Hello deer

Two new deer pics for you.

First up: the shih-tzu mentioned last post, nose to nose with a Grand Forks white-tail deer drinking spring melt near the southern edge of the Vienna Woods.

Second: a pair of white-tale fawns roaming amongst the Ponderosa Pine of the Vienna Woods in late spring.

A Deer in the Woods...

Two photos this week. (Top) a white-tail fawn, now several months old, pauses in its afternoon wanderings to cautiously observe the photographer and his shih-tzu walking near the Grand Forks, B.C. airport.

(Bottom) a young stag, his early spring rack velvetine, catches the photographer meditating near a power right of way in rural Grand Forks.


I've been feeling somewhat more human the past couple of weeks. I know that a big part of it is due to the weather changing as we head into spring. February wasn't too terribly cold here in Grand Forks, mostly within about five degrees Celsius either side of freezing, but it was typically damp enough and/or breezy enough that it may as well have been 20-30 below as far as my body was concerned. Right now, the weather's down right survivable, at least until the sun sets.

I've also gotten two rolls of film developed: the last of last years and the first of this one's. They've both been scanned and I should have no problem showing two pics next week too.

I think we'll stick with the deer theme for a bit.

Easy Pickin's

I haven't been able to get the film developed yet, my preferred photo lab here in Grand Forks is closed until the end of the month.

So here's something I shot last summer.

I'm still alive and breathing. Who would have thought that not working could take up so much time, but then with work once u're of for the day there usually isn't much time left to get into circumstances that keep u away from the computer for days/weeks.

I've seen woodpeckers around, and found what appears to be an old nesting tree at the far end of the Vienna Woods. I've also gotten a few more deer shots (this time on 800 speed).

Seems just about everywhere i look (and i'm riding my bicycle so i'm covering some pretty good ground) i find Saskatoon berry bushes (the berries here in Grand Forks look to be ready in two-three weeks, roughly) and Oregon Grape shrubs (although i've only seen any with berries).

I also had mangoes for the first time a few days ago. A friend called and asked if i wanted to go to the beach. I had only had one hour of sleep but i went and we ate mangoes under the shade of some trees (the craziest part would probably be that i was expecting the call when i went to sleep and i knew that i was only going to get one or two hours).

Things so far are going well living with my mother for the month. I've pruned trees at three in the morning using a little dollar store LED "miner's" style head light, and i've been weeding the law that we're allowing to go to seed for the present time.

Now, i have to start and get ready for Karaoke tonight.

*just a lightly edited semi-abstract thing today.

Portrait of a Grand Forks Deer

To make up for what i feel may have been a lack of posts recently, here's a preview of my next 10x13" Limited Edition of 5. It should be ready around the beginning of next week. Go ahead, get a nice close look.

For those of u geeky enough to care, that was a 6 second exposure, 80mm and f8 (i think) on Fuji Superia 200ASA; and yes, i did use a tripod; and yes, the fucking deer did pose for me.

Last night was good. I got a few shots from the area of the posted photo previous, before the misting drizzle turned into light rain. Then i went downtown and managed to steal a couple of shots from underneath a well placed awning, before taking a break from the rain with a couple of pints at the Winnie.

Some may be wondering why i didn't pack an umbrella, and it is a valid question, especially considering that i lost out on two or three potentially excellent photos for being without a wee portable awning of my own. While i have shot with the aid of an umbrella in the past, i've found that it tends to be more trouble than it's worth, usually. In the middle of the day, umbrella in one hand, camera in the other, auto-focus on etc., etc., things are tricky. Throw a tripod into the mix and things become downright cumbersome for one person to handle alone (and after dark the 'fun' only multiplies).

Under such conditions an assistant would be most helpful. Now if i can just find someone crazy enough to want to walk three or more miles in the rain while occasionally stopping to hold an umbrella over a camera instead of their self, for no money, and even less glory.

*I crossed paths with this critter on the Trans-Canada Trail in Grand Forks last August. It's taken me this long to figure out how to crop the photo.

