Wolf Blood Moon Eclipse

I missed getting outside early enough to capture an image of the moon rising at the horizon which ticked me off, frankly, because I was adjusting camera and charging batteries, but went to my friends place and planted myself on her balcony and took photos there using my 70-300 mm zoom lens and 18-55 mm lens.

It seemed to move rather quickly after appearing on the horizon at 4:37 p.m. mountain time. I took many photos and am glad because at least twice as many had motion blur affected by camera movement because my tripod is a flimsy one. Had supper and watched the moon rise over those tall buildings, then headed to the edge of the river valley to shoot some more.

A full moon prior to the eclipse that started at 8:30p.m.mst.

The eclipse has started and the clouds made for an interesting composition.

There was a sense of camaraderie meeting and chatting with neighbours out on the street to witness this natural phenomenon.

It was also referred to as a Wolf moon, and sure enough, people were howling from their balconies on surrounding apartment buildings

getting close to full totality at 9:30 p.m.

It was harder to see at this point and I had to constantly adjust my camera settings as I was shooting in full manual mode

Full totality from 9:41 until 10:43 p.m.-the blood moon caused by light from the sun reflecting off of surrounding celestial bodies, to my understanding .

It was a great night and met a few people that I wouldn’t ordinarily meet. So glad that I made the effort and got outdoors and very happy that the temperature rose around zero after being a bitter windy -20 two days earlier. I quit after this because I broke one of the legs on my tripod and couldn’t focus on the moon because of shakiness and light pollution from the environment I was in, but so happy with what I captured.

More good news…I went to the ophthalmologist today and while it could be an even longer wait, the surgery for cataracts is being expediated to around 4-6 months. Will be getting surgery on both eyes, each a few weeks apart. Maybe I will be out capturing images of birds this spring or summer. I am thrilled!

Looking Back on Last Year

I thought that I would look back, I know a bit later than most people, at photos from last year.

Bull Bison at Elk Island National Park in Fall

It has been a good year of life experiences, photo shoots in the city streets and at the parks. I am looking forward to more shooting opportunities, time with friends and family and communing with nature. Life is a Blessing!

Going with the Flow, Sort Of

I decided to make some changes in my blog post. I am sticking with the same theme, but moved the contents of the Sidebar to the Footnotes. Moving the Sidebar allows me to make my photos larger.

Then there is this little change in the editing tool. I thought I would try this new block format and at first tried Photos only but then couldn’t write the usual paragraph or two at the top of my blog. When I used the combination of photo/text block, the app would set a paragraph at the side of a photo, making the photo smaller. I didn’t want that, so I came back online to try some more options, starting with the paragraphs which I see that I can do if I set the Block type to “text”. Now, will I be able to insert the photo below?

**Looking toward Hawrelak Park, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.**

Yes, I can! Now, can I revert back to writing? Oh, yes, I can! I am going to like this new app after all. The only thing I miss is the old font on my actual website. I see that I can put a big capital at the beginning of the paragraph. It is BIG, even in normal font and I think it would look nice in the old font, a nice script. The choice for the “drop cap” or BIG Letter is in the box to the right of the page.

I notice more choices just above the paragraph, too, such as big header print, quotes, lists, etc.

I think I am starting to “get” it and notice that I need to go to photo gallery to upload a photo, cannot do it directly onto this page, but that is not a problem. I will choose to keep my font and text colours the same, as these apply to the paragraph only, not the whole blog. Maybe I can play with this later because there is more to learn! I wanted to share this with you, fellow bloggers, in case you are having some difficulty.

Ha, I was going to write “a quick blog”. Two hours later…The best to all of you.

Outdoor Shapes and Texture

**I Decided to Play with Filters while Editing since it was Such a Dull Day**.

**Trees and Grasses along the Trail were Beautiful and the High Contrast Easier to See**

**I like how the Foreground and Background are Similar.**

Lured by Chickadees

Though the temperatures dipped a bit between Christmas and New Years, it has been a mild winter. We had a snowfall then warm temperatures above zero on New Years day, which was all the incentive that I needed to go to the river valley and try to capture images of any bird I could find. I was lucky that there was a man feeding a squirrel and the chickadees, too. I hung around where he dropped the seeds and nuts and gazed until I saw movement, then raised my camera to my eye and focused on the squirrel or bird through the viewfinder, then clicked, sometimes successfully capturing an image.

