If these aren't vibrant...

...than I don't know what is!

Guessing Game

So I didn't really take any photos today (with a few exceptions Pam!) but I did manage to take one, just for fun. Can you guess what it is?

Identify this plant!

I'm cheating a little today because I took these photos yesterday. I did take some photos today but I have to keep them a secret for a couple of days because they are of a gift I have for someone who frequents my blog somewhat regularly. The recipient would know right away it was for them if they saw the photos.
So anyway, back to the question at hand. I'm pretty sure this is nothing more than a weed but I actually think it's quite lovely. I found several of these plants on my little walk yesterday through part of the development (where I live) that's still in its infancy. From a distance these actually look like dying/wilted flowers but upon closer inspection they look like little goldfish...or at least that's what I think they look like. The flowers are about the size of a quarter. Any guesses as to what it is?!?!

Prickly and still pretty

I found these echinacea plants around the corner. I had no idea that white varieties existed!

This is just a cropped version of the above shot.
I love colours and squiggles!

So pretty!

Top view

And in keeping with the prickly theme, I also found a thistle...

Where there are flowers....

....there are bees!
In preparation for my exam at the end of August I have been given a month off from my lab work. This means I don't leave the house nearly as much as I normally do so today I'm posting a shot of the newly-blooming dahlias in my front yard. This one just started to open today.

Every time I go out to check on my flowers, I see 2 or 3 bees hovering around these spots on the tree that my flower bed is built around. I'm not exactly sure what's attracting them but it must be good because they're always there.

Watching grass grow

Some days are interesting....some not so much...like today :)
I was kinda dreading the blog update for today because the most interesting thing I did was go to Henry's (photography store, if you don't know) and NOT buy anything!! I didn't have a photo plan and my back is still bothering me so I'm not about to get all acrobatic for picture-taking. In addition, I've got a lot on my plate these days with a big exam looming at the end of August, so today just wasn't a great day for photography.
So, our new house backs onto a school yard that's currently under construction, in fact, it's really behind schedule - or so that's what we've been told. They started laying the sod yesterday so I stood in our spare room window and snapped these (absolute minimal energy expended). Then I made dinner, some cookies for our neighbours, and now I'm hitting the books to put in a little time before 'So You Think You Can Dance' comes on. Geez, do I ever need to get a life!

Note template change

I just want to mention that I've changed my blog's template. I can't be bothered to go back and re-colour-coordinate all of my older posts so if you're seeing it for the first time - I'm not actually colour blind - it all "used" to match :)

Volleyball: part deux

So, I found some time this afternoon to take a look at the photos I took yesterday at the volleyball tournament. I found that I was definitely "off" with the lighting; it was an extremely overcast day and many of my shots came out much darker than I had hoped they would. I used the "sport" setting for most and I'm not super-impressed; I think next time I'll manually play with the settings until I get the shots I'm hoping for.

Say hi to Charles; this made the short-list for my contest entry this week.

No effort is too much for Jeremy...

Alex the superstar!

I love this shot of Lensa; she was waiting to sub back in and was intently watching the game and didn't even know I was stalking her :)

Alex's repeat performance. He really did volley it backwards and his feet are NOT on the ground.

This is my favourite shot from the whole day. I don't know "my subject" but he's affiliated with the research institute somehow.....I'm sure someone will tell me now. I noticed his tattoo earlier in the day but was a bit too shy to ask him if I could photograph it but along came Darren to the rescue; he came right out and asked if I could take a picture of it before I could stop him. I took advantage of the opportunity :)
While I didn't actually discuss the tattoo with this guy, I like what "I think" it represents.

Another shot that I like from the day. Clearly I've played with it a bit but mostly, I like the perspective. It might be Mr. Tattoo Man but I can't be sure....

OHRI volleyball tournament

This is probably only part one of the shots I took today at my research institute's annual picnic and volleyball tournament. The evening has kinda slipped by tonight and I didn't get a chance to do anything with my photos from today; I only managed to even look at this one! I was unable to play after hurting my back on Saturday evening so I played photographer from my comfy courtside blanket for much of the day.

Songbird silhouette

Long time no see....

So, as I mentioned yesterday I was meeting up with a childhood friend from Edmonton who's in Ottawa this weekend for a wedding. She and I wrote letters to each other for years but more-or-less lost touch during our teen years and have re-connected with the help of facebook (see, some good does come from the evil facebook!). I've seen many photos of her kids, Skye and Kyryn, but had never met them until today. They are as beautiful in real life as they are in the photos and they were a lot of fun to hang out with this afternoon! My photos are weighted more heavily in favour of Kyryn because he stuck around his mom (and, therefore, me) in the pool while his big sister independently took off to do her own thing on the play structure for most of the time.
This watering can was Kyryn's obsession for most of the afternoon; he "watered" us all :)

Mother and son....

Skye and Jed get along very well :)

Poor, discarded ducky...

So photogenic!

I'm pretty sure that Geneva's dad took this shot; I spent the day taking action shots and was surprised to see this when I uploaded them because I wasn't really taking any close-ups. I wouldn't usually use someone else's photo but I think it's gorgeous and I'm quite happy to give him credit!

This may be his too...not sure....

This last one is for Skye; she found this heart drawn on the bench and was really excited by it.

Parallel / Perpendicular

I've never seen a plant with such perfect angles before :)

I took this a couple of weeks ago and never posted it so I thought today was as good as any. I bought my new Nikon D80 today with an 18-200mm VR lens and I'm so excited to get using it. It's gross and rainy here though so I haven't taken anything with it yet that isn't furry with 4 paws :)
I have great plans to shoot some beautiful children tomorrow though; the children of one of my childhood friends that I haven't seen since we were about 11 years old (I'm older than lots of you so it's been a *really* long time...haha). It should be quite the meeting/reunion!

Lando

I had dinner and drinks with Jenn and Katherine tonight at the new Moxie's in Kanata. My martini wasn't nearly as fun to look as Katherine's "Lando"; apparently this has something to do with Lando Calrissian, a character in Star Wars. It's definitely a unique drink and it's the only shot I took all day. I tried to photograph the moon when I got home (it was covered by thin clouds and looked really spooky) but I couldn't find my tripod (piece of junk that it is) so the pics didn't work out. So glad we got together tonight girls!

Skateboard park

In trying to come up with an idea for this week's contest, Street Photography, it occurred to me that there was a skateboard park in Kanata and I thought that might be a fun place to shoot. When I got there and saw all the kids I just about chickened out because I was worried they wouldn't tolerate someone snapping photos of them. I had my little spiel all ready (about no expectation of privacy in a public place....blah blah) but to my surprise the kids were very "cool". I decided it would be best if I asked their permission first and they said it was fine and all but ignored me after that except to point out some "fresh" graffiti that I should photograph. They went about their business - being rude, spitting, swearing...doing all the things you might expect of pre-teen boys, and of course their one 'groupie' girl, when out of their mother's earshot- but they were perfectly respectable to me so I won't complain. Here are a few shots from my "adventure is babysitting" today :)

Ducky

Just when I think I'm getting away from nature photography.....
I had to post this; I think the feather pattern is beautiful and the light was perfect for this shot. I also like the droplet of water falling off its beak.

Victoria Island, Ottawa

These photos were all taken at/on Victoria Island in Ottawa yesterday. The island is at the base of Chaudiere Falls and at one time there were 14 mills there that drew power from the Falls. The buildings are (almost) all abandoned now but many of the structures remain in tact, from the outside anyway. Despite being "caught" again TWICE, I took quite a lot of shots and here are a bunch of my faves. I'm really glad we found these places!