Went out photographing this evening. Unfortunately there was a high level haze that left the sky a rather unappealing shade. And this haze was thick enough in the west to leave the light fairly flat. Still, I did snap a few pics of some deer that I came across, and I won't complain about a two hour walk under fairly nice conditions.

I might get out tomorrow if the whether' nice enough (I think I saw something about rain for tomorrow) and if my shoulder's up to it (I need to find some different way of packing my tripod around).

Just a cute puppy pic for U today.

More Grand Forks Deer

I was in to Penticton yesterday. Got the last roll of '06 developed, and picked up a couple print cartiges and some 4x6 HP paper w/ perferated tab (that's the one thing I dislike about my current printer, the damn 1/2 inch minimum boarder on the ass end of every print. Oh well, I'll have a newer, bigger HP in few months). I also picked up a bar of Lindt Excellence Dark chocolate with 85% Cocoa content. Personally, I find it a bit too bitter for eating, but it would be perfect shaved for on top of a Mochachino, or maybe on chocolate cheesecake...

Where was I?

Oh yah, since I showed the field with the deer in it last time, I figured I'd show U some more Grand Forks deer. This fella was photographed (don't want to say shot) on the 14th of last July, maybe 100 -140 feet from house. Now, just to be clear about it, the longest I can go is 80mm worth of lens (just slightly telephoto on a 35mm camera) so I had to get within 30-35 feet of this wee beastie, not to mention crop off about 4.5% of the image, just to get U this close to the critter. Anyway, I think it works as a bit of environmental portraiture a la venison (I think I just found a title for this). As always, click to see it "full size" (400x600).

Last night was good. The temperature was right around freezing and things were a bit foggy/hazy, making for some wonderful light in town (especially with the city's Consumersmas decorations still up). So, anyway, I managed to finish off the last of the final roll of film of 2006, and get a small start on the first roll of 2007 (and partake of a couple of a couple pints, but I digress).

I've almost finished scanning those two rolls of B&W I mentioned a couple posts ago. All in all, this B&W seems to have similar resolution to the colour film I usually use (or it could be that I've run up against the sharpness/contrast limits of my Nikkor zoom lens, I mean U don't exactly expect a kit lens to be made with the best glass in the world, now do U). Beyond that, I do find that this Kodak, C-41 process B&W doesn't seem to hold much detail in the shadows. There just doesn't seem to be much detail in the bottom quarter of the histogram. Not that there's much real detail in that region of a colour neg. either, but what little bit of colour U do get down there seems to make on hell of a substitute, at least to my eyes.

I shot this Grand Forks field last summer. It had been raining on and off a bit. Naturally, it opened up and started to just piss down right as I was setting up the tripod. Those critters are deer, a pretty common sight in GF, U can see 'em a little better in the full size.

(One of the things I've been thinking of doing, is getting a fast, long lens, loading some high speed film and hanging out around dusk, even in town under street light. I've done the math, and 200mm, f2 and ASA800 is totally doable. Maybe in the summer of '08.)

Deer & Beer

Lastnight was kinda interesting. I left home around 6pm, and shot a total of 1/3 of a roll of film including two shots of whitetail (probably a yearling, judging by size) that I was able to get within about 4 metres of, near the local railway trestle on the Trans Canada Trail (more about that when I actually post the pic). I know Diana must have been smiling on me to get close enough to 'fill the frame' with a wild animal while using something as short as 80mm.
The other shots were just my typical landscape crap, we'll see if anything turns out.

Around 9pm, I went to The Winnie and had a couple pints.
Met this bloke, Yuri, and discussed some philosophy. His understanding of the nature of God is similar to mine. I suspect that we have much to teach eachother, although getting him to shut-up long enough to listen may be a problem (I wonder how many beer he had had by the time we met. He wasn't wasted, but may have had enough to be the cause of his verbal diarrhea).

This shot was taken in the small wood near my house, back on 28 April '06. Using a 28-80mm zoom, f8, AP, and a Kodak C-41 400ASA B&W that I haven't used much, (and lightly sepia toned in Photoshop). It was about 5pm, with the contrasty late afternoon light that U get in wooded areas. This is one of only two decent shots that I got of these two does chewing their cuds (I took six shot total).