John Lee 🇨🇦
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watgrad.bsky.social
John Lee 🇨🇦
@watgrad.bsky.social
2.6K followers 2.2K following 420 posts
Recently retired, exploring new possibilities, like photography, hiking, and birding. Avid volunteer.
Ontario, Canada. 🇨🇦

I follow birders and photographers!

(All pictures posted are mine, unless otherwise stated.)
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watgrad.bsky.social
Final edit for this week's #52frames_filltheframe challenge.

#horse #animals #rural
#52frames
#photography #filltheframe
#monochrome #blackandwhite
A black and white image of the driving bridle on a horse spotted in Linwood, Ontario
December 21, 2025 at 11:59 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Chickadee
#52frames_filltheframe
#52frames
#birds
#photography
December 20, 2025 at 1:23 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Trying a few different approaches with the #52frames_filltheframe challenge this week...struggling a bit for a subject that works.

color or monochrome - what do you think?

#horse #animals
#filltheframe
#52frames
#photography
December 19, 2025 at 1:38 AM
watgrad.bsky.social
Out and about in Linwood, Ontario.

#photography
#social_documentary
#winter
#rural_life
Snow falls as a Mennonite horse and buggy drive downhill along the road toward the camera. A mother and child pull a sled with a baby across the road in the background.
December 17, 2025 at 3:37 AM
watgrad.bsky.social
Just a wee house sparrow catching some rays in our back yard, Waterloo, Ontario.
#birds
#birding
#birdphotography
#nature
one of my #52frames_nature attempts
#52frames
#photography
A house sparrow sits in the sunlight perched on a cedar branch
December 15, 2025 at 9:39 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Snow Buntings fight over grain in the fields of Linwood, Ontario.
#birds
#birding
#birdphotography
#nature
#52frames_nature
#52frames
#photography
Two Snow Buntings fight over grain gleanings while a third watches from the sidelines.
December 14, 2025 at 1:37 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
A Bald Eagle, seen just north of my house on Dec. 9th!
North Waterloo, Ontario.
#birds
#birding
#birdphotography
#nature
#52frames_nature
#52frames
#photography
A Bald Eagle perched high in a tree.
December 12, 2025 at 10:11 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
A temperature inversion near Linwood, ON (Dec. 8).
The air below the ice crystals was -20C (according to my car). As we drove up a hill through the crystal cloud, the air was -10C. It made for a beautiful #landscape, with trees covered in ice crystals!

#Ontario
#photography
#winter #nature
A lone tree, covered in ice, stands in a field of snow. A layer of ice crystals floats above. The forest in the background glitters with ice, under a blue sky.
December 11, 2025 at 9:45 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Lift-Off!

(A red-tailed hawk takes flight!)

#birds
#birdphotography
#hawks
A red-tailed hawk takes flight from a branch
December 10, 2025 at 11:09 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
My submission for this week's #52frames challenge, #52frames_shootfromthehip

#streetphotography
#photography
#Waterloo

(Straightened, cropped, and colour corrected in #darktable)
Winter's chill - a man walks his bicycle on the icy sidewalk in Uptown Waterloo
December 8, 2025 at 3:20 AM
watgrad.bsky.social
Horned Lark - Dec 2, 2025

Experimenting with darktable's new Agx tonemapper in the nightly build. Agx is amazing (though a bit complicated)!

#datktable
#nature
#photography
horned lark - agx in darktable horned lark - sigmoid in darktable
December 2, 2025 at 9:46 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Final #52frames_architecture photo for this week.
The atrium between Engineering 5 and Engineering 7 at the Unversity of Waterloo.
#52frames
#architecture
#photography
A long exposure of the atrium between Eng 5 and Eng 7 at UW!
November 30, 2025 at 10:57 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Hunting for a #52frames_architecture photo!
A church converted to a toy store, decorated for Christmas.
I need to redo this picture with a wider aperture, less keystoning, and more light in the sky. The weather is not cooperating!❄️❄️❄️ On to an indoor venue next!
#52frames
#architecture
#photography
A church that has been converted to a toy store is illuminated with Christmas lights - irony, juxtaposition ... I don't know what the term is for this situation!!
November 27, 2025 at 10:22 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
My #52frames_sportsphotography submission for this week. Not really a sport, since there was no competition, but maybe they were racing to work?

#52frames #biking
#photography
#panning
A cyclist speeds down the bike track at Waterloo Park, with the trees and fence blurred behind
November 24, 2025 at 4:31 AM
watgrad.bsky.social
Candles for #52frames_blackandwhiteminimalism

#52frames #blackandwhite #photography #monochrome
a chain of candles glows against a black background, the foremost candle is in focus, while the other candles stretching further away to the right become more and more out of focus
November 16, 2025 at 9:21 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
remember

#Canada #RemembranceDay #LestWeForget
November 11, 2025 at 10:35 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Do you feed the birds in the wintertime?
feederwatch.org

The feederwatch counting season starts in November!
There's even an app to make submitting your data easy!

#birds
#feeder #feederwatch
#wildlife #nature
a list of birds seen at the feeder for Nov. 9 (mourning dove, downy woodpecker, crow, house sparrow, blue jay, junco, cardinal, red-bellied woodpecker, chickadee)
November 9, 2025 at 10:43 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
First snowfall!
Snow covers the red leaves of a burning bush. A snow covered trail winds into the distance
November 9, 2025 at 2:33 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Plant shelf...
(just remembering, plants aren't toys - for my #52Frames friends)
#houseplants
#plants
a variety of house plants displayed on a shelf
November 8, 2025 at 9:26 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Tried the "tell a story with Flat Lay" extra challenge for the #52frames_showusyourtoys theme this week.

I'm definitely embracing imperfections!

#52frames
#photography
A flat lay photo shows snow boots, pants, coat, hat, and gloves 'outlining' a person using snowshoes and poles to walk across a field of snow.
November 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Just a duck
(It was a quiet day birding.)

#birds
#birding
#nature
#photography
a male mallard shows off his iridescent blue and green plumage
November 5, 2025 at 9:35 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
I didn't have many ideas for this week's #52frames_yourworstnightmare challenge, so I went with my first and only thought.

I used our doorbell camera to create a composite image inspired by a spooky scene from the horror film Hereditary.

#52frames #photography #horror
#Hereditary_movie #Halloween
A stranger stares into the doorbell camera, the glare of the IR camera lights reflect in his eyes, there are several other people shadowed in the background, the date stamp says it is midnight Oct 31.
October 31, 2025 at 4:58 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
A cluster of #mushrooms growing on a mossy stump! (Stamm Woodlot, Waterloo)
#fungi
#nature
#photography
A troop of mushrooms grows from a mossy stump, amid the fallen yellow leaves.
October 27, 2025 at 10:39 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
My attempts for the #52frames_centeredcomposition challenge this week.
#52frames
#photography
#centered
frost on the cabbages (taken with phone) a mallard duck caught splashing while taking a 'bath' a mallard duck caught in mid splash A blue jay snacks on a peanut
October 27, 2025 at 2:52 PM
watgrad.bsky.social
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) from last night. Not very detailed, but still happy I captured something!

Thanks to @afischer.bsky.social for the inspiration - have a look at his amazing captures of this comet!

#astrophotography
#comet
October 21, 2025 at 2:25 PM