Tag Archives: George Lake

Photography

Turner Point

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Turner Point is located on George Lake in the main campgrounds at Killarney Provincial Park,Northern Ontario. In the background is Hawk’s Ridge.The rock structure around many areas of the shoreline consists of reddish granite rock.The La Cloche Mountains are in the background are composed of white Quartz rock covered with trees.In this instance fall colors.

This was a heavy overcast day. The rain had just eased off from a heavy downpour.There was a fair bit of fog this morning and I had already taken a number of shots.For a while the fog was so thick you could not see anything.I knew there was some color in the background and I had to be patient.It was still early in the Fall for full color.As I waited the fog begun to lift and slowly the mountains became clear and when the splash of colors showed up is when I began shooting.I created this composition with two photos taken that day.

While that is it for this week.In my part of the country it is a holiday called Family Day.It is nice when all families can get together.So until next time happy trails.

Photography

A Magic Moment in Time

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Paul Smith and I spent a lazy afternoon on the beach enjoying the beautiful warm weather as we waited for the evening photo shot.At this time of year with the days becoming shorter it is no longer a long wait.It is so enjoyable to sit by the water observing the lighting and ever changing conditions.Paul and I sat at one of the picnic tables.People were coming and going.In most cases we would chat with them.One Japanese gentleman approached us and we had a discussion on photography.

Paul and I met Michal Podwapinski on the beach later in the afternoon.Michal had just finished a 2 week hike around the park.We spent a pleasant couple hours as Michal talked about his 2 week hike.

By this time evening was approaching.Paul and I quickly got ourselves set up for the evening shot.I returned to the same location as the photo in the previous post.We had some nice clouds available plus color.What also was interesting was that as the sun dropped below the horizon there was a nice reddish tinge in the sky.This in turn caused the beautiful reddish glow on the rocks.You have to be quick with your set up in these conditions as that magic moment will only last a very short period of time.Again being in the right place and time.It is called a magic moment in time.You must be able to recognize these conditions and act upon it.I believe this is what separates the good photographers from the ordinary photographers.

This lighting probably lasted for all of about 15 to 20 minutes and then was gone.Paul and I finally decided to call it a day.We had succeeded in getting some wonderful photos on a extraordinary day.We enjoyed conversing with other people at the park that day.It was just one of those Fall days where everything fell in place and was just enjoyable to be there.

So until next time happy trails.

Photography

A Stroll on The Beach

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I picked up Paul Smith at 5:30 am.We arrived at George Lake in Killarney Provincial Park to a calm foggy morning.A photographer’s dream.The lighting was great,the colors were saturated along with the fog to create that mystic mood.The only thing missing was the fall colors.It seems that we may be a week or so from peak color.

At times the fog became too heavy.I strolled the beach looking for other opportunities.The rain started to fall quite heavy.At this time I met Roxanne Driedger who is an artist from Huntsville.I spent a nice half hour or so talking to Roxanne and her husband at there campsite.Thanks for the coffee folks.Roxanne is a very good artist and you can check out her portfollio at http://www.paintingsby roxanne.weebly.com

By now the rain had stopped,but the fog was very heavy.I set up for the above photo.It was just a case of waiting for the right moment and for the fog to ease off. I captured the above photo with its amazing lighting.The fog created an interesting window in the background that I truly love. This photo has a softness to it along with very good mood and peacefulness.

It was an incredible day as the wind was light and the lighting was exceptional.That is it for today.So until next time happy trails

Photography

This and That

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This has been an uneventful week in terms of photographing. I spent a few days with my three youngest grand kids at the beach and we had a blast. With that said,the above photo is a pano taken last week looking West of  George Lake.This was quite late in the morning so I felt quite fortunate to capture this scene.You will notice the rock on the left looks like a prehistoric crab with a tail.The La Cloche Mountains in the background along with the deep blue skies and water create a pretty scenerio.

At the 34th La Cloche Art show I was fortunate to place 1st in photography and along with that all three of my photos were sold.So thank you very much to the folks who brought my work.So that is it for this week.I hope to be back out next week so until then happy trails

 

Photography

Along The Lakeshore

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I exited the apartment to beautiful clear skies with sparkling stars overhead.I picked up a Tim Horton’s coffee and bagel before heading South on Highway 69.Driving down the Killarney highway was uneventful other than two foxes.As I drove through Killarney Provincial Park at the main campground I noticed a few empty campsites along the way.I was told that there would be no campsites available during July and August so go figure.

