Photography

Morning at Cave Lake

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CaveLake_5651

 

On my trip to Cave Lake I had hiked there on my own. I spent the night in my tent alone. It actually went better than I expected. A person seems to develop acute hearing during the night and I am deaf. You can start hearing sounds that are real or imaginary. But all in all I survived the night. I woke up to a beautiful morning with the local black fly population waiting for me. They were thick.

Walking along the shoreline I came across this small rock point jutting out into the lake. There were no clouds in the sky as per usual. I set up my tripod and Canon 7D to place the rock point to the right in my composition. By chosen to have the rock point angled to the center of my composition you can get more of a 3D  effect in your work. It also allowed me to eliminate some of the lake surface.  I showed just a touch of shoreline in the foreground bottom right. There were some small rocks and grass there. The small rocks allowed for a comparison of boulder size in relationship to the rock point. There is a lot of detail in the rock structures to be found. The reflections allow for an almost 3D effect of the rock point. There is a piece of broken wood on the rock edge for added interest. The green vegetation breaks up the rock color for a better appeal.

I was able to have the far treeline angle down into the center of the composition from the top left. I kept the sky to a minimum here. You can notice the fresh green of the Maples among the evergreens. You get this effect well into June. This gives you various shades of green for better contrast. One of the things you have to be aware of is that you have to disturb the blackflies in front of your lense. If not you can get a nice looking blurry spot on your photo.

Well that is all for now. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Cave Lake, Killarney Provincial Park

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CaveLake_5635

The above scene was taken at Cave Lake, Killarney Provincial Park. This was the only trip I had made so far. It requires about a 2 hour hike to reach with two campsites available. I hiked here in June of 2012. The bugs were very bad. Mosquitoes on the rampage in the evening, then dawn I was assaulted by Blackflies. This is not a big lake. The East shoreline is completely forest covered. It appears to be fairly good incline from the top of the La Cloche Range to Cave Lakes water edge. But there is a small section of rock protruding among the evergreens down to the water’s edge. The neat thing about it was that when the lake’s surface calmed, you would swear there was a cave at the base.

This was a dawn shot that I composed. I put some rock surface in the foreground to eliminate so of the water and to add depth. There is some green vegetation in the bottom right corner. Very nice detail of lichen on the rock surface. At this time of year everything is fresh looking. There are some Pine boughs along the edges to add more depth. I wanted to create the feeling that you are standing on that rock and looking towards that hole in the rock on the far shore. With the dense forest across the way there is a combination of low morning like striking the evergreens plus the lighter green of new growth. This will give you beautiful contrast and effect. Plus this is all reflected into the water.

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I created a close up shot of that rock structure and was rewarded with the tiered effect going diagonally to the water. An interesting bent Pine is growing on the bottom part of the ridge. Now we can get a better view of the cave effect. Again utilizing the low early morning light and new growth for contrast and break up the all green effect.

Well that is it for this time. So until next time happy trails

Photography

The David Lake Series

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DavidLake1

 

The above composition is another panoramic that I captured at David Lake, Killarney Provincial Park. It was late Sept. The Fall colors were not in there full glory yet. This composition contains two overlapping photos to achieve the desired scene that I wanted. The dark scudding clouds added to the mood.  The blown highlights do not turn me on. That is were the morning sun was risen. The little rock islands have great texture that is common in this area. The addition of mist adds to the mood. The mist was coming off the land and moving from left to right. I believe the added colors of Fall in the forest in the background gives added contrast. You can just glimpse the La Cloche Mountains in the background.

The weather here is getting warmer, snow is melting. Happy Easter to everyone. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Spring Thaw

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HighFalls_0460

 

This past Sunday I headed back up to High Falls for another shoot. A beautiful sunny afternoon with a temperature of 10 C. The snow had deteriorated since the week before. Being much softer you had a tenancy to sink once in awhile. I walked the trail to the bridge above the falls. It was walk up, then walk down. The snow was also slippery in spots.

The river had opened up a fair bit. The roar of rushing water quite noticeable.  The volume of water was higher from my previous trip. There was more open water to work with. The snow surface was now pitted from the hot sun. Chunks of ice were floating down river. The water was dark with a heavy yellow tinge. I composed the above scene to emphasize the chaotic nature of a Spring thaw on a waterfalls. I emphasized the dramatic flow of water. The chunks of ice breaking off from the river’s edge adds great detail.

This is probably my last trip here until the snows has melted. It won’t be long until the river is fully open and the volume of water too high for effective photographing. As I was waiting for the evening lighting, I met up with a gentleman on the trail. He was carrying a Pentax DSR. We had a good chat for awhile. We then moved off in different directions.

This weekend is the Sudbury Art Club’s Spring Show and Exhibition. If you are in the area please join us. While that is it for now. Until next time, happy trails

Photography

Sculptured by Nature

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HighFalls_0413

 

What a beautiful day this past Sunday. Plus 6 C and lots of sun. I spent a late afternoon and evening exploring High Falls looking for possible compositions. The above capture was the last photo I took that evening. The shapes and patterns of the snow and ice are very interesting. My goal here was to put all theses forms into a composition. When you look at the sculptured snow and ice you can see a tremendous amount of detail. On the snow on the left you can see scoured lines leading down and towards the middle of the scenes. I placed a bit of water in the left bottom to give some color contrast. There are remarkable amount of detail along the waters edge. By placing the right hand curved piece in the foreground I accomplished more depth to the scene.

