Tag Archives: Canon 7D

Photography

Photo Op Sudbury.

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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

An Evening in Paradise

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Tuesday afternoon I had decided to go back up by Wolf Lake to where I had photographed in June. The location was the series of waterfalls at Lagoon Paradise. By now the water levels will have dropped exposing the colorful rocks that were underwater. I picked up Gerard Leduc mid afternoon and we were soon on our way. We stopped at Tim Horton’s to pick up our coffee and then we headed East on Highway 17. It was a nice sunny day with a slight breeze. Just great to be out. It was not long before we turned off onto the Kukagami Road. We were now traveling on gravel roads. As we approached the Y, I turned left onto the Matagamasi Road. We drove past Bassfin Lake heading North.

It was an uneventful trip to our destination, but always some nice scenery to observe. We were soon at the drop off point and I parked the Ford Escape. Gerard and I loaded up our camera gear and started hiking up the logging  road. Picking up the trail off the road, the sound of  running water soon reached our ears. The humidity appeared to be high here among the trees and both of us were sweating. It is a fifteen minute walk to the waterfalls. We arrived at the water’s edge and found a good place to sit by the upper pool. Gerard and I ate our sandwiches while we waited for the sun to drop lower. Just being here observing the scene around us was a pleasure. I always enjoy the sound of running water.

There was some heavy cloud cover overhead that hid the sun for brief periods. I set up my tripod and 7d to capture the scene you see above. I now had a chance to try out my new 70 to 200 f4 Canon L series lens. It allowed me to get a better and tighter composition than my Canon 24 to 135 zoom would do. Especially for this particular photo. I loved the color of the rocks in this scene. Also I fell in love with the fern in the upper right hand corner. It is these little attentions to detail that can make or break a good composition. You also get a wide variety of earth  colors. I using a faster shutter speed I was able to get some very unique patterns in the water. It was then just a matter of waiting for the sun to hid behind a cloud to start shooting.

Suddenly the quiet was interrupted by a splash of water to my right. A young couple with their son and daughter had just arrived and were soon swimming in the pool. In conversation with the Father I learned that this was there first time here. They had learned about Paradise Lagoon from a guy on CBC Radio One talking about this location and the fact that it was located within the Greater City of Sudbury. I am also starting to see evidence of garbage in the form of water bottles and so forth. The price you pay for too many people finding these locations. Shortly afterwards five teenage boys showed up and were having a great time at the pool. This pretty much put an end to photographing for this evening. Also the fact that I had forgot to charge my batteries for the camera didn’t help.

While that is it for this week. Thank you for the comments and stopping by. Every one have a safe Civic Holiday long weekend. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

Daybreak on the French

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This photo dates back to last August. I was blessed with two mornings in a row of some exceptional lighting and atmosphere.The location was the French River at the Flat Rapids Campsite in The French River Provincial Park. The early morning sunlight started to filter through the trees on the point.This gave a beautiful glow in that area.Mist in the background,calm waters and colour in the sky on the left. The rock detail in the foreground is very detailed.

I was able to set my Canon 7D and tripod on a bit of slope to give me elevation and create more space between the two points.One thing I will point out is that being out on location time and time again is how you will get these kind of shots.Also take lots of shots.

I received a 10th place finish out of 455 entries at the Countryside Art Exhibition  last week.I am much pleased with the results.You can check the website here.

http://www.lightspacetime.com/countryside-art-exhibition-november-2012/

Those of you who like a challenge should enter these shows.Well that is it for now.Until next time happy trails.

Photography

On The Hillside

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Jan Winthers and I continued driving up the Westbranch, looking for a photo opportunity we spotted a location that was interesting.The camera gear was quickly set up.It was approaching lunch time.The day was great and it was warming up.I composed a few shots and headed back to my Ford Explorer to pack the gear away.

I looked down the road and noticed the lighting on the evergreens.The branches of the Birches were sparkling.Taken note of the Birches beside me,they were not covered in frost.The hillside before me was beautiful.So,I rest up my Canon 7D and tripod and made the above shot.I did not want the gravel road in the scene.This shot is all about light and shadow.The dark evergreens contrasting with the Birch trees along with the sunlight highlighting the trees to a yellowish tinge.As many times you travel a location,it is always amazing the shots that are available for you to take.Whether it is the time of year,the lighting available or something you may not have noticed.Even the angle you look at a subject will give you a different perspective to the composition.At this time of year the sun is lower in the sky and the air is colder.Those two conditions will have an effect on your compositions.

Finishing up our shooting,it was time to find a campsite up the road and have lunch.A short way on, I pulled into a campsite under the Jack Pines.A small lake was across the road for our viewing pleasure.Before long I had water boiling in a pot on my Coleman camp stove.With our camp chairs set up,Jan and I enjoyed our lunch with a hot tea.

