Photography

Chutes Provincial Park

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ChutesProvincialPark_2756

Late Monday afternoon I loaded up my gear and drove up to Massey, Ontario. Chutes Provincial Park was my destination. After parking my Ford Escape I hiked the trails along the Aux Sable River. Being too early to photograph, I searched along the river for compositions to work with later in the evening.

The river was running high. The moss on the rocks were wet. You could see were the water was seeping out of the moss and wetting the rock faces. The Fall colors here were not the greatest. But there was enough to work with. The rocks along the river here have character due to water action over the years. After completing my hike, I had a couple hours of wait time. I drove up the Massey Tote Road to visit a good friend Rob Bouchard. Rob is very knowledgeable about the area. It was soon time to head back to Chutes Provincial Park for my evening shot.

Upon arrival I sat at a picnic table to enjoy a quick sandwich. Then it was time to gather up the gear and start photographing. As I hiked the trail I would stop at the various locations and set my tripod and Canon 7D to get the photograph. I soon made my way up to the bridge at the North end of the Park. The sun was now below the horizon and there was a pink cast in the sky.

I had observed this spot earlier and loved the way the water flowed, The rock formations, a little bit of Fall color. As I stood there now I spotted a touch of pink here and there in the water. There also was a pink glow on some of the rocks. This was a result of parts of the rock surfaces being wet. I quickly set up the Canon 7D on the tripod and went to work. This is a 20 second shot at f22. With Photo shop I was able to bring out some detail in the water to give the feel of motion. Where there was white water you are able to observe that too. The pink coloring in the water is from the evening sky. I showed just enough sky to tell you the sunset was a pinkish glow.

As I was photographing an American couple came by and we started chatting. I now was finish photographing, so I said I would walk out with them. They were staying the night at the campsite. We parted company when I reached my vehicle. One of the joys of my work is meeting wonderful folks along the way. It is always a pleasure to chat with these people.

Well that is it for this week. Thank you for stopping by. Always look forward to your visits. Until next time happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

A Mind in Time

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Recollet_2653

Sitting upon a flat rock

As I relax on a warm

Summer evening

The sound of running water

Is music to my ears

The sun is lowering

Towards the westerly sky

The French River is cascading

Over the historic Recollet Falls

The portage before me

Brings thoughts of ages past

As my mind goes back in time

An Ojibwa warrior dressed in skins

Appears around the bend

With his birch bark canoe

Upon his broad shoulders

Followed by his  wife

Packing over their belongings

Two young children laughing

And giggling as they near

The end of the portage

The canoe is soon loaded

The warrior, paddle in hand

Looks at his children

Seated among their belongings

With a smile on his face

He tells them gi zah gin

As he launches the canoe

Into the flowing river

To quietly disappear around

The next river bend.

The evening lighting was dwindling

As I looked around me

The shadows were creeping upon

The surrounding hillsides

A mist appears on the river

The French River ever flowing

As it has for many ages past

Well that is it for now. A great time to be photographing. The Fall colors are still coming on. The weather is co-operating for the most part. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

Hanging Out

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BassfinLake_2485

 

My wife Maureen had a day off last Wednesday, so I suggested that we load the canoe and head for Bassfin Lake up the Matagamasi  Lake Road. I had photographed along the lake by the road many times. I wanted to find out what else the lake had to offer. With that decided we packed a lunch and headed out. This is a short trip from Sudbury to the lake. We quickly loaded our Quebecor 17 canoe and pushed off. It was a wonderful afternoon. Bright blue skies and warm temperatures. The wind was light.

Maureen and I paddled across the lake and turned into a small channel that opened onto a bay. This is one of those locations were you enter a new world and mysteries. The rock structures were unique. There was a lot of detail in the rock faces. We paddled to the end of the bay. I located a spot to land the canoe. Quickly unloading, we walked up an exposed rock formation that slanted towards the interior of the surrounding landscape. Where I was set up I was overlooking the bay from a height advantage.

By now it was late afternoon. I set up my tripod in a favorable location and waited. This was like sitting in your own little world. No other people around. A beautiful sight before you. I sat their just watching the play of light among the trees. This is a good way to become knowledgeable in the ways of lighting in a wilderness setting. The wind was dancing lightly here and there before setting down. It was not long before the reflections began to appear. I took a number of photos as time progressed. The above photo is the last one I shot where there was just a bit of lighting striking the tree tops in the background. You can also see a sprinkling of light to the left. The sun was setting to my left.

Maureen and I enjoyed a great evening here. Just soaking up the beauty of this scenic location, plus hanging out together.Well that is it for this week. I hope everyone has a good weekend. Thank you for stopping by. Until next week happy trails.

