C B Images

Photography by Chris Bates

2013

Confederation Park Path Fall 2013
Confederation Park Path: ISO 200,15mm, f/6.3, 1/400

Confederation Park Fall 2013
Confederation Park Fall 2013: ISO 200, 19mm, f/7.1, 1/160


It has been a long while since I posted to my photo blog. This past October we put our Red Deer home up for sale and made a move south to Airdrie.

My photo journal will undergo some changes as my main theme was images from the backyard. Our new backyard is pretty tiny and undeveloped compared to our past home in Red Deer. I will have to venture away from the yard and explore new things in our new home. Perhaps pushing me out of my comfort zone and getting out into the “wild”.

The above images are from one of my last photo walks in Red Deer before our big move. As you can see it was a pretty spectacular one as the way the fall sun was hitting the leaves on my walk home. It is the end of another season but like always I am sure what is coming next will inspire me.

Feeding Squirrel
Feeding Squirrel: ISO 800, 200mm, f/6.3, 1/160

Feeding Squirrel II
Feeding Squirrel II: ISO 800, 149mm, f/6.3 1/125

Peering Squirrel
Peering Squirrel: ISO 800, 159mm, f/6.3, 1/160

I filled our bird feeder earlier this week. The neighbourhood squirrels are feasting on the sunflower seeds and peanuts. There is a Blue Jay flying around the backyard waiting his turn and squeaking is displeasure that he has to wait.

Delphenium Bokeh
Delphinium Bokeh: ISO 800, 159mm, f/4.0, 1/4000

Delphenium Bokeh II
Delphinium Bokeh II: ISO 400, 145mm, f/4.0, 1/2000

I noticed this backlit delphinium in our garden late last month. I also noticed how the sun was hitting the large black patio umbrella in the background. Combine the two using a zoom lens and these are some of the results you get.

Bat in Umbrella
Bat Hiding in Umbrella: ISO 800, 122mm, f/4.0, 1/125

I opened up one of our patio umbrellas yesterday afternoon and noticed this little bat hiding from the sun.

I didn’t have any True Blood to offer him!

Chickadee Surprise © Chris Bates 2013
Chickadee Watching: ISO 200, 200mm, f/6.3, 1/1250

As I was waiting for the wrens to come back and feed their new additions to their family this chickadee perched right in front of me.

Wren Feeding Time
Breakfast Time: ISO 200, 200mm, f/6.3, 1/1600

I set up a bunch of bird houses in our backyard a few years ago. Every year but the last a wren pair had used one of them to start a new family. This year I was losing hope that they would again not use a house . It seemed they were busy building a nest in the neighbours’ trees.

Last week the wrens were getting agitated whenever someone or something invaded our backyard. Watching the wrens revealed that they had set up a nest in the birdhouse I set up in our garage side garden.

I got this image by sitting down on the lawn waiting for the wren to take its usual path from the back fence to the bird house. As you can see by the picture the bug is almost as big as this small bird. I also took the shot mid morning so that the low sun would illuminate the garden and bird.

IMG_0046
Playful Waxwing: ISO 400, 140mm, f/8, 1/4000

IMG_0120
Air Brakes: ISO 400, 400mm, f/8, 1/1600

IMG_0193
Crows: ISO 400, 110mm, f/6.3, 1/500

I believe that spring might finally have arrived in Red Deer, Alberta! The snow is almost gone and the temperatures are finally starting to rise. It was a nice sunny day yesterday but there was still a nip of cold that you needed a jacket.

My camera has been collecting dust the last few months. I felt I needed to take it out for a walk and shake the cobwebs from the camera and the creative side of my brain.

I thought the best place for it was the Kerry Wood Nature Centre which is just a few paces from our backyard. I knew some of the migrating waterfowl should be there for a rest or, in the case of the grebes, their final destination.

As the afternoon went on, I started practicing my panning skills. Panning is trying to freeze a subject by following it with your camera. As I was using a long telephoto zoom this turned out to be quite difficult. If you zoomed in too close it was card to keep the fast moving birds in sight. Also a long zoom lens tends to be quite big and heavy. Yesterday afternoon turned out to be a workout both mentally and physically.

Red Deer Bunny copy
Red Deer Easter Bunny: ISO 200, 24mm, f/5.6 1/400

The weather in Red Deer is finally warming up and starting to feel like spring. I took a walk yesterday to enjoy the sunshine.

With Easter around the corner I decided to walk by the Red Deer Public Transit terminal to take a shot of the Brick Bunny. As you can see he is trying to warm up from the long, cold winter. The snow should melt off his body in the next few days which would be in time for him to hide the Easter Eggs.

Bottle of Coke
Bottle of Coca Cola: ISO 800, 23mm, f/7.1, 1/50


Bottle of Coke (looking down)
Looking Down on a Bottle of Coke: ISO 800, 35mm, f/7.1, 1/30

To my regular visitors, I am sorry about the lack of updates recently. Work has taken over my life this past month.

I missed my camera and thought I would play around with my it to get my creative juices flowing again. The above two images are not the normal subject matter posted on my blog but I found this bottle interesting for a number of reasons. First, the signature Coca Cola shape. Second, the colours of the bottle itself and the iconic red.

Hopefully this is the start of my inspiration and getting me motivated to post more regularly.