paperWERXings...

gorgeous spring day...

had to whip by my office this afternoon to pick-up some work that needed finishing for tomorrow. so naturally i grabbed my gwennie gwen gwen and took the loooooong way home... a drive along the river.

it is a truly spectacular day today. not quite warm. not completely cool. brilliant cerulean blue skies... ahhh, i love spring! so i'm driving along, waiting and watching for a great nature photo-op, and damn if nature wasn't in the mood to cooperate!

you see, it's eagle breeding season in the northwest and we get a huge number of bald eagles in and around vancouver for weeks on end. a couple of days ago, t and i were out for a walk along the river and counted no less than 13 eagles circling overhead near the river bank. clearly there was something going on, but we had no clue... we were completely mesmerized by this ever growing group of eagles circling above our heads, some as low and 100ft above us!

in fact, brackendale bc is famous for it's eagle tours [you can see hundreds of eagles feeding and nesting along the river!! so cool!]...

anyways, i'm driving along the south fraser river heading home and lo and behold, a huge, very beautiful, very photogenic bald eagle appears in a tree just off the road. so i stopped. here's what this magnificent creature looked like in the afternoon sun...

gotta say... i love my new 250mm IS telephoto lens. so amazing the distance and clarity you can get with this beauty!

anyways, as i snapped away at the raptor i must have stepped on a dried up, crunchy leaf because i made some loud noise. this noise must have startled my subject a bit, because a second later he was looking at me like a very large dinner!

needless to say, i think i overstayed my welcome LOL! i left quietly a moment later, all the while marvelling at the beauty of this majestic bird.

hope you have all had a great easter long weekend!

granville island shots...

saturday started off drizzly and grey... but, i think the gods must have known that i was planning a playdate with gwen and by early afternoon, the sun was out and a beautiful late-winter day ensued.

see... all you nay sayers. vancouver is not always wet and grey in the winter! we get some of the most spectacular winter days in february and early march. cool and sunny with temperatures very tolerable 10C. perfect light for photography too... so pure and bright. lovely!

for detailed/fullsize view of the images below, just click on the links at the bottom.

Granville Island, originally uploaded by studiowerx.
1. _granville09, 2. _granville08, 3. _granville07, 4. _granville06, 5. _granville010, 6. Granville Island bakery, 7. Granville Island florist, 8. Granville Island florist, 9. _granville010, 10. _kroma5, 11. _kroma3, 12. _kroma Kroma

goose yoga?

this shot was taken at granville island on march 15.

it was odd... this canada goose just stood there. for a good 10 minutes, on one leg. i think it must have injured its foot [flipper?] and can't put weight on it.

the pose struck me as a litte funny since it seemed distinctly yoga-ish to me. so maybe the goose is in some discomfort but at least it appears to be meditating through the pain. 

can everyone say om? all together now... OMMMMMMM...

goose3, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

the lulu...

the lulu, as we like to call her, has grown up a lot in the last year. she's looking rather regal and elegant these days. all long legs and gorgeous coat. she's a looker that's for sure...

she's still quite a lap kitty even though we [me and t] are merely her subjects, to be ordered about at her whim. to be sat on like a warm pillow. to bring her bonbons and entertain her as she requires. it's a tough life for the lulu... but somehow, she gets by.

hmmm... could the constant cooing over how pretty and smart she is be enabling this air of superiority? we will have to take that under advisement. later though, because it is her majesty's bedtime and the mistress is demanding her bedtime snack. lol... ahhhh the life of a pampered pet.

in my next lifetime i want to come back as a kitty!

Lulu looking pretty, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

granville island...

the sun came out today. yay! and so did me and my girl gwen.

we hit the market on granville island today to do a bit of smelling and tasting. only smelling the fresh baked goodies and NOT tasting was hard, but i've lost 14lbs and that is a big deal. i'm not ruining that for even the best apple streudle tarts in town. what is that old adage? a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.

i guess you just can't eat all the good things can you? i still long for the streudel though... oh well. more for the touristas huh?

i did however indulge in a super juicy, crispy crunchy pink rose apple. yummy! and my body thanked me for it.

i have a bunch more pics to load up for sharing, but we're just headed out for a quick dindin and then casino visit. sooooo... i'll post later this evening and will upload some vancouver springtime pics then. for now, enjoy your streudel tart and wish us luck at the starlight.

Granville Island bakery, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

50mm fixed...

my new 50mm fixed f/1.8 lens arrived today.

i've heard a lot of people swear by this lens. loads of potential for low lighting photo conditions, tight macro shots and cool, artistic depth-of-field [DOF] effects. ali e, gen s. and numerous others love this lens and i can see why.

first... price point is waaaaaay cheap for the one i purchased. $72.50! not bad. it's not a high end lens by any means, but at that price, it's worth a chance at experimenting and playing.

second... i love macros. with my new dslr rig, the existing lens and telephoto, it was a little tough getting right in tight with stuff sometimes. love that i can crawl into a shrub [if i really want to - not!] and shoot away without stressing about the focus being spotty. cool!

third... well, i just really like the images it produces. here are some examples and test shots with the lens.

i plan on hitting granville island tomorrow - weather permitting - for a little urban photo safari. taking the non-traditional seawall, pretty pretty shots is not on the agenda. instead, i'm looking for gritty, rough and interesting. worse comes to worse... i'll shoot in the market. so you may see a bunch of fruit an veggies in the post, but all in all, it should be a fun day. especially if it doesn't rain.