One of such companies is Miggo. If it sounds familiar, it should - we looked at some of their products before, namely at the Splat and Pictar. Latter is nothing short of revolutionary in phone photography, and former rarely stays home when I go on a shoot. Actually, two of Splats keep me company - larger one for the camera and smaller for the light. But I digress.

Let's get "annoying" part out of the way. By now the title surely clued you in, and you can easily identify the product we all love to hate. Or at least love to say that we hate it. It's fashionable to talk about just how annoying it is. Yet guess how many Americans own and use it regularly. According to 2018 survey, about 30% of adult population! You heard that right. As ON1 (editing software company) found during their market research, 70% of their customers routinely shoot with their phones and 47%)!) bought new phone this year specifically for a better camera - and where is photography there is an insatiable need in accessories. So, if you gotta use it, let's do it right and in style. (And if you belong to the segment that wishes for this accessory to be banned from the face of the planet, see if this one at least makes you acknowledge that it's a darn clever design!)

So, what can this thing do except hold your phone and take a shot? A lot, it turns out. It zooms in and out, provides motorized control over the angle of shooting, controls the brightness of your image, applies enhancing presets if you so desire, doing it all via its own phone app available for both Apple and Android. And, as if all that wasn't enough, it comes with its own detachable headlight that allows you add the light with 3 power levels. Instead of usual battery-draining Bluetooth, it uses ultrasonic connection, so your stick won't run out of juice for many hundreds of images (Miggo claims over 800 shots on a single charge; if you need more than 800 selfies in one day, you may want to talk to your shrink). If you are familiar with Pictar, you are no stranger to this very clever way to establish connection between your accessory and your phone.

Let's see how the thing looks. This is front view in folded state:

Here it is, extended - you can see how the controls are placed under your fingertips and used to change the angle:

Zoom control can seen here:

Finally, the (detachable) light with three power levels in use:

Light is held in place by magnet so putting it on and taking it off is quick and easy.  

Miggo launched their stick on Kickstarter via their 6th campaign. Do watch the video clip presenting the stick as it's, while as cheeky as any advertising video, show the use cases very well. 

Pictar Selfie Stick
 

There are of course more details on the Kickstarter page, so drop by for deeper look.

So there you go - believe it or not, actually very well designed and practically useful selfie stick! Wonders never cease.

Seeing how many folks do this, I thought I'd describe how I handle this to eliminate or greatly minimize my chance to run into this problem.

If you have your camera in any of the PASM modes, it defaults to the last set of settings when turned off and back on. That's convenient in a situation where you have a prolonged shooting session under the same light. You don't have to set your camera all over again every time you have it on again, as it retains all your configuration from before you turn it off. The flip side of this of course is the problem described at the beginning.

Custom Modes to the rescue.

Instead of using PASM, I put my standard configuration on the C1. This mode is my starting point for the most frequent situations. For me such configuration is Manual mode, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/250, IBIS S-IS1, WB Auto, single center point focus in S-AF-M, LSF+RAW, and other standard settings for your garden variety landscape shooting. This way, any changes I make during shooting session won't be retained when I turn the camera on next time. Instead it will default to this standard configuration. No chance of shooting next day with ISO 3200 under bright sun. It's also a quick way to reset everything to the starting point if I change too many parameters and want to cancel all the changes without remembering each of them. Just Off and On, and I am back to my standard configuration.

Configuring camera this way, you can have advantage of both approaches without their respective downsides. If you undertake the long session under the same or close lighting conditions, you use any of the PASM modes, set your camera to your liking and presto - off and on, and your configuration is still there. Done with that - switch to your default starting point, C1. Now when you shoot something different today or tomorrow, none of that session settings mangle your files. While I use the rest of custom modes for moving targets or tripod shooting, C1 is always my standard starting point for everyday's conditions on all my cameras.

Enjoy :)

"to return to the promised third reason for my dislike of the phone cameras. It's a difficult-to-see screen during many outdoor scenarios. No matter what advances technology makes, there are still angles and lighting conditions where you can squint all you want, but you are essentially flying blind. Then there is that intimate eye-scene connection that a viewfinder provides, helping achieve much better compositions... If Miggo gives us a creative solution for this, phone combined with Pictar is going to be even more attractive as a camera alternative for many amateurs and as a solid backup for enthusiasts."