I parked at the East end of the campgrounds on George Lake.There was wind gusting on the lake creating a ripple.I loaded up my camera gear and headed to A Y Jackson Lake.The first part of the trail is the hardest part as it is a fairly steep climb up,but after that it is a good go.

I arrived at A Y Jackson and to my surprise the lake was calm for the most part.The sun was now highlighting the trees on the hilltops so I got off a few shots.I continued along the trail going East and came upon Little Sheguiander Lake.I checked the campsite here and it was empty.By staying up on the ridges I was looking for different shooting angles.At one point I was checking out a location and when I turned to go back up the hill I noticed a doe standing not 30 feet from me.With ears forward and a alert look she eyed me for a moment and then bounded along the hillside before disappearing.

I captured the above photo in one of the locations I found.The problem here was that down in Little Sheguiander it was still heavy in shadow where as the upper part of the photo was quite bright from the early morning sun.By putting part of a rock face and a bent evergreen in the foreground to create depth with the La Cloche Mountains in the background you can create a very nice scenic.The reflections in the lake were right on along with the reddish orange of the rock faces.I shot this composition with a zoom setting of 28 mm to keep things tight and a shutter speed of 1/5 sec @ f22.

I continued along the hillside above the lake capturing more shots before making my way down to the George Lake shoreline. To my surprise I was able to get some really good shots as the water was fairly quiet.You had to shot between  the light wind gusts.I managed to get a really nice pano.

It was now 8:30 AM which in it self was remarkable in that the wind held off for the most part.I am usually finished photographing by 7:00 AM.By now canoes were gliding through the water heading to the portage at the East end of George Lake.The wind was picking up so I layed down on the flat rocks on the George Lake shoreline and had a nap.I awoke to the sound of water lapping up on the rocks and noted that the wind had picked up.

It was time to head out so I made my way up the hillside till I picked up the trail and headed back to the parking lot.Along the way I  stopped and chatted with two families with young children before continuing on.It was an excellent morning shot having picked up a number of good shots.It is always nice when Mother Nature co-operates and allows you to photograph her beauty.So until next time happy trails

 

Photography

An Evening on Sheguiandah Lake

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Last Sunday we had a noon birthday party for my 4 year old grandson Kelan.It was a small family gathering and after it being such a nice afternoon I decided to pack my camera equipment and head for Killarney Provincial Park for some evening shooting.

Most of the weekend campers had gone home by now.There was a sprinkling of campers here and there. My goal this evening was to hike into Little Sheguiandah Lake that Paul Smith and I had canoed into a couple of times from George Lake.This lake was only a short hike from A.Y. Jackson Lake.

I hiked into the campsite on Little  Sheguiandah Lake and set up my gear for the evening shooting.The campsite is located near the back end of this lake offering an excellent view of the lake.There was a slight wind blowing off and on but with patenice I should succeed in getting some photos.I shot from various locations at hand.I had to wait at times for the water to calm down so that I had reflections in the water.I wore my bug jacket this evening as the bugs were bad.I even lost a few pictures due to bugs flying in front of the lense.

Little Sheguiandah has great rock structure along its shorelines making for excellent compositions under the right lighting conditions.The above photo was taken with a zoom setting  of 65 mm and the shutter speed set to 0.3 sec @ f22.This is looking at Little Shaglander from were you can bring your canoe in to the lake from George Lake.I always like to get photos of the La Cloche Mountains in the background.

The yellow pollen from the pine trees is now increasing and can be observed along shorelines now.This does not look good in a photo.I had a good evening of shooting and of course it is always the peace and quiet that one gets from being in these locations. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

The Continuing Adventures in Killarney Provincial Park

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The other day I was phoning around to the various canoe rental locations in hope of buying a good used canoe at a reasonable price.On making contact with Killarney Outfitters I was told that they had a couple of Souris River Canoes Quetico 17 available.

I picked up my partner Paul Smith and we headed for Killarney to have a look at the canoes and do a evening shot while we were down there.Upon arrival at Killarney Outfitters,we were met by Ted East and we inspected the canoes for sale.We made arrangement to take out one of the Quetico 17s on George Lake in Killarney Provincial Park.

