Lions, Tigers & Bears...

Well, tigers...certainly. Lions and bears - not so much.


Today seemed like a perfect day for a trip to the zoo. If you've never been to the zoo in the winter, you don't know what you're missing!


It's been a long time since I've seen my dear friend Jane, so I've been looking forward to this outing most of the week.


All week, the weather today was forecasted to be sunny, clear & above 0. When I left home this morning to pick up Jane, things looked promising. Although it was still quite chilly, the sky was clear & there was no breeze. It looked like a fantastic day to head to the zoo.


A half hour later, with Jane on board and mandatory Starbucks in hand, we were on our way to the zoo.


The parking lot was virtually deserted when we arrived a few minutes before the gates opened. We sipped our coffees and caught up on news and waited for 9:30. Other cars straggled in. More photographers got out... we are a die-hard bunch to be sure!


At 9:30, we headed in and planned our day. The best tips I can give for the zoo are, 1) arrive early and get in before the families and kids, 2) plan your circuit based on the feeding schedules for best chances to see the most activity and 3) if you're going in the winter, dress in layers - long underwear is a good thing!!


Our first stop was the polar bear exhibit, which had been under construction on our prior visit - but also, no bears...yet. So off we wandered to the Sumatran tigers where we met this lovely lady.




Feeding time for the tigers was some time away yet, so we spent some time in the indoor Australian exhibit while we waited and met a Kookaburra who liked his meals tenderized (he must have smacked this poor mouse on the branch a dozen times!).



Feeding time came for the tigers and we returned to watch as they enjoyed a snack of fresh beef ribs.


1:00 came and it was time for the polar bear feeding so back we went and were pleased to see three bears now out in the exhibit.


After the bears, we wandered the zoo for a couple of additional hours, taking random shots. It ended up being overcast and quite chilly so we stayed in the pavilions as much as possible, which unfortunately meant that our lenses fogged over every time were went inside, so much time was spent standing around waiting for the glass to clear.



Our final stop was the rhino building where mandarin ducks share the water with the rhino. the lighting in the building isn't the best, but I wanted to try to capture the stunning plumage of the ducks.


All in all, a very long, tiring day. No really spectacular shots, but the most important and pleasant part of the day was spending time and catching up with Jane.

- Paula

Olympic Torch Comes to Oshawa!

Such excitement as the Olympic torch run passes through Oshawa on December 16th, 2009. Darryl and I braved the bone chilling cold and flurries to witness the historic event not once, but twice. We met 2 of the relay runners in North Oshawa and then watched the final runner, local TV & radio personality, Dan Carter, bring the flame to the outdoor celebration downtown 2 1/2 hours later.

Dispite the fact I had long since lost all feeling in my fingers and toes, I enjoyed watching the flame pass within a couple of feet of me and seeing the sheer joy in the eyes of the runners as they passed with torches held proudly aloft.

GO CANADA!!!

- Paula

I have the most incredible dogs...ever

Last night was the "Pet Photography" workshop with our NDPA (North Durham Photographers' Association) camera club. I had volunteered Monty & Quinn as models, assuring Jon, our workshop guru, that they would be on their bestest behaviour and would stay put where and when told.

I sensed that Jon was skeptical, but since the only other models offered were turtles and snakes, he took us up on the offer.

Well, my furkids did not disappoint.

Although the photo above is not from last night's shoot - we didn't take any so that we could look after the dogs while others shot - this is a photo of Quinn (middle) and Monty (right) with Toby (left) doing just what they did last night. They were incredibly patient and SOOO well behaved!

All those years of training really paid off!

I'm so thrilled with them all.

What good dogs. :o)


- Paula

How Lucky Am I?

How lucky am I that my hubby and I share an interest in something after almost 20 years together? How extraordinarily lucky am I that we actually share TWO common interests? Now, I don't mean to insinuate that couples together many years have nothing in common, only that I think it's incredible that there are things that we can do together, that we both want to do equally as much as the other and that we enjoy doing them together.

For many years now, we have attended car shows together on summer weekends and have met a great number of wonderful people and spent a lot of time together either driving in one car to a show open to only one brand or the other (here is one area where we differ - I'm a Chrysler gal and he's a Ford boy), or, if the show was one we could enter both of our cars in, we chat on the two-way radios all the way there and back.

Now, in the past year or so, although we have both dabbled in it to varying extents for many years, we have now taken a keen interest in photography, joining a couple of local clubs and becoming immersed in them. When not busy with work, we can often be found out with cameras in hand searching for elusive shots or experimenting with new concepts and techniques. Sharing and working together.

Together. What an amazing thing. I am truly blessed.

-Paula