What do you know. This fine morning Miggo announced Pictar Pro, and one of the added features is... a viewfinder! 

Bright days is a bane of a phone photography no more. To keep things compact and neat, viewfinder apparently can be folded:

From the press-release: "uniquely connecting the viewfinder that automatically shrinks the image down on the phone to the size of the viewfinder via proprietary technology."

There are added features (for shooting video, among other things) and improved ergonomics over which you can pour on their Kickstarter page, but I want to mention specifically one more here. Press-release promises "wireless charging to keep the smartphone charged for continuous shooting." Is it cool or what? 

There is expanded compatibility with phone models, control addition (rocker switch for smooth zoom instead of choppy jumps), new modes, but... the video at the top of the Kickstarter page and description of the features throughout the page will showcase the gadget and multiple aspects of its use, so I'll leave you to it. Enjoy those humor bits in the video - I sure did.

I am looking forward to try new and improved Pictar when the Kickstarter campaign is over and shipment begins. It seems to address my last remaining reservations regarding phone photography. Meanwhile, gotta test my newfound powers and wish for that million dollars. I'll let you know how it goes. 

First, and most important: controls. You know your phone camera has a lot of parameters you can change, adjusting it to lighting conditions and desired look but... how much do you actually use them? Chances are, you tried them when you got your new sparkling phone... and haven't used them ever since. It's not because they are useless or not very good. They are necessary for a decent photography, and can alter the look all the way from very average to stunning. Yet you rely on auto, letting program do all the work. Why? Because those parameters can be controlled through screen menu only, unlike in actual cameras that offer physical controls - dials and buttons which are intuitive and convenient. Diving into menu is tiresome, cumbersome and annoying, not to mention slow. What I can do with camera controls fluidly in a blink of eye takes forever to do in menu. And if you are not a professional photographer or advanced enthusiast taking images daily, you don't remember all the menu and sub-menu settings. Gotta read them every time - who does that? Nobody. We push the button and hope for the best. Often it works. Just as often, or more so, it doesn't. To sum it up: when I want the result, I need controls. Actual physical ones, not the screen menu offered by a phone camera. 

Second is ergonomics. The way people hold the phone to take photo (those extended hands in front of the face) is very unnatural for a photographer. There is no stability - where do you think all those blurry shots are coming from? There is no connection between eye and scene facilitated by a viewfinder - this is where awkward compositions and all kinds of distractions in the frame come from.

I'll leave the third one for the end of this post. Let's speak of the first two for now. Enter the phone attachment Pictar by Miggo. I like how these guys think when design their accessories. You may remember my article about their unusual and very useful tripod, Splat. When they announced the gizmo designed to turn your phone into a camera, I was intrigued. On paper it promised to solve just those two problems I described above. At the time of the release it worked with Apple phones only though, so being an Android guy I couldn't test it. Recently good folks from Miggo kindly offered me to try their Pictar with its new capabilities covering Android phones now as well. Needless to say, my curiosity was piqued. 

What is a Pictar? It's a grip for your phone - grip allowing to hold a phone as an actual camera, equipped with actual controls that interact with your phone via an app. Here is how it works.

You get a (very well designed) box, take out the grip and insert your phone in it. There is an adjustable ledge at the bottom that grabs your phone's bottom edge, and you click the upper one in, securing the combo. Depending on your model you may have to take off protective case first. This is how it looks:

Considering the sheer number of phone models on the market, Pictar comes in two sizes accommodating various dimensions. Here you see it with my son's LG Stylo 3 Plus. Being in investigative state of mind, I tested it on all the phones I could get my hands on within family circle: that LG above, Motorola G3 and Samsung Galaxy S7. Larger model (Pictar One Plus MKII) fit perfectly to the first two, and smaller one (Pictar One MKII) felt snag with Samsung. I fished out ancient Motorola G2 and successfully paired it as well. Here is the smaller one with Samsung so you can see the combo:

After fitting the phone into the grip, you switch it on and open the downloaded in advance app. This is where the real fun begins. First time you open it, it guides you through trying all the controls - to test the connection and to familiarize you with how things work. It's quite neat. And so is the way the grip communicates with your phone. To avoid the battery-draining Bluetooth Miggo went another, and quite inventive, route. When you turn the dials or push the buttons, they make sounds beyond human perception. Phone's mike picks up the sounds and gets its instructions from them. Neat, isn't it? Well, my first thought was: what about dogs? Sure enough, I went about testing it on family and neighbors' dogs. Sunny never reacted on dials being turned within 4 feet. Neither did Nula. I even found neighbors' Jordi the Cat honoring our backyard regularly with its presence to observe the hummingbirds - he ignored the dials as well.

