Lovely, eh?

"Only in Fairytales" (Victoria Gardens, Canada Pavilion, EPCoT) Nikon D700, 62mm, F/22, 1/125s, -0.3EV, ISO 400

Entering Victoria Gardens at the Canada Pavilion is like walking into a scene pulled straight from a storybook. How I longed to run freely through the lush landscape inspired by the famous Butchart Gardens located near Victoria, British Columbia! Sadly, that behavior is strictly frowned upon here. :-)  

On this gorgeous, yet chilly, sunny morning, you almost expect to see Snow White step out from the quaint stone cottage (followed by those infamous seven dwarfs) to attend to the day’s work. But alas, some things are only found in fairytales. 

Many thanks to my husband, Jim, for this picturesque capture, as his camera was the one equipped with the proper lens to do the scene justice. 

Well done, Jim! :-)  

Here fishy, fishy

Wandering around the Japan Pavilion at Epcot, you cannot help but take notice of the gorgeous Japanese hillside garden layered with rocks, waterfalls, flowering trees and shrubs, lanterns, shishi-odoshi fountains, pebble-lined pools, foot paths and rustic bridges.

However, hands down, my favorite element is the large pond located at the very bottom which is home to a great number of colorful Koi.

"Kin Matsuba" (Koi at Japan Pavilion, EPCoT), Nikon D300, 200mm, F/9, 1/160s, +0.7EV, ISO 640

This day the carp were in a bit of a frenzy over some popcorn tossed in by a young boy. Now, I doubt popcorn is on their recommended dietary list, but it did make for some good photography! :-)

East meets west

One of the most prominent structures at Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon is the bright red Torii gate which welcomes visitors to the Japan pavilion.  The Epcot version is based upon the Torii Gate found in the Hiroshima Bay at Itsukushima. 

"The Torii" (Torii Gate, Japan Pavillion, EPCoT) Nikon D300, 52mm, F/16, 1/200s, -1.0EV, ISO 200

Hmmm, seems the seagulls like the gate as much as I do! :-)

In living color

It is so nice to be among things having vibrant colors!

"Pink Eye" (Lesser Flamingo, Phoenicopterus minor) Nikon D300, 200mm, F/6.3, 1/500s, +0.3EV, ISO 640

It is food for my very soul and I am eating it UP! :-)

"Fanfare" (Palm Leaf) Nikon D300, 200mm, F/6.3, 1/50s, +0.3EV, ISO 640

Warm welcome

Not five minutes from our hotel, on a back walkway leading to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we came upon the most striking water bird we’d ever seen!

"Bask" (Anhinga, Female, Sunning Wings) Nikon D300, 70mm, F/10, 1/50s, -0.3EV, ISO 400, Built-in iTTL Flash, +1.0EV

"In Repose" (Anhinga, Female) Nikon D700, 95mm, F/6.3, 1/160s, -1.0EV, ISO 250, Built-in iTTL Fill-Flash, -1.0EV

A female Anhinga was drying her plumage and warming her body on the rocks in the late afternoon sun and didn’t seem to mind us one bit when we stopped to gawk and, of course, take lots of pictures.   

Native to Florida, the Anhinga’s body is mostly glossy black-green, with the wings, base of wings and tail being a glossy black-blue streaked with white. Factor in a vibrant yellow beak and ‘Tiffany’ blue eyes and you’ve got one gorgeous bird! Quick research confirmed her to be female since the head, neck and upper chest are a light buff brown and not black as in the male.

Wow! What a fabulous start to our vacation! :-)     

Life is a bowl of cherries

Not much time this morning before we board our flight heading south to warmer weather. Hey, if spring isn’t going to come to me, then I am more than willing to go find IT !

So, here is another American Robin photo from my outing earlier in the week.

"Bing" (American Robin, Male) Nikon D300, 340mm (80-200mm w/1.7x teleconverter), F/9, 1/400s, ISO 500

Although this little guy appears to be quite full from gorging on all those ornamental cherries, he has actually puffed himself up in order to stay warm in the 20-degree temps.

Don’t you wish it were that simple for us?

Serendipity

"Scout" (Seagull) Nikon D300, 550mm (200-400mm w/1.4x teleconverter), F/10, 1/320s, -0.7EV, ISO 640

As I was leaving the beach on that bitter day last week, I stopped to snap a few shots of a seagull who was very intently watching the water. It was so cold that my fingers could barely work the shutter and I figured the images would be useless.  

Believe or not, I shot this in color, vivid color, but since the sun had tucked behind a cloud, all the tones were instantly muted. And if I had thought anything about it at the time (and I wasn’t so damn cold), I certainly would have made certain my horizontals were indeed horizontal! 

But seeing how the angles play off each other, now I’m glad I didn’t! :-)