First Holidays in 27 years! — a continuous report

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Kodiak Qc

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French Canadian living in Europe since 1989!
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•


So, I am on holidays for the next three weeks and wonder-
ing what the hell I gonna do with that time.

I am not asking for suggestions as my normal working life
is rather fun, stimulating, ever changing and hardly boring.
I have no desire or need to change environment nor my u-
sual rhythm and activities.

The way I see it, I'll have my days to run around and shoot
whatever but without any clients on the planner as my kids
decided to throw me out for the normal 5 weeks that I nego-
ciated down to three.

Let's see what will happen!
 
Good luck. What a lovely scenario. Having 3 weeks to do something you really want to do. I am lucky to get 3 hours, so am quite envious. Enjoy
 
Are of the nature to visit bird reserves and sit for a few hours just watching and taking.
 
mikew said:
sit for a few hours
Click to expand...

Ouch… not my style!

I will visit the marsh for longer period for sure
but will get to shoot other things like the inter-
national RRC planes competitions as the years
before.
 
been on permanent (retired) holiday for the last seven years and loving every minute of it .sometimes we even go away to other places just for a holiday from the holiday .or just hitch up that big dirty diesel volvo and take our caravan away for a break .:naughty::naughty::naughty:
 
Have a good break Daniel - might be good to leave the internet behind & catch up on sleep a little too.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Have a good break Daniel - might be good to leave the internet behind & catch up on sleep a little too.
Click to expand...


Thanks Toni!

My holiday being related to Kodiak Productions,
my personal obligations towards my students
remain. They only put me out of the clients duty. :)
 
•


First weekend

Saturday and Sunday. It feels like when I was skipping
school in the ol'days. While the boys are buzzing prepa-
ring for their respective events shoots, I'm in the kitchen
my feet on the next chair, sipping my second cup of coffee.

Else than the usual mentoring hours… total emptiness!
Ok, let's go for it: a third cup —that I hope will wash down
that empty feeling.

Spent some time doing fine order and cleaning in the studio.
Some calls came in… for the boys, friends wanted to invite
to hang out; and dear Isabelle saying that she's off to Croatia
with her two daughters for a week.

Sunday. Slept late and geared up for a nice weather day at
the marsh. Few animals, no people (all on summer holidays)
the whole place to myself… and no mosquitoes! :)


The only event of the day was this Coypu or Nutria. This very
elusive fellow everyone is talking about but that I haven't seen
yet. I was told that 4 were born from the resident couple but I
only saw 3… the fourth one being "white" and apparently blind.

I got these…

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​
Strange thing it is to be on holiday, really.
… didn't do much but did it well. :cool:

​
 
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Monday, August 1st.

My daughter kidnaped me after breakfast and took me
to our family doctor for an exam that was planned two
year ago. "You got the time now, don't you?"

Rosalie Bergman, from the retirement home, Invited me
to have lunch with her protégés so they get to know me
before the shoot in September. They are relatively healthy
people used to large family and don't dig to be alone in
their big, empty houses. These guys invited me for a card
game anytime this week.

Went a few hours to the marsh.
 
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Kodiak Qc said:
These guys invited me for a card game anytime this week.
Click to expand...



I'm a flat loser… the whole afternoon. o_O
Shameful performance. :(

I had a good contact we these predators
though they showed no mercy! :confused:
 
OldCarlos said:
A rubber glove type exam?
Click to expand...


Yes… but the one for next week will be longer and
worries me much more… I admit.

"Daddy, come on, you're 66 and you should have
had the first exam when you were 50!" she said.

As a photographer, I always made sure to see and
not being seen… attract no attention if possible.
Now, that my sewage systems attracts so much
attention is very unusual… "Please baby, don't say
it, I know it's for my own good… and I thank you my
sweet girl!" — the doctor said: the tests are very ok
but this visual exam is necessary…1,9m long! :confused::eek:
 
Daniel, you'll be fine (y)

BTW, will your daughter be taking her camera? :LOL: (photojournalism type thing? :D )
 
OldCarlos said:
Daniel, you'll be fine
Click to expand...
I'll cross my fingers and hope you're right, thanks Carl!
OldCarlos said:
will your daughter be taking her camera? :LOL: (photojournalism type thing?
Click to expand...
She loves the work I/we do but Anna is the only one in the
family that won't pick up a camera! … safe there! :D
 
Kodiak Qc said:
She loves the work I/we do but Anna is the only one in the
family that won't pick up a camera! … safe there! :D
Click to expand...


Maybe she will be busy that day & ask one of your sons to take you. :D
 
OldCarlos said:
Maybe she will be busy that day & ask one of your sons to take you. :D
Click to expand...

NO WAY… they better be on the road doing
their work, they forced this holiday after all! :mad:

No, Anna promised to come… :)
 
Kodiak Qc said:
Yes… but the one for next week will be longer and
worries me much more… I admit.

"Daddy, come on, you're 66 and you should have
had the first exam when you were 50!" she said.

As a photographer, I always made sure to see and
not being seen… attract no attention if possible.
Now, that my sewage systems attracts so much
attention is very unusual… "Please baby, don't say
it, I know it's for my own good… and I thank you my
sweet girl!" — the doctor said: the tests are very ok
but this visual exam is necessary…1,9m long! :confused::eek:
Click to expand...