Photography

Little Tree, Little Island

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BirchIsland_2222

 

4:30 a.m. comes early. Hauled my self out of bed. Loaded the gear into my Ford Escape. Stopped in Lively to pick up a Tim Horton’s coffee and some breakfast. Next stop was for gas. Then it was off for my morning shot. I arrived on location at 6:00 am with an hour to spare. Sunrise about 7:10 a.m. The temperature was hovering around 0 C. There was mist on the lake but it was still too dark. Lesson learned. Stay in bed an extra hour.

But the end result was the above photo about an hour and a half later. A little tree on a little island. Beautiful golden morning light saturating the mist. I kept this photo tight so as not to distract from the subject. By shooting vertical I was able to do that.

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

Photography

As The Wind Recedes

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BassfinLake_2171

Yesterday morning I got busy and made a nice pot of soup, then finished off a poem I was working on. I then made a stew in the oven for supper. With all that out of the way I headed up to Bassfin Lake on the Matagamasi Lake Road for an evening of photographing. Upon arrival things did not look too good. There was some wind blowing across the lake. Some heavy cloud cover was coming in from the West. This is one of these lakes that has a lot of structure in the form of rocky shoreline. The water level here is low. Exposing the shoreline. There is tremendous color to be had here. So I waited. The wind slowly died down and I was able to get into some photographing. This lasted about half an hour before the wind came again.

I had set up my tripod very low in order to eliminate some water in the middle ground. Using the point of land as my foreground and the gorgeous detail and color to boot. I just used enough Pine trees on the left for a frame. There is a rocky island in the middle. In the background there is a quartz like rock on the far shoreline to draw your eye back there. There is just a hint of Fall color to be seen in the surrounding forest. The clouds had moved in by now. I was able to get some nice yellow in the sky plus some yellow reflections on the water.

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

Photography

Soft Colors

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ParadiseLagoon_2069

 

The changing of the seasons is upon us. Fall is here. The vegetation is dying off for another year. We are getting into the lovely reddish browns now. One of my favorite colors. As you can see here in this composition the marsh vegetation is turning color. The ferns on the forest floor under the pine trees are starting to change to a yellowish color. Thus breaking up the mass amount of green. The pine trunks stand out in stark contrast. With that being said, I used the small channel of water as my lead in to the pine trees.

That is it for now. Thank you for stopping by. I welcome my new  friends who have subscribed  to my blog this past week. I hope that you will enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer in my part of the country.

So until next time happy trails.

Photography

A Humid Day

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ParadiseLagoon_2097

 

Tuesday morning came as a wet cloudy affair. I spent the morning getting caught up with my work. Just before lunch I looked out the window to notice that it had stopped raining. There was a mist to be seen and the wind was almost non existing. With a quick lunch, I loaded up my gear and headed up to Paradise Lagoon. As I traveled the Matagamasi Road I stopped here and there to capture various scenes that attracted me. The humidity was high. It was a bright cloudy day. Everything was wet and there was a mist in the air. This made for some intense colors. The forest vegetation is changing color now.

As I was photographing by a lake, a truck came around the bend in the road. They stopped and I was asked if I knew the way to Wolf Mountain. Giving them directions I told them I was going to Paradise Lagoon. If they liked I would take them there. I loaded up my gear and off we went. We soon arrived at the side road and parked. Loading up my gear I lead the way up the bush road to the trail that takes you to Paradise Lagoon. Being so humid we were all soaked from sweat and the water coming off the trees. After our arrival and quick look around we parted company.

The above shot was a location that I wanted to capture previously. Due to high water I was not able to. I removed my running shoes and socks, but then after observing the rocks in the water I decided to put my running shoes back on. There was some pretty sharp looking rocks under the water. Using my tripod as a walking stick I cautiously waded the stream till I was in position. I now was knee deep in water. The intensity of the rock colors was vibrant There is enough greenery to offset that with the water being on the dark side due to the cloudy skies. The water felt good running around my legs and was not cold.

No matter how many times you return to a location there is always something new to find. The lighting is different. The water levels change and the various seasons have an effect.

Well that is it for this week. I am busy getting ready for the Anderson Fall Fair this Saturday. The Anderson Farm Museum is located in Lively Ontario. I will be set at the stable with my work from 10 to 4. So if you are in the area stop by for a fun time. My running shoes are still drying out from the episode in the river, but I got the photo that I wanted.

So until next time happy trails

Photography

Keep it Simple

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FoxLakeRd_1956

 

It was late Sunday afternoon when I turned off Hwy 144 North of Onaping onto the Chicago Mine Road. It was a beautiful sunny day with cloud cover. The wind was minimal. I drove past Windy Lake Provincial Park. It seemed to be closed for the season. There are a number of small  lakes along this stretch of road. I was heading to the Ladder on John’s Creek. It is located off of Fox Lake Road.

