shrubs are all that’s left for food.

autumn-brown

deer

And -20’s C. next week? Good time to tackle the piles of books on my bedside table.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

Abbey Road & Notting Hill

FRIDAY OCT. 7

For the last day in London, we wanted to grab the chance to go see places we hadn’t been to before. Our plan for the day: first to Abbey Road, then Notting Hill.

This is probably the most famous zebra crossing in the world. And that of course is the location where The Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover was taken. Tourists would gather right at the crossing, stopping cars frequently.:

Zebra Crossing.jpg

… and actually pose crossing it, making numerous takes, cause it’s just hard to find no cars coming, then snapping the right pics at the right time in the right pose:

Pose Crossing.jpg

The other side of the zebra crossing is the famous Abbey Road Studios where The Beatles recorded their albums:

studios

We couldn’t go into the studios, but there was a gift shop adjacent where signs were posted to chronicle the historical significance of the Abbey Road Studios. Sir Edward Elgar opened the Studios in 1931. In 1939, King George VI recorded his now famous “King’s Speech to His Peoples”. Seventy-one years later in 2010…

Colin Firth.jpg

“Oscar-winning ‘The King’s Speech‘ score recorded. Actor Colin Firth’s speech is re-recorded with the microphone made by EMI for King George VI.”

Looks like we’d come to something truly historic.

After Abbey Road, we headed to Notting Hill. I like the movie Notting Hill (1999), have seen it several times especially now it’s on Netflix, but have never been to that part of London. I’d done some Googling before I left home. Notting Hill is the actual movie location, and the famous 2-mile long Portobello Road Market there is one of the best street markets in London. And it’s open on Fridays and Saturdays only.

It was an overcast and chilly Friday morning, the clouds hung heavy, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. We took the Tube from Abbey Road Studios and got off at Notting Hill Gate Station.

In the movie, Portobello Road is where William Thacker (Hugh Grant) has his Travel Book Shop. He walks past the stalls in the Market to get to his shop.

So here it is. Portobello Road, a colourful street lined with antique and curio shops, and on Fridays and Saturdays, open stalls selling all sorts of interesting items, a bazaar like a movie set.

Portobello Rd Market.jpg

Portobello Rd.jpg

street-market

antique1

Here’s William’s Travel Book Shop location, now a gift shop. In the movie, that is where William meets American film star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) the first time. William is totally oblivious to who she is, while a shoplifter recognizes her and has the gut to come right up to ask for her autograph. That’s William’s intro to movie culture. Here’s the location:

The Travel Book Shop.jpg

Afterwards, William buys orange juice across the street and bumps into Anna again, spilling juice on her dress. Thus, leading her to his house with the blue door nearby to clean up.

The tipping point of the movie happens on both sides of that blue door. Apparently tipped off by William’s hairy roommate Spike (Rhys Ifans), a large crowd of paparazzi wait outside that blue door the morning after Anna stays over, ready to snap anything of the star. Unfortunately it’s William who opens the door in his T-shirt and boxer, and after, Anna in her sleep wear, and last but not least, Spike opens again in his brief only.

Well, here it is, that house with the blue door, 280 Westbourne Park Road:

The Blue Door.jpg

280-westbourne-rd

And of course, the first movie I saw after I’d come home was Notting Hill, again.

That’s a wrap of my five-day London experience, my Thelma and Louise escapade for 2016 with my cousin. Obviously, no… we didn’t drive off a cliff.

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This is a Saturday Snapshot post. Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

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Here’s a recap of my Five Days in London:

London: West End Theatre

Tate Modern: Georgia O’Keeffe Exhibition

Day Trip to Cambridge

British Library & St. Pancras Station

THURSDAY, OCT. 6

Well you win some and you lose some. Having tasted the delicious treat that’s the Georgia O’Keeffe at Tate Modern, I came to British Library the next day to find they’ve just finished with a major Shakespeare exhibition there marking the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death.

The British Library is another must see for me, having ‘discovered’ it the last time I was in London a few years ago. In their Gallery is their permanent collections of iconic papers and manuscripts that define the history of civilization, like the Gutenberg Bible, The Magna Carta, handwritten score of Handel’s Messiah, Middle Eastern and Asian manuscripts and sacred scripts, Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook, handwritten lyrics by the Beatles with comic drawings on the side… just to name a few of the 200 items on display, free to the public.

