October 25, 2013: Fall Decay

365 Project, Day 111

Here is my day 111 submission to my 365Project:

I ventured out again this morning to see what was lingering around Beacon Hill Park in the early hours of the day. It was a damp, foggy and cool October day and while on my walk I found one of many leaves starting to decay on the ground. I liked how photographing it with the grey sky for the background made the colour  pop and the details of the leaf stand out. I love this time of year...energy in nature in transition into something new!

Fun fact of the day:
Longer nights and cool evening weather of fall results in great conditions for stargazers. Also, fall is considered "aurora season" according to NASA because geomagnetic storms are twice as frequent at this time of year compared to the annual average. 

To read more interesting facts about fall check out this LiveScience webpage.

Here are some more photos from today's October morning photographic wandering:

For the following four photos I was playing with depth of field and focus to get the dew drops on the pine leaves. I was pretty happy with the results :)

Pine dew

Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna)

The small forested area on Beacon Hill

The small forested area on Beacon Hill

Mushrooms with spider webs and dew

Mushroom Dew

October 14, 2013: Fall Colours

365 Project, Day 104

Here is my day 104 submission to my 365Project:

I love this time of year! I love the earthy smells, the morning chill in the air, the colours of the leaves and the vegetation opening up as the leaves descend to the earth to expose the life living amongst the trees. This afternoon I went for another wander around Beacon Hill Park in Victoria to snap some photos and see what wildlife might be around. Now that I have a wide angle lens it was great for getting photos of the colours of the trees changing in the park.

One of my favourite forested spots in Beacon Hill Park...great for looking for owls and mushrooms :)

Fun fact of the day:

Leaves change colour and turn orange, red, brown or purple when autumn arrives and the days get shorter and shorter. There is not enough light in the winter for trees to keep producing energy from the sun so they shut down their energy making factories (the leaves containing chlorophyll). As the chlorophyll disappears from the leaves so does the green colouration it gives the leaves hence the leaves are left showing the colours that were present before but were covered up by the chlorophyll. 

Read more about leaves changing colour and learn more science facts at the Science Made Simple webpage. 

Hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis)

Canada goose (Branta canadensis) 

Happy trails :)

Fall canopy beauty

View of the forest floor

Sun shining through leaves

Even in a city park we are lucky to have such magnificent trees as this Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)

Contrast of the very green evergreens and the changing colours of the maple trees

Mushrooms in the late afternoon fall light

Only steps away is the bustling downtown of Victoria

Creativity in the park: a plastic utensil forest I came across on my wanderings