As I drove along I spotted the above scene on the far shore of a small lake by the road. The lighting was beautiful and it was fairly calm water with the slight ripple. I set up my tripod. Mounted my Canon 7D. I switched to the Canon 70 to 200 L Series lens. My objective here was for a tight vertical shot without overloading the composition. Keep it simple. We have a lot of vertical lines here in the form of tree trunks. They add a grey cast to offset the greens and yellows.

On the shoreline there is a nice clump of shrubs growing to give depth. The sun is to the right and as it is getting later in the year it is much lower to the horizon, allowing for some very good lighting. The sun is casting light on various parts of the scene. I used only a small portion of the reflections for a better effect. What you have here is basically 1/3 water and 2/3 forest. This is like taken a pair of scissors and cutting out the part of the scene you want.

I have added a new print available for sale. It can be found in the Fine Art Prints section on my blog.

I received an honorable mention at the My Art 2013 juried Landscape Completion

http://myartcontest.com/winners-feb.html

I will be set up at the Anderson Farm Fall Fair in Lively Ontario this coming Saturday.

Well that is it for now. Until next time happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

Gichigami ( Open Water )

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Gichigami

A land of raw beauty

With hidden coves

And beckoning bays

For the wayward traveller

Wind swept shorelines along

The moody blue waters

Of a large inland sea

Mist shrouded hills

As far as the eye can see

A land born of fire and ice

In an age long past

The flow of molten lava

Sculptured the ever changing terrain

A receding glacier that

Gorged and marred the surface

Scaring the exposed bedrock

A land of low rounded hills

After eons of erosion

A broken coastline constantly

Pounded by relentless waves

And ever changing winds

To create a land of raw beauty

The shallow soils of

The worn down hills

Are home to the Jack Pine

That dominate the horizon

White Birch and White Spruce

Cover the slopes of the hills

The tea stained waters

Of the coastal streams

Wild and rugged as they flow

Swiftly through rocky terrain

To join the inland sea

This is a land of raw beauty

At the mercy of Gichigami

A huge inland sea

Called Lake Superior

I am on my last day at the French River Visitor Center. So until next time happy trails

Photography

An Evening At Recollet Falls

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RecolectFalls_FrenchRiver_1940

Last Friday I had to deliver greeting cards to Killarney Provincial Park. It was a leisure trip. My intentions originally was for a dawn shot in the Park. But due to a back issue I decided to hike down to Recollet Falls on the  French River. I would do some evening shots. I arrived at the French River Visitor Center late afternoon. Before hiking the trail to Recollet Falls I stopped in at the visitor center for a coffee and say hello. I will have my work set up here for the upcoming long weekend.

Shouldering my camera bag and grabbing the tripod I made the trek along the hiking trail to Recollet Falls. I passed a number of people along the way who were returning from the falls. Upon arrival I followed the portage trail to the bottom of the falls. I would not truly call this a water falls as the drop in elevation is low. Unloading my gear I found a spot in the shade to sit on some rocks. I also had brought my e reader to pass some time. It was 4:45 and I had to wait until around 9:00 before I would begin shooting. As I sat there a gentleman came along. He was capturing the falls with his point and shot camera. We converse for awhile and we exchanged our names. John is from Southern Ontario. He and his wife were travelling back home from a two week vacation to various Provincial Parks.

As I sat there I got to thinking about the Indigenous peoples who traveled through here in ages long ago. The Voyageurs hauling there Montreal canoes and launching them were I sat as they made there way West with trade goods. The Jesuit missionaries also passed through here to spread there religion. There is a lot of history in this location. It was nice to sit back and listen to the sound of running water that is soothing to the ears. The sun slowly dipping to the West. The changing light patterns. A little House Wren appeared beside me as I lounged on my rock seat. I have not seen one of these little birds in years. The House Wren is a plain brown song bird that is small in stature. Our meeting was over quickly and I was left with  the memories of  a chance encounter with a quaint little bird.

As the sun disappeared behind the treeline I set up my Canon 7D on the tripod and recorded the above shot. I put a bit of rock structure in the foreground. There was just enough vegetation to add contrast. The vegetation was small so as not to overpower. There was just a hint of lighting on the vegetation. In the background There is also a hint of lighting from the setting sun. These little attention to detail add to the overall effect of a composition. With out the sun blasting the rock face you achieve a nice warm color on these rocks. The lighting was not the greatest but I got what I wanted. I am sure I will return again.

As the evening darkened I packed up an made my way back along the trail to my Ford Escape. Well that is it for now. As I mentioned I will be at the French River Visitor Center this coming long week end. If you are in the area stop by for a chat. So until next time happy trails.