Enough of words. Here are some pics of British Library:

wall-of-books

Storeys of rare books:

storeys of rare books.jpg

Looking down to the main area:

main-area

Art works are everywhere. I like this piece by British artist Patrick Hughes, entitled “Paradoxymoron”. His signature style is the changing perspective for the viewer. A ‘normal’ painting from the front:

Paradoxymoron Front View.jpg

The painting gradually shifting to 3D as the viewer moves to the side:

Shifting Perspective.jpg

Finally, from the side, a complete 3D version:

Side View.jpg

Here’s from the other side:

The other side.jpg

And how did we get to British Library? We took the Tube from Victoria Station to the St. Pancras Station. You’ve seen the magnificent make-over of King’s Cross Station from my last post, here’s another superb alchemy of the old and the new. St. Pancras Station is an international transportation hub for trains. The scale is massive and the architecture style, Gothic Revival.

st-pancras-station

I’m most impressed by the interior, the public art and the huge bronze sculpture by Paul Day (2007). Here are some pics:

St. Pancras Station.jpg

Public Art.jpg

Bronze Sculpture.jpg

Amazed by how detailed this huge sculpture is. Look at the folds of the clothing:

Here are some of the vignettes circling below the tall sculpture. Whimsical perspectives:

perspective

Saying goodbye to soldiers going to war:

Going to War.jpg

… and the modern goodbye. I like this one the best:

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Day Trip to Cambridge

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5

Trains leaving for Cambridge run frequently from King’s Cross Station in London. We bought tickets for after peak hour in the morning, more leisurely and cheaper price. We were in no hurry, and it was only an hour’s ride. But first, I was most impressed by the train station. I was there years ago for a trip to Cambridge also. But this time around, King’s Cross looks like a space station. What’s more, the old and the new co-exist comfortably :

More about the train stations tomorrow. But on this day Oct. 5, 2016, I was at Cambridge again.

When we got out of the train station in the university town, high winds greeted us, sending us to look for shelter in the Hop on Hop Off Sightseeing bus. Yup, what a convenient way to reach all the points of interest, and with commentary as well.

The following are some glimpses of Cambridge, this one taken from the open top bus as we passed by the Fitzwilliam Museum:

fitzwilliam-museum

These were taken when we hopped off and took to the streets:

While all these views from the outside were free, they now charged entrance fee to go inside many of the buildings, even just walking into the courtyards and the greens. I remember years ago I could freely walk around. Also there are many more commercial establishments now, which is understandable, and in a way, good for us tourists, and I’m sure the people at the university too. There are many more selections to choose from when it’s time for lunch.

We walked along Bridge Street where there was a myriad of international cuisines, undecided for a while and eventually went into a little restaurant called Galleria.

galleria

They offered a 3-course lunch for £12.95 Not bad at all. The appetizer and main course were both delicious, but I was most happy with the dessert, a chocolate raspberry mouse, that’s the pyramid at the front in the following pic, my cousin had the apple pie. But I can tell you, mine was heavenly:

dessert

As we came out of the restaurant and crossed the street, we saw this beautiful view:

view-from-galleria

p1020794

We spent the afternoon strolling along the streets:

p1020690

tradition

and stayed a while in Waterstones, the four-floor bookshop. It’s been years since I set foot into a multi-storey bookshop with elevator. We used to have one in our city but it’s long gone out of business. Other than the books, I was attracted to these Penguin tote bags and the blackboard:

waterstones

Soon it was time to head back to the train station. Hop on to the sightseeing bus once again and we were soon on the train back to London. The whole evening was still untapped.

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Saturday Snapshot Oct. 15: Five Days in London

About this time last year I’d just finished a Thelma-and-Louise kind of road trip (exclude the ending, of course) to New England with my cousin to see fall foliage. The series of travel posts begins here. This year, it’s London, England.

Here are the highlights of our short, five-day escape to London on the week of Oct. 3-7. Detailed blog posts to come.

Monday — The Go-Between at the historic Apollo Theatre (since 1901) on Shaftesbury Avenue. Leading star is Michael Crawford, the original Phantom.

Apollo Theatre.jpg

Tuesday — Tate Modern, Georgia O’Keeffe Exhibit. No photos allowed for that exhibit, but I was free to take artworks from other areas in brilliant Tate Modern. Here’s one I love the best. View from its 10th floor observation level:

Wednesday — Day trip to Cambridge:

Thursday — The British Library, King’s Cross and the St. Pancras Stations. Why a train and tube station could be the highlights of the day? Wait and see. Here’s St. Pancras Station:

St. Pancras Station.jpg

Friday — Which zebra crossing (those in N. America, no zebra, just pedestrian) is a point of interest for world visitors?

Abbey Road Studios.jpg

And which movie puts a community and street market on the to-see list of visiting cinephiles and antique hunters?

Portobello Rd (1).jpg

Detailed London posts coming up.

