Mark Bernards 3 Photography and Design

Home
Canada
Ottawa, ON
Mark Bernards 3 Photography and Design

Just a Biologist 👨‍🔬 working for an ENGO as a Graphic Designer 👨‍💻 to fund his wildl

10/21/2026

Layers
This is one of those bittersweet images. The soft smoothness of the mountain shapes and the lack of details visible in the mountainsides made for a clean, simple, and calming image. An aesthetic that really speaks the artist in me. And, photo aside, this was unquestionably of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever witnessed.
But the sinister reality behind it all is that atmospheric haze that made this aesthetic possible is wildfire smoke. Spain was hit hard by wildfires this summer, and though I was lucky enough to avoid any active fires while I was there, the evidence was there. I drove almost all the way across the country, and the whole way, the sky was hazy and there were frequent wildfire warnings on the signs over the highway.
I’m happy to have a shot like this in my library, but it is also a reminder that climate change is not slowing down, and its effects can be seen or felt everywhere, even if they’re not immediately obvious.

10/09/2026

Just a little guy

10/02/2026

Grey heron 🔍

09/28/2026

Cake pops

09/23/2026

🦩

09/18/2026

When I arrived in the area I hoped to photograph flamingos and the eclipse together, it quickly became clear that the shot I had in my head would not be possible. With more time to scout, it’s possible I may have been able to figure something out, but with one afternoon/evening only, I had to make do with what was in front of me.
During that first evening, there was this one individual feeding on its own, apart from the group. Definitely not setting up the shot in my head, but it was the closest I figured I was going to get (I.e. the biggest I was going to be able to get a flamingo in the frame and in line with the eclipse). I took this shot (and several others) as a sort of trial run for the next day, getting a feel for the sun’s trajectory and where to position myself along the shoreline to get the best sightlines.
Sadly, on the day of the eclipse, things didn’t line up as nicely. There were a couple flamingos in this area, but they stayed further away from the shore, making them much smaller in the frame when lined up with the eclipse, so all i have is this loose proof of concept shot 🤷‍♂️

09/16/2026

Cat claw 🐈‍⬛

09/14/2026

Eclipse at 99%. Bird at 0.001%.
Still counts

09/09/2026

Last month, I was in Spain for a wedding. I flew over a bit early to catch the total solar eclipse that was happening the week before. With 2 days between the eclipse and the wedding, and wanting to give myself a day or two after the wedding to “recover” and limited total trip time available (leaving my wife with our 2.5 year old and 4 month old by herself, 1 week was already a big ask), I only had 1 day for scouting in person, so I had to do as much research ahead of time as possible and kind of just hope for the best.
I looked up the types of wildlife that calls Spain home, where they could be found (and trying to get a sense of how reliably they could be found in those places), and comparing those spots to the path of totality, and settled on trying to go for flamingos. It’s not the shot(s) I had in mind, but I did technically achieve my goal of getting flamingos and the eclipse in the same shot.
I am pretty happy with this photo (even without the teeny tiny flamingos, I kind of like it just as a landscape shot), and I did get some shots of flamingos sans eclipse that I like, and some eclipse shots I’m happy with (which will be shared eventually… probably…), plus just being there and experiencing the eclipse was an incredible experience, so overall, I’m calling it a success.
Swipe for a closer look, settings, and my eclipse-viewing uniform

04/28/2026

That time I found a great grey owl on the walk home from daycare drop off. Not in the sprawling wilderness. No trekking great distances across treacherous terrain. No waiting for hours for something to show. A patch of forest, barely the size of a city block, in the middle of the suburbs of Ottawa, and probably only added max 1km extra distance to my morning (home to grab the camera and head back).
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again a million times: there is amazing and interesting wildlife everywhere, you just have to be willing to look for it.

Address

Ottawa, ON

Website

http://www.markbernards3.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mark Bernards 3 Photography and Design posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.