Motion at night.
The new Wits End Weekly Photo Challenge is Motion.
This is the third version of my response to the challenge after deciding that the first two photos I picked were a bit to obvious.
This is a shot of one of the competitors in the Le Mans 24 hour motorcycle race. The rider is exiting the last turn onto the start/finish straight. Taken around midnight, so 9 hours into the race with 15 to go.
Textures in monochrome.
The new Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is Textures.
Originally it was the subtle texture of the veins of the Ivy leaves that made me think of this shot. Then I wondered if a monochrome conversion would bring out more texture in the bark of the tree trunk.
The monochrome conversion and border was done in Snapseed which I have had on the tablet for some time but am only just getting around to testing.
Niagara Escarpment nature.
The new Lens-Artists Photo Challenge is Nature.
The first thing I did was Google the definition of nature which reminded me that nature includes geology. So I thought of a local geological feature, the Niagara Escarpment, to write a post about.
First, a brief description of the Niagara Escarpment. It runs through several U.S. states and loops up through Ontario, Canada. It’s most well-known feature is the cliff over which the Niagara River flows at Niagara Falls. It form the eastern side of the Bruce Peninsula before disappearing into Lake Huron at the tip of the peninsula.
To the photos.
A large ledge of stone overhangs the Colpoy’s Bay shoreline. There are caves of various sizes in the face of the Escarpment. A pair of Common Raven bred in a small cave in this section in 2018.
A larger section of the Escarpment covered in autumn colour. You can see small sections of the rock face through the trees.
A female Common Merganser with a youngster on her back. Taken on Colpoy’s Bay at the base of the Escarpment. Common Merganser nest in holes in trees so the female could have nested in one of the trees along the Escarpment.
A group of White Trilliums and a solitary Dandelion growing on top of the Escarpment. The White Trillium is the provincial flower of Ontario.
A hodgepodge of tree trunks.
Monochrome Monday travels back to last autumn and the vertical version of a shot I used at the time.
It occurred to me some time ago that the shots may make an interesting monochrome conversion. Having used the horizontal version at the time I decided to try converting the vertical one.
It then sat in my pending folder waiting to be used until something made me think of the word hodgepodge and I was encouraged to use it. To me hodgepodge is one of those words heard quite a lot as a child but that seems to have fallen out of usage these days.
Anyone not familiar with the word a definition of hodgepodge is a confused mixture.
Food.
Except that in the end it wasn’t food in the way I was expecting it to be.
This week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge is Food.
I had a dozen ideas for the challenge, none of which I was particularly happy with. I then remembered this incident and decided to tell a bit of a story.
The first photo shows a Herring Gull standing over a fish covered in sand on the Lake Huron shoreline in Southampton, Ontario. After a while the Herring Gull lost interest in the fish and left it lying on the sand. It was still lying there when I packed the camera away and headed home. But that is the end of the story.
The story begins when an Osprey patrolling the Lake Huron shallows dives in and catches a fish. This is witnessed by various Herring Gulls who then start harassing the Osprey trying to get it to drop the fish. In this photo an immature Herring Gull is coming in from the side of the Osprey in an attempt to steal the fish.
Eventually the Osprey is forced to drop the fish. It lands on the shoreline where an adult Herring Gull claims the fish to pick at it briefly before losing interest.
Looking up?
Or giving the photographer a look of disdain?
The new Weekly Prompt Photo Challenge is Up.
The attitude of this male Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) makes me think it’s a look of disdain for the photographer sitting in the portable canvas hide a few feet away.
Normally they’re looking down, watching for a fish in the water or an insect on the ground. It’s possible the bird was watching something in the air that could be a potential meal or a threat.
