This was the last image on my phone for March and I am hoping it is winter’s last gasp for 2023. I guess time will tell.
Image was captured in March 2023 in my neighbourhood, Waterloo, Ontario
Equipment: Google Pixel 7 Pro (Rear Camera)
Settings: 19mm | 1/110 sec. at ƒ/3.4 | ISO12600.
No additional processing. Watermark added via Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.
The above photos were taken near a storm management pond in Northwest Waterloo. The unnamed area is a small oasis of engineered nature tucked into the suburban landscape that cradles it.
As I walked the trail with my camera the signs of abandonment were evident. The milkweed seeds have long flown, mature enough to leave their summer womb behind. An empty nest that sheltered a new generation once hidden in the dense foliage now barren and exposed. The small white seed globes are all that remain where the flowers of a Canadian Horseweed plant once bloomed, its remaining leaves black and shrivelled from an early frost.
The chlorophyll-laden hues of summer and the fiery shades of early autumn have long since faded, replaced by muted tones and subdued colour as this place waits for the snowy white of winter’s grip. For now, there is still plenty of beauty to be found in that which has been left behind and abandoned.
Images were captured in November 2022, in Northwestern Waterloo, Ontario.
Photo Details (left to right):
1) Canon EOS 60D, EF70-200mm ƒ/2.8L IS II USM | 200mm, 1/400 sec. at ƒ/2.8, ISO100
2) Canon EOS 60D, EF70-200mm ƒ/2.8L IS II USM | 130mm, 1/60 sec. at ƒ/4.5, ISO100
3) Canon EOS 60D, EF70-200mm ƒ/2.8L IS II USM | 200mm, 1/13 sec. at ƒ/11, ISO100
Additional processing via Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.
I was once wild…
Roaming across
vast open plains.
At times hungry, waiting
for my harem’s return.
Sunbaked beneath
Endless captive skies,
I ruled my domain
with absolute authority.
My young apprentice
watching me through light,
distorted in the heat
rising from her scorched skin.
Motionless amongst
the tall grasses
bend to her will in the
slight Saharan breeze.
Not hidden…
For I am aware
of his full intention,
transfer through succession
The next generation,
patient, in youthful impatience,
waiting for the sun to
rise on a new King.
To you, that cages my freedom,
we are not different!
Protecting one’s pride to
precariously hold onto power.
Our moment is fleeting,
the sun rising and setting
on a conclusion as inevitable
as the rhythms of home.
Kingdoms rise and fall, but
Mother’s hands remain steady,
continually reshaping, and
redefining balance.
It is a fool’s errand
to push against her nature,
for her ever-shifting moods
recognize it’s part of nature too.
Once, we were all wild…
With the unofficial middle of the Canadian summer just days away the blooms from three Rose of Sharon bushes that line the right boundary of my backyard are bursting to life with stunning colour and beauty. It is early days for the flowering plants that will continue to bloom and dazzle into the fall.
It is fascinating to watch as hundreds of tightly wound buds push their way through the green pods that have guarded and nurtured their beautiful secret since beginning to form in early spring. Now they fill the yard with the flowers of purple, pink, and creamy white pictured above.
Even the spent pods are beautiful in their own way. See the surviving remnants of last year’s pods at Greg’s Blog post, New and Old from spring of this year.
Images were captured in July 2022 in my backyard in Waterloo Region, Ontario.
Equipment: Canon EOS 60D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Setting (Clockwise from top left): 1) 190mm, 1/8000 sec. at ƒ/2.8, ISO100 | 2) 200mm, 1/1250 sec. at ƒ/2.8, ISO100 | 3) 190mm, 1/8000 sec. at ƒ/2.8, ISO100 | 4) 182mm, 1/350 sec. at ƒ/8, ISO100 | 5) 110mm, 1/60 sec. at ƒ/8, ISO100
Additional processing via Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.
Copyright 2022 Greg Glazebrook @ GMG Photography, All Rights Reserved.
It seems the colour of choice in the garden right now is yellow. From the day lily to the blooming vegetable plants the garden is yellow everywhere. The blooms images from top left are Butternut Squash, Daylily (which are not true lilies), Zucchini flower, and finally a true Lily from the genus Lilium.
Images were captured in June 2022 in my backyard in Waterloo Region, Ontario.
Equipment: Canon EOS 60D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Additional processing via Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.
Copyright 2022 Greg Glazebrook @ GMG Photography, All Rights Reserved.
The pond in the backyard attracts all kinds of birds. While the ducks (click here to see them featured in a previous post) prefer to sunbathe around the edges of the pond, the waterfall is where it’s at for the smaller winged visitors. The images highlighted in today’s Backyard Beautiful post feature a house sparrow that loves to flap around in the cup-sized hole in a stone sitting at the base of the waterfall and acts as a birdbath for our feathered friends.
Images were captured in June 2022 in my backyard in Waterloo Region, Ontario.
Equipment: Canon EOS 60D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Additional processing via Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.
Copyright 2022 Greg Glazebrook @ GMG Photography, All Rights Reserved.
I found this giant fungus growing out of a tree stump in a picnic area alongside the Gilkison Trail which follows the Grand River in Brantford, Ontario. The location is across the road from the Steve Brown Sports Complex at Lions Park. The facility hosts youth sports tournaments all summer long making it surprising that the specimen was relatively untouched despite the heavy foot traffic that would pass it when using the picnic pavilion. My luck because it was a fabulous photo opportunity.
Images were captured in May 2022 near the Grand River, Brantford, Ontario.
Equipment: Canon EOS 60D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM.
Additional processing via Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.
Copyright 2022 Greg Glazebrook @ GMG Photography, All Rights Reserved.
Remnants of last year’s Rose of Sharon seed pods cling to the end of a branch as new growth push through into the fresh spring air.
Image was captured in May 2022 in my backyard, Waterloo Region, Ontario.
Equipment: Canon EOS 60D, EF-S18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS
Additional processing via Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.
Copyright 2022 Greg Glazebrook @ GMG Photography, All Rights Reserved.
The daffodils are in bloom around the pond and our fluffball Max is so happy to be able to run around outside chasing the birds and sticking his nose into our little waterfall.
Images were captured in my backyard in Waterloo Region, Ontario.
Equipment: Canon EOS 60D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Additional processing via Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.
Copyright 2022 Greg Glazebrook @ GMG Photography, All Rights Reserved.
New neighbours have moved into our backyard pond. My son is super excited to have the newcomers and keeps asking when we will have baby ducklings. There is no sign of a nest yet. I had to print out the three pictures above so that he could take them to show his kindergarten class tomorrow.
Images were captured in April 2022 in my backyard, Waterloo Region, Ontario.
Equipment: Canon EOS 60D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Additional processing via Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.
Copyright 2022 Greg Glazebrook @ GMG Photography, All Rights Reserved.
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