Humber Bay Park

I haven’t had time to get out and do much shooting lately, but on Wednesday I had a few hours to spare so I decided to drive down to Toronto and do a little springtime shooting at Humber Bay Park on Lake Ontario. At one spot along the shoreline there were plenty of icicles hanging from branches high above the lake’s surface which was perfect for creating beautiful out-of-focus blue backgrounds. There are still many Long-tailed Ducks, my personal favorites, hanging around also. They will soon be flying back to the arctic, the females are now in their early summer plumage, as seen in the accompanying photo. On this day, however, there were few ducks to be seen so I enjoyed creating some images of the common day birds that can easily be seen and approached at Humber Bay Park. Some folks laugh at those of us that are taking pictures of Mute Swans and Ring-billed Gulls. I even had one fellow ask me once, if I drove all the way down to Humber Bay to shoot Trumpeter Swans. Well, I always leave with a few new shots of these bird species everytime I visit. Because these birds are so approachable at Humber Bay, they make great subjects to practice/improve your techniques, whether its headshots, birds in flight or even new gear. It is always best to perfect your techniques on the common wildlife subjects so that when the day comes and you find yourself in some exotic locale, you will be prepared for what nature has to offer.

Long-tailed Duck Hen in early summer plumage

Mute Swan preening

Ring-billed Gull

Robin