Walks Near the Sea

A Haligonian Portfolio

(This portfolio is also viewable in black and white.)

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada is home, where I have lived for 23 years with my family and fellow Nummists. At the time I write this (October 2007), I have been photographing the area avidly for the past 4 years.

Halifax is the largest and oldest urban centre in Atlantic Canada, yet it is also nestled amid parklands, wilderness and active fishing villages. You can readily photograph nature, heritage and industry in the same outing, and sometimes in the same scene. This beautiful and diverse region seems to welcome any wanderer and any kind of photographic vision.

After gathering some 28,000 photos on walks in the Halifax Regional Municipality, I have decided to post some of them online. This selection emphasizes subjects that I encountered rather than ones I planned.

Below, then, are 42 photos, representing some of my favourite serendipitous subjects in Halifax and nearby. Most of these images, incidentally, are telephoto shots. (The opposite was true when I selected photos for my Parisian Portfolio. Perhaps in more familiar territory one tends to see in telephoto.) With one exception, they are available light shots (i.e. no flash), and most are also handheld shots (i.e. no tripod). The following cameras, lenses, filter and film featured in the making of this portfolio:

• Nikon D50 digital SLR body
• Nikkor AF 70-210 f/4 telephoto zoom lens
• Tokina AT-X M100AF 100 f/2.8 macro lens
• Nikon Type I circular polarizing filter
• HP Photosmart 945 digital compact
• Fujica GL690 Professional medium format film rangefinder body
• Kodak E100VS slide film
• Fujica 100 f/3.5 Auto Electro normal lens

Here is home:

Ships & Harbours

STRATEGY: Large (and often moving) subjects, combined with great, open distances, provide many opportunities to play with perspective. Telephoto lenses can produce interesting compression effects here.

Tough Ol' Tug

On the Halifax Waterfront, this tugboat rests from its labours.

Three Corners

These footings support an 18 floor office building (Purdy's Wharf Tower 1).

Atlantic Economy

A container ship passes the fishing village of Portuguese Cove.

Keith's on the Silva

An empty barrel of Alexander Keith's Indian Pale Ale sits aboard the Tall Ship Silva, berthed on the Halifax Waterfront.

The Victory Departing

The cruise ship Carnival Victory passes the end of Halterm Terminal. Cormorants flock in the foreground.

The Unicyclists

These unicyclists are scouting out Nova Scotia (here, the Halifax Waterfront) for the upcoming June 2008 Ride the Lobster tour. The cruise ship Norwegian Dawn passes in the background.

The Freakshow Passing

The speedboat Freakshow passes Georges Island.

K181

As evening approaches on the Halifax Waterfront, HMCS Sackville (K181), the last surviving WWII corvette, catches reflections of light.

Depth Markings

On the Sackville's other side, depth markings cover the prow.

Stumps & Undergrowth

STRATEGY: Look down (or kneel or even lie down) and rotate your perspective. Many subjects of this kind have no front or back, so diverse compositions are feasible.

Primordial Cookie

Hypnotic lichen formations cover the boulders in Terrence Bay Wilderness Area.

Pitcher Plants of the Apocalypse

Also in Terrence Bay Wilderness Area, pitcher plants feast on the fecund population of mosquitos.

Roadside Rose

Near Peggy's Cove, this rose grows on the shoulder of Route 333.

Bluebead Revolution

Three years after the tree fellings caused by Hurricane Juan, bluebeads penetrate the layer of deadwood on the floor of Point Pleasant Park.

Life in the Hollow

A microcosmic ecosystem takes shelter in this stump, in Point Pleasant Park.

Long, Gnarled Roots

Trees like this one, in Point Pleasant Park, are so deeply coiled into the earth as to be almost unshakeable. They dominate the view both up and down.

Entangled Lives

Another stump in Point Pleasant Park holds wiry lichen, sticky pinecones and flakes of snow.

End of Winter

A crocus blooms beside one of last fall's maple leaves.

Layered Lady Slippers

These endangered flowers congregate in an undisclosed location.

Goldenrod on Rye

Back in Point Pleasant Park, non-endangered wildflowers and grasses are flourishing on the open slopes.

The Hole

This stump, also in Point Pleasant Park, is really something special. One wants to kneel beside it, feel its woodiness, gaze into the oddness of its hole... Can you spot any animal shapes in the bark?

Little Fern

Yet another Point Pleasant Park stump yields its rich, red pulp to the circle of life. A beneficiary, this young fern basks in the sun.

Wildlife

STRATEGY: Approach slowly and stop to take photos often. Use faster shutter speeds than you would otherwise expect to need.

Slick Frog

A wet frog glistens in the sun on the edge of this private pond.

Parker the Ordinance Squirrel

This anxious individual seems aware that we are diminutive creatures facing staggering odds. Perhaps he would also say, "Keep our parks and cities clean!" He dwells in Point Pleasant Park.

Cruising Mallard

This duck enjoys the sun and water in the Halifax Public Gardens.

Canada Geese in Retreat

Near Peggy's Cove, this flock of Canada geese waddles away from the man with the lens. Due to previous experience, the man decides not to pursue across marshland.

Caterpillar's Hour 2

Eventually, this caterpillar made it to the upper branches of the tree.

Smoker Pigeon

No pigeons were harmed in the taking of this picture. This bird did manage to get up and fly.

Tilted Cormorant

This cormarant fishes off Purdy's Wharf. So do some people; believe it or not.

Dragonfly Love

These dragonflies are spending mating season on the banks of Quarry Pond in Point Pleasant Park.

Seagull on Mooring

A seagull takes the high ground on the end of Purdy's Wharf.

Flower Gardens

STRATEGY: Get close and find smooth, contrasting backgrounds. A polarizer is important for reducing glare on petals.

Sleeping Daffodils 1

These daffodils are closed and bowed, yet they will bloom before long.

Daffodil in Distress 1

A daffodil stands in the midst of rose thorns.

Daffodil in Distress 2

Another daffodil buries its petals against the stem of an unfeeling tulip.

Venerable Tulip 4

This tulip, in the shadier part of its garden, has lasted longer than most. Others have already wilted.

Watchful Rosa Ragusa

Like squinting eyes, these rosa ragusa flowers curl back on themselves.

Daylilies against Shade

These daylilies catch the sunlight and reflect it so brilliantly that everything else seems dark.

Pollinating Sunflower

On an overcast autumn day, this sunflower still stands tall. However, there are no takers for its pollen.

Swirling Cosmos

Against the backdrop of lily leaves, this cosmos seems to spin.

Three Black-eyed Susans

Three black-eyed susans (plus another seen faintly in the background) line up in this curbside garden.

Red-Green Rose

This rose bush encoils an arch in the Halifax Public Gardens.

Yellow Lily

Also in the Halifax Public Gardens, lilies are one of many species in the flowerbeds.

Wasp on Zinnia

This last image is actually not from the Halifax Regional Municipality but rather from neighbouring King's County. (Perhaps King's County will be the subject of another portfolio.) This flower belongs to the gardens of The Prescott House Museum, in Starrs Point.

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