Nicolas Demers
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figureoutthesea.ca
Nicolas Demers
@figureoutthesea.ca
1K followers 630 following 1.9K posts
Web developer, gay, atheist, humanist, feminist, geek. Love volleyball, sci-fi, photography, birbs. He/him.

Vancouver, BC

"Either we'll figure out the sea, or we'll keep finding beautiful places."

https://linktr.ee/npdemers
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figureoutthesea.ca
Nicolas Demers @figureoutthesea.ca · May 10
I've got a photography store where I post mostly photos of birds, but also some landscapes and cityscapes and whatnot.

nicolasdemers.smugmug.com
A male Tree Swallow is resting on a wooden post, his blues all shiny and iridescent A male House Finch is up in a tree surrounded by pink cherry blossoms and blue sky. He is holding a blossom in his beak A male Wood Duck is vocalising, and his shiny mullet is moving View of Vancouver West End towers from Burrard Bridge. The sun is going down, and clouds are a bit orangeish
figureoutthesea.ca
#ArtAdventCalendar Day 7:

A shot of my 'hood, Vancouver's West End, from Burrard Bridge with the sun going down.

-- Vancouver, December 2024

#photography #UrbanPhotography
View of Vancouver's West End from Burrard Bridge. Apartment towers rise over trees and a beach. There is a ferry dock with a ferry approaching. Mountains in the background, half-hidden by golden glouds. Only the tops of the towers are in the light. Trees are golden-brown and mostly bare
December 7, 2025 at 5:17 PM
figureoutthesea.ca
#BirdOfTheDay: let's do both themes!

- A Ruby-crowned Kinglet frolicking and foraging in a wash of spring blossoms (Vancouver, March 2025)

- And a Mallard TECHNICALLY #OutOfWater (Reifel Bird Sanctuary, February 2025)

#photography #birds
A Ruby-crowned Kinglet climbing on a pussy willow twig. In the background are blurry branches and pink flowers A female Mallard walking on solid greenish ice
December 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
smbccomics.bsky.social
The worst part is that there's always one guy among the flock who can't stop also replying all.

COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/steinb...
PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm...
STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com
1-panel SMBC comic update where a woman is praying. As she starts, she is cut off by God sending a very private message to a follower called Dave Allen Andersen who lives in Steinbach, Manitoba. She cuts him off, and God realizes he hit "Reply all" on accident.
December 6, 2025 at 11:30 PM
figureoutthesea.ca
#ArtAdventCalendar Day 6:

Let's take a short break from birds! Here's a morning view of downtown Vancouver, taken from the south side of False Creek

-- Vancouver, December 2020

#photography
A view of many urban towers under a mostly blue sky, half in shadow and half coloured gold from the rising sun. A body of water in the foreground reflects these towers in a slightly wibbly way
December 6, 2025 at 4:15 PM
figureoutthesea.ca
#BirdOfTheDay: #movement

A Mallard duck having a vigorously splashy bath

-- Burnaby Lake Regional Park, September 2023

#photography #birds
A male Mallard duck on the water, twisting and splashing around
December 6, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
michelcamerotto.bsky.social
#artAdventCalendar day 5. A watercolor painting from february. The sun rising at our home.
Watercolor painting of the sun rising behind a house and a tree. The yellow and red sun brightens the blue cloud in the sky. Two houses left and right of the sun and between them a leafless tree. In the front a red-brown beech hedge and a ditch.
December 5, 2025 at 5:43 AM
figureoutthesea.ca
#ArtAdventCalendar Day 5:

A gorgeous Pelagic Cormorant in its full breeding outfit: a green-purple sheen over much of its body, two large white patches by its rump, and a little red "mask" around its eyes and bill

-- False Creek, Vancouver. April 2025

#photography #birds
A Pelagic Cormorant on the water. Its plumage is iridescent purple over much of its body with some greenish patches. One of its two white rump patches is visible
December 5, 2025 at 4:49 PM
figureoutthesea.ca
#BirdOfTheDay: #Borbs

Song Sparrows are very good at getting round, especially when fluffing themselves up against a cold snap

-- Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, February 2025

#photography #birds
A very floofy Song Sparrow on a lichen-covered branch. Its body is facing me, but it is looking camera right. There are a few bits of snow on its beak
December 5, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
gwenckatz.bsky.social
Thinking about how starkly LLMs expose the contradictory narratives of capitalism. Specifically, "success = hard work = genius" and "technology will give us all a life of leisure."
December 4, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
prisonculture.bsky.social
Just got off a 2 hour zoom meeting and am once again so thankful that there are so many people out here doing good things in the world. Thank you. ALSO, we need to do more to buck each other up by noticing the good and reflecting it back.
December 4, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
banditelli.org
Fuck it, we're bird Christmas music posting. 🪶
December 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
jessiegender.bsky.social
New video today! Why Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Sam Altman and other wanna-be Silicon Valley gods love to cosplay Star Trek, all while stealing the very future they idolize from us all.

