Tag Archives: Boreal Forest

Photography, Poetry

Early Summer

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It is early summer

In the Northern wilderness

Of the Boreal forest

A clear blue sky

Not a cloud in sight

The sun is descending

On a quiet evening

 

A small swampy lake

Surrounded by Black Spruce

That are stunted and dense

The lake shoreline abounds

With white clustered flowers

Of the Labrador Tea

 

Cup shaped yellow lilies

Perched on long stems

Above the lake surface

Are found in clusters

In the shadow lake

Two quaint  islands dot

The lake’s South end

A beaver house hugs

The smaller island

 

Dragonflies skim the surface

Feeding on the mosquitoes

That are abundant here

Small birds hurry everywhere

Feeding just hatched young

A small sparrow alights

On a grey branch

A momentary perch

Before arisen to flight

 

A Wood Duck hen

Glides along the shoreline

Then rises in flight

Landing near the far shore

 

A Ringed-Billed hen

A rich brown coloration

Appears from a cove

Soon joined by its mate

Gleaming black, grey, white

In the evening light

She dives from sight

While the alert male

Keeps a constant watch

As the hen feeds

They have soon passed from sight

 

A bull moose emerges

From the forest shadows

Its antlers flattened and tined

Are covered in velvet

To stand knee deep

In the calm waters

Eating submerged aquatic plants

The shadows are becoming long

The sun behind the western horizon

The lake is reflectively calm

Darkness descends upon the land

 

I spent a wonderful evening along the shores of a lake in Lake Superior Provincial Park. Just sitting there observing life happening around me.

 

Until next time happy trails.

Photography

Sunlit Grass

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Jan Winther and I were walking the shoreline of a small lake up the Westbranch.It was mid-morning.The wind was calm with mist rolling off the shores of this lake.Now this is a lake that is pretty much down in a hollow.The Tamarack trees are now bare.The lakes this far North are surrounded mostly by evergreens.

We are now into November,the days are shorter and cooler.The sun travels at a lower elevation now.This means the sunlight takes longer to penetrate through the trees on the hillsides during early morning.With that in mind,just close your eyes and envision a scene of a small lake in the Boreal Forest.The evergreens hug the shoreline.The sunlight is penetrating through the trees on the East side were the trees cascade down the hillside to the lake.There is mist covering the lake’s surface.There is no wind.The surrounding landscape is reflecting on the surface.This is a scene that I come across many times in my travels.To be there is a joy and to be able to photograph these scenes is a blessing.

With all that said Jan and I both turned and saw the sunlight highlighting the clump of grass protruding from the lake edge.There was mist moving slowly from the shore.The background was in shadow as the sun has not penetrated that area yet.I waded slowly out into the water.I wanted to make as little disturbance as possible for the scene was only ten feet from me.The tripod and Canon 7d was set up.I composed my shot,then waited for the water to calm down again and took my shot. I intentionally kept the background dark to keep the focus on the sunlit grass and mist.

Photography, Poetry

The River’s Edge Part 2

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The Warmth of the sun

On my back as I follow

The course of the river

The river is now narrowing

As it makes its way

Between  a grove  of Birch

Their trunks a splash of white

In the Boreal forest

Ahead of me a bend appears

An abandoned Beaver house

Comes into view before me

Now home to an Otter family

An Otter sitting on a log

Cleansing its glistening fur

Hissing as I approach

Passing quietly around the Otters

I continue travelling the river’s edge

It is now mid morning

The shadows are lessening

Before me a sandbar protrudes into the river

Golden in the sunlight

As I approach the sandbar

Tracks are spotted in the sand

Made by a lone wolf

On its nightly foraging

This is a continuation of my journey along a typical Northern Ontario River.I have spent many years travelling such rivers.Whether fishing or photographing.It is always a great adventure to enjoy.The poem River’s Edge is an accumulation of all my experiences on these trips. Everything that I write whether  wildlife or scene I have seen it.

That is it for this week so happy trails

Photography

The Unexpected Shot

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A couple weeks ago on a Monday,I headed up the Westbranch North of Webbwood to do some photographing.My destination was about 80 km up the Westbranch to a couple of lakes that I had been exploring this Fall.

These lakes are surrounded by Jack Pine and White Pine so bare deciduous trees are not an issue here.I was interested in one small lake that had an interesting cliff face that I have made a number of attempts to photograph without success.

Upon arrival I loaded up my gear and picked up the trail along the lake.This is a very small lake nestled down in between a series of hills.It was now about 11:30 in the morning. While I was walking towards the cliff face I noticed out of the corner of my eye a display of some beautiful lighting highlighting the evergreens along the shoreline. I set up my camera and tripod and composed a vertical shot using the small rock point as my focal point.At this time of year,mid November the sun is low to the horizon allowing for this kind of lighting at mid day.There was mist over the water to add atmosphere.There was a nice reflection on the water to add depth to the photo.I focused on the rock then I composed the shot.The zoom lens was set at 135 mm with the shutter at 0.5 sec @f22.

The above shot was taken in the same location as the first shot.I was attracted by the lighting on the far trees creating a nice lighting pattern and reflecting into the water.The sun always creates a beautiful gold color when it highlights evergreens.The zoom was set to 100 mm an d the shutter speed to 0.4 sec @f22. This allowed me to create a nice peaceful mood.

I never did get my shot of the the cliff.Oh well next time.Before I go I want to thank everyone who has visited my blog as I have now surpassed a 1000 hits.This is a milestone for me.So for now happy trails.

Photography

Bog Island

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Small lakes and bogs can created interesting subject material.With that said Paul Smith and I have found such a location to photograph.I had previously photographed this little island before.If you go back a couple post you will see the same island.

This time I captured the island at a different angle.I set the tripod up half way down a slight incline and waited as the lighting changed.As I watched the various light beams I was also aware of the sun’s angle as it was setting to the West.It would not be long before the sun would shine into the lense.

As the sun lowered it began highlighting parts of the island shoreline and backlit the trees beautifully.I now had a problem with the sun glare in the lense.Using my ball cap to fend of the glare I captured this wonderful exposure.The lighting highlighted the reddish growth along the island shoreline.The deadheads added character to the photo with a ghostly affect. With so much light on the island the background was darker,consisting of dark green evergreens that are common to this part of the country.

This photo was taken with a zoom setting of 120 mm and the shutter at 0.4 f22.I was forced to to tight crop this shot with only a bit of reflection in the water due to the lake surface not being calm.This was another case of having to go back a number of times due to unsatisfactory conditions and just waiting.

In the end it is well worth it,so till next time,Happy Trails.