Just thank your lucky stars that they don't use full size VHS cameras these days!!! Just remember that the cameras they DO use are way thinner than what usually heads the other way. Might not be fun but such an inspection could spot any previously undetected problems.
 
Nod said:
Just thank your lucky stars…
Click to expand...


… and she's trying so hard to cool me down…
I will show her the kinda cat you are! :D :D
 
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•


Second weekend


Being on holiday, I was at the marsh at 06:30 this morning
until lunch. Sometime in between, I saw water splashing at
quite a distance.

This young Fisher (King to be, that is!) was looking for break-
fast some 172 m away from my position. I took these shots
with the usual 600mm / D810 combo and are 100% crops.


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​
 
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Nod said:
Might not be fun…
Click to expand...


Darn… darn… and again!

Right, no fun turning the corners for sure!

After drinking their potion by the gallon for a day,
the heat of the these days, plus the hot news that
found 29 objects that should be removed during
the next month preferably under full (no driving
that day!) trying to stay cool is not easy. Even the
voice and words of my beautiful daughter have
little effect on me for now… let's get through this.

For the time, I was never sick… and I don't get use
to the sudden lack of invincibility idea that kept me
going since I was a teenager. I'll get through this.

Somehow I feel betrayed.
 
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Pooping through the eye of a needle was the fun bit...

Sorry to hear that you need follow up action but let's face it, nobody's going to do anything like that unless they feel you need it doing.

To help ease the pain and maybe bring a smile to your face, have a read through this... http://singletrackworld.com/2009/02/the-picolax-thread-returns/

BTW, I've had 3 "surgical" procedures in my life and in order of which I'd like repeated, my "favourite" was having a brain tumour removed, the middle one was having my haemorrhoids dealt with and the one I'd least like to go through again was an ingrowing toenail!
 
Nod said:
Pooping through the eye of a needle was the fun bit...

Sorry to hear that you need follow up action but let's face it, nobody's going to do anything like that unless they feel you need it doing.

To help ease the pain and maybe bring a smile to your face, have a read through this... http://singletrackworld.com/2009/02/the-picolax-thread-returns/
Click to expand...

Thank you for reminding me of the one thing that justified the existence of singletrackmind.com. That thread was comedy gold back then, and is still fantastic 8 years on.
 
I've never seen this before, it's pure gold comedy writing. I've taken three times as long as it should have done to read it, my ribs ache and the keyboard is wet from tears of laughter.
 
'Agent Piccolax' 'HMS Endoscope'. Nice. :)
 
•


A neighbour told me that his daughter was newly attending an
athletic club training course in the next town.

— "I know you're on holidays but I got the permission to take
pictures during the class of the young athletes. What I would
like is photos that would give her motivation, goals, as she is
the most recent member to join the club."

I don't know what to expect. Even on holidays, I was going to
shoot something today so, why not.

D3S + 24~70 ƒ2,8 + 70~200 ƒ2,8 + ISO 2400 (cloudy afternoon).

NEXT DAY
They were something like bunch of wabbits running,
flip-flopping, big-wheeling etc in all directions… I was
warned not to be in the way and I understood very
quickly why. :confused:

The small gym is the permanent training place for elite
boys gymnasts and they didn't like to see all these girlies
flying from and to anywhere in THEIR hall.

My problems were…
  • to make room, all unused gear was stacked to the walls
  • spotting a single image in this chaos of beauty, elegance
    power and speed was difficult
  • taking the said shot was risky and I had to move fast at
    SS under 1/125s in LLC… no time to chose any angle
  • there was no way to set up a take at any time
  • … get the drift? ;)
The head-coach asked me where I was… "I didn't see you! Did
take you take the pictures you wanted?" … which is the best
compliment he could have ever worded.

My neighbour was here for a coffee this morning and he was very
happy. :cool:

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​
 
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•


Third weekend


This Sunday, I had the chance to have an other go at
the albino Nutria.

One event that convinced me of its alleged blindness
is the accidental contact with a female Mallard as they
were both swimming in different directions: one took
off, the other dove, as both were taken by surprise.

So, it is blind. It puzzles me when I think of how can a
blind 6 month old animal survive and look so healthy
where so many predators roam around.


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G0059%201Dp.jpg


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​
 
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It's probably got sensitive hearing that gives it time to get to the water to avoid the larger land-based predators, at least for a while. My guess is that it won't survive the winter, either through lack of food or through predators becoming more determined, and it won't be able to breed because finding a mate won't be possible.
 
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Beginning my last week of holidays starts rather well.
This albinos Coypu, Nutria or Ragondin was like eve-
ry body else at the marsh, looking for breakfast.

It is fascinating to think that it developed a mental map
of the marsh and so gets to what it needs without too
many incidents — it should be remembered, here, that
the fellow is blind!


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​
 
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Please Bill, stop teasing me!

…send one this way, I'll cover the costs! :cool:
 
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I got at a very early hour at the marsh today. Every days
not being the same, not much was worth any kind of ex-
citement this morning. No matter, I love the clean, bright
and quiet environment there.

At a point, I spotted a beam of light through the canopy
reaching down to the water surface and thought: "Wow,
that would be a cool BG if…

Here it is


G0260%201D.jpg


So, I fix the usual combo and got it ready to shoot. I
waited and waited… had a sandwich with coffee and
then this came up, nothing else…


G0262%201D.jpg


Would you be disappointed?
 
It's a nice shot - yes, after some of your images I would be disappointed, but it's still nice.
 
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