Tag Archives: Fine Art

Photography

Rocky Patterns

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_MG_6620

 

As I waited for the sun to descend to the horizon I walked the beach to the North. Once you leave the rocky part of the beach, it becomes all sand. I noticed three campsites along this stretch of beach. There were old tracks of a moose that had walked the beach. This is a common site in this park. The sand was crumbling in at the side of theses tracks and there was debris in the tracks Geese tracks were evident on the beach. Two islands could be seen in the distance. Ducks floated in the distance, silhouette like. Backtracking I  returned to the little stream to set up for the above composition. I thought I would create something a little more abstract or create a pattern. There was a green colored rock sitting above the water with interesting marking. With the low setting sun allowing for slow shutter speeds, thus the water took on a dreamy affect. Yet the color of the rocks still shone through the water. By setting the tripod low to give me a face to face look with the subject rock I used  my Canon EOS 7D to capture my composition.

It was soon time to leave. The 14 mile drive out was enjoyable as the woodlands passed by me. A Grouse hen walked across the road in front of me. Slowing to a stop I observed four tiny chicks following her. They must have been only a day or two old. The fourth chick huddled down in the middle of the road among the grass. Then a moment latter it dashed off after its mother. I waited a bit to make sure there was none other. I slowly proceeded by and was soon on my way. As I rounded a corner a Black Bear sow dashed across the road with two very small cubs in tow. They disappeared into the woods out of sight. It was not long before I turned North onto Hwy 17 To our campsite at Rabbit Blanket Campgrounds. It was time to call it a night.

I will be at the 37th La Cloche Art Show Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday this week. I am a host for the show. My schedule is 2 to 5 each day. If you are in the area stop in for a chat. Three of my compositions were selected. I had the honor of receiving the Peggy Forbes Award. Peggy was one of the original founder of this wonderful show. So That is it for now. Until next time happy trails

 

Photography

A Unique Rock

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BassfinLake_1013

My daughter Maryjean and I spent  last Sunday evening canoeing Bassfin Lake, off the Matagamasi Lake Road. She fished and I photographed. The bugs were there, thus requiring a bug jacket. The wind was here and there. Never totally calming down. I was dropped off on the largest island on the lake. As I walked the shoreline, I spotted this reddish colored rock in the shallow waters. It was ringed with Pine pollen. It has a face effect to it. The blue water gave me good contrast with the reddish rock. You can just observe the lake bottom on the left side of the photo. I utilized the water vegetation to create the odd number of objects.

It was a nice evening canoeing and photographing. It was a fitting way to finish off Father’ Day with my daughter enjoying a couple hours outdoors. I am off to Lake Superior Provincial Park for a week of photographing. So until next time, happy trails

Photography, Poetry

Art by Nature

4 Comments

Killarney_0553

 

The forest in shadow

Beside a small lake

On a Spring morning

Dawn is now breaking

The sky is brighter

A trickling of sunlight

Coming unexpectedly

Through the dark  Pines

Edging the boughs gold

The rippled lake surface

Creates a colorful abstract

Of gold, green and black

Of the forest reflection

A dazzling array of color

Radiant before your eyes

Mother Nature’s own art

For those who see

Soon lost in time

 

We can be totally overwhelmed by the grand scene before us.But if you were to look within that scene, you will find small things happening around you. The lighting is ever changing. Look for the small details of what that lighting is doing. Many times I have gone out to photograph a scene and as I am capturing that composition  my eyes pick up on another possibility. Train your eyes to be constantly on the move. Lighting is fickle. So be prepared to work quickly. Make light and shadow work for you.

That is all for now. Until next time happy trails

 

Photography

A Y Jackson 2014

3 Comments

Killarney_0534HR

4:20 AM. I loaded up my gear into my Escape. First stop was Tim Horton to pick up a coffee and a bite to eat for the road. Traffic was light as I drove down to Killarney. Wildlife was scarce on the Killarney highway. This trip I saw one yearling Black Bear and a Fox. I arrived at Killarney Provincial Park and parked at the East end of George Lake. Loading up my gear I walked to the trail that would take me to A Y Jackson Lake. I climbed up the ridge huffing and puffing. This is a fairly steep ridge that you have to tackle right away. It is only a ten minute hike into George Lake.

As I arrived at my destination I saw that the lake surface was calm. This was my first chance to use my new tripod. I had purchased a Gitzo GT1541 carbon fibre Tripod and a BH-40 LR from Really Right Stuff. As soon as the camera was set up on the tripod the wind started to ripple the lake surface. Go figure. I waiting I succeeded in getting the above capture with the morning sunlight illuminating the shoreline on the left and just catching the tree tops on the right. The La Cloche Mountains in the background had a bit of mist. This is one of my favorite lakes to photograph. The best time to get a composition is early morning. My next trip means I will have to get up at 4:00 AM to get the most out of a morning shot. There was a few mosquitoes around but for some reason they were not biting. The black flies were   scare this morning.

That is it for now, so until next time happy trails.

Photography

High Falls, Levack

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High_Falls_Levack_0307b

Last Sunday I took an early evening trip up to High Falls. I parked where the locals slide down the hill. There were a couple families having fun. It was a nice sunny day with moving clouds. The temperature was -8 C with some wind. Gathering up my gear, I trudged up the hill, located the path to the bridge and started a downhill journey that appeared to be slippery at times. The bridge soon appeared ahead and I was greeted to a display of streaking shadows and sunlight over the undulating snow bound river. It was very easy to notice the many shapes and forms that the wind had created in the snow. There were open areas of rushing water that cascaded between the snow and ice. As I walked to the middle of the bridge, I spotted something black moving across the white snow. It was a mink going from one open stretch of water to another.