Here are those controls that put the zoom, shutter speed and aperture at your fingertips:

Does this look cool or what?

Upon finishing the "break-in" part, app offers you links to the guide and video, to further familiarize yourself with all the capabilities. There are different modes and effects, fairly close to what actual camera offers, including Manual mode. There is an extensive array of settings, including adjusting to an external lens if you use one with your phone (starts sounding like DSLR, doesn't it?) If some function offered by grip is not supported by your particular phone model, app will inform you about that - nice touch, so you don't guess why something doesn't work. Being a Luddite when it comes to phones, thus not having the latest and greatest (I still tend to think of them as devices to make phone calls - I know, how 20st century of me, right?), I run into that couple times. 

That nice box I mentioned at the beginning contains one more thing aside of the grip itself. It's a posh black pouch, convenient to carry the grip or a gripped phone. You can  use it with a hand or neck strap, both enclosed, easy to attach or take off. 

What is this 5-legged blue thing, you ask? That's a younger brother of that Splat. It's a flexible lightweight compact tripod for smartphones, smallish cameras and action cameras. The same principle as the big sibling, so you get an idea how it works. It's a separate accessory; can be used with phone without Pictar using this adapter:

...and here it is in action, with Samsung phone in the adapter:

Alternatively, it serves as a tripod with standard 1/4" screw, for which Pictar has a threaded socket. Here the combo is attached to the tripod using just that:

See some more creative ways to use this tripod here.

Finally, after playing with cool new toy and internalizing the main controls, I decided to try and use it just as most folks would - make a tour over the touristy places (I mean, I live in a touristy town, gotta take an advantage of that, right?) and take a few photos as most phone camera users would. I was interested to get a sense of how (and if) Pictar changes my perception of phone photography. Having my grown-up camera with couple lenses in the sling, I uncharacteristically whipped out my Pictar-equipped phone and started snapping away. I realize that photos below represent a phone more than a grip but hey, it's a photo blog, right? What good is it without photos taken with help of the equipment we discuss? 

They'd look much better with blue skies and spectacular clouds but it was rather grayish day with showers now and then. Here is my verdict after this little tour. Pictar does credible job imitating the real camera workflow. Credible enough for me to envision some situations where I take just my phone with me, and to compensate for the absence of a camera to a considerable degree. One of family members playing with it also put it this way: It rekindles interest in photography. 

Now, to return to the promised third reason for my dislike of the phone cameras. It's a difficult-to-see screen during many outdoor scenarios. No matter what advances technology makes, there are still angles and lighting conditions where you can squint all you want, but you are essentially flying blind. Then there is that intimate eye-scene connection that a viewfinder provides, helping achieve much better compositions... If Miggo gives us a creative solution for this, phone combined with Pictar is going to be even more attractive as a camera alternative for many amateurs and as a solid backup for enthusiasts.

It was met with great appreciation and a few of my favorite pieces sold and moved to their new homes. Then our gorgeous autumn started and presented its usual array of amazing photo opportunities. Sharing them with you in no particular order and starting with food, enjoy!

We had a few days of smokey skies when the impact of the mainland wildfires reached the island:

Some clear skies too, to be sure:

Then we had 150 anniversary of Canada

Then we had solar eclipse

and some nice sunsets.

All in all, eventful enough - and I am far behind in processing all the photos. With that, promised Montreal gallery is at http://www.arrestinglight.com/montrealstreetart,  Enjoy!

Where else eagles stage such show right in front of you?

Awww!

Hard at work!

This is how you cross the road. Look left, look right, open your tail and go!

