I saw this scene as I was driving along a road following the Rocky Mountains. The fields covered in lush green grass. Mountains in the background. The Fall colors are just starting in early September. I don’t know, but I just fell in love with this whole area.
With the wind still blowing, the fire’s edge was approaching a gully. I used this clump of hard soil standing like a rock for my foreground. There by creating some depth.
The winds were blowing out the North yesterday at a brisk pace. The town of Jinotega, Nicaragua is nestled down in a valley surrounded by the mountains. This event occurred on the Eastern side of Jinotega on the mountain slopes.
It is a common practice that occurs every year in March to set fires to burn the vegetation. It is a very dry time of year as you can see by the color of the grass. No homes were burnt.
AS a photo opportunity I saw some potential. Grabbing my camera I headed to a small hill. Jinotega is infested with wires crisscrossing the streets. So being on the hill eliminated that problem. There is a gully running the side of the mountain here that gave some depth and a focal point. Three trees surrounded by smoke and fire on the edge of the gully add to the element of this composition. Then I added a few casa at the bottom to present a sense of danger. Will the wind shift to the East and send the fire roaring through the homes
The Fall of each year brings out the muted earth colors of the vegetation in the north country. The spectacular display of the Maples and Oaks are mostly finished. The temperatures are getting colder. What is left?
The rich yellows and browns of various grasses growing in swampy areas. Black Spruce is common in wet areas. Therefore giving you green color in the low light of afternoon. spectacular, no. Just a nice soft blend of color pleasing to the eye.
I lay my head
Upon my pillow
I close my eyes
In dreams
I am walking in a meadow
The grass tall and waving
In the warm summer wind
Oxeye daisies grow among
The field of green grass
Swaying to the beat
Of the passing wind
Butterflies flutter in the breeze
In dreams
In dreams
In dreams
A woodland path beckons
To travel endlessly
Traversing through stately maples
The murmur of the wind
Up in the leafy canopy
The rustle of leaves
On the forest floor
In dreams
In Dreams
In dreams
A gently flowing river
Dressed with cascading willows
Falling rain drops splash
The river’s surface
As I traverse along the river
A never ending river
With no end in sight
In dreams
In dreams
In dreams
Sitting by a lake
Quartz mountains enshrine
The sapphire waters
Sparkling in the morning light
A gentle breeze ripples
The clear lake waters
In dreams
In dreams
In dreams
Standing high on a mountain
Ruffled by strong winds
The land covered in mist
Dark clouds tumbling over
The distant mountains
I feel like the eagle
Soaring on the wind
In dreams
In dreams
In Dreams
A long uphill slope
The sky in turmoil
Darken clouds rolling on
A touch of color
From the evening sun
The north wind blowing
Over the parched land
A wee tree swaying
Before the surging wind
Standing desolate and forlorn
A clump of grass
Knee high in height
Parched and dry
Moving to and fro
Before the billowing wind
A golden evening hue
From a beam of sunlight
Intensifies the glowing grass
The sky continues to darken
The clouds streaming on
As the sun lowers
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.
I had my eye on that little clump of grass you see on the black rock the evening before,while I was exploring the French River.The next morning dawned as I was going about photographing scenes I kept my eye on that clump of grass.When I noticed the sunlight appearing in the vicinity of the grass clump I quickly set to get the above composition.
I used part of the rock above to get the golden glow from the sun.The eye is lead into the scene from the right with the reflection.The clump is not the main subject but part of the overall scene.The small black rocks appear to be floating in space.I did not notice the coiled rope until I got home.
Well that is it for this week.So until next time happy trails
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.
My photographic partner Paul Smith had been after me for some time to take a hike up to the Crack in Killarney Provincil Park.Back on October 11 I picked up Paul and we met Gary Leclair at the South End Canadian Tire parking lot in Sudbury. We load our gear into Gary’s mini van and headed to Killarney Provincial Park.Gary parked the van in the parking lot.
This is a very popular Provincial Park were the hiking trails are numerous.There are a lot of people taking advantage of this beautiful part of Northern Ontario to get out and go for a hike on scenic trails.
The three of us picked up the trail and started walking through a maple and birch grove of brightly colored leaves.Along the way I noticed a pond on our left.We made our way down to the pond.The wind was calm and being cloudy the lighting was very good.The first thing I saw was the small cliff face at the end of the pond.The rocks here are white quartzite that gleam.I set up the tripod and composed a shot by adding a small rock and a piece of wood reflecting in the water on the right.You will also notice evergreens on the right.I now had a lead in to the rock.There were a lot of bare trees now with no leaves so I kept the left side tight. The splash of orange and red on the cliff really brought out the picture.
I shot the above scene with a shutter speed of 0.4 sec @f22.The zoom was at 56.0 mm.
Looking around me I spotted this little island of moss and grass.There were these smallish reddish plants growing among the grass.You will also observe a group of white flowers growing here.The lighting was extraordinary and I set up the shot that you see above.The zoom was set at 135 mm with a shutter speed of 0.6 sec @ f22.
The three of us finished up shooting and we continued up the trail.We met numerous people hiking out and finally we approached the Crack.This is a split in the rock face that you have to climb to make the top.This last part of the hike consists of climbing up and over boulders.Your reward is an awesome panoramic view of lakes and the La Cloche Mountains before your eyes.I did not take any photos here as most of the hills were bare of color now.I will most certainly will be back next Fall.I have talked Paul into exploring the lakes below us next summer.
This a one and a half hour hike to the top of the crack.I enjoyed meeting Gary and hope to be in touch in the near future for another advendure.
For more info on Killarney Provincial Park you can check out there website
http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/kill.html
Paul Smith’s website is here so check it out too.
http://paulsmithphotography.ca/
So until next time happy trails
Ken Bennison's Photography 