beaver

Spring at Elk Island

The last time we've ventured to Elk Island National Park the world was covered in deep snow.. (Hunting for Bison at Elk Island). Now all this snow has melted and turned the land into one almost everlasting wetland.. There was no silence when we arrived there about a week ago in the evening. The music of frogs and mosquito buzzing, interrupted on occasion by a bird call or two was everywhere..  Thank Goodness for bug spray!!! If it wasn't for a heavy layer of it we would have been eaten alive!! But, we were rather well prepared, having a tube of the heavy stuff stashed inside our vehicle at all times :D.  And it was great because if we weren't prepared we would have missed all the sights we've seen: beavers going about their supper, lots of birds and a surprisingly beautiful sunset - which we didn't really expect due to the clouds gathering on the western horizon.  All in all, it was another wonderful trip, made better by the fact that when we started our drive we never planned to arrive at Elk Island.. It just happened ;D.. And, since today, the sky is rather heavy with dark clouds a little bit of colorful sunset and vibrant spring world will do us good, I think.. So enjoy! Kasia

New toy and Elk Island

So a couple of days ago, a package arrived at my door.... post marked from Australia.  I almost cut myself opening it.  My hands were trembling a little when I dug into the styrofoam.  What I uncovered was a beautiful black Canon 1D.  Yep no other designations, no Mark this or Mark that... none of that nonsense :) .  This is an original Canon 1D and right now I could easily call it Classic.  The camera is in perfect condition, apart from little scuffs on the top.  Works great too.  Yes it's only 4.5Mpx, but the megapixel race is over, and this is a 10 year old camera, so I'm not concerned.  I charged the batteries the same day, and decided to take it out for a spin in Elk Island. In the trees

I took both of my Classics, the 5D and the 1D.  I put a 70-200mm plus 2x extender on the 1D, and a wide angle 17-40mm on my 5D.  I mainly  concentrated on the animals with the 1D.  Luckily they were very photogenic that evening.

Slow down buddy!

The look

Supper

Also our canadian beavers were out in full force building their new house.  There were 5 of them and they really didn't pay any attention to me.  I was standing at the edge of the pond maybe 8-10ft from them.

Swimming

Resting

Beaver

Psycho beaver

Beaver

The pictures have minimal editing on them.  White balance adjustment, levels, and a little sharpness.  I have to say that the 1D passed with flying colors.  More pictures from the trip, on the next post.