Kelowna

Othello Tunnels 

Between some commercial photography, exhibition of a few of my prints and an upcoming trip to Montreal, I hope to be able to post the next update late August to mid September. Let's see how I keep up. For now, let me add as a sample the poster of the event where, among works of amazing artists, my exhibition will take place. Photo on the poster is shot by me as well:

Lastly, to brag a bit: my image made a cover of the 2017 Victoria Tourist Guide:

Last pieces of the autumn:

Downtown with all the Christmas Illumination (I thought first photo was equally interesting in B&W, so posting both versions):

This image was shared on Facebook and Twitter by a few notable Victoria pages, including Tourism Victoria:

What kind of December would it be without blooming cherry tree...

And a few decorated Christmas tree photos, ours and elsewhere:

Happy New Year, everyone!

Commotion at the Ogden Point: Hippo, chopper, cruise ship. 3 in 1.

Pumpkin patch:

Some B&W:

Fall in forest:

Beacon Hill Park

The Butchart Gardens 

Had a photoshoot with two the cutest terriers ever. Making these guys to pose was both a challenge and fun:

 A few from Sidney:

Let me tease you with some food photography: shishkebab,

crabcakes,

and the grapes harvested right in our backyard:

and finish with spectacular sunset from Patricia bay

As always in August, we have this amazing treat: Perseid Meteor shower

Who is hungry?

Dragon in the night

Patricia Bay sunset

Moonrise at the Tulista Park

Last chance: who is hungry?

Look who I met at the beach

Sidney, Canada day celebrations. Sea King helicopter demonstrates water rescue techniques

Anacortes ferry

Summer just doesn't happen without roses

  or Torch Lilies

or wildflowers

or sleeping Moss Ladies

or ducks at the pond with water lilies. OK, I'll stop.

Back to Sidney

Remember Sam?

 Here he pretends to be Sphinx 

and Jordy doesn't understand why I pretend I have rights to this chair.

Anyone's hungry?

This is how you get your sun tan

Unknown (to me) flower

Awww. Summer romance

Little ducklings. Very new

This turtle seems to be just as new, and just as curious about flowers.

Largest canoe ever mooring in Victoria. Over 4 thousand guests

I'll pretend I don't even see you... 

 ...aaand, eye contact!

Beautiful design, isn't it

Blue poppies time!

Island View Beach

California Lilac along Sidney shore

Lavender in my backyard

Farmland all around

And for these, not so much sun:

April can't be without tulips:

or cherry blossoms:

Sidney shore is always fascinating:

...as is Fisherman's Wharf:

First visit of the year:

Monochrome

More blossoms:

Tulista Park at the sunset:

"Got my good side?"

Sidney shore again

Beacon Hill Park

Port Sidney Marina

Spring along Sidney seashore

Cormorant to seagull: do you see my boat coming?

Magnolia is a difficult subject, pretty to look at but rarely comes out well on photos. Black and white did it this time:

Something:

Spring in Beacon Hill Park

Portrait of a stranger:

Great Blue Herons nesting:

Ducks, turtles 

"Yes, I am guarding the house! You keep away, hear me?"

Cattle Point

Fun at the Willows Beach

Oak Bay Marina. Seals and otters compete for attention (and fish)

And to conclude, beautiful double rainbow out of my window:

Moss Lady is still sleeping though

Spring Prelude at the Butchart Gardens:

Just two weeks later, it's more like a machine-gun

Ducks: and then manna fell from heaven

Cats, boxes...

 Tod Inlet, old foundations overtaken by the moss and undergrowth

Sidney seashore, in all its evening glory

OK, this one is somewhat dramatic.

Walking on the water!

One of such accessories is all kinds of camera support. Aside of traditional tripods and bean bags, there are table tripods, mini-supports and creative solutions for non-standard outdoor situations. One of the newest offerings in this field caught my attention with its promise. It's a hybrid of a table tripod and Gorillapod, combining the compactness of the former and universality of the latter. With table tripods generally being not very sturdy and Gorillapods being not too compact, the promise of Miggo's latest product Splat looks, well, promising. According to the website description, it's small; it's light; it's sturdy; it allows almost infinite number of positions, wrapping around tree branches, hanging from the nail in the wall and staying on camera without adding much bulk. There are three versions offered: for Go-Pro cameras, for Point-and-Shoots and smaller mirrorless, and for DSLR. First two being priced at $19.99 didn't look right for me. My Olympus OMD EM-1 with grip and several 4/3 lenses is not the smallest combo, so I looked at the DSLR version. At $24.99, it was difficult to resist the urge. So, does it deliver?

