It’s this time of the year again, the time when the skies in Manitoba change by the minute. Going from pale blue to outright menacing.

Sky and weather have always been one of my “more serious” interests, trying to find out why a certain weather type occurs. Storms are the obvious choice for this kind of research, but other skies are equally interesting. With the added benefit that I don’t have to have the dents removed from my car once I’m done shooting hail storms…

Read more: Skies of Manitoba (9)

When speaking of wildlife, it is understood that we talk about birds, deer, moose and so on. A lesser known fact is that Manitoba also has native plants. One of those plant families is the Orchids. Manitoba has 37 different wild orchids.

Now if they had said 273 orchids, I would have said, “Fine, I’ll see what I can get” but 37 is a doable goal to get them all. Or at least get close. So last week I went hunting for orchids.

Read more: Hunting for orchids

Of all the animals on earth, insects are by far the most prevalent. Insects also look the most scary, if you look at them up close. If you can get close enough, the details are simply astonishing. A few years ago, my first and only shot of a willing dragonfly was this one.

After that, it was a hit and miss adventure to get them. Mostly the “miss” part…

Read more: Mechanical

We have all heard about them. We all know where they come from. But I can attest that I have seen one. This one was limping a bit so he was not fast enough to escape my camera. A few weeks ago, the Northern Lights were out in force. Nothing was forecast, no warning emails in my inbox, nothing. Yet, some indicators showed that it might be one heck of a show.

So I called a friend of mine and told him what could be for the night. As usual, he was game for this and we set out to the north. The north-north was packed with one big band of heavy clouds. As usual, was my thought. However, to the east, the clouds seemed to be going from less to nonexistent.

Read more: Little green men

A few weeks ago, the inevitable happened. I found myself in a place where most people don’t want to be. A place where atrocities and unwanted intimacies were committed without much extra punishment. The local jail. My particular crime to end up in there? Curiosity, nothing more, nothing less. Innocent as a baby, just like everyone else in there.

Open Doors Winnipeg has made the Vaughan Street Jail a star attraction. A place I have always wanted to see, but somehow always missed. This year, however, it was jail time for me.

Read more: Jail time

Anybody who knows me, will know that vodka and me do not agree with each other. Pour me one shot of vodka and I will feel miserable for the rest of the day. No, vodka is really not my thing. However, walking around in a facility where vodka is made is a whole different ball game. I’ll bring my camera and try (without much success) to keep myself from shooting involuntary selfies.

One such outing was a few weeks ago, to the Capital K Distillery in Winnipeg.

Read more: Vodka

Over the years I have shot a lot of pictures. Many of which would not pass today’s muster. When I started with a small Point and Shoot, all my pictures were important. Every. Single. One. Unless they were completely blurred and unrecognisable. Fun fact for pictures taken with a point and shoot: 99% of the pictures are usable. Or so it seems. Then I bought my first DSLR, back in 2008. I had been shooting with this type of camera for years during the 70’s and 80’s but had not had a chance for a long time.

My first setting on the D40X was… Auto. It seemed like the best transition between my Coolpix and my new, shiny, beautiful, professional camera. Don’t get me wrong folks, everyone who buys a DSLR as an upgrade from a point and shoot feels himself or herself an immediate pro, ready to shoot weddings and put Joe McNally out of business.

Read more: Ruthless