The Ride to Conquer Cancer

Our son Jeff completed his third Ride to Conquer Cancer this weekend.  Its an annual event, a 200 kilometer ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls, over two days.  Mary Ann and I drove to Niagara Falls to meet him on Sunday afternoon.

There were over 5,200 riders this year, and they raised over $20 Million for cancer research at Princess Margaret Hospital, one of the top 5 cancer research hospitals in the world.  By early afternoon, the crowds at the finish line were cheering on their riders. 

Riders came from all walks of life and all ages, from teenagers to one rider in his 90's.  Many were cancer survivors themselves, one rider was blind and rode tandem with his doctor.

Jeff came through the finish line in a pack, so getting a shot of him was a challenge.

Once finished, he was able to relax a little. 

The congestion at the finish line was unbelievable, so we recovered his overnight bag and headed for the car. His knees were bothering him a little this time, so I think he was glad to finish.  And he had some equipment trouble, blowing a few inner tubes on rough roads near the finish. Jeff rode with two friends, Mike and Augustina, and thankfully they were able to lend him their spare inner tubes.  The course was well patrolled by equipment trucks, but who knows how long it would take for them to arrive.

Here is a shot of the three riders after the finish.

And a couple more of Jeff.

Congratulations to Jeff, Mike and Augustina on their finish.  They must have enjoyed themselves, they all signed up to do it again next year.

What would a photography blog be without a photography lesson. Shots of moving subjects are great for capturing the sense of motion.  Panning the subject with a slow shutter speed is the idea, but the trick is to make sure you have a focal point that is not moving very much, and stays in reasonable focus. In the image below, I am focused on the rider's face.  Another trick is to make sure the subject is moving across the frame and not moving toward you or away from you.

[Nikon D3, 24-70mm lens, ISO 200, 62mm, 1/25 at f20]

For more on capturing motion, check out my blog entry from New York City, here.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

The Raptors

While driving back to Victoria from our side trip to Tofino, Mary Ann and I read about a Raptor Centre where eagles and other birds of prey are raised and trained.  We planned on stopping in on our return to Victoria, but learned that the last flight demonstrations were at 3:30 in the afternoon and the venue closed at 4:30.  Alas, it was nearly 5:00 so we missed our opportunity.

But we did find another day to make the drive back to Duncan, about an hour north of Victoria.  Having seen other well run Raptor centres in Ontario, this was a definitely a world class venue.  They have trained birds of prey for roles in feature films and commercials, and they provide birds under contract to airports and waste facilities to keep other birds away.

While walking toward the reception area, we met a trainer with several newly hatched eagles, hawks and owls. What a great first impression! The reception area was a bright space, and very warm, just perfect to keep two Barn Owl chicks cozy.  They were three weeks old, and could barely stand on their own.  My first guess was a Turkey Vulture, but on reflection, I can see the resemblance to adult Barn Owls.

I was hooked on the place already, and had only just arrived.  We were 30 minutes early for the next flight demonstration, so we had a chance to view some of the birds that were perched in the sunlight.

There were several Bald Eagles, Red Tail Hawks, Swainson Hawks, Turkey Vultures and Owls.

The flight demonstrations were well attended, and very interactive with the children in the audience. Although the children did have to hide any plush souvenirs they had purchased in the souvenir shop (for obvious reasons).  And we were told not to raise our hands, also for obvious reasons.  We sere sitting only a few feet from the perches.

Selena was our demonstrator, and was very knowledgeable about the birds she worked with.  Despite her young age, and small stature, she was very confident in her abilities, and in control of the birds.

Here is an image of the Bald Eagle flying to Selena.  When the eagles are in flight, their wingspan can be roughly six feet across, and the talons are very imposing.

Selena also demonstrated the abilities of a Red Tailed Hawk.  Although much smaller than the Bald Eagle, Red Tailed Hawks are adept at blending in with their surroundings, and waiting for a rabbit or rodent to enter the scene.

We also saw Turkey Vultures up close, a face only a mother could love.  They are masters of smell, and can find thermal columns and ride the air currents for hours.

And finally, the Great Horned Owl.  Nocturnal hunters, and more amazing, they are silent flyers.  Prey cannot hear the wings flapping until it was too late, and neither could we.

We were very happy that we found an afternoon to drive back to the Raptor Centre.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Around Victoria

Our trip to Victoria was to help Phil celebrate his 60th birthday. Phil is Mary Ann's brother, and has lived in British Columbia for years.  We don't see him often, so the opportunity to visit was not to be missed. We travelled with Mary Ann's mother Bea, and her niece Aimee and son Simon.