The package in which it arrived looked just right. Functional, attractive yet unpretentious, easy to open without scissors (unlike a clamshell atrocity),  yet reliably protecting the goods. 

Taking it out of the packaging and bending its legs (flexible stainless steel and silicon, according to Miggo's website), I threw it in my light box to take a few shots for you. Legs feel sturdy, easy to bend yet giving reassuring sense of being capable to hold under the load. 

As seen here, it takes the camera about 4 inches above the surface. Manipulating the legs, you can get about 5 inches. Brass 1/4 screw is a standard fit to your camera tripod connection:

On the opposite side there is a locking ring, convenient to operate with your fingers:

Looking at the feet, there are multiple non-slip dots

and en eyelet on one of the feet, intended to hang your camera on the nail in the wall:

That about exhausts overview of the Splat's external features, although I probably shouldn't have failed to mention pretty blue color. From here I moved on to test its functionality. I have started with easy stuff:

Sure enough, being rated to hold 2.6 lb (1200 g), Splat hasn't even noticed Yongnuo 560II' 350 g. The only thing I wanted to check here was the stability of the whole combo with the flash head directed forward at 90 degrees. No problem there at all. 

Now, let's move to a bit more involved stuff. E-M1 with HLD-7 battery grip, both batteries in and 12-40/2.8 in front of it weighs 1165 g - that's just under claimed 1200 g (and probably right up there with wrist strap), and in my experience those claims are often a tad exaggerated. In practice, those exaggerations mean that as you approach the weight your support gizmo claims as max load, it may still hold but you need to be extra-careful with its position, angle, type of the surface etc. Slight deviation from optimal can lead to noticeable creep in the best case and send your camera down crashing in the worst. So, this test was to determine whether Splat is one of those accessories that formally match the  specifications but require you to lower your expectations in real life situations, or it's truly useful within the parameters the manufacturer claims. 

Putting the combo on a tripod, I opted for the crash-forgiving airbed (you will notice the slight give under the Splat's legs), set it on the surface and probed its stability by pushing it in all directions with my hand. Not only did the legs hold firmly under camera's weight with no slightest tendency to creep down, the tripod also held very nicely against the side push - it returned to the vertical position unless I simply overturned it.

At this point I was ready to pronounce the Splat a smashing success and gather enough bravery to move outside and the the hard surface - not that it added much to the test above but the weather was nice and you may get tired of the sterile studio photos:

Just as sturdy and stable. No surprise there though, I wouldn't expect fresh air to influence Splat's performance. My next thought was to put a flash on top of the combo, but it felt like a pointless exercise. When I pushed the camera down with my hand applying force that obviously exceeded the weight of the flash, tripod held with reassuring firmness, without slightest feeling of being close to its maximum capability. So I changed my mind and decided to go for broke.

If I put my Zuiko 50-200 with tripod collar, EC-14 teleconverter and MMF-3 adapter on my E-M1 with battery grip, I am at 2065g! With that wrist strap, ~2100g - that'll show this little thing who is da boss. 

If you are inclined to check my numbers, here they are broken down by weight in grams: 

E-M1 with battery - 497 g

HLD-7 with battery - 286 g

MMF-3 - 42 g

EC-14 - 170 g

50-200 with tripod collar - 1070 g

Here is what happened: nothing. The thing held its own as if I haven't exceeded its max load almost by factor 2! 

This angle shows the whole contraption with both the teleconverter and adapter a bit better:  

That's 4.63 lb load vs. 2.6 max per specifications. Impressive overdelivering. Have I remembered to put my flash on top of this combo? You bet. You can guess what happened - that additional 350 g changed nothing. The thing held. 

On this pleasant note, I moved outside again to test the practicality of the advertised ability to hold the camera in "countless positions." Tree branch was of course first thing to try, and Splat worked as promised:

Do make sure to wrap those legs tightly and test the stability with your hand by trying to rotate the combo around the branch before letting go.

