Photography

Faces In the Rocks

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Springhaven_3123

On a previous trip to Nares Inlet Gerard Leduc and I were walking the shoreline exploring for photo opportunities. Nares Inlet is part of Georgian Bay. I had parked my Ford Escape in the parking lot of Springhaven Lodge. As we walked the shoreline Gerard pointed out an interesting rock structure that jutted out into the bay. It had the shape of an Indian head. This was pretty cool. In my travels I have come across many such faces created by Mother Nature. Whether human or animal they are out there if you look. They are also called the faces of the Grandfather by native people.

I set my tripod up for the best angle to portray this feature. The water had a blue color that would really make the head stand out. The rock formation had a lot of detail from the colors available to the rock formations themselves. There was a clump of small rocks that I used for my foreground to add depth. If you look closely you will see a small brownish  rock in a depression that gives the impression of an eye on the head.

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

Photography, Poetry

Heart In The North

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BassfinLake_2287

Riding on a Greyhound bus

On a North bound highway

I watch the landscape flashing by

I think back to the day

I had left my Northern home

To seek a job down South

I left a girl behind

With tears in her eyes

The bus rolled along

Bringing me closer to home

Next stop Sudbury

As I stepped down

From the Greyhound bus

There was my girl

Waiting for me

With tearful eyes and a warm smile

She ran towards me

I dropped my suitcase

Taking her in my arms

The years melted away

I was back home

In the North

Were my heart belonged

She said wait here

Returning with a little girl

This is your daughter

Tears came easily

I said come to Daddy

With a moments hesitation

She was in my arms

This is were my heart belongs

In the North Country

With the lady I love

A beautiful little girl

Blond and blue eyes

We can now share our love

The above photo was an evening capture up the Matagamasi Road. The lake is Bushy Lake. I had been photographing at Bassfin Lake and decided to take a quick run up to Bushy Lake. There I was greeted by the above scene. Beautiful sky and reflections. I used the left shoreline to lead out to to background. The reflections were great with some amazing cloud detail. This is again being in the right pace at the right time.

Thank you everyone for stopping by. Enjoy the comments very much. Keep them coming. I have reach a milestone of shorts as I have surpassed the 500 subscriber mark. Love that. So until next time happy trails

Photography

Photo Op Sudbury.

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RoadToVarcaron_2986

 

 

As I was driving to Val Caron the other morning on a business trip, I spotted this lovely scene with Tamarack trees. I thought to myself that this would be a worthwhile opportunity come evening. Thus I made an early supper, loaded my gear and headed out. I drove to the Notre Dame, Lasalle Blvd  corner and headed North onto Regional Road 80. A few kilometers on I parked by a small body of water.

The Tamarack were a nice yellow, orange color in the low light. The sky had a touch of pink in it. I needed some foreground for a better affect. There was a huge transmission tower at the back of the scene. I sure did not want that. It was even reflecting on the water. I then spotted a Tamarack to the South. I headed over there and set up my tripod. I mounted my 28 to 135 zoom lens to my Canon 7D. I was all set to go. The traffic was fairly heavy here, but the shoulders of the road were wide. The lighting was retreating fast. So now I composed with a small portion of a point that contained the Tamarack for my foreground. The reflection of the Tamarack filled the bottom right corner of the photo for a lead-in. A beautiful collection of colorful Tamarack in the middle ground. The darker evergreens allow the Tamarack to stand out better. There is one little white cloud on the horizon. Being late in the evening there is a pink glow in the sky and water. All of this within the City of Sudbury.

Thank you for stopping by. Tonight I am off to the Sudbury Arts Council for Arts After Five at the Art Gallery of Sudbury Wednesday at 5 pm. It is a networking for artists and art patrons. There will be music by Sweet Jive, refreshments, and door prizes!

