Mike

Mike Paterson started in the photo industry in 1985. Since then he has been involved in all aspects of photography and today is enjoying getting back to his roots of nature and wildlife photography. If Mike is not out shooting you can find him at his office in Lethbridge printing or teaching.

Winter Morning

“Morning. It snowed………. AGAIN”!!!

Each morning I always look out to see who is at our feeders. Yes FEEDERS plural, more than I want to admit to. Lately the bird mix has changed big time. Not just for the morning birds but for the entire day. Our usual mix for years has been the regulars: Sparrow, House Finch, Blue Jay & Flicker and the less regular: Downy Woodpecker, Junko, Nut Hatch & Chickadee. Lately the Sparrows have must have found a better place to go as we have few Sparrows coming to visit since this cold snap.

Morning snow clearing
Morning snow clearing

The one bird that is taking advantage of the feeders is the Junko. There are about 20 of them that have moved in and taken over. They are the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night. When the Blue Jays are sitting in the trees screaming to have their food cleared of snow the Junkos are happily eating away. When a Flicker swoops in to claim the peanut/sunflower tray they move to another feeder making the best of the situation.

Early bird gets the feeder

Morning visitor
Morning visitor

This guy was the first one this morning. Digging through the snow to find his breakfast while the other feeders were still abandoned. He flew away once when I walked past the window but not more than 5 feet from the feeder and as soon as I walked away he was back. He had the look on his face that said he was not impressed with the snow but was fine with having the feeders to himself.

If it was not so cold I would put fresh water in the bird baths for them today. But with it being so cold by the time I add the water and get back to the house it is already freezing over. Oh well, they have lots of snow to eat for moisture and next week it is suppose to warm up so I will make sure they have water once the weather gets closer to freezing.

The good part of all the feeders is that I can take pictures without leaving the warm house. Shooting through the window may not give the best images but when it is -20C outside, snowing and blowing I don’t mind the windows. Well time to see who is outside now and take a few more pictures.

A flash to the past

Okay I admit that many days I live in the past. When I built this bottle carrier it reminded me of the old wooden ones that my Dad use to have at his gas station. Then I remembered the pop that we would go and pick up. Two pops – one was Pop Shoppe and the other was Pic-a-Pop. Bad idea to remember these as I had to set out on a quest to find them. Pop Shoppe was fairly easy. I had found that years ago so it was just tracking it down at one of the stores I had seen it at. Pic-a-Pop was harder. I finally located the bottler and was able to track down some bottles of it. My journey to the past is complete for this project!

The Pop Shoppe

Can taste the tangy lime flavour of years gone by.

Pic-a-pop

My three favorite I was able to track down

Pic-a pop Black Cherry

Black Cherry hands down the winner!

Read moreA flash to the past

Cold Day Project

Cleaning the house and found some money that I thought I had lost. Seeing it was so cold outside I figured that a shoot inside was in order. I have been playing with shallow depth of field lately but even with that if I put the bills on the floor or table the background was in focus as the bills are so thin. I did not want to damage the bills with tape, glue or a clip but I did want to have the bill in focus and a out of focus background. So I suspended the bills away from a background to throw the background out of focus by holding them in my fingers.

With cold weather you look for something to do inside!
With cold weather you look for something to do inside!

Read moreCold Day Project