…I love texture in all kinds of things – art, nature, food
Thanks to Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Texture
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Tag Archives: ice
A Photo a Week Challenge – Depth of Field
…thanks to Nancy Merrill for hosting the Photo a Week Challenge
Nancy describes depth of field like this:
Depth of field in photography (and light in general) is how narrow a strip of what you are looking at is in focus. In photography, the depth of field is controlled by two things: your f-stop (aperture) and the length of your lens (mm). To narrow your depth of field using aperture, use a smaller f-stop number. This will open your shutter wider and let more light in.
So if you want to shoot something up-close and personal with great bokeh (blurring) in the background, use a smaller f-stop and a longer lens.
Most of my photography is hit and miss, especially with my Panasonic Lumix camera. When I use the iPhone I’ve figured out how to get bokeh or blurring when I want it. The first two shots were with my Panasonic.
The next two were taken with my iPhone.
Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge – Structure
….thanks Cee for hosting the Black and White Photo Challenge
In life there are two kinds of structures; those that appear naturally in nature and those that are man-made.
Structures in Nature
Man-made Structures
From Record Breaking Highs in February to Bone Chilling Temps in March
….it was too good to be true….winter is still with us
In February we set records for the warmest February ever in Toronto and southern Ontario. People were wearing spring jackets, tee shirts and some brave souls wore shorts. In Toronto all the snow had melted but north of the city there was lots of snow and skiers were enjoying spring skiing conditions.
Every year our physical education teacher organizes two cross country ski trips for our grade 4 and grade 5 students. It is usually the only time I go skiing but I love it, so when I was asked if I wanted to go again to supervise the students I jumped at the chance. The first group went on the 22nd of February and the second group went the next day. Both days were exceptionally warm, 15 degrees celsius. Luckily Hardwood Hills had a lot of snow this winter so the base was good and the conditions were excellent.
I went on the second day so I was warned that I wouldn’t need heavy clothing. I packed three tops and extra socks. I’m glad I did because every time I came inside I had to change my top and socks because I was soaked through from perspiration. Many of the kids skied with only their tee shirts on. It was a beautiful day and the more I skied the more confident I became. My goal was to not fall. I’m happy to report that I met that goal and I skied the equivalent of 13 000 steps and 50 flights of stairs.
March 1st didn’t enter like a lion but by the evening the temperatures had plummeted from double digits above zero to minus zero in a matter of hours. Today and yesterday the temperatures went even lower to minus 13 celsius. The good news is that warmer temperatures are forecast for this coming week. The ice that formed along the water’s edge will give you some idea of just how cold the last few days have been.
From a Blast of Winter to Sunny Skies and Warm Temperatures in Four Hours
…from Toronto to Calgary
Who knew that travelling west to Calgary could be the equivalent of going south in search of warmer weather. Well that might be a bit of a stretch but the temperature in Toronto went down to -30 celsius with the wind chill and the visibility was close to zero as I sat on the tarmac waiting for our plane to be de-iced.
When we arrived in Calgary most of the snow had melted, the sun shone brightly and the temperature was sitting at 14 degrees celsius. When I got to my sister’s place I had to change my clothes because I was literally too uncomfortable in my fleece lined pants and sweater.
It is only 7:00 am here in Calgary but my internal clock can’t seem to adjust to the time change. I’ve only had six hours of sleep and I’m wide awake so I’ve decided to post a few pictures of yesterday’s plane trip. Enjoy!
Sitting on the tarmac waiting to be de-iced
A welcome sight. It’s all about safety.
The de-icing truck doing its thing
Blue skies above the snowy clouds. I thought we’d never get through those clouds.
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- Over frozen Lake Michigan
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- Across the snow covered Praires
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- Approaching Calgary
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- Way off in the distance you can see the mountains
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- Calgary suburbs
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- Calgary industrial neighbourhood
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- Downtown in the distance
Enough Already!
…. three falls on patches of ice in one week is too much
I know I wished for snow this winter but I’m ready for Spring. Really ready! 
The snow has been beautiful and when it’s fresh, deep and crisp and you don’t have to drive anywhere it is lovely to look at and even fun to walk through.
The problem with the snow this year is the pattern of weather we’ve been experiencing. Shortly after the snow we’ve had warm weather and the snow all but completely melts away and then we get more snow. Not a bad scenario but after the last BIG storm not all the snow melted and we were left with slushy patches and puddles that froze a few days later.
This made walking very difficult for humans. Frances is small enough that she basically walks on the crust without breaking through and of course she wants to continue with her daily walks. She doesn’t realize how treacherous the walks have become.
I recently reported how my husband fell on one of his walks with the dog and hurt his back. It was just starting to feel better when he fell again….not once but twice on the same walk this morning.
On Groundhog Day, Wiarton Willie predicted that we would have an early Spring. Boy did he get it wrong! We definitely haven’t seen the end of Winter, in fact we’re suppose to get another snow storm on Tuesday. Wiarton Willie
Wish us luck. I guess I’ll be taking over the dog walking duty for awhile. I don’t mind but I like it better when both of us go out, especially when it gets dark. March 21st can’t come soon enough!
Cheers!
Mama Cormier 