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Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

Saturday Snapshot September 24: Cootes Paradise Marsh

So this is what a film buff and birder did at TIFF… she took a day off from films and headed out to Nature.

The Cootes Paradise Marsh Nature Sanctuary in Burlington’s Royal Botanical Gardens is about a 45-minute drive southwest of Toronto. Hiking the trails there was total relief from pounding the pavement between TIFF venues. I immersed in the silence of the Nature Sanctuary, with bird calls and sounds of crickets replacing the hustle and bustle of downtown traffic.

First off, there were many birds, but mostly Chickadees. The Bluejay I see often in Alberta, but not among maple leaves:

bluejay-in-maple-leaves

Indeed, the leaves are so different from what I’m used to seeing. Like these here. Never seen leaves wearing sunglasses before:

Leaves wearing sunglasses.jpg

Seldom see frogs on my path either. Nearly stepped on this little guy:

Frog on my path.jpg

Or a mushroom this fancy:

mushroom-1

I just love how well planned these trails are, so considerate in their design:

See the upper left corner of the above picture… A colony of cormorants:

cormorants

As I came close to the edge of the water, I felt like I’d gone inside a corn maze:

rbg-marshwalk-observation-tower

The observation tower at the end offered a panoramic view of the marsh, but not my camera though. So here they are in different frames:

marsh-2

It’s here that I had my first sighting of the Great Egret:

egret-on-the-move

And a Mute Swan with her young, which were brownish but almost as large as the adult:

mute-swan-juveniles

As I made my way back I walked through fields of goldenrods, that was quite a sight:

goldenrods

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Establishing Shot

What is a film buff, avid birder, and nature lover going to do in Toronto during TIFF, torn between so many attractions?

Well, one has to stay grounded first. So here’s the establishing shot. Indeed, it’s Toronto. And a memorable date it was when I took this photo of the early morning cityscape. My computer told me it was Sept. 11, 2016, at 6:38 am:

9-11-638

I was fortunate to be able to shoot these pics from a high-rise building with magnificent views. Here let me call this one Urban Canadian Sunrise. Yes, see the flag in the foreground? Can’t say it’s just another city:

urban-canadian-sunrise

And from the balcony above looking down, my birding instinct was gratified as I made my first sighting of a Mute Swan taking in the early morning air:

mute-swan

A stone-throw away was a park where I made this other first-time encounter. I had no clue what it was until I looked it up in a bird book after I’d come back home:

Juvenile Black Crowned Night Heron

Know what it is? A Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron.

Several other first time sightings awaited me as I went on the ‘Marshwalk’ at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, 57 km (35 mi) southwest of Toronto a few days later. The Great Egret and some juvenile (brownish colour) mute swans:

great-egret

egret-swans

Yes, TIFF16 was a cinephile fantasy. And the people there were overflowing with enthusiasm to make your visit memorable:

tiff

More posts coming up on that main event.

Saturday Snapshot Aug. 27: Synchronized Swimming, Team Pelican

I don’t have to wait four years for another Olympics. A couple of days ago I caught sight of these Nature’s Athletes. From afar I could tell they were members of Team Pelican.

The Pelicans are a gregarious lot, their talents innate, every move graceful. They display their elegant team work in Nature’s open arena, effortless, in sync with each other. Here they are, full of bubbly camaraderie:

Comaraderie (2)

Remember a previous post where I saw them in the air, like squadrons of fighter jets; in the water, they form a tight-knit configuration as well. With that formation, they cooperate to surround fish in the water, scooping them into their pouches:

Inate talents (1)

What a beautiful idea: communal feeding. What you see here are snapshots. What I remember is a long video. I must have been there watching and snapping away for over a half hour:

Let's eat together (1)

Elegant synchronized swimmers in perfect harmony. Kudos to their Coach.

Synchronized Swimming (2)

Look at their sheer size in comparison to the gull behind them.

Sync Swim (1)

Sometimes you can get tangled up with minor mishaps. Wait up, guys, I’m a little stuck here:

Wait up 2

No worries. We’re Team Pelican. All for one and one for all; our bills as swords to pledge.

Bills as swords

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

Saturday Snapshot July 23: Traffic Jam

I know my Air B&B (note the purposely altered name) is popular, with free meals, a pool, and all the natural amenities, but I’d never expected an aerial traffic jam with everyone arriving at the same time.

At first they looked like confetti in the sky from afar. Without a wide-angle lens I could only capture a section. Just imagine multiples of these:

confetti

confetti2

With no reservations, I wasn’t expecting them or knew who they were. But I could tell they weren’t gulls. As they came closer, they turned into squadrons of fighter planes:

Pelicans 2

By now, I could see clearly – American White Pelicans, interestingly, converging from opposite directions:

Closer still

No reservations? No problem. Welcome you all!