Do not forget to join me and my fellow artists at the Sudbury Art Club’s Spring Show and Exhibition on April 11TH, 12th, 13Th, 2014

Well that is it until next time. Happy trails

Photography

High Falls, Levack

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Last Sunday I took an early evening trip up to High Falls. I parked where the locals slide down the hill. There were a couple families having fun. It was a nice sunny day with moving clouds. The temperature was -8 C with some wind. Gathering up my gear, I trudged up the hill, located the path to the bridge and started a downhill journey that appeared to be slippery at times. The bridge soon appeared ahead and I was greeted to a display of streaking shadows and sunlight over the undulating snow bound river. It was very easy to notice the many shapes and forms that the wind had created in the snow. There were open areas of rushing water that cascaded between the snow and ice. As I walked to the middle of the bridge, I spotted something black moving across the white snow. It was a mink going from one open stretch of water to another.

The best photographing here is between 4 and 6 in late afternoon. At this time of day the shadows are becoming long. The sunlight is filtering through the trees to create an ever changing patterns with the sculptured snow forms. You can get tremendous depth with this type of scenario.

The trails were well beaten here. Near the end of my stay I took a trail that followed the river on its downward descent. I had just finished photographing from the bridge. As I walked the trail, I spotted some gold reflection in the water ahead of me. I walked off the trail about ten feet packing down the snow as I went. I found a spot to set up my tripod and Canon eos 7D. I set up for a vertical shot. I had some branches ahead that I had to remove in Photoshop. The main reason for the vertical was to eliminate as many branches as possible. At the same time I wanted to put in the foreground the beautifully formed snow with its curves and lighting. Vertical shots of flowing water seem to add to the direction of movement by the water coursing on its journey.

The golden reflection in the water creates a very unique aspect along with the blue on the snow and ice. Now I purposely left the blue coloring on the snow in the foreground. I feel it adds to the overall sense of the composition. You will not see the blue with the naked eye. The color blue is common in shade areas.   Correcting for blue snow can be as easy as selecting the “Shade” white balance setting on your camera before you begin shooting. You can also remove the blue cast in Photoshop and Lightroom by moving the blue saturation slider to the left. I love the effect of the blue in this composition. Thus I have taken artist licensing with this piece of work.

Well that is it for now. Join me and the Sudbury Art Club at the annual Spring Art Show. For more info check there website.

http://sudburyartclub.blogspot.ca/

I have updated my Fine Art Page with a new addition. So check it out

Until next time happy trails.

 

 

Photography, Poetry

Entrance To Killarney Lake

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KillarneyLake

It is late June.

The evening sun low

In the western sky

Sunlight filters through

The shoreline Pines

Pine pollen drifts on the quiet waters.

The La Cloche Mountains

Visible through the narrows

Clouds are scudding overhead

Moose tracks are visible

Along the muddy shoreline

Only hours old

A scene that greets

Many a portaging canoeist

As they journey into

The heart of the

White quartz La Cloche Range

Threading their laden canoes

Through narrow channels

Paddling gently to observe

The quiet evening beauty

Before emerging into the

A clear, sapphire lake

That is Killarney Lake

Set among Jack Pine hills

White quartz ridges rise

High on either side

Pink granite scattered haphazard

Along the rugged shorelines

A tranquil scene

Of turquoise blue waters

In the even stillness

Before the last rays

Of the setting sun

Spring is here now in the North Country. It is getting warmer. But the snow is deep.

Until next time happy trails.

Photography

River’s Curature

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Sudbury_0167

The above photo was captured on my short hike last Monday. The same river that flows out of Kelly Lake. This composition is about using the river’s curvature to create a composition. I love the effect of snow on the cedars and evergreens for added detail. That was one reason I added part of the evergreen in upper right hand corner. Last years vegetation adds contrast with the snow without being messy.

That is it for now. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

Winter Shoreline Patterns

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Sudbury_0162

With the weather warming up I decided to go on a mid morning hike. Gathering up my camera gear, I drove to the Fielding Park parking lot. It was a bright cloudy day. Thus making for even lighting. I crossed the Fielding Road and picked up the trail that follows  the river flowing out of Kelly Lake. It was a beautiful morning. There was no wind. There was fresh snow on the ground. The evergreens had a blanket of snow. So nice to be there.

As I traversed the trail I was met by a lone chickadee flirting from branch to branch above my head. On the river ahead of me was a large flock of Common Mergansers. Walking on I spotted a dip in the far shoreline with interesting patterns. There were tracks following the shoreline that could add interest to the scene. Those tracks had to be an old set of tracks as there was a covering of snow in them.

I set up on the trail with my tripod. If you stepped off the trail you were in deep snow. I set this up as a tight shot. Up in the left hand side their is a clump of vegetation. But most important you will see a diagonal line running down to the water’s edge. This will help give more depth to the photo. I kept the water to a minimal to just allow the reflections to show. There is tremendous detail to be had in this composition. I must say that the tracks help create this scene.

The weather is changing here. It is warming up. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Creating A Composition

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As I walked the shoreline of Lake Superior at Pukaskwa National Park late one evening, I envisioned the scene above. It was a late evening with poor lighting. The photographing had not been great. There was some wave action upon the rocks. I came to a sloping rocky shoreline with jagged rocks. The color varied from black to golden brown in color. So I decided to set up my tripod and Canon EOS 7D and see what I could come up with. Shooting tight and set up low I was able to get the above scene. The shutter speed  was set to 8 sec and to get the depth of field that I needed at this range, my f-stops was at f22. This is a nice soft and moody composition.

By waiting for the right amount of wave action I was able to get that capture, I was looking for. By shooting at 8 sec. I was able to create a moody scene where by the water now appears misty like among the rocks. The transition from water to rocks is smooth. By smoothing out the many body of water and getting the right lighting and shadows on the rocks I find this to be a very nice scene that will give you a soothing effect. The other way around would be having the waves crashing upon the rocks at a faster shutter speed.

Well that is it for now. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time happy trails.