The car door was the next thing that came to my mind. No problem there:

Before taking the Splat out for a walk, I tried to wrap it around the camera and see how that works as a carrying/protective position. Looks somewhat odd but again, works as advertised. Here is the view from the side-bottom: 

With all the testing in and around the house, this review would be incomplete if I hadn't taken the Splat for a field trip. Oceanside seemed appropriate for the occasion. First case has been pretty straightforward, as putting a camera at the rock requires very little creativity. Nonetheless, setting the Splat on the surface and leveling the camera by manipulating the legs was quick and easy.  

You'll have to forgive the quality as my tablet is not exactly the grand low-light shooter.

Here it is a bit closer:

Here I had to get a bit more creative. It takes some try and error to find the way to stabilize the contraption on the round bar. Using the vertical pole as a support for the front leg solved the problem. I'd suggest to use some kind of insurance when you do it first time - neck strap for instance - to guarantee the safety of your equipment.

In this case I used the back of the bench. You really can adjust this thing in a myriad ways.

Finally, one more way to use it that I came up with on the go: thanks to thin profile of the tripod legs you can put it in a delicate setting without harming anything. Here you can see it in the middle of the flowerbed, flowers undisturbed.

CONCLUSION: Splat delivers on all its promises, and massively overdelivers on one, namely on its max load. Being light (111 g) and small, it's easy to throw it in your bag and have it ready for the appropriate conditions. Will it replace your conventional tripod? In some cases, sure. It's easy also to think of situations where your traditional tripod can do a job which Splat can't, so let's think of it as an addition to the tripod rather than replacement. All in, all, it takes permanent place in my bag.

Butchart Gardens - no fall-themed post can be done without it

Beacon Hill is close second. This is newest addition, Moss Lady

Pumpkin Patch in Central Saaninch

Craigdarroch Castle

Back to Beacon Hill Park

Japanese Garden

Elk Lake

Japanese Garden, last of fall colors

That's it for now, but the next month post will probably have some more of the fall colors.

 Little E, ready for take-off

Awww

Sidney shore

My favorite backyard guest

They are plotting something, don't they?

 Life is a beach

Breakfast

Aesthetics above all 

Sidney gathered to watch Blood Moon eclipse

It appeared but haze made the show quite weak.

Well, rainbows go with island rains like cigar with whisky

Our daily view

Some night photography for the end of the post

Sombrio Beach

Oak Bay

Elk Lake sunset

Perseids Meteor shower. 

Sidney sunsets

Breakwater. Brother and sister paddle-boarding by the cruise ships 

Butchart Gardens fireworks

Chinese Dragon Fountain

Sidney Car Extravanganza

... and some spectators.

We started with a cat, let's finish with one too

Downtown:

Average-sized canoes

My favorite breakwater

And of course Sidney

 See the Bald Eagle enjoying sunset view?

Now, that was an adventure - went up above the Town of Sidney in a bucket truck, to photograph the view from high vantage point for the promotional brochure:

Yup, that's my truck far down. I also had to learn how to control it since the panel is right up there in this same bucket, fitting just one person.

Back on Earth and to the breakwater

Centennial park

Street scene in Sidney. Pretty girl and bikes - all the components for a good photo, right?

Beach without music? Not in Victoria.

Two ships. Look closer to find second one

Paint job

Epic sky over Sidney

Waiting for fireworks...

...and fireworks themselves

It presented a dazzling array of new opportunities in my most favorite town of all, Sidney by the Sea:

opened new eyes on the Butchart Gardens:

worked fine to showcase Marigold Nursery, our go-to place for everything that grows:

showed itself as a great forest/lake lens during Elk Lake walk:

gave a few splendid views in Beacon Hill Park:

and finally demonstrated its formidable abilities as an architecture lens around Royal British Columbia Museum:

Now that you had your fill of fisheye images, probably more than you ever wanted in a single blog post, I promise to mix it up in the following posts with more conventional views. Consider this one an outburst of excitement about a new toy. 

