Exploring Nova Scotia: Captivating Nature Pictures

Here are some of the most popular images from my Facebook Page for the month of July. It’s a mix of flowers, landscapes and bluejays. I hope you enjoy the images and the stories behind them. If you like my photos please feel free to share them with your friends using the social media links at the bottom of the page. Thank you!

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If you do any hiking along Nova Scotia’s coastal trails you’ve undoubtedly seen this gorgeous flower – the wild iris. They usually grow in boggy areas and add a nice burst of colour among the green. I photographed this one along a trail in the Prospect area.

Kathy and Suzy enjoy a stroll among the granite boulders along the coast on a foggy day. You need to keep your wits about you when boulder hopping as it’s easy to fall and injure yourself. Fortunately everyone survived this trip unscathed.

Daisies are a common sight in fields and along highways in the summer in Nova Scotia. Are you tempted to try “She loves me, she loves me not”?

I spotted this group of ferns alongside a trail at Cleveland Beach Provincial Park. A beam of sunlight was shining down on them like a spotlight. Fortunately I had my camera with me and was able to capture the scene before they went back into the shade.

I thought I was going to get a nice portrait of Liam and then this happened. Ironically, this was my most popular photo on Facebook during the month of July. Cats!

A foggy day is a great time to photograph the forest as it helps add depth to the scene. Fox Hollow Brook in Upper Tantallon is just a few minutes from my home so I often head there for my woodland photography. It rarely disappoints!

The St Margaret’s Bay rail trail is one of our favourite places to walk our dog Suzy. I usually take my camera along in case I see something photo worthy. This man and his dog passed us so I took advantage of the opportunity to grab a shot of them strolling into the fog. I love how they add an interesting element to the story. I wish the dog was black or brown instead of white but in the words of Mick Jagger, “you can’t always get what you want.”

Macro photography is a form of photography I find fascinating. I like trying to capture insects on flowers like this bumble bee getting nectar from a flower in Kathy’s garden. The light was dim so I had to use a flash. I like how it added an iridescent sheen to the bee’s wings.

A compositional trick photographers often use in landscape photography is to frame the scene with tree branches. It helps keep the viewer’s eye within the scene and adds depth to the image. The structures in the distance are water towers belonging to NS Power Corporation.

You may have seen the bluejay babies I posted in last month’s blog. They grew rapidly and eventually left the nest in July. I managed to capture a few photos of the family on their last day before they flew off into the forest.