My new blog AND photo ordering site!

If you haven’t read my previous post – I’ve started a new blog and I am very excited!

Visit J.C. Photography to follow my photography attempts.

To order my photos that you may have seen on this blog – and ones you can find on my new blog, please visit my gallery at D. Simon Jackson Photography.

If you see an image on this blog, and do not see it on the website, please let me know, and I will add it!

All profits from my images go to the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, which helps to save the endangered spirit bear on the British Columbian coast.

Colorado Rocky Mountain High

One more full day left in Colorado, hanging out in Boulder for some teaching related meetings.

I love the fresh, crisp air here. It seems to make me feel so much healthier and awake. Wish I could bottle it up!

Enjoy these pictures from a hike I did yesterday morning!

Photo: Sheepish or shy?

 

I can’t tell if this grizzly in Kananaskis, Alberta looks like she is sheepish or if she is shy. I’m sure she is just hungry. She was such an entertaining bear to watch last summer.

Read my background in wildlife photography practice, as well!

Photo: Where, where is the party?!

Again, wish I had a better lens for this one. I was zoomed in on grizzly bear #399 and her 3 cubs two years ago in Grand Teton National Park, as they made their way across Willow Flats in search of a better bush to munch on.

If you want to see more photos of #399 and her story, check out my other posts on this fascinating bear:

1. 399 photo

2. 399 photo

3. 399 photo

4. 399 photo

 

Top 5: Wilderness Escapes in Toronto

This past weekend, I was feeling very restless and decided that I needed a good dose of fresh air, in the form of FRESH air (not the busy street smoggy stinky downtown Toronto air).

My fiancee was also feeling this same restlesness, but also, his finger was itching to try out a few new ‘gagdets’ he purchased for his Nikon D800. He is the ultimate wildlife photographer, so he busily searched for places near to us where I could take my meds consisting of fresh, nature filled air (umm, I am not sure what that is…), and he could satisfy his trigger finger (FOR HIS CAMERA).

We discovered Leslie Spit, which was exactly 15 minutes away from my condo. I could not believe it. There we were, standing in nature, yet able to see the city skyline right behind us. It was perfect.

The investigation is going to continue as I list the top 5 ‘wilderness’ escapes in and around the city of Toronto.

5. Lynde Shores Conservation Area – Probably about a 45 minute drive to find this nature retreat, but worth it to hike around a swampy scene filled with deer, birds and beaver!

4. Colonel Sam Smith Park – Can’t wait to check out this park. Probably a 25 minute drive from my condo, I could be there, exploring the trails along the Toronto waterfront. It would especially be neat to find the beaver and snakes to photograph.

3. High Park – This park is surrounded by the Gardiner Expressway to the south, Bloor Street to the north, and subdivisions on either side. I completed a 5K race here a few years ago, and marvelled at all the green around me, while dragging my feet up and down some tough hills.

2. Rouge Park – I haven’t been here yet, but I have heard so many wonderful things about this area, that it could quite possibly beat out Leslie Spit for the #1 spot.

Right next to the Toronto Zoo, it boasts many birds, deer, plant and reptiles, some that are endangered and rare. Can’t wait to go!

1. Leslie Spit/Tommy Thompson Park – it had to be #1, since I have been here. It’s home to  countless species of birds, mink, beaver, fox, coyote and owl – oh and muscrat, which we ran into accidentally on our hike.

This semi-man-made spit became quite a wonderful ‘accidental’ wilderness right in the heart of Toronto.

Further Reading:

Toronto Wildlife: Where to Find Wildlife and Birds in Toronto

Photo: Le Fog

Taken in Chicago, Illinois on a damp and foggy evening. I love the perspective, but I wish I had a better camera at this moment.

That just means I have to go back to Chicago and try again, right?!

 

Photo: Le Moose

Moose on the Loose – Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

I miss those days in the summer, when I had the time to settle in by a big bull moose and take pictures of him for 2 hours.

Oh well, something to look forward to next summer!

Photo: The Setting Sun

It’s been a very busy few weeks here in and about Toronto. But I wanted to share this picture that, every time I look at it, I relax a little bit and slow down.

This is in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, on the last day of my two month summer trip. The same moment as the current header on my blog. Great way to end the summer!

Top 5: Otter Photos

I’ve been lucky in Yellowstone these past 2 summers, watching groups of otters doing their thing – and the shows have apparently been quite a rare thing to witness according to others.

Here are my top 5 photos of les otters from the past two summers:

Number 5

Golden light, watching these cute little dudes sleep on a fallen log over one of the most beautiful lakes I have seen (Trout Lake, Yellowstone National Park).

Number 4

Mama, eating her trout and fighting off her 2 pups. What a task. PS – some noisy tourist disrupted their flow, that’s what they are looking at!

Number 3

How waterproof does their fur look? Nice.

Number 2

Nice whiff of a fresh trout being eaten. Yum – she sure enjoyed it!

Number 1

I have a whole sequence of this – including his/her brother/sister coming to join. Unfortunately, my lens was set at manuel, and resulted in somewhat blurry photos. Ahh…there is always next year, I hope!

Fly like an Eagle (for real this time)

My last photo featuring a bird had the same title, except it was not actually an eagle. Here you go – let’s try this again.

Taken in Glacier National Park, Montana.