Butterflies

I've lived in Moncton, nearly my whole life. Yet I don't think I have ever  been to Butterfly World, in the Magnetic Hill area.

My wife Linda, Ma tante Lorraine and I decided to pay it a visit today.

I grabbed a few photos while we were there. Those little buggers move faster than I remembered...  But I managed to capture a few with my camera none-the-less.

I have no idea what the different kinds of butterflies are. I think the black and orange one is called a Monarch Butterfly. But that is all I know about these critters.

It was a pretty good day trip with a couple of my favorite ladies. :)

--- Mark ---

Roller Derby...

A friend of mine from high school is into roller derby.  She plays on a team called the Mud River Rollers.. So, I arranged to go to a local Roller Derby match and take a few photos.

Unfortunately, the lens I have and the low light level at the Kay arena are not an ideal combination. But I managed to get a few photos. I had to use a high ISO and a fairly slow shutter speed in order to get any photos at all.... Not to mention a lot of noise reduction after the fact....  Sorry the photo's aren't tack sharp. I did the best I could with the tools I have.

Due to the limitations of my gear and of the venue, my goal was to capture the moment.

It is approaching  the end of the season for roller derby. Perhaps I'll try photographing it again next year. By then I should have a better grasp on the sport. It was my first experience with the sport... I wasn't sure what to look for....

--- Mark ---

Sandpipers and Daisies...

Every summer, around this time of year, The Dorchester area is visited by thousands of migrating Sandpipers before they head south.

Today, my dad, my wife, and I, took a little drive to see them.

I think the migration schedule is a bit off this year... The number of Sandpipers we saw was a bit underwhelming. There were some. But compared to past visits, there weren't many birds around.

I don't have the appropriate camera gear for "birding". But, I gave it a shot anyway.

Sandpiper Migration...

Daisies

We don't visit them every year. The last time we went, it was pouring rain and I wasn't able to get any decent photos. Maybe next time we go, things will go a bit better, photography wise...

It was a nice day trip otherwise. .

--- Mark ---

Puppies and Flowers

About a year ago, Linda's friend Lisa got a new dog. ..

We made a trip to Quispamsis to meet her. Ally took a liking to me right away.

We re-visited them yesterday an Ally was again, quite taken with me... Must be my animal magnetism.

Anyway, I took a few photos of her. I chose one of my favorites and converted it to black & white. 

Here she is...

Ally is much bigger than she looks...

While we were in Quispamsis, we visited the town hall where they have some pretty nice grounds. I took a few photos of some of the flowers they planted this year.

Some yellow flowers

A black and red flower.

 

A pinkish flower.

In case you can't tell, I am terrible at identifying flowers. But, I do like them.

There were a few other photos in the bunch. But, we've had some unusuallyby cold weather at night this summer and a lot of the flowers were a bit wilted. So, I chose a few of the best ones to share.

--- Mark ---

Canada Day 2015

Linda, Dad, and I went to the Canada Day celebrations in downtown Moncton tonight. It was a good time and the entertainment was great.

The crowd was a lot bigger than usual this year and this made getting good pictures pretty challenging.

There was a rather larger crowd than I expected in front of me when Trooper started to play. I wasn't able to get many good shots. I'll have to plan it better next year.

 Oh well, they still put on a great show even if I couldn't get any good photos.

Trooper - Canada Day 2015

Due to my bad positioning in the crowd, I was unable to get a clear shot of the keyboard player or the guitarists... Please forgive the peoples hands at the bottom of the frame.

Here are a couple photos from one of the opening acts, I believe they are called  "The Backyard Devils".

The Backyard Devils

The Backyard Devils

We saw another group as well. They were also very good. But, I wasn't pleased with the photos so I didn't include any here.

Also, I wasn't able to find a decent spot to capture the fireworks display from. So, I didn't share any of them either.

In the end, it was a good night. The entertainment was quite good. And Trooper reminded me why they've been one of my favorite bands since 1975. The fireworks display was very good as well.

Happy Canada Day!

--- Mark ---