Sublime Scugog

Heather put a new dock in at her home on Lake Scugog. I took this panorama of her on the dock at sunset with my iPhoneX and added the 'vivid warm' filter to it. She loves it!

Bug Hunter

One of the most rewarding activities for me and the kids at FoN's summer camps is bug hunting with our cameras. Of course they like to actually catch the critters with their nets but I like to show them how to sneak up on them to get a good shot.

So here are a few of my favs this summer. (click to enlarge)

Dogbane leaf beetles getting it on

A cicada emerges

Title slide from my camp slideshow

A fellow bug hunter!

Praying mantis

unidentified bee

A skipper butterfly flutters in the pool

A deer fly

A hummingbird moth caterpillar

Fine Feathered Friends

Getting a good photo of a bird in the wild is one of my most difficult challenges in photography. They  don't like me getting too close; they move around a lot; and they're usually obscured by trees and shrubs they live in. So good shots can be few and far between. Here are a few of my favourites taken so far this year...

Blackburnian warbler at Point Pelee

the Cuban Tody at Brisas Sierra Mar

a Turkey in Chivarico, Cuba

a male Northern Cardinal in Hendrie Valley, Burlington

an Eastern bluebird at the Guelph Arboretum

an endangered Prothonotory warbler at Point Pelee

Fresh Perspectives 2019

30 prints on display at 10C Shared Space in Guelph

Focus on Nature held three Fresh Perspectives student nature photography exhibitions this year: one in Oakville and two in Guelph. They are an excellent way to highlight the talents of the children who partake in FON workshops and camps. And they underscore the importance of the work we do to encourage a stronger connection to nature in the next generation.

Below are some of my favourite images that were displayed this year...

photo by Mikayla

photo by Noah

photo by Mia

photo by Madison S.

photo by Senay

photo by Cowan

Toronto Zoo Revisited

"Dad, let's do something together this weekend," said my son Trevor.
"Let's go to the Zoo!" I replied. "Sure," said Trevor, "I haven't been in years."
And so, on a recent sunny Saturday morning, Trevor and I headed for the Toronto Zoo.  (I think he had a much better time than he anticipated!) Here are my favourite shots from the day...

Poopie is over 50 years old now; one of the oldest orangutan s in captivity

As if she knew I wanted a great shot, Poopie sat in the sun playing with a palm leaf

The Giraffes were indoors today

It's all happening at the Zoo: Simon gets down to play

 Having been a Zoo volunteer many years ago, I have a life membership. If I lived a little closer, I think I would volunteer again!

A Green tree python

Golden lion tamarins from Brazil are an endangered specie

The textured skin of a Chameleon can change colour

A Mountain gorilla posed for a moment

The Komodo dragons always seem to drool their poisonous saliva

Cuba Revisited

I last visited Cuba in 2007 for a one week vacation in Varadero, with a side trip to Havana. Now, 12 years later - having just spent 2 weeks at Brisas Los Galeones, about an hour from Santiago de Cuba - I can see that a lot has changed in the country but not all for the better.

Cell phones are everywhere now. Most Cuban people have never owned a computer but now they have access to the wider world with a device that is much more affordable and convenient.

Apparently, there are no Cuban firewalls to restrict knowledge access, nor restrictions on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.

But I wonder if there is the expectation of privacy, as there is here in Canada? Or does the Cuban government monitor and control the population more efficiently. Big Data is watching you.

Life is still hard in Cuba. Rationing of basic food staples is in effect, something I'd never heard of 12 years ago.

Salaries ($12 to $40 per month) are so meagre that a second source of income is needed to stay afloat.

There are no luxuries to be had unless you have a foreign relation to help out.

But despite the hardship, and the knowledge of how far behind they are economically, the Cuban people put on a brave face and greet you not with rancour but with a smile. They may be resigned to their situation yet they are ever hopeful of a brighter, more prosperous future.

Photo Cuba 2019

This 3-min. video is a compilation of photos and videos taken during my week at the Photo Cuba workshop in town of Chivirico and the city of Santiago de Cuba. Organized by Trina Koster, it was fun way to stretch my photography muscles and learn from the other excellent photographers in attendance. I had a great time!

Around the Reef

After a few hours of exploring the inshore reefs with my camera, I found a few interesting species of fish and even a green sea turtle looking for a snack.

The flying gurnard flashes his pectoral to scare me!

I thought it was a puffer fish but actually it's called a burrfish.

The beautiful blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) is also known as the surgeonfish.

Wow! The goldspotted snake eel hunting for his prey,

A trumpetfish sometimes hangs vertically in the water, sneaks up on his prey and then sucks hard!.

Don't mess with this guy; the stingray has a poisonous barb in his tail.

The sand diver waits patiently for his unsuspecting prey and then lunges with lightning speed. Fun to watch!

My old friend the green sea turtle hangs out with the tour boats who feed him every day.

Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill

Today we visited the Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill, owned and operated by the Barbados National Trust.

Built in 1727, it is the oldest and largest sugar mill in the world!

It ceased commercial operation in 1947 but has been totally refurbished and still fully functional.

At the height of the sugar industry there were over 500 windmills on Barbados: more per square mile than existed in Holland.

The original wooden gears and engine were replaced with cast iron in 1870 but the central shaft is still constructed of the original wood.


The wood came from an ancient Fustic tree that's harder than mahogany.

The next milling of sugar cane won't happen until 2021.

The reason for the delay is that the mill needs to be fed long pieces of hand-cut sugar cane and today's modern cutting machines only produce short pieces.

I hear the juice is delicious so we might just have to come back and try it then!

The view from Cherry Tree Hill just above the Morgan Lewis Mill

The Cannonball Tree

The Chattel Village shops

The  cannonball fruit

If you're ever in The Chattel Village in Holetown Barbados, do stop by and say hello to one of its strangest residents, the cannonball tree. Like the huge round fruit it is named after, this tree is enormous, providing shade to the guests at the outdoor restaurant.

The true stars of the plant are its fragrant flowers which look like they are from another planet; maybe Pandora in the movie Avatar.

Unlike other flowering trees, these fragrant blooms don't grow up in the canopy but lower down on special leafless branches that extend out from the tree's trunk.

And no that's not a strange caterpillar crawling across the flower. They are the tree's pollen-bearing stamens.

Fun fact: while the tree comes from Central and South America, in Sri Lanka it is considered to be the sacred tree that Lord Buddha was born under!