The best photographing here is between 4 and 6 in late afternoon. At this time of day the shadows are becoming long. The sunlight is filtering through the trees to create an ever changing patterns with the sculptured snow forms. You can get tremendous depth with this type of scenario.

The trails were well beaten here. Near the end of my stay I took a trail that followed the river on its downward descent. I had just finished photographing from the bridge. As I walked the trail, I spotted some gold reflection in the water ahead of me. I walked off the trail about ten feet packing down the snow as I went. I found a spot to set up my tripod and Canon eos 7D. I set up for a vertical shot. I had some branches ahead that I had to remove in Photoshop. The main reason for the vertical was to eliminate as many branches as possible. At the same time I wanted to put in the foreground the beautifully formed snow with its curves and lighting. Vertical shots of flowing water seem to add to the direction of movement by the water coursing on its journey.

The golden reflection in the water creates a very unique aspect along with the blue on the snow and ice. Now I purposely left the blue coloring on the snow in the foreground. I feel it adds to the overall sense of the composition. You will not see the blue with the naked eye. The color blue is common in shade areas.   Correcting for blue snow can be as easy as selecting the “Shade” white balance setting on your camera before you begin shooting. You can also remove the blue cast in Photoshop and Lightroom by moving the blue saturation slider to the left. I love the effect of the blue in this composition. Thus I have taken artist licensing with this piece of work.

Well that is it for now. Join me and the Sudbury Art Club at the annual Spring Art Show. For more info check there website.

http://sudburyartclub.blogspot.ca/

I have updated my Fine Art Page with a new addition. So check it out

Until next time 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

Follow A Path

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GrundyProPark_ClearLake_0046

On a late evening shoot at Grundy Provincial Park the sun was starting to settle on the horizon. The water was calm in this side of the lake. Clear Lake is one of a number of lakes in the park. I had this very interesting rock form to work with. There is a lone Pine tree ahead. The Pine tree is not that distinct but is noticeable. So I had the background and the foreground. I now needed to tie all this in.

I set my tripod up low enough to allow the tree reflections to touch the foreground. My eye now could go from the foreground rock and following the tree reflection to the background.  There is also cloud reflections in the water as a fill in.

That concludes this weeks post. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Sunken History

6 Comments

TheElbowFrenchRiver_1469

Thursday morning of our three day French River trip to The Elbow was a little calmer. The waters were quiet in pockets. At the edge of the beach at our campsite was a piece of machinery sunk in the water. Don and I could see the remains of a boiler. There was a drum with gears at each end. Probably for holding cable. Where we were camped was were the loggers released the logs from the booms. The logs were then sent through the Dalles Rapids to continue the journey to the river’s mouth.

So I set up the scene with the rusted out equipment in the foreground. The green of the trees and their reflection created a frame of sorts. The reflecting rocks added contrast and depth to the composition. I had to quickly set up for a shot as the wind came back within minutes.

Thursday night after we had crawled into our sleeping bags, Don and I were treated to a display of lighting and thunder. It rained quite heavy. When the next morning arrived everything was very wet. The trees were dripping and the wind was picking up. We had breakfast and were soon loading the canoe for our journey home. As we launched the canoe the skies were getting darker. After a half mile of paddling the heavens opened and it did not take long before we were soaked. There was some lightning and thunder in the distance, but it was soon heard no more. We were going with the wind this time, so that was a bonus. We made it back to Hartly Marina in good time. Just a bit stiff and wet.

The gear and canoe were loaded into my Ford Explorer well it was raining. I paid our bill before heading to The French Trading Post for some hot soup and coffee. We had a great trip. I am looking forward to doing some more exploring on the French.

A friend of mine Ray Thoms has published an interesting book called SUDBURY -A Retrospective View, comprises of a series of images that show the evolution of our City over the years. More info can be obtained on Ray’s site here.

http://sudburybook.com/

I will be in Killarney this coming weekend at the Killarney Art Show.

More info can be obtained here.

http://www.killarneyartshow.com/index.html

Well that is it for this week. Thank you for stopping by and visiting. Thank you for the comments.

Until next time Happy Trails

Photography

The Right Flow

2 Comments

GordonFalls_0154HDR

 

When you can combine falling water with textured rock, a unique scene can be created.

This type of composition is available when the water levels are low. This can be late summer.

I shot the scene late on a clear evening. This way you have even lighting that creates great color.

This late in the evening your shutter speed is anywhere from 1 sec to 30 sec.

The nearer to darkness the slower your shutter speed.

The f-stop is set at f22

The water flows in at the top left and flows out at bottom left.

All that is missing is the sound of running water.

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

 

Photography

Fine Art Composition

2 Comments

MasseyChutesHDR0104

Strolling along the Aux Sauble River at Chutes Provincial Park, Massey Onario on a late Fall morning, I came across this little scene by the river’s edge. It had all the makings of a good composition. It was a cloudy day with the sun breaking through now and again. This is a very tight shot that we have here. The reddish to orange colored vegetation was used as a frame for the left side and foreground. The rocks on the upper right hand side are a lovely chocolate color with a unique pattern. The flowing water came from the main part of the river and channelled between the rocks to give character to the flowing water.

I attended the Arts After Five last Wednesday at the Rockz. This event was presented by The Sudbury Arts Council. This was a chance for local people involved in the art community to get together in a social get together. Vicki Gilhula, president of SAC did a great job of putting this together. Andy Lowe provided the music for the evening.

I met some wonderful folks that evening. Along with Vicki Gilhula, I chatted with artist Gord Drysdale and many others.

Andy Lowe has a page on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/andy.lowe3?fref=ts

Gord Drysdale’s website

http://www.gordondrysdale.com/

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