Brodiaea

Victoria generally has a long and lush spring but about this time of year it dries out and, while I love the rich greens of spring, I am always pleased to see the lovely purple flowers of Brodiaea among the dry grasses. These were photographed yesterday at Harling Point. I'm beginning to realize (to paraphrase the popular song) that when you go out with a camera you don't always get what you want but you will probably get something.

The Harbour Rats

Here's a pair of brothers I've not seen before - Gabe and Mac, who are busking on the causeway this year under the name of The Harbour Rats. They have a wide repertoire that includes some high-energy bluegrass. Great stuff!

Durrance Lake

Yesterday's photo of the Foxglove flowers was taken near the shore of Durrance Lake, about a half hour's drive from the City of Victoria. Above is a photo of the lake itself. Just before we left, one of the local residents swooped down and perched overlooking the lake.

Foxglove

In the deep forest surrounding nearby Durrance Lake in Saanich this Foxglove seemed to glow almost with a light of its own.

Portrait Problems

Regular visitors here will have noted that I've been posting a lot of photos of performers lately. One of the reasons is that my photography interests lately have been in two directions - portraiture and landscapes. In part these two interests stem from two lenses I have - an 85mm lens (the focal length generally agreed to be most useful for portraits) and a 20mm wide angle lens that should be good for landscapes. I've been having more success with portraits but I feel that I tend to end up with the same old head and shoulders composition. Today's two photos illustrate two different choices for composition. Above is what I usually end up with - the subject (in this case, the lovely Esther-Ruth Teel and her Celtic harp) is pretty much centered in a 3:2 frame. Below is a different crop of the same photo - a close-up of just head and shoulders but sharing a square frame with the harp. I think I prefer the version below but I will be interested in any opinions visitors care to share.