Well that s it for now.Thank you everyone for stopping by.The tea is still hot so until next time happy trails.

Photography

This Child of Mind

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One of the nicest things about being a photographer is photographing young children.With there innocence and willingness to explore there surroundings in the outdoors.The little girl shown is my 11 month old granddaughter with whom I spend countless hours with when I am not out photographing wilderness scenes.I try at every opportunity to photograph my grand kids and just have fun.Whether going for walks or just being with them.

I placed Felicity on the lawn with new Spring grass and let her do her thing.That was to  crawl on her hands and knees,check out the flowers and to touch and see everything around her.I got down in the grass with her and started photographing with my Canon D7.Getting all the poses she would make.

It was a bright cloudy day so the lighting was even and I was able to use a decent shutter speed to capture the action.While that is it for this week.It will not be long now till I will be back photographing my wilderness scenes.The days are warming up and the trees are leafing out.So until next week happy trails.

Photography

Catch The Light

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By catching the light you can create an almost three – dimensional look to your photo.By utilization of the rock structure and evergreen trees to create the effect.Look at the evergreen trees and you will see that they really stand out as the result of the lighting upon them.The shadows around the lighted branches create this wonderful effect.This photo was taken at day break so you had very calm water with lovely reflections adding to the depth you wanted.By being patient and watching what is happening around you,the landscape is ever-changing in terms of the lighting.As the sunrises the light patterns will change.In this particular scene the sun is casting a lovely beam of light on the left side of the photo to highlight the trees.Yet still maintaining shadows in the middle of the photo.In turn this is all reflected on to the water’s surface.

As the morning progresses the whole scene will be lit up and you will lose the balance of shadows and light.I think this is very important if you want to take your photography to the next level.To recognize the lighting before you along with the shadows.You must know the area you are photographing.The direction of lighting at that time of day.Be patient. These shots are not available everyday.But with persistence you will be rewarded.

I captured this scene last Spring on A Y Jackson Lake in Killarney Provincial Park.By setting my Canon 7d on a tripod I was able to capture a great many shots as the conditions changed by staying in the same setup. The above photo also consists to two photos joined together.

Well that is it for this week.I hope everyone had a great Christmas as my family had.I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving comments.So until next week happy trails.

Photography

Carlyle Lake

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The above composition was taken last May.Paul Smith and I launched our canoe at the West end of Carlyle Lake.This lake is one of the lakes in Killarney Provincial Park that is easily accessible.It was a beautiful warm sunny Spring day.The wind was light.It made for a day of leisure canoeing and exploring Carlyle Lake.The forest for the most part grew down to the shoreline with little rock structure of interest.Using our GPS we paddled into a bay about half way up the lake on the North shoreline.Not finding any possible photo locations we paddled across the bay to a small lake that we had seen on the map.There was also a camping site available between Carlyle Lake and Terry Lake.

Paul heard running water up ahead and sure enough there was a small creek running down into Carlyle Lake from Terry Lake.Beaching the canoe we explored the layout between the two lakes and had a look at the small lake.This lake turned out to be a swampy type of lake. Being lunch time we grabbed our sandwiches and water.We found a nice shady spot beneath a large White Pine.These White Pine are common to this area.It is so nice to just lean back against these large trees and just relax as you munch on the sandwiches. It is an opportunity to lot around and study the land.The above scene caught my eye.I was intruded by the sun highlighting a grassy point across from us.My biggest problem would be wind.

Having finished eating I grabbed the tripod and Canon 7D.First I looked to see what I could put together with that beautiful point of grass.I then noticed the rocks that you see on the right.This rock had character and structure.I also used the White Pine growing off the right hand rock as a fill in plus the lighting on the branches was beautiful.You will also noticed spots of light on other shrubbery as well as on the rock itself.Boy this was sure creating a very interesting composition.But as I mention before, I had a problem with the wind.The wind was light but it would ripple here and there but would not calm down.Finally after what seemed like hours I did manage to get the above shot.One thing about a not real sharp reflection is that you get a nice painterly affect.

So by using the rock structure on the right as foreground leading into the photo along with the greenish reflection on the water, I created the above composition.I thought it was pretty good for a middle of the day.

This week I would like you to check out Blue Maple Photography by Brian K Mollenkopf.Brian is an excellent photographer

http://www.bluemaplephotography.com/

Well that is it for this week,so until next week happy trails

Photography

Sunrise and Colorful Rocks

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This is a very interesting composition that I was able to capture on my last trip into OSA Lake in Killarney Provincial Park.The shore line had a colorful collection of rocks of various sizes and shapes.I just needed something to go with it.As you spend time in various locals you will discover locations that could produce a good shot.They just need something to complete the composition.

