brandon

Drove up to Burnaby Mountain tonight after work in hopes of getting a sunset picture.......I had never been to Burnaby Mountain before so I didn't really know what to expect......the view wasn't exactly what I was hoping for but after scouting for a bit I finally found a place to take the picture I was hoping for......after I took the pano I snapped another picture that I thought looked cool because of the "hazyness" of the different distances.....I also included the Lions Gate Bridge in the photo......enjoy

amazing painting......just looks so peaceful and calming

very nice.....i like the first one the best.....the tracks really lead the eye through the picture

I took a nap after taking the first batch of pictures and when I woke up I decided to make the most of the day and head to Boundary Bay again to try for some Northern Harrier or Short-Eared Owl pictures.......I only found an Owl......Saw it take off from a fence post and eventually land in a tree. I crawled through the grass and after about 15 minutes I finally got close enough for a picture.....enjoy

went back to Reifel bird sanctuary today to see how the baby owls were doing and I'm glad I did because they weren't all tucked away like usual. 2 of them were still up in the nest and one had somehow made it about 40 yards from the nest and was about 10' off the path at eye level. I couldn't decide which pics I liked the best so heres a bunch......some of the cropped in ones aren't the greatest but due to other things in the photo it was the only way to make them sort of salvageable.....anyways enjoy check out the massive talons on this little guy this one might be my favourite......still not sure though

both look great to me.....you're very talented!

Today I headed to the migratory bird sanctuary once again just to kill some time and I just took pics of random waterfowl and birds.....the owls were quite boring so I let them be for today......anyways here ya go Ruby Crowned Kinglet some mallard pictures blah blah blah 2 American Coot pictures this guy gave me a funny look Not exactly sure what kind of waterfowl this is but I'm sure somebody can figure it out......anyways he was lookin for a high five i think and some sandhill crane pictures I'm not sure if you guys have noticed but I try to capture the comedic side of wildlife/birds......not as much as I would like with wildlife but lately with birds that's what I've been going for....hopefully you guys see the humour in some of the pictures too.....anyways hope you enjoy this latest batch

I went back to that migratory bird sanctuary today to check out how the baby Great Horned Owls were doing.....and they're growing quite fast. I was also able to get a few pictures of the mother but the father was in a branchy location.....not sure if branchy is a word but I'm sure you get the point lol anyways here are 2 pics of the babies and 2 of the momma It was pretty cloudy when I took this picture and I HATE pictures with a white sky......they just look too blah....so I tried to still make this picture useable by making it black and white..... The clouds cleared for this next picture so I left it in colour.....however in black and white it looks cool too because the fuzzy feathers around the owl almost give it a halo look and here are 2 candid shots of the mom Owl..... big yawn.... I'm sure it gets tiring standing in a tree all day long.......leg stretch time Last time I posted the owl pictures somebody asked about waterfowl shots......so these.....are for you I really didn't like taking this picture because its a duck on a very unappealing gravel path......however at this place its either that or in muddy water......and the owls were being boring so I took a pic of this Wood Duck as it walked by

thanks guys........and funny you should mention that.......I start a job in the Queen Charlotte Islands at the end of may as a general help at a fishing lodge......I'll also be their head photographer.....i'll be getting a base salary for the general help part and tips for that....as well as commission from photos i sell and additional tips from that so I'm pretty excited. It's just a summer job but it's also a photography job I can actually put on my resume which is probably the most important thing to me right now

The sign in the left of the original was really distracting so I cropped the picture a bit and I think I've settled on this look for the final version

Headed back to Tsawwassen once again tonight to try for some more bird in flight pictures but after about 10 minutes of being there, the sun sank behind some clouds and was gone for the night. I didn't even have enough time to get to where the harriers and owls usually are but I managed these 2 pictures Great Blue Heron in some cattails Cottontail in the grass On my way back to the truck I heard this loud rumble of thunder.....If you've ever been in Vancouver for a long period of time you'll know that it very rarely thunderstorms out here.....so that thunder really grabbed my attention. I turned around and looked north and the sky was black......Vancouver was completely blanketed by thick black clouds and it was really weird seeing it like that because it was so nice where I was.....well not too nice but it was still bright. While driving back to the city I couldn't help but stare at the sky....until I saw a coyote......So I took an exit off the highway and cruised some fields looking for 'yotes to take pics of but couldn't find anymore. While on some of the farm roads the sky still kept catching my eye even when it was in my rear view mirror.....and thats when I saw what I wanted to take a picture of.....there was a red field, a white house, yellow lines on the road, and a black sky....taken as a panoramic....enjoy when I actually got back into the city the weather was quite strange......some areas it was only rain...some only snow......some only hail........or some all 3......either way it was an interesting sight and I'm glad I captured some of it on my camera.....from a distance anyways

Headed out to take some pictures tonight after work and here is what I came up with...... A few flower pictures.. Red-Winged Blackbird American Robin Common Crow Juvenile American Kestrel poor shot of a short-eared owl....included it anyways and a sunset to end the day

Cliff......you could rent that to fleming students in a heartbeat.......I rented a place on sturgeon my second year at fleming and it was perfect

nah no waterfowl pics on that trip....hard to justify taking waterfowl pics when theres a nesting pair of great horned owls........not to mention i filled all 3 gigs of memory I had.....I plan on taking more diverse pictures next time including some of the sandhill cranes that live there too. One problem with taking waterfowl pictures there is that the water is all muddy.....which doesn't look too great....I may however just sit and wait for some flight shots.....I'll be sure to post them when I get them though