Oak Bay marine

Willows Beach. Heavy construction

Sidney never ceases to amaze. You sit on the beach enjoying quiet evening, and then this happens.  Two killer whales swimming by, so close to the shore that if any beach goers took a swim they would be right in their way

As orca swam right under the pier, even cormorant and seagull looked on in awe.

Butchart Gardens. Laburnum exlosion

Stairway to heaven

Bench that beckons

Blue poppies arrived

Pansies - smile-inducing flowers

Last rhodos

A few images from my photoshoot with Centrepointe Ballet School:

Let's finish with serene sunset at the Sidney shore

tulips in The Butchart Gardens

and cherry blooms downtown.

Meanwhile, inhabitants of the jungle a.k.a. Victoria Butterfly Garden live their own life

and live it to its fullest:

Thought those were all tulips you were going to see? Think again

Hummingbirds got really active this year for some reason. Sugar we buy for them starts making a dent in the budget. They pay me back by being good models

Finnerty garden as always has rhododendrons in droves

as well as some other flowers

and some creatures loving their life:

Our Sidney friend. Must be the kindest large dog I've ever seen.

Cattle point moved right to the summer

Let's finish with hummingbirds again. This little guy helped me to grill some meat

and these came for a night cup.

...and make sharp turn to birdies (the name's Shadow)

...only to switch to insects 

...but get back to birdies quickly.

Looks like someone's getting a lecture

Elk Lake, doggies heaven

Petals, as I promised. Soon to be a flurry 

Sidney shore, charming as always

with fine dining options. This seagull got an octopus for dinner

while this Heron is still studying the menu, while enjoying seat with a view.

One carefree duck

Wow, that's a lot of birds in this post... Downy woodpecker

Been a while since last crocuses, hasn't it

or cherry blooms

not even speaking of magnolias

and flowers

or moss explosion

Boar-scarer, always reminds me a fight scene from Kill Bill, Folks from Butchart gardens said this on my Facebook page: "This is called shishi-odoshi (鹿威し) which literally translates as "deer-scarer..." but indeed it is used to scarе wild boar and other animals in Japan. We've never heard it called a deer-scarer in English - always boar-scarer.

Petals! One of the less visited corners of The Butchart Gardens. Red petals fall off at the top of the stream which carries them through the entire Japanese garden. Design of a genius

 Let's finish with these two cute messy eaters having a dinner right behind my patio door. Taken with vintage manual lens, through the glass.

Let's start with forest, shall we? Centennial Park in Central Saanich

Tod Inlet. Blooming moss

Crocus time in Victoria. Started at least couple weeks earlier than usual this year

Sidney shore. Mt. Baker framed by posts...   

...with birds.

This Great Blue Heron enjoyed sunset view along the Dallas Rd., not far from the breakwater.

By now, that Heron was ready to sue me for harassment, so I switched to humans. They enjoyed sunset too.

 Yeah, this blooms too. Micro-iris of some kind?

Butchart Gardens, Japanese section 

Fisgard Lighthouse. Somewhat different view from traditional

And, of course some of my favorite inhabitants of the Butterfly Gardens. Little E,

Ms Jiggs,

and Rose.

This is part of the collection of hand-themed sculptures scattered through the downtown. This one is right on the causeway. Locals will recognize with ease the reflection of Coho ferry in the mirror

Causeway in the night

Nice January day on the breakwater...

...and the spectacle of a seal dining on his fresh catch - Giant Pacific Octopus

Beacon Hill Park never disappoints - peacock supervising ducks.

Amazing sunset at the Dallas Rd.

Then there was a storm. And after the storm, sun peaked out

Meanwhile, in the Butchart Gardens... 

Time for some birds photos, especially since there is no lack of those here. This seagull is dining as well - got a crab for a snack today.

That's no seagull:

Downy Woodpecker, came to dinner to our feeder:

Not sure whether it's the same guy, but he was posing diligently, right at the Sidney Pier entrance.

Since we are in Sidney, this sunset happened right there. 

And so did this moon

and this duck, put together from driftwood by some creative soul:

My favorite pier after the rain:

Still Sidney

Grilling is inalienable part of winter living in Victoria 

Aquarium (Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre)

One more Sidney sunset, and we are done with January. Not that February promises to be any easier, mind you.

