Some lovely chilled wine. Trying out my new camera while taking a course to learn how to do it better. Exploration of depth of field...top photo is subject isolated from background...bottom photo both subject and background are in focus. I wrote a bette blog but it disappeared off into the ether. Now I'm too bugged to bother. But....I am enjoying the photography part...at the expense of my drawing time. Oh well.

I've had two more excursions with my photography blind. First I sat out at dawn for 2 hours to see if any deer might be by the salt lick and hay. There had been some tracks up to it a few days ago and the hay had been munched on a bit. Well, the photo here is of the side trail from whence said deer would have come if indeed they had come. I sat eagerly poised, camera in hand but alas no deer.

The next attempt at clandestine photography involved a bag full of fish heads and guts as a lure for whatever carnivore might happen by. Alas, not even crows came by to pick at these goodies. I have replaced my broken tripod so it was an easier sit and wait.So again I simply took a photo of where the intended subject would have been (see bait just to the left of the tree) if it had showed up. I suspect it was the wrong time of day...I waited for daylight this time. It could also be that the beasties are too wary of the blind which I so cleverly thought was a good idea. There are lots of foxes around and they are not that shy so maybe it's just a matter of time. Mike has come home from ice-fishing with 5 more fish sooooo tomorrow I'll try again but this time just before dawn.

These are the fruits of my lurking in the woods in my photograhy blind. It went quite well for my first outing with the blind. Inspite of my teetering precariously on the hillside, my tripod snapping in two and my rustling around noisily inside the blind trying to get myself set up in the right spot before I settled into a quiet waiting mode...the little squirrel scolded me quite terribly at first and then finally came back to the feeder. I took many many shots...mostly in pet mode so as to catch the quick moving little guy. I even caught a little nuthatch while I waited for the squirrel to come back. I had planned to experiment more with other modes but being suddenly without a tripod I had to rely on 'shake reduction' as I hand held the camera. More than half of the shots were not good at all but I am pleased with how it went. It was soooo much fun...and I was quite cozy in the blind even though it was -10C and snowing. There were other noises going on too...sounded like a deer or moose or something making snorty grunty noises. Interesting very interesting.

I have a few things on the go just now. The wolves in the woods project is still at a standstill though. I did another quick sketch of a forest scene hoping to find inspiration or at least some enjoyment of the process. Blah on either count. I've set that aside in favour of some bookmarks for my grandson for Xmas. This is more pressing so as to get them in the mail in time for Xmas. And, more enjoyable from a creative standpoint as I can return to the subjects I prefer to draw.

My adventures with the new camera are somewhat mixed as I sort out how to most effectively use its many features. Mostly I have taken photos of dogs from my grooming table. It is almost too cold outside (-16C. right now) to fiddle around getting to know the camera. Although....I did buy a handy dandy hunting blind in which to lurk for squirrels, birds, and deer or whatever I can lure to my feeders. Just waiting for the portable stool and a couple of bales of hay to arrive before I set that little scheme into motion. What fun...to think about for now...it remains to be seen if it will work for me.

I've been plugging away at this one for a week now. I have a long way to go with the forest floor especially. I'm not truly happy with the look of either wolf...one is rather foxish. It is very much a work in progress to get some practice with composition. I find myself feeling impatient with the picture as a whole but it is a learning experience...outside of my comfort zone. I do long to return to portrait of animal heads dangling in limbo in the center of a blank page. It is progress just to keep at it though. And, so I shall.

Moonlit Wolf completed! I darkened the plants in the foreground, deepened some of the shadow and enhance the appearance of water around the reeds. I am pleased with the results and feel quite content to call this project complete. The paper has suffered somewhat in the editing process so I will redo this at a later date. Compositionwise I think it has improved immensely with the help of those who responded to my critique request on wc. What a great experience to go through. Living in a relatively isolated area and being quite apprehensive about getting into formal art classes I found the input of others who live way, way elsewhere very encouraging and will remember and use the info I received over and over to help myself grow artistically.

I made some changes on the Moonlit Wolf based on the advice I received on wc. I removed the upper part of the tree and left the remainder to become a stump. I extended the mountain range to the right edge of the drawing instead. It is my hope that the viewer's eye will now not be led out of the drawing but rather toward the wolf. I added more trees at the base of the mountains and gave them reflections in the lake. I have begun to improve the foreground with the addition of reeds and rocks suggesting the shore. I can now feel the eye being moved about the picture to rest on the wolf. I'm not sure if I will do much more to this. It's composition feels good but ofcourse the paper has suffered somewhat. I may at some point redo the entire thing on another piece of Bristol once I have satisfied myself with the composition completely.