I wasn't really expecting to take pictures today because the weather was supposed to be pretty crappy....but when I woke up it was a beautiful day. When I'm out taking pictures I often end up talking to other photographers and a few have mentioned this great place to photograph birds....the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Ladner, BC. This place was awesome......from songbirds to waterfowl to birds of prey, this place had it all. A 4$ entry fee gets you into the sanctuary and is it ever worth it. Here are a bunch of photos from today These first 2 are of a Rufous Hummingbird This one is a Black-capped Chickadee Here is a Canada Goose sitting on her nest A Northern Flicker taking a break from pounding its head off of this tree Alright now for the highlight of the trip.....The main reason I wanted to go to this place was because I was told there was a nesting pair of Great Horned Owls.....These beautiful birds have a nest in a pretty convenient place....right next to the trail. The pair of Owls have 3 babies and they are nestled in the "V" of an old Cottonwood tree. Since the babies are almost the same colour of the tree and quite small, they are very hard to see in the first place and especially hard to take pictures of.....here are a few peek-a-boo pics of the babies......some of the pictures aren't as sharp as I would like but I thought I would post them anyways I tried to get some pictures of the mother who was in a pine tree a few feet from the Cottonwood but she was so well covered by branches that the pictures didn't turn out too well.....however the father was in a more visable spot on the opposite side of the babies as the mom.... here are some shot of him pre-stretch leg stretch flexing those huge wings enjoy

ya Deano the falls are just massive.....you really have to see them to understand the size.....I was looking for a trail to get to the top but the only way would be to Hike up the Chief in Squamish then take a trail south to the shannon river and bushwhack your way to the top......It would probably take a day or 2 to hike but man would it make for some good pictures

Got my butt outta bed at 5 this morning and drove to Boundary Bay again for some sunrise pictures......not so much of the sunrise itself, but more of things with the awesome sunrise lighting. Here is the sun rising above the mountains of Washington State.....Mt. Maker is to the right of the photo and wasn't looking as good as I was hoping so I left it alone today.... Next I came across a male Northern Harrier hanging out above what I think is where the nest is located As I continued on my walk I spotted a large bird in a tree.....here's 2 shots of it After photographing that eagle I turned and headed back towards the parking lot and came across this little guy....it's a Marsh Wren And just before I reached the parking lot I saw another Eagle in a tree....this time it was a Juvenile Bald Eagle.......here are 2 shots I drove back home and my roommate wanted to take advantage of the beautiful day so we headed up the coast to Squamish for some Bouldering......I didn't take many pics of that but on the way back we stopped at Shannon Falls..... this is just a picture from the lookout If you've ever been to Shannon Falls you know how large it is and that first picture doesn't quite illustrate that too well....so for this one I included 2 people in the lower left side of the photo And finally just a picture of a family looking at the falls and my roommate taking some pictures

CORRECTION........that is NOT a Barred Owl......I did some searching and it is actually a Short-Eared Owl

Hopefully you guys aren't getting tired of all the Boundary Bay/Tsawwassen pictures but its one place I can consistently find birds to take pictures of.....so heres a few more from tonight This one is similar to one I took yesterday however I was able to get even closer to this guy....could even be the same bird As i was walking back to the parking lot I saw this guy sitting on a fence showing off its beautiful eyes.....it's a Short-Eared Owl And lastly a scenery shot.....Cattails silhouetted by the setting sun

I wanted pictures of birds in flight but my timing was off........the Harriers were just settling down for the night and the owls were still roosting so I only managed one decent flight picture and the other 2 are perched shots.....enjoy Northern Harrier in Flight Northern Harrier perched on a fence post Barred Owl getting ready to cruise the fields

I'm not having much luck sleeping tonight so I drove to West Vancouver and took these 2 black and white pictures at Ambleside Park...... The Lions Gate Bridge is in the background.... And here is just the bridge....West Vancouver on the Left......Stanley Park/Vancouver on the Right

I left the dark cloud covered city of Vancouver today and headed to Lighthouse Park in West Van for some sunset pictures...... here is just a shot of the top of the lighthouse and here are 2 pictures of the sun setting behind Bowen Island

Still looking for a decent eagle picture I headed back to Boundary Bay tonight after work. Once again they were there, but way out on the sand flats. I tried getting fairly close but they spook easily.....plus its still a fairly boring picture of just an eagle sitting on a beach. To compensate for the boring eagle on a beach picture but still making it an interesting picture, I decided to include Mt. Baker, Washington in the background.... I gave up shortly on the eagles and focused more on Great Blue Herons which were quite plentiful and active. This first picture is one landing Here is a Great Blue reflection This one spotted a fish... and it would not be dissapointed... and lastly a picture of a Barred Owl......the sun was completely down so the lighting is quite poor......but I thought I'd share it anyways...... enjoy

Headed to Boundary Bay tonight after work in search of an Eagle photo for a buddy but they weren't too cooperative. The only ones there were hanging waaaay out in the sand flats of low tide.....here is the only decent eagle pic I got Even though the eagles weren't as I was hoping, I still took a few more pictures while I was there Here is a messy drinking female mallard and here we have a Northern Pintail......love the colours on these guys As I was walking I woke up this sleeping mallard in a field.......theres a lot of coyotes in the area.......and I now understand why.....easy meals A bunch of these guys scattered into the underbrush as I walked......this one however tried the "if im still you can't see me" technique.... Now I'm not too sure what kind of bird this is.....I haven't really looked into it yet but I'm open to your knowledge And I'm not a big fan of taking pictures of crows because they lack colour and are quite boring....however I couldn't pass up the lighting in this picture.....and I included the green grass for a bit of colour

after I posted the first batch of pictures I went out and took a few more......enjoy and these 2 are from yesterday right after I bought the lens......don't mind the white sky behind the funny looking eagle.....these pics were merely just testing the lens.....and the one of the crow has been changed to black and white for a spooky feel