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
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.
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!