Phil and Susan at brunch.

We had a nice brunch at a restaurant on Cordova Bay.  A beautiful spot on the east side of Victoria.

Victoria is a lovely city, with a population of approximately 400,000 in the Greater Victoria Area. One thing I've noticed about Vancouver Island is the respect the residents have for the environment.  Beacon Hill Park is only a few blocks away from downtown Victoria, yet is clean and well kept, and is teeming with wildlife.

Another example.

But what has the locals excited is the return of nesting Blue Herons.  They had been absent for the last few years because of the aggressive eagle population, but have returned to Beacon Hill Park this spring.  The pine trees were full of nests.

The squawking of the chicks reminded me of Heron nesting grounds in Florida.

The notion that these birds have chosen a downtown location to nest is absolutely amazing to me.

[Photographer's Note: I only had a 80-200mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter on a full frame camera, so I wished I had more glass with me.]

The find was unexpected, and very rewarding.  I could photograph these birds all day.

I've got one more series of photos from the trip, so stay tuned...

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Wild Pacific Coast

The coastline near Tofino is part of a series of trails called the Wild Pacific Trail.  The highway between Tofino and Ucluelet is full of walking trails down to the beach, some easy walking, others with hundreds of steps down to the beach.

We stayed at the Best Western Tin Wis Resort just outside of Tofino.  The name means "calm waters" as it is located in a sheltered bay.  Here is a photo of the beach just outside of our room at low tide.  Nice and calm, the Pacific isn't so rough...

Once we drove outside of our sheltered bay, the Pacific was much rougher. There was a group on the beach taking surf lessons.  Now I understand the reason for the many surf shops.

Here is a shot of Mary Ann watching the surfing lessons, trying to pick up a few pointers.

Closer to the south end of the peninsula, the coastline was much more rugged.  The trees were definitely windblown.

Once we reached Ucluelet at the south of the peninsula, the weather was a little better.  There is a short walking trail through the rain forest to the lighthouse.

That wraps up the blog posts from Tofino, now we are back in Victoria.  Maybe another few blog entries before heading home...

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Bear Watching in Tofino

Tofino is well know for two activities, whale watching and bear watching. The weather has been overcast and rainy since we arrived, so the thought of heading out into open water chasing whales did not have much appeal. But what did appeal to us (well Ok, just me), was travelling along a sheltered shoreline in a zodiac looking for bears.

At low tide, the bears come out of the forest down to the beaches in search for crabs, or clams. Salmon are not heading inland to spawn until autumn, so this is the only source of protein for the bears. We signed up for a two and a half hour bear watching trip. There are many tour companies offering bear watching, but we chose Remote Passages, since they specifically designed their tours for photographers.

They used small zodiacs to get in close, and the groups are smaller, no more than 6 people. There were only three of us on our tour. Our guide Peter knew the islands pretty well, and wasted no time heading for bears.

As I mentioned, the weather was typical for Tofino, overcast and rain. The tours are very well organized - we watched a safety video and were fitted with survival suits, rain coats, gloves, toques, and ski masks to keep the rain from much of your face.  While travelling in open water, the rain seemed heavier, each raindrop felt like we were being hit in the face with rocks, so the ski masks really helped.  Before long we were scanning the coastline for bears, and it didn't take long to find them.

Peter thought our first bear was a juvenile, or a small female because of the smaller size.

She kept looking up at the trees, so Peter quickly found a small cub up in a nearby tree.  Mothers teach their cubs to climb trees when the mother is away from them looking for food.  Once she realized it was safe, she called the cub out of the tree.  We then realized there were two cubs, very small, probably 3 or 4 months old.

She spent most of her time watching the beach and the tree line for predators, she was not too concerned about us in the water.  The cubs were not really interested in looking under rocks, they were more interested in wrestling with each other.  Kids will be kids.  Eventually they made their way back into the forest to safety, and to feed the cubs.  At that age, they would still be breastfeeding.

We moved along as well, and we found a larger male looking for food.  He was quite a bit bigger that the female.

He could easily turn over rocks that were 100 pounds or more with a single paw, his left one at that.  He kept an eye on us, much more than the female, and grunted at us a few times to let us know it was his beach.

In addition to the bears, we saw bald eagles and sea lions.  But after a couple of hours, we were finished (and soaked).

A tip for photographers - use a Storm Jacket to keep your camera and lens dry in the rain.  Best gadget in the camera bag that day.