Yes, I did get fur and feather blurs but also got fairly-focused images. I felt joy being outdoors and hearing the calls of Chickadees, Magpies and possibly a Robin and some Pine Grosbeaks.

: Looks a Little Awkward, but I am glad s/he paused for a Moment

: Whoops , not Fast Enough

: Thank Goodness for Those Pauses and No Sticks in front of it

: Another Oops

: Very Dull Light: a Challenge to get an Eye Glint

: Happy to get the Colour in this Magpie’s Feathers

: Stuffing his Beak until he had a Mouth-full of Corn

: I Love the Wing Feather Patterns from the Back

: I also Loved Hearing the Flutter of their Wings as they Flew over my Shoulder to get to the Food

It was a most enjoyable walk which I need a lot more of after enjoying all those Shortbread Cookies, Chocolate, Turkey and Ham dinners. Happy New Year Everybody!

The Edge of the Valley

Quiet, except for the slap of the skis on the trails and the puncture of the poles in the snow as skiers glide along the valley below me.

Lines of tree branches stretch, standing out from the grey in the distance.

I look up the stairs, and plod upwards , stopping every now and again to take in the view and catch my breath.

It was a dull, overcast day, but mild enough for a leisurely walk along the valley. I enjoyed it very much, though couldn’t capture an image of the chickadees that stopped to inspect me. Maybe next time.

Merry Christmas!

I like this photo of the advent wreath celebrating the weeks before Christmas waiting for Jesus’ arrival. The candles represent Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. The white candle in the middle is the Christ candle, lit on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve. In the distance you see people visiting, a time of coming together to celebrate.

I follow the Christian tradition of beholding the birth of a vulnerable child, God with us, meditating on Love and Light, celebrating the life of Jesus the Christ and trying to live as God would have me do.

I respect all other beliefs and wish everyone Peace.

Love that Horsey Smell!

Many years ago, I took a horsemanship course in Ontario. I worked with a great bunch of students and though I failed, I learned a lot of horsemanship and personal skills and got a couple of jobs working with horses after that. One of the women that I took the course with looked me up on Facebook this year and left a message. It turns out that we live not too far apart and we finally connected this past week , the first time in 39 years!

We visited horses, of course, and though I didn’t ride, I petted them and took photos while we caught up on what we have been doing all this time. It was very humbling to try to step between the rails and found I needed to grab my leg and inch it over the rail, straddle the bottom rail, then slowly inch my other leg over. Pathetic! What tiny bit of muscle I have is tight, tight, tight! I am definitely not ready to ride, or even get on. I have something to work for now and even if I can’t build my strength and balance and flexibility to where I want, I will improve.

I was quite happy taking photos and just smelling that horsey sell on myself. We had so many memories to share and it was a fun afternoon.

IMG_0348-2 — Running around the exercise paddock

Lights On at the Legislative Assembly

Despite a slight drop in temperature and a breeze that carried a chill, I met a friend at the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to celebrate the turning on of the holiday lights. I rushed to get there and made it on time, but no fears, there were speeches to make and then the countdown with a cheer rising up from the crowd of people that were gathered. Carollers stood on the front steps of the government building and sang some of my favourite Christmas tunes and hymns and the smell of hot Cocoa wafted through the air. I thought I would leave right after my friend left, but I got curious about what the view would look like from this point, and another. I sang along with the carollers and walked the grounds to get “just one more shot.”

IMG_0173-2-2 — Crowds are arriving and getting a good vantage point on the upper plaza

IMG_0176-2-2 — After speeches , a countdown and Hurrah! The lights are on!

IMG_0189-2-2 — Walking down to the main grounds

IMG_0191-2-2 — The star went out on the main tree but still lots of lights to see

IMG_0212-2 — We got some snow this week-adds to the holiday cheer.

IMG_0215-2 — Standing in line for hot cocoa

IMG_0234-2 — A view from the side-hope they get the star lit up again.

IMG_0236-2 — The front of the Legislative Assembly-where concerts will take place inside under the dome.

IMG_0248-2 — The plaza on the upper level.

The Beauty of Lights

After the party at the church on Saturday, I could not resist hitting the streets in the neighbourhood to capture images of the lights from the decorations and the passing cars. I haven’t been shooting regularly for about a month and I felt joy as I got outside and played again.

During the editing process, I experimented with warm and cool tones and some cropping because there was more in the viewing fame that I wanted with the 18-55mm lens. I plan to go back with my zoom lens and see what I can do with it.