January 19, 2014: A House In The Woods

365 Project, Day 151

Here is my day 151 submission to my 365Project:

Needing to get away from the busy-ness of downtown Victoria where I live I went to my friend's house in the forest in Langford for the evening. We had a lovely bonfire (I just missed the Barred Owls (Strix varia) calling back and forth to each other before I arrived!) and I enjoyed playing around with my camera to get some night photos. 

I loved the effect of the Christmas lights on the house with the trees silhouetted in the background. 

Downtown Langford

Campfire and car headlights

Bonfire sparks

Night time canopy

Woodpile and wheelbarrow in bonfire light

I was using the Gorillapod for this portrait oriented shot...and the camera slowly started tipping to the side causing the motion effect 

November 24, 2013: Flamin'...and an Arctic Skua (Parasitic Jaeger)

365 Project, Day 121

Here is my day 121 submission to my 365Project:

"Set you life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames"
-Rumi

These are the night lights of offshore Angola...natural gas flares coming off oil and gas installations scattered around the horizon. Many nights I have woken from my deep sleep to the light of a natural gas flare bouncing around in my cabin. A bit like when you doze off next to the fireplace...but this is not quite as cozy. Oh well, I'm offshore Angola in December and with Christmas coming soon I am feeling a bit nostalgic about crisp winter days and sitting by the fireplace. I guess this will have to do for now :) 

Fact of the day:
Natural gas flares are considered a waste and a problem to some. According to the data on the webpage Resilience.org "Every year, approximately 140-150 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas is flared into the atmosphere. According to calculations by the World Bank, that is equivalent to three quarters of Russia's gas exports, or almost one third of the European Union's gas consumption. 

I also observed and photographed this Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus, also known as the Parasitic jaeger) flying past the ship today:

BBLT at dusk...with gas flare in action