Throwback Thursday

We all have these photos … throwback photos! Don’t we just… so many. It’s described as ‘nostalgia-inducing pictures … from a different era of your life”.

This week (#TB Thursday). We visited Karhulinna ( bear castle) in Korkeasaari Zoo in 2015. I got some nice shots of the bears enjoying a smim and playing together.


Korkeasaari got its first bears already in 1888, i.e. a year before the zoo was officially founded.

Today’s Karhulinna is home to two bears, Sofia born in 2001 in Ähtäri Zoo and her female cub Yulia born in 2006 in Korkeasaari. They look very similar, but there are some differences in behavior – for example, the younger one of the bears likes to swim, but its mother is content to wade. Bears hibernate indoors in their own dens, usually from November to the beginning of March.

The bear is Finland’s largest predator, but it mostly eats plant food. It tastes soft shoots, leaves, roots, berries and grain, but also all kinds of animal food such as small mammals and fish. Despite its large size, the bear moves nimbly, climbs and swims well.

In Northern Europe, bears hibernate, when their body temperature drops a few degrees and their vital functions slow down. Hibernation is the bears’ way of surviving the long winter, when there is little food available. Before going to sleep, the bear gets fat, eating a lot of sugary berries in particular. Bear cubs are born during the mother’s hibernation in January-March. Their birth weight is only 350-500 grams. The cubs emerge from the nest in May-June, and stay with their mother for a couple of years. When the female has her young cubs with her, she avoids the males when moving, as they can kill the foreign cubs. The female does not have offspring every year.

my Tinka

I am not having much luck lately, the flu is still hanging on, not much , but annoying little cough continues.

Then last week – well five days ago, while sitting at morning coffee, i moved a bit and, snap, something went wrong, I bent like a jackknife, I could not straighten my back. Well I am in a upright position now, but sitting in a chair is impossible and walking is pain. So having said that, I have no taken many photos this week.

I did take photos of Tinka one day…

She has such nice green eyes

Tinka is the sweetest little cat.

Beach day

I love being on the beach, soft sand, the soothing sound of the waves and the color of the sea.

As far as capturing birds goes, Pelicans are one of the easiest. Bid photography is not my strong point, i don’t have enough patience and not the best equipment for it either. I can always try, I like the in the mood sense. It was a rather crisp and windy day, I even had to but on a jacket. I took these at Ocean ridge in Florida.

Pelican over the waves

ospreys on Tybee Island

Osprey on a danger sign
Osprey

The osprey populations worldwide have been making a comeback. Their dark backs, white bellies and wings crooked like those of a gull are once again a common sight as they relentlessly patrol the rivers, creeks, lakes and ocean in search of their favorite food: fish, fish and more fish.  

I’ve read that the gulls, terns, shorebirds, herons and egrets do not seem to be bothered by the ospreys. They instinctively know the ospreys are looking for fish.

Sweet Tinka

I had a plan to get all my trip posts done last week, but flu got in the way. It totally left me tired, sneezing, coughing and drinking tea, that’s is what I have been doing past week and watching television. I took a lot of effort to get the previous post done.

I had comfort while laying in bed, Tinka kept me company.

Oh, A 🦌 Deer

Today, I saw this lovely deer ,from the window facing my backyard, posing on the hill. It would have been nice to go outside and take the photosthere, but it would have run away, if I’d gone and opened the door. So, I took these through the window, taking this to consideration they came out ok.

A deer standing on a hill

It stood there on the hill for a while, looked around and finally turning and walked away. Just to lay down and rest on the hill behind a fallen tree, so that only the ears were visible.

🦌 Deer

Something I noticed #32

Something I noticed is back, odd shots of ranbom things.

Looking for the changes autumn brings, I had my Tinka cat follow me like a puppy. So here are two shots of my lovely little Tinka 🙀

Tinka

🦎 Lizard

I came across these images of a lizard I saw in Key West some years back. I find it very impressive and beautiful in it’s own way.

Wonderful structure of the lizard
Gorgeous details of the lizard

52 Frames: Week 23: Triangular!

Three’s company or a crowd… 🤷🏻‍♀️  – but in photography, we can use 3 “lines” to make a Triangular Composition – three lines in an image to create either an “actual” triangle shape, like a harsh shadow on the street, or hands raised above ones head, or a “perceived” triangle shape like posing a group of people in your frame, or cutting your frame in half with some diagonal shape (your subject’s limbs placed diagonally in your frame can make great perceived triangles in your frame’s composition). Other ways perceived triangles can be utilized in your composition could include the way a lamp casts light onto your subject, or a leading line taking you into the frame.

Mountain goat

This challenge is NOT a request to find a triangle toy, or a triangular OBJECT and take a photo of it. This is a compositional challenge, as its name implies: Triangular COMPOSITION. Just like for the Rule of Thirds challenge, for example, wasn’t a request to go out and find tic-tac-toe boards!

Gorge

Triangular composition is one of those “guidelines” in photography composition, that can enhance interest in your frame, if or when you can incorporate it. The purpose of this challenge is to first train yourself to SEE it. Once you understand where triangles take form in composition, you can then craft your own frame utilizing one of these techniques.

Tree on the hillside in Crete

you can achieve triangular composition in many ways: by placing your subject’s hand on their ear, by catching the harsh mid-day shadow on a street, by capturing a long, straight road, that disappears in the distance.

Triangular Composition

This challenge is not (necessarily) referring to the “golden triangle”, the focus is more on these scenarios where you can identify regular ol’ triangles in your composition.

Be creative : let’s not be obtuse  in looking for the right 📐angle. We’re all equilaterally🔺capable of acutely 🚩 good photos.

Playtime

I have been watching these to dog friends play if not daily, then weekly. Looking at them from my office window. They are big, but still puppies and enjoying themselves playing in the snow. This time I decided I will take photos of them. Cute, aren’t they?

Sweet little Tinka

My cat Tinka captured in black and white. She is so pretty!

“What greater gift than the love of a cat?”

– Charles Dickens

“There is something about the presence of a cat… that seems to take the bite out of being alone.” – Louis J. Camuti

Travel memories 21

No travel in sight, so I am going to post photos of lovely places I have visited. I will keep it simple, lots of posts, less words is the theme in these posts.

One of my memorable experiences was in Mirissa, Sri Lanka. We went whale watching and were so lucky to be able to see at two blue whales, the one below one was the best, very rare – this one swam underneath our boat. The captain told everyone to shut up when he spotted it or he would throw the one who spoke overboard. Only if you keep quiet the blue whale might approach you – you can’t chase them. We were lucky and this magnificent animal visited us.

Blue whale

Blue whale
People looking for whales (not our boat)

I love the sea, beaches, forests, mountains, countryside and lovely cities and the people in them. Colors; blue, green, red, white, yellows and what ever you can find around you. I love beauty and these photos remind me of beauty I have seen.

Welcome to my travels, some of them you might seen before…well, that’s life! Let’s go with the flow…

Stray dogs at Negombo beach

These dog were so cute, taking care of each other at Negombo Beach