Until next time happy trails

 

Photography

The Magic of Rocks

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KillBearProvPark_2840

The above photo was captured on my first trip to Killbear Provincial Park. It was now getting late in the evening. The rock color and texture here are truly beautiful. There is something to be said about rocks that have the texture and detail.With the right lighting they become a work of art. I used the rock in the foreground for added depth. I included part of a Pine tree and ground vegetation in the upper right corner to break the color. You can just see the far horizon with an island. When your eyes go there you may want to know what lies beyond. As it was getting late my shutter speed was at 6 sec and f22. With that said, the water will appear smoother and the clouds have a nice affect. Using Photoshop I added a touch of color in the sky to break up the blue and also to complement the coloring of the rock.

Thank you all for stopping by. Also thank you for subscribing to my blog. I am fast approaching the 500 mark. Again thank you. Until next time happy trails

Photography

Island In The Sun

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Littleisland4905

A little island on a lake in the Wawa area. It is located just outside the Lake Superior Park Boundry. I had seen this scene a number of times in my travels up here. I have a soft spot for these little islands. This little island is almost like a dot on the lake’s surface. So the morning before Maureen and I headed out for Treeby Lake I headed out from our motel to see if I could capture a nice composition. This lake is right along Hwy 17 so accessibility was easy. There was a small open on the shoreline where I was able to set up. The forest pretty much comes down to the shoreline here.

So I had an island. I needed the right lighting to make this work. There was also a lot of yellow here too. As I waited I watched as the morning light engulfed that little island. You could not ask for anything better. The island is now separated from the lower background which consisted of dark evergreens, having not been touched by the light. By positioning my tripod I was able to enhance this separation to gain more of the darker background. I did a partial framing on the right with the colorful sunlit trees on the right. The upper edge of the background is now being touched with the morning light.  A very attractive composition.

I will be set up at the Beaver Lake Fall Fair this Friday and Sat. It will also be a time to chat with old friends. So until next week happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

Come Sit With Me

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ChutesProvincialPark_2705

Come sit with me

By the meandering stream

That flows through the forest

Listen to the water

Flowing freely among the rocks

Listen to the wind

Singing in the tree tops

Inhale the rich earthly smell

Of the forest around us

See the dainty wildflowers

Nodding in the wind

An array of vibrant color

A moss coloured log

Lies before us

Rich in green and brown

Slowly being reclaimed

Back to the earth

The voice of a songbird

Singing his colourful melodies

Amongst  the low growing shrubs

Declaring  his everlasting love

To his nearby mate

High up in a Red Pine

A noisy red squirrel

Chatters and scolds a chipmunk

With puffed out cheeks

Sitting  on a stump

A cotton tail rabbit

Hops into the clearing

Feeding along the forest edge

Always alert to danger

A chorus of song

Can be heard by the stream

It is the music of frogs

Quietly a whitetail doe

Steps from the forest

Approaches the streams edge

Alert for danger

She turns her head

Two spotted fawns emerge

From the forest shadows

To join their watchful mother

The doe lowers its muzzle

To the clear cold stream

Quenching her thirst

As the fawns explore

Then silently as they came

They faded into the woods

Evening is fast approaching

The woods are darkening

The sun is lowering

Soon to be gone

Shadows have lengthening now

It is time to head home

The trail beckons us

The stars will guide us

On our journey home

This poem is about slowing life down and enjoying the intimate world of nature.

To enjoy your surroundings and a relaxing way to observe the woods in your area away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

The above photo was taken in Chutes Provincial Park.

There was a nice bit of color on the far shoreline.

Using the rocks in midstream of the Aux Sable River as my lead in I created the above composition.

Well the weather has changed here to rain and in the upcoming week snow flurries. The temperatures are now dropping.

So until next time happy trails

Photography

My Home In The North

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I have worked with singer, songwriter Andy Lowe to produce a music video with his song My Home In The North along with my photographic work. The music video has been posted on YouTube for your viewing.

 

Photography

Watch Your Lighting

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Maureen and I awoke Tuesday morning to a beautiful sunny day. A quick breakfast at the restaurant of the Best Northern. We were soon off to Fenton Lake. Then portaging over to Treeby Lake. These lakes were within Lake Superior Provincial Park. From the parking lot it is a 150 meter carry down to the lake. We soon had our gear loaded into the Quebecor 17 canoe. Edging out from shore, we paddled along the East side of the lake. The wind had picked up by now. The good thing was we were going with it. We soon reached our first portage and unloaded. This is a 50 meter portage. With all the gear hauled over. Maureen and I relaxed for a few minutes. Maureen was still suffering from her cold. We now had to make our way along a strip of water towards the Treeby Lake portage.

