Today I went for a scenic hike at McKenzie Bight. I took a few photos, in between gasps for air.

After a mild climb (well, for other people – it was pretty brutal, for me), we reached a decent viewpoint. On the way down to the Bight, the trail ran parallel to a cascading waterfall.

A little bit further down the slope, there was a bench. I don’t recall sitting on it, but I do recall wishing that there were benches on the return trip. Anyway, at the bottom of the trail was McKenzie Bight – it was a low tide, so we were able to walk out pretty far. It was neat.

We went out to the “green point” and relaxed for a bit. A funny brown dog was carrying a tree in its mouth with great vigor, so I just had to snap a photo.

On the way back from the “green point”, I spotted a snake fleeing to a nearby tree trunk. It provided a very entertaining photo op

Then we headed back, and I did my best impersonation of Zach Galifianakis in the car, on the way to get an awesome sandwich from the Red Barn Market.

My successful Picture-A-Day project for 2009 contains 365 photographs taken with my Pentax Optio W60 camera. (Well, I think there are a few exceptions – there’s one Halo screenshot in there, and there might be one iPhone photo).

The goal of this project was to take at least one photo for every day of 2009. In 2008, I only managed to get 182 photo-a-day shots; 2009’s effort has smashed that number with a 100% success factor.

The quality of the photos runs the gamut from blurry or grainy or terribly composed to uniquely-lighted, almost properly composed, or downright artistically pleasant to look at.

There are rainbows, fireworks, pink elephants, meals, olympic torches, grassy fields, flowers, leaves, books, boats, buildings, parking meters, newspapers, retail items, business signs, desserts, cats, dogs, squirrels, birds, planes, trains, and automobiles.

I documented myself fishing, kayaking for the first time, getting married (I suppose it was only hinted at in these photos), having a stag party wherein an *actual stag* showed up (although I ended up using a colourful fishing reel photo instead of a blurry zoomed photo for that day), getting my new computer, honeymooning at Disneyland, and (in a way) celebrating the successful completion of the project.

I am considering taking the photos and making them into a book. While that might end up being a bit too pricey, it would make a nice cap on an already impressive project follow-through.

This concludes our broadcast day. *Click*

A few leftover photos in this post.

We went and saw the Olympic Torch at Mile Zero here in Victoria. It wasn’t exactly what we expected, and the weather was pretty wet, but it was fun. Apparently the torch had been re-routed at the checkpoint prior to mile zero, due to protests, and we happened to luck out in our positioning such that it didn’t skip over our lookout spot. Quelle chance.

A kitty in a strange bind, and a very unusual bike accessory that was pointed out by a coworker.

Photographic proof that I rode the California Screamin’ rollercoaster at Disneyland.

Additionally, on Nov 30th, I participated in the Movember fundraiser for prostate cancer research, and I raised a small sum of money thanks to that hideous and horrifying moustache. I’d like to extend a special thanks to my primary donor, “b!” from SlackerTalk. Thanks, b!

Just some quick pics from a recent trip to Clover Point on a windy day.

There was a mighty wind – it was very difficult to get the car door open. That windsurfer must have been having a heck of a time out there. Shockingly, at one point, I noticed a kayaker out in that weather as well – he was disappearing into the swell, though, so I didn’t get a good photo of him.

Eventually, I retreated to the safety of the car.