“How Tech Billionaires Turn Star Trek into Fascism”
youtu.be/V-7Spf1cLpU
How Tech Billionaires Turn Star Trek into Fascism
YouTube video by Jessie Gender
youtu.be
December 4, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
tinylongwing.bsky.social
Day 4 of #ArtAdventCalendar, a 2023 Waymakers thank you bird, a Tūī! They have some crazy feather patterns!

🪶 #BirdArt #SciArt
A Tūī, a dark bird from New Zealand with a white ball of feathers at its throat and a collar of lacy silver threadlike feathers around its neck, stands on a curved branch. Sunlight catches its iridescent feathers so that they shine in a rainbow of colors.
December 4, 2025 at 3:58 PM
figureoutthesea.ca
#ArtAdventCalendar Day 4:

An almost-mature Bald Eagle soaring overhead. Maybe 3 years old? I understand they get their adult colours at age 4 or 5

-- Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, October 2025

#photography #birds
A Bald Eagle soaring overhead against a solid blue sky. The head and tail are mostly white, while the wings and body are mostly brown
December 4, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
brunodias.bsky.social
If we can only have art from people who "aren't in it for the money" that means we can only have art from privileged middle-class dilettantes. Making art being a viable career is responsible for nearly all worthwhile art, and if it's not a viable career any more we will get drastically less of it.
December 4, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
brendelbored.bsky.social
I’ve sometimes fallen into the trap of thinking that complementing a creative person for their work is less sophisticated or desired than discussion or debate about it but very often the best thing you can say to them is hell yeah and that doesn’t make you dumb it just makes you nice
December 4, 2025 at 3:05 AM
figureoutthesea.ca
#BirdOfTheDay: #Songbirds

A sample of common songbirds around my neck of the woods:

- American Bushtit
- Song Sparrow
- House Finch
- Spotted Towhee

#photography #birds
A male American Bushtit hanging on to the end of a pine branch A Song Sparrow hanging on to a vertical branch and looking out A male House Finch surrounded by pink cherry blossoms and blue sky. He has a blossom in his beak A male Spotted Towhee on a wooden fence
December 4, 2025 at 7:44 AM
figureoutthesea.ca
#ArtAdventCalendar Day 3:

A fierce and shiny warrior taking a break from fighting all the other hummingbirds around the feeders

-- Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, November 2025

#photography #birds
A male Anna's Hummingbird on a wire fence. His gorget is half pink, and the background is a sort of uniform brown grey
December 3, 2025 at 4:58 PM
figureoutthesea.ca
#BirdOfTheDay: #LookingAtYou

Wood Ducks are even more dazzling when seen head on!

-- Burnaby Lake Regional Park, April 2023

#photography #birds
Closeup of a male Wood Duck seen head on
December 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
jaatee.bsky.social
Evening window ☀️
Day 3 #ArtAdventCalendar

#AlphabetChallenge
#WeekWforWindows
#WindowsonWednesday
#ColorADay #RedWed #sun
Window with black frame has a screen that blurs the sun shining through trees. On the left is a hanging red light.
December 3, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
sarahmackattack.bsky.social
It's day 3 of the invertebrate macro photo #ArtAdventCalendar.

Here, have a Japanese butterfly 😘
a fierce orange black and white butterfly looks like it has eyes on the top of its wings, sitting in the clover
December 3, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
tinylongwing.bsky.social
Day 3 #ArtAdventCalendar this year! This juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owl, which I had a lot of fun with in making that stark white ghostly cedar as a sort of pattern rather than aiming for realism with it. I think it turned out pretty cool!

#BirdArt #SciArt 🪶
Digital illustration of a juvenile Northern Saw-Whet Owl looking directly at the viewer. It clings to a single branch in the shadows, only very slightly obscured by impressionistic bright white cedar branches. The background is a mottled mix of light and shadow. The bird, a very small owl, has a large head with two golden eyes.
December 3, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
jayispainting.earthskyart.ca
Day 3 #ArtAdventCalendar

Badlands
36x48in 91x121cm
Oil on Canvas
2023 #Art #Painting
Abstract landscape painting of a river valley badlands with swirling clouds above with sunset skies behind.
December 3, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
standplaatskrk.pl
Thank you everybody! I have to start working on the difficult December fundraiser, so I'm calling it here: we successfully failed November: 2630/3000: 370 to go. But: sales were good, and no disasters happened, so we'll make it work!
A sunny winter forest.
December 2, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Demers
pookleblinky.bsky.social
An easy way to explain luddites:

Textile manufacturers brought in machines that could do in an hour what would have taken 12 hours by hand.

And then, tried to keep paying the now 12x more productive workers the same wages as before.

That's it, that was the problem luddites had. Not complex.
December 2, 2025 at 7:46 PM