The Treeby portage is 150 meters in length. The ground and rocks were still wet from the previous rains. There were fallen leaves on the trail. With care we hauled our gear over the portage into Treeby Lake. We encountered a couple of downed trees on the trail. Pushing off from shore it was time to find a campsite to spend the next couple days. The wind had by now become stronger.

Treeby is a lake with approximately 23 islands. That was one of the reasons for coming here. Maureen and I set up camp on a point of land on the West side of the lake. The winds blew and gusted day and night until Thursday morning.  I awoke Thursday morning at daybreak. Peeking my head out the tent I saw the leaves were not moving. Looked out upon  the lake to behold the calm water surface. All was not perfect as there was a slight breeze skipping and dancing here and there on the lake. From past experience you learn to be patient and wait. In the mean time you set up your gear. The sky was getting brighter by now.

The above photo was captured as the sun splashed the hillside to illuminate the Fall colors. That is an island in front. I needed sunlight on this little island to make it stand out. Again you wait. This is what makes wilderness landscapes challenging. The long waits, the right conditions. When all the pieces fall into place, you have achieved your goal. The most important thing is you are standing on the shorelines of a lake taking in all the beauty, color and grandeur that can be found in our North country.

Well that is it for this post. Until next time happy trails

Photography

Pot of Gold

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Rainbow

 

Last Sunday Maureen and I drove up to Sault Ste Marie on our way to Wawa. The weather was wet and windy. Rain was heavy at times. We arrived in Sault Ste Marie late afternoon. Before leaving home we had attended  my Grandson Gunner’s 4th birthday. We booked into a motel that night. Maureen was suffering from a cold and the dampness was making me sick. Monday morning was much the same weather wise. North of the Sault I stopped at the Chippewa Falls and proceeded to photograph the falls. There were fisherman at the pool catching salmon coming in to spawn. We stopped at the visitor center in Lake Superior Provincial Park to pick up our camping permits into Fenton and Treeby Lakes. This is to be a three day trip.

This being a cloudy day creating even lighting for taking photographs I was able to stop at various locations on Lake Superior to photograph. By mid afternoon we arrived in Wawa. We booked into the Best Northern Motel. Here we met the owners Mark and Teressa. This is a nice motel to stay in and there restaurant served excellent meals. I highly recommend staying here. For those celebrating Thanksgiving have a safe and good weekend with your families.

Until next time Happy Trails.    

Photography

Killbear Provincial Park

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KillBearProvPark_2807

Gerard Leduc arrived at my apartment  around 2 pm. Loading up we stopped at Tim Hortons to pick up some coffee to enjoy well we headed South. We were on our way to check out Killbear Provincial Park just North of Parry Sound. Upon arrival I was immediately impressed with the Park. Beautiful scenery, wonderful sand beaches. There are thoughts of bringing my grand kids here next summer. The beach had nice fine sand. There is one very long beach and a short one. There are some interesting evergreens among the smooth rock structures.

With a bit of time to spare, Gerard and I parked at an empty campsite by the beach. We enjoyed a nice bite to eat before heading off to photograph. Now I had been watching the sky. There was some very unique cloud cover that I wanted to utilize in a photo. I had and island in the distance. Sandstone colored smooth rock in front of me and some interesting tree shapes. I set my tripod up as low as I could get it. This way I eliminated a lot of water in the foreground. The emphases here was the sky. The rest of the material such as island, trees and rocks were used to create the final composition. I gotta tell you my ole joints get a little stiff after crouching down that low. The added bonus was the bit of sunlight appearing on the left.

I plan on coming back here in a couple of weeks. There were a lot of trees here still not in color. Maureen and I are heading back up to Superior for a week of photographing. We are planning a canoe trip into a series of small lakes for a few days near Wawa. Then hopefully I will be able to work the Superior coastline.

So until I get back, Happy trails