This is what being a photographer is all about.

Last summer, after coming back from my ferry photoshoot with my cousin, I went down to the beach. I swam out to the raft and sat there, talking with my dad and Simon, when we saw a seal come up to the shore. He waddled up a few feet, then went back in the water. Knowing a good opportunity when I saw one, I hopped off the raft and booked it back to the beach, where I quickly dried my hands and grabbed my camera.

The seal surfaced a few times, and soon someone spotted him on the point a few hundred feet away. I decided I'd go in for a closer look. Having never had an opportunity to get pictures of a wild seal before, I decided to make it count. I walked slowly towards the point, keeping close to the embankment to conceal my movement. Once I got to the point, I moved forward behind boulders, and moved to the side only when the seal wasn't looking in my direction. Once I was probably 50 feet away, the slabs of sandstone were low, so I slid forward on my belly, making the smallest movements I could get away with, while still advancing. Dragging your exposed belly and knees across sandstone is less than comfortable, but I couldn't believe how close I was getting. I took some pictures and by that point, the seal had spotted me...but he didn't leave. He just lay there, sunning himself, moving his flippers and acting as if no one was watching.

Eventually I decided to move closer, and by this point, there was very little cover left to block me from the seal's view...it was just a bunch of flat rock slabs that had been carved away by thousands of years of waves. Finally, I got to within about 20 feet of the seal. I also remember paying attention to the wind direction as I moved. Fortunately it was blowing toward me, and I saw him flare his nostrils a few times, probably to smell me, but either he wasn't able to smell me, or he didn't care. I lay there on my belly, took about 30 shots...and thought to myself "This marks the end of one chapter, and the beginning of the next. I sneaked, I took cover, I paid attention to the wind, I dragged my body over sandstone, I kept quiet, I minimized my movements, and I kept enough distance to avoid scaring my target away. If there has been any moment in my life where I became a real photographer...this is it."

Stay tuned for more seal pics in the next few days.
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Tags:   Seal harbor seal animal animalia chordata mammalia carnivora pinnipedia phocidae phoca phoca vitulina phoque beach water ocean rocks seaweed

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This is the MV Holiday Island, a staple of the horizon at the cottage. It goes between Nova Scotia and P.E.I. several times a day. I went out to get pictures of the MV Confederation, but this one was closer, and in restrospect, I'm glad I got shots of this one because it will be taken out of service sooner because it's about 20 years older than the Confederation. Plus, this one is much cooler-looking, what with the open sides, downsloping bow, and so on ;)

This was one of my favorite pics from the whole trip, and hopefully it won't get lost in the mid-day lull...assuming that less people use Flickr in the middle of the day...and also, given that it's Canada Day and a lot of people will be outside when I post this.

Anyway, let me know what you think!

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I'm headed off to Downsview Park for the Tragically Hip show in a few minutes, and I'm going to the cottage tomorrow, so I probably won't post any pictures until Monday. But I might be able to reply to your comments before I leave for the cottage! And in the future, we might be getting Internet up there. Anyway, hope you all have a great Canada Day weekend!

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Tags:   MV Holiday Island ship boat ferry NFL Northumberland Ferries Limited water ocean Northumberland Strait sky blue

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I posted this picture on Facebook a while ago, and I might as well use a similar description as the one I used there:

I got my dad to take this picture because I remember seeing pictures on the wall of the cottage from the 1970s, of kids sitting on this rock, which is called Mr. Mouthswallow (Don't ask me; it was given that name decades ago). Those kids included my aunt, and I wanted to get a picture of my brother and I as a time comparison. Each decade, there is a new generation of "the kids" at the cottage. In the 1990s, I was one of the kids...running around the field, hanging out at the fort, playing Donkey Kong on Game Boy and World Series Baseball on Game Gear...the current generation of kids was born after September 11th, and it boggles my mind that there are people alive today who were born after 9/11...

Anyway...last night I went downtown for a friend's birthday/grad party, to a karaoke bar. I sang "The Real Slim Shady" with my roommate Alex, so hopefully that will be up on the Internet soon!

Edit: Whoops, I forgot I was tagged by GillyFace to write down 5 thoughts, so here they are:

1. What am I going to write that is truly representative of what I'm thinking, rather than just picking five sentences solely to fill up this space?
2. Why am I still here? I should be at my apartment and in bed 15 minutes ago.
3. I'm looking forward to the staff BBQ at work tomorrow! Bringing the butterscotch brownies...it's gonna be sweeeet, to paraphrase Carter Pewterschmitt.
4. One, two, FIVE! (Three sir!) THREE!
5. Well, that's the last one. Time to go home. Hope people don't mind that I'm not tagging them!



www.formspring.me/Loops666

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Tags:   People rock beach water ocean Nova Scotia Andrew Loops Loops666 me brother men

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I got up one morning at the beach and wandered out to the deck, where my dad was making omelettes on the barbeque...I think that's what he was making. These are some of the ingredients.

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I've been trying to renew my Pro account, but the system keeps screwing up. On top of that, my new phone hasn't arrived yet, and I burned a chunk of the ingredients for my brownies, so I tossed them before putting it into the oven, and now I have less brownies.

But, overall today wasn't too bad. Hopefully tomorrow will be warmer!

www.formspring.me/Loops666

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Tags:   Onions peppers plate paper towel macro close-up vegetables food red yellow white black

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In 9 days, I'll be back in this part of the country again for some rest and relaxation.

I took this picture in 2010, almost exactly 14 years ago, on my first drive to Caribou Island to attempt ferry spotting. To quote Borat, it was "great success!" I've gone back to that same spot on each subsequent trip -- in 2015, 2018 and 2023 -- and I plan to go back there again this month.

Perhaps one day, I'll go to Pictou Island as well.
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Tags:   Pictou Island Pictou County Nova Scotia NS Canada New Scotland water ocean Northumberland Strait boats island field plants Queen Anne's lace Daucus carota wild carrot vicia cracca Cow vetch grasses sailboat summer 2010 blue sky Maritimes Atlantic Canada SOOC

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