Mallards in flight

Here's a shot I took a couple of weeks ago of some Mallard Ducks in flight. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was setting.



That's water droplets coming off of them. They took flight off the lake.

Husband and Wife

I love the colors on these wood ducks. Here is a mating pair. Wood ducks pair up in January around here. Of all the pretty waterfowl, I think these are my favorite.





And here is another favorite of mine, the American Coot. These are some really bizarre looking water birds. They have really smooth bodies and they almost look wingless because their wings are stored so seamlessly against their body. They make a really funny noise and they have huge feet. They are usually a little shy, so I was lucky to get close enough to get some decent photos of these ones.

Squirrel Abstract Photos

These are not your ordinary squirrel photos. I shot these with a very narrow depth of field and most are slightly outside of the focal plane. These are all shot with my old Pentax Asahi Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4 lens. One of my favorite lenses.













And here's one of my crazy cat Stimpy:

The 86th Annual Vancouver Polar Bear Swim

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I attended the 86th Annual Vancouver Polar Bear Swim again this year. I shot a lot of photos again, but this years event didn't get the sunshine it did last year at this time. It was windy, cold and raining, a lot! In fact, I had to put my camera in a big plastic bag with an elastic band around the lens barrel. Luckily for me though, there were some kind folks around me who held their umbrellas over me most of the time I was shooting.

Still, who am I to complain about the rain, when there are people crazy enough to jump into the water at this time of year? Ya gotta love 'em!

So, as promised, here are the photos:

There were some Vikings there, and you just know when there's Vikings, there's gonna be trouble:





I think this was their leader:





Here is a shot of the crowd waiting in the rain:



And some of the swimmers getting prepared to go in:



And of course there were clowns there too(I think someone was throwing rice at them. I'm not sure where it was coming from):



Eventually, about 20 minutes before the official dive-in time, they let the participants into the big square 'holding pen' where they can get psyched out:



There they go into the holding pen. Check out the frozen news camera man in the center:



Here is another Viking showing off for the media:



Participants in the holding pen stripping down to their swim wear for the event:





Seconds before the actual diving in part, the crowd is hyped up by some blue guys:



And they're off!:















And here come the first ones back out again:



While some others swim further out:







Here is an example of how hard the rain was coming down. These people won't be getting dry anytime soon:



Lots more people going in and out:



Quite a few of the paricipants posed for photos by friends and family:



These to fellas look like they've been working out:



A tie will do little to keep you warm:



Elvis was there too!:



I saw Miss Piggy, but I didn't see Kermit anywhere:



In case you are wondering how cold the water is, let us examine the expression on this woman's face:



There were a few late stragglers that still wanted to jump in. Here's a happy looking couple:





I think this guy is praying for someplace warm where he can drink a gallon of hot coco!:



Here's one of the clowns hamming it up with some of the local police:



I think this is the last guy out of the water. He must be frozen. The lifeguard behind him is waiting patiently:





Even though it was raining, I still had fun. Maybe next year It'll be sunny, but who knows, it could be snowing even. It's always a blast.

Cheers!

Happy New Year!!

I wish you all the best in the New Year! Cheers!!

On New Year's Day, I will be attending the 86th Annual Vancouver Polar Bear Swim. I hope the weather is as good as last year, it was a blast! If I get some good shots, I'll post them here again for all to see.