Female Mallard ducks have such an interesting spotted pattern, I cant seem to get enough of them. Its nice to get up close and catch the unique details of each duck, this one had some neat coloration on its beak. I find their colors tend to suit the browns and reds that you see in the fall and winter months.

The serious expressions in these faces tell me there is something more going on with these primates from the zoo. I often wonder, if they could talk, what would they have to say? I like the contrast in their fur when changing these to monochrome; it really brings out some nice details and works well with the lack of light that their enclosures have. Their haunting facial expressions stick with me that much more when I see them this way.

A novel concept, scientists have devised a way to shrink humans down to .035 percent of our current size. With this innovation comes the opportunity to live in abundance, Humans need less of everything when they are this small. The catch is that everything still has to be made miniature for humanity to adopt this so we flash forward 10 years later and whole communities that support this miniature lifestyle have sprung up. Also, we learn that the process is irreversible.

The Calgary Public Library is an architectural marvel that has an interior unlike any I have seen in this city. It reminds me of many of the libraries I have seen in other older cities that have some sense of style to them. It is a very welcome edition. I spent quite a bit of time in the older one that this replaced, and while I liked its fairly straight forward layout, which made it easy to find books now, I think since I don't come here as often, its really the new spiral-like design of the levels that really draws me in.

The bright burning flame of a candle in a dark room, this minimalist view of a candle just looked so appealing that I needed to do some macro shots. I exposed for the flame so that everything else would be in darkness and the soft edges of the fire as it flickered and moved around were tough to focus on. So I used the wick of the candle to help my lens autofocus, as the lack of other light also created a challenge. The nice part about a challenge is that you can use it to your advantage to create something you were not really expecting. It also helped make this flame eternal, as it has long since burnt out yet will forever live in my photographs.

A few more images from my recent trip to Drumheller, Alberta, home of the badlands. The landscape change is pretty dramatic around here, it is mostly grasslands and prairies that give way to desert and badlands. These canyons carved by glacial melt are amazing once you get into them. Everything is flat for the most part around here until it opens right up, and these ancient formations reveal the tales of the last several hundred million years as they are a hot spot for all kinds of fossil discoveries.