Tag Archives: Clouds

Photography

Lake Superior Shorelines

6 Comments

SinclairCove_LakeSuperior

 

I have just concluded a two week trip along the shores of Lake Superior. From Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay. Along with my wife Maureen, I set up base camps in various locations and explored from there. From rain that was heavy at times to cold mornings, it was still enjoyable and fun. At the Rainbow Falls Provincial Park we had a few mornings of 5 to 7 Celsius. At  Lake Superior Provincial Park it was warmer. I crawled over a lot of boulders, walked sandy beaches as well as pebble beaches. It is not hard to be awestruck by the scenes that come before you. From the vastness of Lake Superior to the land formation before you. To stand on a pebble beach and look inland to see the pebble beach extend inland for a hundred feet or more. Thus at one time in history the lake was much higher. The rocks are covered with lichen and are a grey color. You see the power of Lake superior when you observe the smoothness of the rock structures along the shores. The rocks take on many shapes and sizes creating interesting photographic possibilities. Walking in the forest along the shoreline you are greeted by many forms of lichen on the ground or hanging from trees. I was standing on a rock ledge one evening looking at an island that appeared to be not far away. A canoe glided past me heading to this same island. A while later I looked up and was amazed how small that canoe looked in the distance. The island was further away than I thought. This emphasizes the vastness of Lake Superior.

 

Every once in a while you come across a scene that just blows you away. The composition above is one such example. I was standing on the beach at Sinclair Cove looking towards the islands in front of me. This was one of those days that was cloudy and dark. The far hills were covered with mist and sombre looking. It was getting on to late evening. The sun was peaking out now and then. I attached my 70 to 200 Canon zoom lens to be able to get a compact shot. I decided not to have any water in the foreground. To me that would have spoiled the effect. I opted to show mostly sky to emphasize the vastness of this land. Which it truly is. I added a touch of yellow to the lighter part of the sky. With that I enhanced the effect that I wanted. One thing I will say is that to get these type of shots, be aware what is before you and learn to capture these moments. They do not come everyday. It is incredible when this happens. It is awe inspiring to come across a scene such as this. There is so much mood and mystery in a composition such as this. Another fact is that I have been at this location four or five times in the last two years and finally connected.

One of the things I thoroughly enjoy is meeting and chatting with people I meet in my travels. I met up with a group of hikers at the Coldwater River mouth area. One of the lads sent me an email.

Hey Ken! I was part of the backpacking group you met on Lake Superior this week. I really like your work and your business cards were a real smart idea. The whole group has talked a lot about you. Well done!

So I asked the young man to send me some info on the group. This was his reply.

We did the trip through Calvin College, a Christian college in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The members of our group were from various states in the US. There were nine incoming freshman and two leaders. We went on the trip to meet new people in our class, to learn more about Calvin, and to enjoy the outdoors. It was a pretty sweet trip.

It makes my day when I see young people out in the wilderness enjoying themselves and gaining valuable experience about the outdoors. The best of luck to these youngsters.

As I was putting my gear away at Katherine Cove a couple returned to their vehicle. I struck up a conversation with them. You can read Jen’s blog here. It is very witty and interesting. I am even mentioned.

http://prairiegirlgoeswest.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/from-the-soo-to-the-giant/

This coming weekend is the The Canadian Woodstock in Killarney Ontario. Watch the following video for info.

http://pierreajsabourin.wordpress.com/

Go to Pierre AJ Sabourin’s facebook page for a list of artists to be present.

https://www.facebook.com/PierreAJSabourin.Artist

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

 

Photography

NW Corner

Leave a comment

GeorgeLake_0671

I ventured into the Northwest corner of George Lake last Friday evening and Saturday evening to photograph the quartz rock ridge that is located in a small bay. This quartz rock formation has great detail to work with. Friday I canoed here with a friend and then Saturday I hiked in. I must say the bugs are bad at this time of year. They can cause a few problems with photographing by leaving streak marks on your photo or just a nice blurry blob.

There are just enough trees and shrubs on the side of the rock face to add depth and contrast. I framed the rock with a portion of the forest at the top. I tied this rock structure in with a portion of the La Cloche Mountains . There was a lone cloud in the upper right corner surrounded by blue sky. There was also some mist like cloud cover that can be seen.

