Transitions, Transformations and a Little Photography
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An Exploration into More Creative Photography
When I first picked up a camera I was very intent upon learning about the exposure triangle and how to ensure that I got tack sharp images that froze motion. I was excited to venture away from shooting in Auto mode and I learned about aperture priority, shutter priority and even shooting in manual mode.
Strength Training and Photography?
I have always been active, however I wouldn’t describe myself as particularly fit. There hasn’t been a consistency or variety to the type of physical activity I do on a regular basis - I like walking, hiking, skiing, snow shoeing, bicycling, kayaking, and yoga, but I tend to be a casual or intermittent exerciser at best.
Life is about to get chaotic
September first will mark two years since I retired and those who have been following this blog will know that it has not been a smooth or easy transition for me. I feel like I am finally finding my feet and relaxing into my new role, so what would possess us and in particular me to agree to move. A very good question! Life is definitely about to get very busy and chaotic as we pack up our current home and move to the new one.
Mountain Bluebird Nestbox Update
Spring is finally making an appearance and those vivid blue streaks of colour marking the male mountain bluebirds’ return to our area have arrived. I’ve been seeing local photographers posting images of mountain bluebirds and my nest box monitoring partner, Nick indicated he’d seen half a dozen of them while cleaning out nest boxes a week ago.
Arrived in Iceland for my Photography Trip
After a lot of planning and anticipation the time for my Iceland trip finally arrived. I must admit that it was a wee bit stressful leading up to this trip as Kory and I were negotiating to buy a new home (timing is never good for these things it seems). Regardless, we made it through the challenges (yes we’re going to be moving!) and I managed to remember all the right things to pack before flying to Vancouver and then on to Reykjavik.
Making Mountain Bluebird Nestboxes
A couple of years ago I found out that a work colleague was also into birding and that he had a mountain bluebird nest box monitoring run. For those not familiar with this program, it started in the 1970’s when mountain bluebird numbers were on the decline due to loss of nesting habitat. They typically nest in tree cavities at the edge of wooded areas and are quite particular about where they nest.
There is also a lot of competition for nest locations amongst other birds
Heading to Iceland
My first trip to Iceland was in December 2022 and I have posted some of my images in this gallery (Iceland). I had a wonderful time and it was actually my first photography focused (sorry about the pun) trip. This was such a different kind of trip for me as there was a lot of time for photography and the pace was much more relaxed than a sightseeing trip.
I found the quality of light was pretty amazing and very different from what I experience here in Western Canada.
Springtime in Calgary
We often get a a little teaser of spring and this year was no different. After a particularly cold February (we hit overnight windchills of -50C) I was thrilled to experience a week of mild temperatures that got up to +15C (that’s low 60’sF). I got outside a lot and even Roxy enjoyed some springtime walks.
This is a special treat as the winters can be long for her being cooped up inside or getting the occasional car ride - believe it or not she enjoys running errands with us and even going through the car wash.
Dementia, losing yourself and finding something precious
This is a very personal entry, but hopefully a very uplifting one as well. It is coming up on 12 years since my mum passed away from complications associated with dementia. It is a difficult disease to understand much less see the effects on a loved one. My mum (Mary Elizabeth Dunning Nadin) was a bright, intelligent and vibrant woman - I would hazard a guess to say that those who knew her would agree that she was fearless.
Website Changes
This is a short one, but I’ve been working on making a few changes to the website with an aim to improve user experience and also to try and provide more value for readers (you’ll have to let me know in the comments if I have succeeded and if there are other things that would be of value either in functions/navigation or content).
Two notable additions are the About Me Page and the Resources Page - I’m going to go into a bit more detail with these two.
As many of you have probably realized, I’m an avid reader and I’m always on the lookout for new topics and books to read.
Talking to other retirees about my passions
I can honestly say that 18 months ago I would never have imagined that I would be talking to other seniors about my photography passions and how I link it to physical and mental wellness, however I’m thrilled to have been invited to speak. In my other life (that’s how I think of my pre-retirement career), I often had to give talks and presentations - sometimes for groups up to 2 - 3 thousand people and even a few live interviews and conferences.
Funks, Negative Thoughts and Some Ways Out
There is a seductive nature to negative thoughts and energy. As humans we are naturally drawn to remember negative stimuli whether that’s events, words or actions. This is called the negativity bias which is our tendency to not only register negative stimuli more readily, but also to dwell on these thoughts. It makes sense when you look at it from an evolutionary perspective when we were motivated by survival to be attuned to negative/dangerous/life threatening things.
A Canadian Kind of Winter
Winter can sometimes seem endless in Western Canada with it often starting early in November and snowfalls not ending until April or May - yes that’s right we get a good 4 - 6 months of winter and I’ve even seen snow in every month of the year while living here. As a result you need to be able to embrace the season or you’re in for a very long and unhappy time.
I have found that there are several keys to embracing winter and the most important has to be ensuring you’re properly dressed - layers! layers! layers!
Birding
I think that my interest in birds surprises people as I don’t necessarily fit the stereotypical view of a bird photographer and I think it’s likely time to debunk that stereotype. Many different people (young and old) have found pleasure in bird watching and photographing them as it’s an interest that can be practiced on a short neighbourhood walk or a more lengthy birding destination trip. The stereotype of someone wearing a multi pocketed khaki coloured vest bulging with various birding accessories and a pair of
Being present and intentional
I think that one of the most frustrating responses to receive when asking why something is done in a certain way is “because this is how we’ve always done it”. My frustration arises because this response dismisses our ability to be present and innovate as the situation requires. It means that we are doing things out of habit rather than intention.
I found myself falling into this pattern once I retired.
Experiencing Kenya for the First Time
I was concerned about spending 3 weeks on safari with the main focus being photography and my non photographer husband becoming bored stiff, however I needn’t have worried as the trip became more about the experience and the people we met than the taking of images (though we did get some epic and special images). It ended up helping us to form an even deeper connection and we have both said that this was by far the most special trip we’ve made together.
You don’t always get what you want….
Because I was being open minded and focusing on enjoying the solitude and experience, I kept calm and continued to travel similar routes each day. On day 3 of my 7 day trip I stopped at an intersection to scan for snowies and I noticed a vehicle parked on the intersecting road. I didn’t think much of it and as I scanned the area I saw several birds flying around above me. I pulled out my binoculars to get a better look and thought at first they were hawks
In Search of Snowy Owls
From November to February or March each year we are treated to an amazing phenomenon in western Canada and that is the sight of migratory snowy owls who winter in our regions. These are such special birds and listed as vulnerable due to the public interest in them. As a result birders are especially careful about not revealing sighting location details and often waiting until after they have left the area to even post images. This helps prevent large groups of people trying to find the birds and stressing them unnecessarily.
Finding space and recalibrating
I’m an introvert by nature and while I can feel comfortable taking the lead in a large group setting or giving presentations in public this requires me to use a lot of energy and it can be quite draining. I have noticed that I re-energize by more quiet or solo activities like cooking, reading, hiking and definitely photography.
(As a side note: Susan Cain has written an excellent book about introversion called Quiet - I highly recommend it.)
Irritability, Cabin Fever and a Breakthrough
Initially I like these cold snaps that force us to stay indoors as I get to do things that I usually put off - like bulk cooking to stock the freezer with soups and stews (my favourite meal when it’s cold), reading a good book, playing board games or catching up on admin things or photo editing and courses. It is wonderful to have dedicated time to do these things for a few days and then......I find myself looking longingly out the window and starting to feel trapped.