Welcome

Just make sure you leave a good review. And please make reservation next time.

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.

Saturday Snapshot July 16: Solace

It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

I’d never imagine myself typing these words other than the title of the 1963 comedy. Tragedy instead, and very real, not in a movie. What’s happening these past days can drive one to despair. I’m not just thinking about the celebratory crowd mowed down by a truck, family with children watching fireworks. Or here, a mother murdered in her own home, her five year-old girl missing and three days late, her body found in a field. O, a national anthem and a peaceful baseball game jeopardized by a lone-wolf tenor. Or, a U.S. presidential candidate vowing to declare war once he’s elected.

That’s why I appreciate the Pond more and more these days. Not just to take me away from screens big and small, get some fresh air, breathe in the sight and sound of another world. No need for words, it’s a living testament of Nature reassuring the Maker’s Grace, antidote of madness. Not so much a place to escape but to think, revive, and just be.

Peace returns soon as I step out of the car. How does that song go? All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small. I love them all, well some more than others. Like, I’m partial to the tiny yellow warbler than the muskrat:

Yellow Warbler

I’ve pictures of the muskrat too, but never mind.

The quiet poise of the Eastern Kingbird. Got a juvenile here, I think, from the downy front. Such a tiny creature unknowingly is a carrier of a reaffirming message:

Eastern KB

Yes, even the ‘common’ sparrow (has a name too, Savannah) looks smart and confident. O the comfort of neither having to reap or sow, of being cared for:

The Sparrow

Or no need to worry what to put on. The Cedar Waxwing is often adorned and well groomed, ready for any photo op., yet raising no jealousy:

Cedar Waxwing

It’s a peaceful world out here by the Pond. Another song just come to mind…

And let it begin with us.

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Saturday Snapshot July 2: Summer Visitors

Here at the pond, summer visitors arrive to my natural Air B&B in June from near and far. I admit up here above the 49th parallel, I don’t get as many varieties as I’d like to see, nor as colourful as many of you have down in the south. Still it gives me great pleasure to host them.

Here are some of the avian visitors in the past month. Glad they find my Air B&B suitable for their stay, taking advantage of the pool and the amenities, free breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They are usually shy to be photographed, so I got them in my Air Guestbook unobtrusively.

Some new guests, for me anyway, like Mr. and Mrs. Ruddy Ducks. Hard to get them to come closer for photos, so here’s a blurry snapshot from afar. How do I identify them? The light blue bill of Mr. Ruddy:

Male & Female Ruddy Ducks

A repeat visitor, although not always easy to find, so I’m delighted to host, the Greater Yellowlegs:

Greater Yellowlegs

Families are most welcome. Here are my regular visitors, the CG Family:

The CG Family

Always glad to see them make themselves at home. I got this pic as they took their morning stroll:

A morning stroll

The quiet Spotted Sandpiper soaking in the sun and the sight:

Spotted Sandpiper

And of course, who can beat the free meals while they’re staying here. That’s why they keep coming back, look at this Great Blue Heron helping himself to the buffet:

Buffet meal

Is that a big fish that Mrs. Pelican just gulped in?

And finally, I’ve waited for them for so long, the Yellow Warblers. I know they like their stay. Just listen to their calls as they share on their social platform:

Yellow Warbler

Well, if you’ve got food in your mouth, you can’t call back. No instant messaging here at the buffet table:

No msg

Saturday Snapshot June 4: Meanwhile at the Pond

The pond has been bursting with life.

The past two weeks were prolific for me, not in writing but in shooting. I’ve been able to capture some new discoveries, first time photographing and identifying them. Here they are.

A pair of Common Terns, not common for me. They dart like speeding bullets onto the water to pick out fish but fly so gracefully in the air:

A flying common tern.jpg

Tern flying

The American Coot, not a duck, but a coot. Whatever is the difference, I need to read more:

American Coot

Here’s a pair of Blue-winged Teals. The white crescent behind the bill is the identifying mark. I’ve learned that they are long distance migrants, flying all the way to South American in the winter:

Blue-winged Teal, Male and Female

There’s also the Green-winged Teal, a beauty. Look at the shiny shades of color at the tail:

Green-winged Teal

And on the shore, perching on cattails from last fall, the Yellow-headed Blackbirds. I see the Red-winged Blackbirds all the time, but this is my first sighting of the brilliant yellow heads:

Yellow-headed Blackbird.jpg

YHB

Some of them have a shade of orange, even more handsome:

Orange yellow

Exciting discoveries for this amateur birder. More coming…

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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.