Given the cold, and rain, Mary Ann was a trooper - she took one for the team.  I was quite happy out on the water, but I think she was done after about 5 minutes of bear watching.  Been there, done that.  She was very happy to get back to shore...

Thanks to Peter and all the staff at Remote Passages for their hospitality!

Next up is a few from the Pacific coastline. Stay tuned.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Two Days in Tofino

May has been a busy month.  Mary Ann and I are in Victoria, BC to help celebrate her brother Phil's 60th Birthday.  We are travelling with her mother Bea and her niece Aimee and her seven month old son Simon.

I've always wanted to visit Tofino, part of Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island's west coast.  Because of the timing of parties in Victoria, the only chance Mary Ann and I had to travel to Tofino was the day after arriving. We arrived in Victoria on Tuesday May 20, then took off for Tofino on Wednesday for two nights.

Tofino is a resort town on the west coast, about a 4 hour drive from Victoria.  The drive north to Nanaimo is over a well developed highway.  Once in Nanaimo, the drive west over the Vancouver Island Mountain range becomes a little more adventurous.  Port Alberni is about half way across the island, and the roads from that point on are little more than logging roads.  Mary Ann is not the world's best traveller where cliffs and hairpin turns are involved, so that part of the trip was memorable....

Clayoquot Sound has been inhabited by First Nations people for the last 5,000 years or so.  The west coast of Vancouver Island was explored in the 1770's by Spanish explorers.  The current town of Tofino was settled by Europeans in the early 1900's as a fishing town.  Once the logging roads reached the coast in the 1950's, Tofino became popular as a tourist destination. Today, the tourism industry is the largest industry in the area.

The town is a mix of nautical businesses, such as commercial fishing, sport fishing, whale watching and bear watching, as well as the tourism industry such as resorts, restaurants and shopping.  The wharf was an interesting place to hang out, with lots of interesting buildings.  These buildings probably began as fish processing plants, but are now shopping and restaurant destinations.

The age of the locals and visitors was much younger than we had expected.  In addition to the typical middle aged tourist (ourselves included), a surprising number of young people lived, worked or were visiting the area.  Hence the popularity of the dozens of surf shops and coffee shops in town.

Rhino quickly became our favourite coffee shop.  They make home made donuts every day, and the "Bro Nut" is not to be missed.  A breakfast sandwich made of a fried egg, bacon, lettuce and tomato, all on a fresh donut.  And the donuts are made from a beer batter.  All the major food groups! We were ready to trade in our Starbucks cards for one of theirs....

And some of the housing was a mix of old and new, many of which had been converted to aft galleries and boutiques.

Even the harbour was an interesting collection of float planes, and a few float-houses.  We found out, that this is an economical housing option since these houses do not pay real estate taxes.

Next up is our Bear Watching adventure. Stay tuned.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Capturing a Moment in Time

It has been said that photography is all about "Capturing a Moment in Time". That split second shutter release, where everything in the image is sharp as a tack.  When I'm shooting wildlife and nature, that is the goal.

Or is it always about the sharpness of an image?  As I became a better technical photographer, meaning I can capture sharp images, I'm beginning to realize that there is more to this.  I'm fascinated by the ability to take a two dimensional image (capturing that moment in time), yet somehow capture a sense of time and motion.

That is the focus of this blog entry (get the pun?).

This image was taken while shopping on 5th Avenue, NYC.

Another technique is to keep everything in the frame sharp, except the subject of the motion.  In the image below, its the taxis that are the subject in motion.

I find that images with people in motion are very interesting.  The image below was tricky because of the bright lights from the signs in Times Square.  A shutter speed too slow, and the lights would be overexposed.

There are many other techniques for capturing motion, here is an example of panning the camera up and down while taking the exposure.

Here is an example of zooming in while taking the exposure.

And finally, one of my favourites, a multiple exposure.  5 shots, blended together in camera.  For a subject like Times Square at night, I love the chaos, the lights, the cars, the people...

So, depending on your objectives, not all images have to be sharp as a tack. Having said that, the attraction to art (and photography) is a personal thing, and this may not be for everyone.  But it is something I find more and more fascinating.

By the way, here is a link to galleries of all of the images front he New York trip.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side.  It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you.  If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics.  You should then see the signup box on the right side.

Here is a link to the full gallery from NYC.

We are off to Victoria BC tomorrow to see Mary Ann's brother Phil and wish him a Happy Birthday.  Hopefully I will have some interesting images to post while we are away.  Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading...

Mark