Sunday, May 31, 2015

Hope you like nature photos!

    As you can tell from the title this is not going to be a post about driving bus. Although I am finally going back to work after my surgery. For those of you that saw the video of it draining all I can say is .... COOL EH! Not many people can say this but I miss my job. I just read an email and there is some union crap going on but I just do my job and let the other guys worry about that stuff.

    Its been a very busy week for me as I started to do more and more as my arm started feeling better. I was tired and feeling blah all the time but this week i started feeling better as i watched my surgery heal. I had to help Ben and Bre move Friday and then Saturday we had a group yard sale and bbq. Al and Nina came over and joined us and many tenants made an appearance and enjoyed the food and the sale. A lot of bartering was going between tables and at first i was sure we were going to bring in more than we took out to sell. Patty did very well with her cards! Not sure how it all worked out but Patty made money and i lost money even though i sold a few bigger items.I did get an elephant sprinkler and some NHL poker chips! Not much sleep last few days and I thought Id be in bed around 8pm but here it is past 1 and Im writing this post for my blog.

    Today I did manage to sneak a nap in for almost an hour but then I had to make sure I got up because I didnt want to miss Gwen's piano recital today! Patty had to work so I took a video to show her. Will post it soon as well. Gwen did a great job and I was a very proud Papa sitting there watching. She is growing up so fast!

     After the recital I decided to drive down to the Lagoon to see if there was anything worth photographing. I had to say it was a very good day for me for once where wildlife is concerned! There are always many Herons around but by the time I got my gear [not my rear] out of the truck and down onto the beach a guy skipping stones and some kids in a kayak scared the closest ones away. I decided to take a walk to the other side of the bridge.






    I had been told there was a trail there but i had never tried it before today. I grabbed all the gear i wanted to take with me and locked up my truck. It is a well used trail and was easy to find. I went along for a bit popping out close to the water to see if there was anything interesting. It was very7 scenic but i didn't notice anything worth photographing for a while. I was out on some rocks like a cliff and saw something in the water ahead. I noticed it seemed to be coming my direction so i leaned against a rock and waited.Thats when i realized it was an otter.




    It continued past me and I thought if i ran up the trail i might come out at a spot where i could get a better photo of it. Ive seen a few but never managed to get a half decent photo of one. I got ahead of it and it just kept swimming my way and was getting closer and closer to the shore. I was on a bit of elevated land right above a beach . I was watching it and noticed it was looking for food and eating while swimming. I thought if i needed i would jump down on the beach to get closer but i didn't have to. The Otter got himself a big crab and decided to come up on the beach to eat it. Now one thing I will tell you is that when ever Im close to an animal trying to get a photo i talk to it. Most of them dont seem to mind.











    Talk about being in the right place at the right timer! Photography is some skill but always a lot of luck! With weddings and such there is a pattern or schedule to follow so most of the main stuff is easy. There are always spur of the moment things where sometimes you get it sometimes you dont. With nature its always hit and miss! You can go to a place one day and see nothing but go another and see lots. Also the lighting can be a pain cause you want the sun at your back but you cant control where the animal is compared to the sun. Ive been out to the eagles nest not far from us and have seen them there or seen them fly but the sun has been in the wrong place or i was standing in the wrong place at the time. Last time i was there i stood in a spot that i thought would be good for about 45 minutes. I decided to go for a walk to the other side of the tree the nest is in by going on the trail. As soon as i got on the trail i looked up and the eagle had taken flight and flew right over where i had been standing. I ran back and it did not return the whole time we were there. Anyways as you see i did manage to get a couple half decent shots of this otter eating his  big crab. When he had enough of this crab he went back in the water and started swimming in the same direction so ran up to the trail and ran down to the bridge where i could get on the beach. It took a bit before i saw him again but he swam up close to the beach where he got another crab and brought it up on the beach to eat it. Again I was talking to him saying how he was going to get fat if he kept eating like that then i heard a female chuckle. Her and her boyfriend had come over to see what i was looking at. I felt a little embarrassed but we all had a laugh and they walked away.









    After eating he went back out for a swim and started heading back in the direction from where he came so i thought it was done and was getting ready to leave. All of a sudden he swam back to the beach and ran into the bushes. The couple i had chatted with were back and i had just showed them where to get down on the beach. While they went to look for it in the bushes i headed up to the road to cross the bridge to try and get some more bird photos. I didn't get another shot of the otter but i did see him run across the road to the other beach area.

    Now i was on the other side of the beach and there were a couple Herons that had came back to this area while i was gone. They were trying to catch some fish for their dinner. The one was having lots of luck the other one not so much. When another heron entered the area the one not having luck fishing went after it. Again right place at right time although the light is more behind them so not as bright as i would have liked.


















The winner strutted a bit and the loser flew away but shortly after the winner went looking for the loser. It was a nice afternoon down by the Lagoon and i hope i have another good day like this when Jess is here! 

Have a great day y'all!