While that is it for this week. I am off for a four day canoe trip tomorrow into Norway Lake in Killarney Provincial Park. So until next week week happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

The French

5 Comments

TheElbowFrenchRiver_1459

The mist is rising

From dark moving waters

Of a river from

Times gone by

Sculptured rocks materialize

Through the fine mist

Tall stately pines

That guard the rugged shorelines

Of the dark moving waters

They were mere saplings

In the time of the voyageurs

Who paddled the dark

Moving waters of the French

Onwards in their yearly journeys

To and from their destinations

The dip of the paddles

The sound of canoes

Slicing through the dark waters

The shear rock walls

Like the halls of time

Echo with voyageur’s songs

A young bull moose

Emerges from the darkness

Of the receding night

Its horns glistening with morning dew

In search of a drink

From the dark moving water

A river otter quietly surfaces

From the dark moving waters

To feed on clams from

The dark river bottom

Cracking open its prize

To feed on the flesh

To be found within

The day is slowly emerging

From the shadows and mist

The eerie lonesome call

Of the Common Loon

Is heard in the distance

A Bald Eagle drifts

The warming air currents

Looking for a meal

To feed its hungry siblings

A warm South wind

Whispers through the trees

The mist has risen

From the dark moving waters

Scattered islands and rocky points

Appear in the morning light

The land is now awaken

To the coming new day

Photography, Poetry

Heart In The North

Leave a comment

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

Hanging Out

8 Comments

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

Sailors Warning

4 Comments

Pukaskwa_0936

My last morning at Pukaskaw National Park I slept in by a half hour. Crawling out of my sleeping bag and grabbing my camera gear, I quickly headed towards Hattie Cove. I was greeted by a spectacular color display in the morning light. The sky and clouds were brilliantly colored. I setup my tripod and camera and captured the above scene. This type of view is ever changing. It is a matter of watching the changing lighting. It is a matter of taking a number of shots. You are looking for that optimal composition.

I proceeded to do some research on the subject and came up with theses facts. A red sky in the morning , sailor’s warning. Most times weather moves West to East, blown by the westerly trades wind. Meaning that storm systems generally move in from the West. The colorful sky that can be observed at dawn and dusk are caused by the sun’s rays been split into the colors of the spectrum as they pass through the atmosphere and bounce off the water vapor and particles in the atmosphere.

I will be up at Pukaskaw National Park next week for a week of photographing. So until next time happy trails

Photography

Art In The Sky

8 Comments

Pukaskwa_1310

Being this far North in the third week of June, meant that the outdoor conditions are different from our home in Sudbury. The leaf cover had just came out the week before. This gives you that nice fresh yellow green color in the landscape. The wild shrubs were just now in full bloom along with a number of wildflowers. The winter climate up here is so harsh that plants commonly found in the Arctic grow along the shores of Lake Superior. The folks at the Pukaskwa National Park said that the lake water temperature was 3 degrees. Brrr that is cold.

The above photo was taken on one of the three evenings that I set up on the lookout platform on the Manita Miikana Trail overlooking Lake Superior. As I was watching the sun go down towards the West of me I happen to look behind and saw this beautiful cloud pattern with a lot of color. I elected to create a vertical composition to contain the clouds. In the background you can see Horseshoe Bay and part of the sand beach.

Well that is it for this week. I will be set up at the French River Visitors Center for the weekend. I will have a great majority of my work on display. Thank you for stopping by. Have a great July First long weekend and be safe

Photography

Color in The Sky

2 Comments

OSA8169a

A beautiful Fall evening. The sun is below the horizon. I had looked to the North side of O S A Lake and saw the beautiful colored sky that you see above. I set up my tripod and Canon 7D and composed the above shot. Scenes like this are always wonderful to see. The colors in the sky are fleeting, so you have to be fairly quick about getting these shots.

Well that is it for now. It is a rainy day here in my part of the country. Plus freezing rain and snow.

I just finished a new book on Blurb. I created this book using my photos and poetry. To view it go here.

http://www.blurb.ca/b/4064932-a-widerness-experience-through-photos-and-poetry

Until next time happy trails

Photography

An Evening on O S A Lake

Leave a comment

As the evening faded to twilight the lake surface became mirror like,creating beautiful reflections.The lighting was wonderful creating highlights here and there.Clouds appeared to the North East.There was a cast of color on the Eastern horizon.

I added shoreline along with a Juniper bush to the foreground to add to the depth of the composition.As Paul Smith and I were photographing we observed two large flocks of Canada Geese flying overhead.We estimated that there was close to 175 geese in the two flocks.We were able to observe them morning and evening as they passed over the lake.

Dusk finally arrived.The mosquitoes were humming around us by now. It was time to retire for the night.Hopefully the wind will still be calm at daybreak.

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