Tag Archives: Ice

Photography

Spring Thaw

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HighFalls_0460

 

This past Sunday I headed back up to High Falls for another shoot. A beautiful sunny afternoon with a temperature of 10 C. The snow had deteriorated since the week before. Being much softer you had a tenancy to sink once in awhile. I walked the trail to the bridge above the falls. It was walk up, then walk down. The snow was also slippery in spots.

The river had opened up a fair bit. The roar of rushing water quite noticeable.  The volume of water was higher from my previous trip. There was more open water to work with. The snow surface was now pitted from the hot sun. Chunks of ice were floating down river. The water was dark with a heavy yellow tinge. I composed the above scene to emphasize the chaotic nature of a Spring thaw on a waterfalls. I emphasized the dramatic flow of water. The chunks of ice breaking off from the river’s edge adds great detail.

This is probably my last trip here until the snows has melted. It won’t be long until the river is fully open and the volume of water too high for effective photographing. As I was waiting for the evening lighting, I met up with a gentleman on the trail. He was carrying a Pentax DSR. We had a good chat for awhile. We then moved off in different directions.

This weekend is the Sudbury Art Club’s Spring Show and Exhibition. If you are in the area please join us. While that is it for now. Until next time, happy trails

Photography

Sculptured by Nature

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HighFalls_0413

 

What a beautiful day this past Sunday. Plus 6 C and lots of sun. I spent a late afternoon and evening exploring High Falls looking for possible compositions. The above capture was the last photo I took that evening. The shapes and patterns of the snow and ice are very interesting. My goal here was to put all theses forms into a composition. When you look at the sculptured snow and ice you can see a tremendous amount of detail. On the snow on the left you can see scoured lines leading down and towards the middle of the scenes. I placed a bit of water in the left bottom to give some color contrast. There are remarkable amount of detail along the waters edge. By placing the right hand curved piece in the foreground I accomplished more depth to the scene.

Do not forget to join me and my fellow artists at the Sudbury Art Club’s Spring Show and Exhibition on April 11TH, 12th, 13Th, 2014

Well that is it 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

Ice And Rock

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GrundyProPark_ClearLake_0097

This composition was taken on my last trip into Grundy Provincial Park. Maureen and I had walked in from the main gate. The hike to Clear Lake that afternoon was very enjoyable. The temperature was warm enough to be comfortable. Clear Lake had ice forming on the surface here and there. The above location was  the South shoreline of Clear Lake. The rock structure along here was unique for its patterns. The vegetation was a rustic color. The ice had patterns. The ice in the foreground had blue reflection from the sky.

2014 3rdAnnual “Seasons” Art Competition

http://www.lightspacetime.com/seasons-art-exhibition-january-2014/

The gallery received 399 entries from 13 different countries from around the world, including Australia, Canada, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Ukraine.  In addition, the gallery received entries from 31 different states.

My placings as follows.

Overall Winning Artists Category – The overall winning artist’s category consists of the 10 Best Entries received from the Painting & Other and Photography & Digital categories.

4th place finish.

The Photography & Digital Category

2nd place finish

Special recognition

Happy New Year to everyone. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

Clear Lake, Grundy Provincial Park

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GrundyProPark_ClearLake_0069

With a quick lunch yesterday, Maureen and I head down to Grundy Provincial Park to continue exploring. The temperature was 3 Celsius as we started our hike. I stopped in at the visitor building to let the people in the office know we where here. After a brief chat we went on our way down the main road. We soon turned off onto the road leading to Clear Lake. You can see Clear Lake from the highway. Maureen remarked how quiet it was as we walked. It is not often that you get a park all to yourself. One thing that I was impressed with is the large spacious campsites that are here.

Upon arrival at Clear Lake, I was soon set up and photographing along the shoreline. The South end of Clear Lake offers some good locations to photograph. There was thin ice to be found on the lake surface. The above composition was one of captures that day. I was attracted by the two clumps of Juniper bushes that were now a rustic reddish color. The stump against the rock was unique. I had two small rocks for the foreground. The ice gives a sense of time. The lovely textures of the rock  point adds to the overall effect. It was one of those days were the sunlight was diffused due to the type of cloud cover that day.

At this time of year I do not think that there is an evening to speak of. I am basically now photographing late afternoon to get the good lighting. With a good hike ahead of us, it was time to head back to the vehicle. We arrived back just as it was getting dark. Grundy is about an hours drive from Sudbury.

We arrived home feeling good after an afternoon of fresh air. There was a nice hot stew awaiting us. A great end to an excellent day. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

The Changing of The Seasons

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One of the things I love doing is going back to a favourite location time and time again and year to year. I may be passing by a locale and make a quick stop or go there for an afternoon and evening.Many a time the lighting and conditions may not be right or the water level is not good.You will know when you get optimal conditions by looking at the rocks as the colors will glow.This is something that you will develop and get a feel for as you gain expierience in the field.A cloudy day with the right lighting will do that for you.The time of year has a great effect on your photography as the day lengths will vary with the changing of the seasons.This means that if you are getting the best lighting in the evening in July then by November that same lighting is available around noon.The sun in November is closer to the horizon.

The above photo was taken in 2009 in August.I was shooting during the late afternoon catching the last of the lighting coming in and creating shadows.This little waterfalls would be in deep shadow within the half hour.The scene is surrounded by high hills and trees.With that being said you get sunlight filtering through the trees eliminating the harsh lighting caused by the bright sky on this particular day.

I shot this scene with the zoom set at 29 mm.The shutter speed was 0.3 sec @ f22.I was able to capture a beautiful flow of water and rich detail in the rocks.

We will zoom ahead to 2010 mid November.The effects are now quite different.Paul Smith and I decided to head out for the day to see what we could get in the way of photographs.It was a cloudy day with some wind and fairly cold temperatures.There was ice forming on the rocks to add another dimension to the photographs.

The water levels had come up from previous visits during the summer and there was a beautiful glow on the rocks that enhanced the colors dramatically.When you see this effect you will know.Being November the sun is now low to the horizon and the days are also shorter.Evening though it was cloudy the sun can still create diffusing lighting through  the cloud cover to create the much sought after glow.

The above photo was taken at midday with the zoom set at 50mm with a shutter speed set at 0.6 @ f22.This is the same scene as at the beginning but with different lighting different time of year and a year later.The vegetation is also changed in color.

As a side note I came across some elderly gentlemen out photographing whom I had met at a studio tour that I did last Fall.I ended up given some on site lessons to them on where to set up there tripod and composing the shots that I had taken above.This is one aspect that I enjoy.If I can help someone all the better.

With that being said take a moment to show someone  a few of the things you have learned and maybe gain a friend the process.Well that is it for this week so for now happy trails

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Northern Spring

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Spring appears to have arrive in the North country.The rivers are starting to open up and Paul Smith and I headed out to Chutes Provincial Park,Massey. It was a beautiful warm sunny late afternoon.The photo possibilities were scarce but I managed to get some shots in.We found an interesting piece of ice sculpture and I created the composition above with the ice along the shore line as a lead in. The water is very dark at this time of year,which allowed for better contrast in the photo.I shot this photo at 1 sec at f22 with the zoom lense set at 30 mm.

This photo was taken in the same locale but at a different angle. The ice formation is very prominent here and you can use your imagination as to what you see.I used sections of ice in the foreground to add depth and low shutter speed to give the water a soft look. Again the dark water adds contrast with the snow to create a pleasing effect.The photo was shot at 0.4 sec @ f22 with a zoom setting of 28 mm.

I find that at this time of year there is not much color and the lighting can be harsh off the snow. We waited till late evening to do most of our photographing.