Red Admiral Butterfly

We were out for a walk in the bush this week, and noticed quite a few of the Red Admiral Butterflies. Although I've seen these before, I still had to look them up to make sure that they were indeed Admiral Butterflies. They look like flying flowers to me.

When I checked on the internet, I found that they are migrating much earlier this year, and are in the biggest springtime butterfly migration in a long time. These probably came from Florida or Texas area, and even though we don't have them in heavy numbers here, they are describing "tidal waves" of butterflies coming through southeastern Ontario. Our early spring and warm weather has probably encouraged this. I'm not sure how they managed in our recent snow storm.

I found it interesting to see the butterfly when it was camouflaged on the tree (picture on left). When it closes its wings up, it is very difficult to spot on the tree. Often we probably walk by things like this, but don't see them. 

It's good to see how God has provided for many of His creatures like this. If the butterfly has its wings open, it can show up fairly well, but when it closes its wings, the underside of its wings is a dull colour and blends in with the bark of the tree or amongst the dry leaves. This protects it from its enemies. 

 Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

Psalm 111:2

Bird Sketches

 During the winter, I wasn't taking too many pictures because I was working and  inside more. So, I looked through the internet to see what other things I could try with some of my photos that I have already taken. The internet provides many opportunities for us to learn from others. There are examples and tutorials to follow and you can try different techniques, learn about photography, etc.. I've enjoyed following some blogs written by other photographers and learning from their experiences.  


I saw a tutorial for making photos look like a sketch.The instructions I followed are at www.pbase.com/isabel95/image/14096652 . Isabel Cutler's work is amazing, and she does an excellent job explaining how to do this in Photoshop Elements. I use Photoshop Elements v.9, and even though this program has several guided edits, I chose to do this one in full edit mode. I tried this with several photos of birds that I've taken over the years.

 I'm still working on this, and will try it with some portraits that I have done. I'm also concentrating on trying to make it look more like a sketch. 


God has given birds for us to enjoy. When He made the earth, He could have made only one type of bird, but instead He provided us with many, many different types of birds. Each one is beautiful in its own way, even the vultures and crows. We can marvel at the way God has created them.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 

Praise the LORD.

Psalm 150:6

Furnace Falls

Last week I took some time at the end of my work day to stop at a small roadside park at Furnace Falls, Ontario. The water and rapids are not as high this year but the falls (or rapids) are refreshing to look at and listen to. I didn't have my tripod with me, but thought I would still try taking some pictures. I used the shutter speed mode so that I could have a good exposure, and find out how slow I could set the shutter speed. It was a very sunny day which made it difficult to find a good exposure. So ... I've learned something. I think I'll keep one of my tripods in my vehicle, and a polarizing filter in my camera bag all of the time. Then I can be more prepared for times like this.

Just as I need to be prepared and have the proper equipment for different opportunities for taking photographs, we need to be prepared for many things in our lives. There are changes and challenges that can come along that may be difficult for us to deal with. If we have put our trust in the Lord, He who made this earth and us will help us deal with changes and challenges. The closer we walk with Him, the more we can be prepared for them. This has been a comfort to me many times.


Two days ago I heard about the death of a former student of mine. He will be greatly missed, especially by his father, who is a colleague of mine. This is another reminder to me that we need to be prepared ... for eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ loves you and I, and He died for us.  He is the only way to God, and eternity with Him.

 if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," 
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 1:9

Milkweed Seeds

When milkweed is dead, it isn't very attractive. It can actually look very ugly. But then, it opens in the  spring and the seeds start to come out. They remind me of large dandelion seeds but are even more feathery. I think they are fascinating.  

We have a field of milkweed up behind out house and this has been an interesting area for us to watch the monarch caterpillars and butterflies as they go through their cycles. We have collected caterpillarsat times and have watched them change. I've taken some pictures of the chrysalis and the butterfly emerging. I'll try to put these pictures up sometime too.

When I took the pictures, I thought that the best way to show the feathery look to the milkweed seeds would be to have them backlit and have the sun shining through. I kept the aperture wide (f5.6) on the telephoto lens in order to have the background blurred. This makes the milkweed and seeds stand out better.

As always, God's creation points to Him. I realize these aren't masterpieces, and will probably never grace my walls in a frame, but they have a purpose and a beautiful side to them. Often we might think that we're not beautiful, and there doesn't seem to be a purpose for us to be here, but this is not true. We are beautiful to God. He made each of us to be beautiful in our own way, and He has a purpose for each of us. If you don't know what your purpose is, go to God and He will reveal it to you. 

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; 

I will counsel you and watch over you. 

Psalm 32:8

Have a Good Easter!

How do people celebrate Easter?  Just as Santa Claus draws away from the real reason for Christmas, we see the same thing happening at Easter with the Easter bunny and Easter eggs.


Our church had a Good Friday Brunch yesterday. There were about 80 people there, and we had an uplifting message pointing to our Lord and Saviour dying for us. On Sunday, people will be celebrating His resurrection. We know that we have a risen and living Saviour who loves us.


We had tulips on the tables, and were given some to take home ... so, as usual, I looked at them, and thought it would be interesting to photograph them. It was a nice sunny day today and was able to use the sun as a backlight.

God showed His great love for us 

by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8

Our Neighbour's Cat

Our neighbour's cat thinks that she owns us. When we go for a walk, she makes sure she is with us, and will follow us almost anywhere. When we drive into our yard, she runs over to see us. When we open our door, she's sitting outside waiting and hoping we'll let her in. And she claims our porch furniture for her sleeping spot.
Her coat is completely black except for a few white tufts on her chest. It's hard to take her photo - when I crouch down to take a picture of her on her level, she comes over to see me and gets too close - too fast for me to snap the shutter.

 

Since her coat is so black, it is not easy to photograph her, especially when she has a light background. This next picture is of her on our sandy beach. She likes to roll in the sand every once in awhile so she looks a bit "dirty" in this picture.  I guess I'll have to learn a bit about HDR if I want to expose for both the beach and her.

The following picture of her was taken in the bush behind our place. The other day she walked with us for about an hour in the bush. I was hoping to take some pictures of different birds, but they don't like to stay around when she is with us.  These pictures are of her stalking a chipmunk - and no, I didn't get a picture of the chipmunk either.  Figuring out the exposure was easier since her background was darker. The exposure lets you see the richness of her black fur.

 It's interesting to see a "tame" cat when it's out in the wild especially when it's stalking something. Apparently they can run up to 30 mph within a few seconds although they can't do this for more than a minute. I didn't realize they could go so fast. I know many believe that this is the result of evolution, but I believe this is a God-given instinct. We are watching the video "God of Wonders"  this evening and marvelling at God's creation.

God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:25