I haven't written anything in the last little while because quite frankly, I've had nothing to say.  Sure, I've been clicking away, but if I'm not overly thrilled with the shot or the the story that goes with it, I'll keep it to myself. The past few weeks have been busy with a few things.. Photos, biking, learning new things, travel and continuing with my photo course through NYIP.

The travel has taken me to a couple of campgrounds where I've had some chances to shoot things like bugs at the macro level such as this little fella.

Upon waking up one morning, I discovered this little guy had made a web covering part of the opening to the tent.  I went to the car to retrieve my camera and miraculously he stayed put.  He was even good enough to let me set up inside the tent on the tripod and get within a couple of inches.  I'm not 100% thrilled with it as it is slightly out of focus.  I'm going to lazily blame it on the tiny breeze that was making his web sway.  I submitted this shot as part of my photo assignment.  Remember, you can click on the shots to see a larger size.  If you dare.

During a relatively short hike through a marsh, I kicked myself for not having my macro lens with me.  I was really hoping to spot a dragonfly who would cooperate enough to allow a shot, but that just wasn't meant to be.  Instead, I had my 24-105 on when this little guy presented himself, sunning on a hand rail.  This lens is a great go-to lens, but isn't the best for super close-ups.  This hornet/wasp/whatever did let me get to my minimum focus distance without killing me though.  And because of that, I had shot #2 for my assignment.  I'm pretty happy with the shot.

My third shot here was a little fun with some bubbles.  Sure, it may be made with 3 year olds in mind, but they look nice on film too, and it became the subject for my third shot of my assignment.

I won't bother going into what the purpose was of each shot, I'm really only sharing them because for their own reasons, I think they turned out pretty well.  As I've said in the past, I really don't have much of a creative side, so it's my attempt to change that.

Now, what would a summer trip be without some shots of the night sky.  I think this one is my new favourite shot of The Milky Way.  The angle of the trees is the same as our galaxy and the distant clouds make me think of the Northern Lights so I think it comes together pretty nicely.

While shooting this, a nice gentleman was kind enough to give me some pretty decent instructions on how to find the Andromeda Galaxy in the night sky.  This is one of my next high-priority assignments for myself.  I've made some initial attempts to capture it but they have been less than impressive - certainly nothing I would publish here, but I'm learning more about deep space photography, so expect to see it soon.

Now, as I was capturing the Milky Way with a big smile on my face, I should mention that the Perseid meteor shower was going on at the same time.  While I was clicking away and making adjustments here and there, I was turning around to take in the "shooting stars".  I had seen a few in the past, but this night was really something special.

This shot, if you zoom in very close, there are 3 contained in one 20 second exposure.  That's pretty thrilling to my ever-growing nerd side.  I only hope that there are more clear skies ahead that might lend themselves to more of these streaks of light.

Now, as a couple of weeks passed by, a thought crossed my mind about a shot I took that I felt could have been better.  This path is along a trail that circles Island Lake in Orangeville, Ontario.  In a previous blog, I took a shot of this path while it was snow-covered with a mild mist obscuring the end and I really liked it.  But I think what this path is to me, is a place of mystery.  This mystery will always be unsolved, and best read in a more black-and-white page.

I'm not sure I have it perfect yet, so it won't be going on my wall but I see that there is still a little more potential left to pull out.  I'll be back.

This brings me to another trip - this time to Manitoulin Island, Ontario, otherwise known as Cottage Country.  I don't have a lot to say about this shot.  I've already revealed in another writing that I have an unhealthy fascination with waterfalls, so this one just keeps proving my need to stop and see.  Sadly, I don't remember what this one is called, but when I look at it, I feel sad that man has felt the need to put a bridge directly over what could have been a beautiful scene.

It's the same sadness I felt when I found out that the pyramids in Egypt are almost entirely built up nearby with businesses, residences and infrastructure.  Sad.

Yes, you'er right, this one has been "Shopped".  Great eye, Detective.  Well, you know what? Virtually all shots on the web have been Photoshop'd.  It's for a greater good.  It makes an alright shot a memorable one.

I was extremely happy with this shot untouched, but with the milky screening and white vignetting, this one gives a certain feeling to my eye and makes me quite happy to share it.  I had taken other long-exposure shots where the water was turned into milky streaks, but I prefer this one much more.

This shot was particularly lucky in that there was a constant flow of people hiking down the stairs from this perch, behind the falls, and ultimately into the water.

Hopefully the next blog will have as many shots, and a slightly more interesting story :)