Let's start with some birds: 

Empress Hotel built a skating rink this year. Here is daylight shot of it, night time ones will follow 

Now, some illumination in Sidney

Star trail over Christmas tree

Downtown lights. Promised skating rink in the night:

December post can't omit Butchart Gardens and their stunning display. There are no iconic shots of Sunken gardens etc, but they are pretty much the same from year to year, so I tried to get some other views and angles. 

These are a few shots from the Lochside drive, just south of Sidney, our usual walking route

 Even inhabitants of the Butterfly Gardens enjoy festive lights:

Now somewhat different views, so your eyes get some rest from all the lights. Fort Rodd Hill:

Swans at the Esquimalt Lagoon:

Got some rest? Back to festivities. Holiday store windows in Sidney:

Enough of winter views. Spring is coming. In Sidney...

...and downtown. Yes, first cherry blooms!

That was rather large post but it was rather eventful month!

These guys enjoy the fall too

...and cross the road in a very disciplined fashion:

That's a whole lot of leaves to clean!

Walk along the Ross Bay during nice sunset yielded this series, ending at the Clover Point: 

Beacon Hill Park as always offers a lot of opportunities. Let's start with these willing models, as they climb the branches of a giant sequoia:

Magic of last sun rays:

My favorite bridge

... and a peacock from the previous post, reaching the end of his runway and walking around me as I rudely block his path with my intrusive camera. I swear he murmured something like "darn paparazzi..."

Finally, about those clear cold nights. They bring bright stars, and I got to do what I always wanted to try: star trails. My first three shots at it (pardon the pun), two from Sidney and one from downtown, with majestic Empress Hotel: 

October brought in abundance of the fall colors, as it well should. Both sunny and rainy days provided enough of photo opportunities. So, without further ado...

Some flowers (but of course)

Buddha with Angel's Trumpets 

To have flowers and not the butterflies? What kind of disorder would that be!

My favorite bird, posing as always. The name's Little E.

In case you haven't guessed the season - PUMPKINS!

Forest. Trail. Stump. Black and white.

Goldstream

Full Moon rising

Elk Lake, 10 K loop - my favorite treadmill  

 Fall colors at The Butchart Gardens, always amazing spectacle 

 This kid gives seal of approval.

Oak Bay Marina

Back to Butchart in 10 days

Steller's Jay.

Beacon Hill Park - another gem of the season

And to conclude, my favorite of the month - model on the Fall Fashion Show catwalk! 

Butchart Gardens at night, magical spectacle

Mount Doug. Meditation:

On the edge:

Recording the view:

Cattle Point.

 Well, can't do a blog post without my favorite town, Sidney!

Butterfly Gardens, never a dull moment

Back to Butchart

Now, this was hilarious. Looked closer into the rose (actually a friend I was with did), and found rose guardian:

Elk Lake, fall colors start making appearance:

Breakwater yielded a few shots of Fried Egg Jellyfish - totally looks like floating, well, fried egg: 

Inner Harbor with first fall colors:

Sidney again, this time in black and white: 

And to finish the post, real fall colors, preview of what next month is likely to be about:

Torch!

Night view of this dancing fountain, always enchanting

Ogden Point (as if you haven't guessed)

New guy in the jungles!

This red-footed tortoise went for a jailbreak. Climbed onto rocky border,

crossed it,

came out on another side,

climbed down (all with blistering speed as you can imagine),

and went for FREEDOM! 

Flamingos tend to create symmetry:

Butterflies is not a traditional subject for B&W, but this one seemed fitting:

... as did this forest trail:

Meditation in Beacon Hill Park

Last Supermoon of 2014 yielded a few nice moonscapes and sunset shots 

Very cute one, with title to match

So is this... see the ear? :)

Something about this one, "On the final note..." Was returning to it a few times, to see it again.

Very intricate

This one won first prize. Well deserved!

 In the groove :)

OK, moving on - Community Park, beach volleyball:

Nice beach with a cozy boardwalk. A lot of summer fun for families. And look at those vistas!

Skating park

At the end of the second day we were treated to the spectacular sunset. Same beach, same boardwalk, same vistas.

Golden hour:

The sun is setting

...and it's down

Is this total serenity or what?

Some romance of course - such setting just calls for it!