Since we installed the aerator in our pond, parts of it are remaining unfrozen throughout the winter... which means we get the chance for more migrating birds to stop by. Today was our first visitors in the form of a pair of swans (they are either Tundra Swans or Trumpeter Swans - we're not quite sure yet!).

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm, 1/4000 sec at f/11. ISO 400. IS Mode 1. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

I scared them off by moving in too quickly - I had hoped they would be a bit more confident to stick around and wasn't being as slow and cautious as I should have been... and I was probably a bit too excited. Hopefully they stop back and I can get more photos, and here's hoping that we get a bunch more uncommon migrators stopping by the pond soon!

- Bill

Here's a couple more from out little adventure this past weekend...

This first one is of Slippery Rock Creek from the Eckert Bridge. With much of the areas south of us getting slammed with snow, I anticipated that we would get at least a little snow. As it turns out, we got absolutely none! Not a single flake! Unfortunately, I was really hoping for a couple inches of fresh snow to cover the scene and really give it that bit of pop that only comes from fresh snow... So what do you do when the snow doesn't arrive? Well, in this case, I managed to process the shot in black and white in such a way that makes it kind of look like there is more snow than there was.

Mouseover the photo for the original color version to see the difference...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM at 47mm, 1/160th second at f/11. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw, B&W conversion in Adobe Photoshop CS5 with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Here's also a B&W conversion of the semi-frozen Kildoo Falls. The transformation here isn't as dramatic, but it still brings out more detail in the photo. I'm a little torn as to which version of this one I like better...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM at 18mm, 1/4th second at f/16. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw, B&W conversion in Adobe Photoshop CS5 with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

As I type this and look at these cool (pun intended) winter photos, I am also excitedly looking forward to this summer when we will be taking a trip north to Maine to see puffins! I just made our reservations with the boat today, so now I can start planning the other pieces of our trip soon!

I've also been thinking a bit more about the other styles of photography that I've been neglecting in my pursuit of wildlife photography recently, and I have a couple ideas forming in my head for a couple interesting shots. We'll see if they come to fruition.

- Bill

So after a couple requests for more landscape photography, I made a point to get out and see what I could find. We stopped at McConnells Mill State Park, and made our way to Kildoo Falls which was mostly frozen, but the water still flowed within a column of ice which really made for an interesting experience. We had visited last year, and you could hear the water rushing inside the column of ice, but I especially liked the little window that was open this time.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM at 18mm, 1/320th second at f/5.6. ISO 800. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

You can sort of see the water splashing through the mostly frozen waterfall, but the video below really helps to illustrate what a cool effect it was...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM.

I've got a couple more to share from this little trip, so stay tuned.

- Bill

Well, the Horseshoe Falls never really freeze (well, neither set of falls at Niagara Falls freeze completely, but there is much less ice build-up on the larger Horseshow Falls.

That doesn't mean it is any less impressive...

This first view I liked because of the ominous feel to it. The heavy mist, the hint of that huge boulder of ice at the bottom peaking through...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 27mm, 1/250th second at f/11.0. ISO 100. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

And this one shows off a nice contrast of the fast rushing water and the ice coated cliff-side next to it.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 42mm, 1/500th second at f/11.0. ISO 100. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

These next two show off some weird igloo shaped mount of snow and ice sitting off to the one side of the main pool under the Horseshoe Falls. I have no clue how or why it formed like that, or if it is a typical formation. I was extra curious about the "tunnel" that seemed to be burrowed into it, and the enormous cracks running down its sides. Of course, there's no point of reference for size here, but it was massive. You can also see the churning ice down in the water... most of those pieces looked to be about the size of cars.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 21mm, 1/250th second at f/11.0. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 37mm, 1/250th second at f/11.0. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

And lastly, another overall shot just showing that absolutely impressive waterfall...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 18mm, 1/500th second at f/11.0. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

- Bill

Ok, I usually don't go in for panoramic photographs, but Niagara Falls was really a subject that begged for the treatment. I was amazed with how simple Photoshop CS5 made stitching the images together. I'd tried panoramic images in the past and the results were always less than stellar, but these turned out nice... and literally all I had to do was point PS:CS5 at the set of images and it did the rest. All I had to do was decide how I wanted to crop the image after it was stitched together. I then had the challenge of getting my gallery website software to accept some pretty large photos (the biggest of which is over 70MP!).

I also don't know what the best way to display these is, but here goes...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM AF at 10mm, 1/200th sec at f/16. ISO 100. Raw conversion Adobe Camera Raw, Composite image built in Photoshop CS5.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 53mm, 1/250th second at f/11.0. ISO 100. RAW processing Adobe Camera Raw, Composite image built in Photoshop CS5.

I'll see if I can come up with a better way to display these as they really are much more impressive if you can see them larger where the panoramic effects are really illustrated.

- Bill

Well, as I sit here I look out the window and I am quite literally in a cloud. The weather is warming up and everything is starting to melt, but the combination of warmer air and the foot of melting snow everywhere is combining to make everything a thick soup of fog. I can barely see the stand of trees across the way, but I can definitely see spring coming.

However, the other day, Anya and I played hookey from work to take a day trip up to Niagara Falls to see it while it was still frozen. Reports say they expect the ice to last into May, but we figured we didn't want to risk waiting that long, so with decent weather (no snow, and warmer temperatures) we took the drive up. We were rewarded with 35F temperatures and a blazing bright sun that made it feel even warmer. The sun did end up producing a challenge with the exposure (very harsh whites and drastic shadows), but I still enjoyed the day.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 30mm, 1/250th second at f/11.0. ISO 100. RAW processing Adobe Camera Raw.

I've still got a ton more photos to process, so definitely stay tuned and I'll try getting more up as soon as possible!

- Bill

We made a trip up to Presque Isle State Park this past weekend to look for Snowy Owls. Apparently we were too late for the owls as they are much harder to find in January, so we'll be trying again in December this year. However, seeing the lake frozen and everything looking like an arctic wasteland was kind of impressive (even if I am 100% sick of winter at this point and ready for spring).

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 49mm, 1/1000 sec at f/11. ISO 320. RAW processing Adobe Camera Raw.

- Bill

Anya and I took the day off work on Friday and decided to go on a little hike for Valentine's Day. I figured that if I have to continue to suffer through this winter weather, I might as well make use of it and see if I could get some good photos from it. We headed to McConnell's Mills to find some frozen waterfalls and see how Slippery Rock Creek looked. Then we stumbled upon this beautiful waterfall.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM AF at 12mm, 10mm, and 10mm, 1/8th, 1/8th, and 1/4th sec at f/11. ISO 100. Raw conversion Adobe Camera Raw.

Exposure on these shots was pretty difficult with the extremely bright white snow outside and the dark insides of the cavern. I tried using some flash, but really wasn't able to get things just right. Additionally, and probably most impressive was that you could see and hear water still flowing inside that pillar of ice; unfortunately, there simply was no way to capture that with a photo.

I've got as couple more from this trip that I'll share soon.

- Bill

It's been cold recently....

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/160 sec at f/11. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in eTTL mode. Image Stabilization on. ISO 160. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

I believe that this confirms that ice spiders exist.

- Bill