It is a matter of waiting and as you can see from the photo above it is sunrise.So with the sun coming up and the rocky shore line in the foreground I was able to complete the scene.The early morning light gives the rocks the warm colors and the golden reflections tie in the photo front to back.As I said previously I keep these various locations in the back of my mind and return time and again till I get what I want.You will also note that there is an interesting cloud pattern that developed as I took this photo.

The shot was taken with a shutter speed of 1/10 sec @ f22.I set up my tripod and Canon 7d and just waited for the right moment before taken a number of exposures.

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

Photography

Sunday Morning Hike

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4:00 A.M. Sunday morning,the streets are quiet and dark.I pick up my Tim Horton’s coffee,exit the city and drive South on a mainly empty highway.I turned off onto the Killarney road passing the usual assortment of wildlife along the way.The coffee sure tasted good.

I parked in my usual parking spot.I gathered up my camera gear and picked up the East trail to A Y Jackson. Due to the rain we had received in the past few days the rocks tended to be wet in spots.In the lower areas I encountered mud and water. I arrived at A Y Jackson shortly but kept on walking to Little sheguiandah Lake.The wind was once again a problem so I did not bother photographing.

I wanted to check out Wagon Road Lake so off I went.After a short hike I came upon Wagon Road Lake.To my surprise it looked swampy.I had studied the map earlier and I observed rock outcroppings on the far shore. Following the trail around the lake I would walk towards the lake looking for shooting locations.the East end of the lake was more open and I was able to get a nice panorama.

I continued walking on the trail and came upon a beaver dam that the trail crossed. Once I got across I entered a nice campsite and proceeded to photograph.There are two campsites available on this lake. I was now 8:30 A.M and the wind was holding off here..I also encountered nice side lighting as is evident in the above photo.What attracted me to this scene was the rock shapes as they reflect into the water,with a stately pine tree standing on the rock.I added the deadheads to give depth and interest.The color in the photo was beautiful and the side lighting really had a nice effect.You do not come across these type of opportunities very often so it is nice to be able to create this type of composition.

It was not long before the wind picked up and the sunlight was getting stronger.In affect losing the soft lighting.On my way in I had notice white lilies opening up so I went to check them out.It was now starting to get warm.I head back up the trail back to the main campgrounds to call it a day.It was an enjoyable morning.The bugs were not much of a problem.I was tired as I headed home so after arriving back at my son’s apartment I had a short nap.

i called my wife to let her know I was back and told her I would take her out for coffee.So until next time, happy trails.

Photography

A Spring day at Killarney Provincil Park

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I drove into Paul Smith’s yard and told him he had three choices,stay home and do his own thing,Go photographing Sandhill Cranes or go to Killarney.It did not take Paul long to make up his mind.Killarney it was.We both enjoyed a cup of coffee before hitting the road to Killarney.This was not a well planned trip as we did not pack any lunch or water.It was a spur of the moment adventure.

The sky was cloudy with a light breeze,but there was no rain in the forecast.I drove into the Killarney Provincial Park parking lot.We proceeded to walk into the office and store where Paul conversed with a park official whom he knew.He showed us where to go to get good scenic views on George Lake and off we went.I drove through the camping area down to the beach area and parked.I noticed that there was a few campers here.

We noticed a rock outcrop in a small bay and headed in that direction.I fell in love with the parallel lines the rocks made into the water and if you count you will find there are eight points projecting into the bay.I set up my camera and tripod to capture the angle that you see and I also photo tight.I did not want to show broad leaf trees as they are still bare at this time.The wind was very light so it was a matter of waiting for a calm moment to capture some reflection in the water.I probably spent an hour and a half in this set up as the lighting kept changing.I shot the above photo with a zoom setting of 70 mm, the shutter speed set to 1/6 sec @ f22,I was able to capture this pleasing composition.

Walking along the beach I noticed two rocks positioned one ahead of the other in front of a point of land.The water was calm and the reflection was perfect.I took three shots here to create a panoramic. I also kept things tight here as there was swathes of leafless trees in the background.I shot this series of photos with a zoom setting of 100 mm nd the shutter speed set at 0.3 sec @ f22.

As I scanned the far shoreline I noticed this beautiful rock reflecting into the water.But what really caught my eye was the clump of birches also reflecting into the water.I put the two elements together in this photo by adjusting the position of the camera and tripod  and came up with this composition.Unfortunately there is a dock in front of the rock,but I can live with it.

The Poplar are now in flower while the Maple and Oaks have a reddish tinge to them now.It will not be long until Spring will be in full swing.Please check out my good friend Jan Winther’s new photographic blog.I am sure you will enjoy it.

http://imagesbyjw.com/

So until next time,happy trails.