We proceeded to load the canoe with our gear and headed up the lake.The Quetico weighs in at only 44 pounds being made out of Kevlar. The canoe handled like a charm and was quite stable.

We paddled half way up the lake and sited a likely photographic location.Paul and I unloaded our photographic equipment and I set up for the shot you see above.It was still too early in the day for good lighting.One of the problems that kept occuring was a slight gusting of wind that caused a small ripple on the water making it hard to get good reflections on the water.I waited about four hours before I got the shot I wanted and it so happen to be the last one that I took after the sun went down.Towards late evening the Blackflies appeared around us but they did not seem in the mood to bite.

The above photo was taken with a zoom setting of  90 mm and the shutter speed was at 3.2 sec @ f22.

To pass the time waiting to get the right conditions to take my shot I am always looking for other potential shots.To my right was a rock cliff full of color and edges.But what made it unique was the small Juniper bush growing there.I got as close as I possibly could and composed the above shot.There is just a touch of sunlight on the bush to add some character.The black stain on the rocks is caused by the water flowing down from up above.This photo has a story to tell.It is about a small Juniper bush surviving on a cliff face made possible by the running water and the ledge that it is growing .To create this story I chose to keep  the Juniper small in size.This allowed me to create a relationship of the plant with its environment.The rocks create a very good color to offset the green Juniper along with the rugged cliff face.It  also shows how small the bush is in relationship to the cliff face.The black stain indicates that the Juniper get the water it needs along with sunlight that is required to survive in its environment.I used a small amount of water on the bottom left to show where the running water ends its journey. All in all a life of survival.

I shot the above photo with a zoom setting of 135 and the shutter speed set to 1/6 sec @ f11

For more info on the Quetico 17 go to this website.

http://www.sourisriver.com/quetico_17.html

The Killarney Outfitters can be found here.

http://www.killarneyoutfitters.com/

Well I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it.So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Adventures in Killarney Provincial Park

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I woke up to a nice sunny morning and proceed to pack my gear into the truck.I drove into Paul Smith’s yard and we load the canoe and Paul’s gear into my truck.We headed out and drove to Killarney Provincial Park.We stopped at the office store complex and Paul purchased a seasonal pass for vehicle parking.

Paul and I unloaded the canoe and camera gear and after storing everything into the canoe we headed up George Lake.We kept to the shoreline looking for photo possibilities as we paddled along.Looking around the lake it seems that most photo opportunities could be on the East  side of the lake.The West side is composed mainly of white colored rocks,with the South side having more color and patterns to work with.Being late morning the lighting was not good and a slight breeze had picked up.

We paddled into a small cove where we discovered a campsite. We decided to have lunch here and relax for an hour.Launching the canoe we paddled to the North end of George Lake to the first portage.There is a small man made dam here.Here we observed suckers spawning.I climbed a small bluff and gazing out over George Lake I could visualized a panoramic with two islands in the foreground.Paul had set up his tripod and camera with the intent of photographing the suckers in the clear water.I just relaxed and enjoyed the warmth and scenery before me.It would be awhile before the sun would go down and create the lighting we needed.

With the sun lowering towards the horizon we paddled back up George Lake into a bay we had seen coming down the lake and pulled into shore.What we saw here was many photo opportunities with lots of rock structure and color.The biggest problem was the wind.The wind was only a slight breeze but enough to create a ripple on the water at times.This meant playing the waiting game and shooting when opportunity presented itself.I created the above photo as a pano to highlight the structure,patterns and color that is in theses rocks.The zoom was set at 28 mm with a shutter speed of 1/4 sec @ f22.

Looking to my right was a series of rocks reflecting into the water creating patterns of lines that were parallel  to one another and looking like a series of arrow heads.I shot this scenic with the zoom set at 50 mm and a shutter speed  of 0.3 sec @ f25.

The sun was now below the horizon as we launched the canoe in the ever calm waters of the lake and paddled back to the landing.There is something about paddling along just out from shore in the half light and enjoying the scenery and peacefulness.

I exited the canoe at the landing and quickly headed to the site where I had photographed a composition the previous week.It was now getting pretty dark as I set up my tripod and camera.I was able to get the above photo with the zoom set to 50 mm and the shutter speed at 30 sec @ f22.As you can see different times and different locations can create different affects.Well that is it for now.We had a great day photographing,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.