Tag Archives: Lake Superior Provincial Park

Photography

An Illusion

11 Comments

Superior_1683

 

Last August I spent an evening at the Agawa Pictographs photographing. It was one of those evenings that were a bit on the dark side with heavy cloud cover. Off on the horizon sunlight filtered through the clouds. There was heavy fog rolling in that appeared as a land mass. The fog gave the appearance of rolling hills coming down to the shoreline. Thus I created the above composition to create the illusion you see. The colors are very sombre to give it a truly eerie effect.

That is it for now. So until next time happy trails

Photography, Poetry

A Sandy Beach Beckons

2 Comments

Superior_1972

 

A sandy beach beckons

The stars twinkling in the heavens

A full moon shines

A silvery path sparkling

On the rolling water

Arm in arm we walk my love

Barefoot on the cool sand

The gentle lapping of water

Upon the sandy beach

Silence is golden

Under the silver moon

Come sit on this log my love

You rest your head

Upon my shoulder

Watch the falling star

Streak across the heavens

Our years together my love

Have created a bond

As we sit quietly

On the sandy beach

Each with our own thoughts

In the solitude of the night

With a kiss on the lips

We rise to run

Through the cool waters

Laughing and giggling in our joy

Water splashes around us

As we race through the water

Let us catch our breath my love

A hug and passionate kiss

Before moving on

Share our endless love

Along a silvery beach

Photography

Sculptured Rocks

10 Comments

Superior_1852

 

I am always looking for something different in terms of a composition. Something that is opposite to what I normally do in photography. I was walking along a beach in Lake Superior Provincial Park. The evening was getting on. Just a lovely evening to enjoy. Looking at the far far scenery and trying to figure how to get there. I seem to do a lot of that in this Lake Superior country. I was strolling South on the sandy beach. Then I noticed that at the south end of the beach the shoreline became mostly boulders of different sizes and descriptions.

Now I had patterns here in the form of vertical lines. Actually they angled a bit. Also there is rounded shapes. Therefore I set up my tripod without opening the legs. I sat on my butt. Now I was down getting the true angle of my composition. I placed the first rock in the foreground due to its difference in color. You can see a zombie like head emerging. How cool is that. Then after staring at the emerging zombie, your eye goes to the next rock. Now this one is oblong in shape, but maintaining the vertical lines. Then you have smaller rocks in the water. This will tell you that this is part of a shoreline with a sandy beach. To keep everything simple I used the large rock in the background to eliminate clutter. You will also notice you will only see part of that rock. There are vertical lines there also. Your eye is going to follow a diagonal path to the background. Yet the two main rocks overlap the central line of the diagonal. There is very good earthy color and balance here.

I had a radio interview  over at Contemporary Art Gallery Online. It aired last Sunday. You can catch it here

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cagmedia/2014/12/07/an-artist-speaks-season-3-episode-17-with-guest-ken-bennison-1

Leanne Cole from Australia did an interview  and was posted on her blog

http://leannecolephotography.com/2014/12/08/introductions-ken-bennison/

Photography

Black Spruce

8 Comments

BlackSpruce

 

There is a small lake in Superior Provincial Park alongside Highway 17. It is named Moose Lake. There is a clump of skeletal Black Spruce that caught my eye. I first saw this set up in 2013. We were always passing by at the wrong time. Bad lighting. This year Maureen and I spent 5 days at Superior Provincial Park in late August.

What attracts me to this scene. The Black Spruce. As the sun lowers in the sky, the grayish color of the dead Spruce becomes more intense. The grey color stands out in a sea of green. The channel leading back to these skeletal trees gives me a lead in. An added bonus is that the late evening sun was highlighting the hill in the background. This in turn created a golden reflection in the foreground. Now I did not want to show to much of this golden reflection. Therefore I kept it tight. Doing this allowed for more lead in to the Black Spruce. Showing too much of this colorful reflecting would lead to a distraction. For depth we have four layers here. The shoreline, Black Spruce, The evergreens behind and then the sunlit hill in back.

You may ask me if I knew that the hills would light up. The answer would be no. But I have also seen this many times . I had set my composition in the camera on the tripod. Taken a few shots. Then low and behold the hills lit up. I quickly started shooting and shortly  the lighting was gone. Be there. That is all I can tell you.  The Black Spruce always adds drama to your work. You can not miss them when they are in the dead form.

Another week has gone by, so until next time happy trails

 

Photography

Superior Shores

3 Comments

Coldwater_Bay2

 

I was hiking the Superior shorelines South of the Clearwater River mouth. The location was within the Lake Superior Provincial Park Boundry. I came upon an interesting stretch of rock that had unique patterns to it. Baldhead can be seen in the background. The Indian head seen in The Keeper post is now to the North of me. The sky is cloudy. It has been threaten to rain all day. Lake Superior was relatively calm. Gently lapping on the rocks.

Thus I set up my tripod and Canon 7D to capture this scene. There is tremendous depth  in this composition. The water foaming along the rocky shoreline. You will notice a touch of green and yellow water three-quarters  into composition. This adds a nice effect. Remember that Lake Superior is very clear. I must say that I covered a lot of shoreline in my two weeks  in August here and I managed about 10 good shots for my effort. This type of photography demands time and patience. In the end the reward is justified.

I was up on Lake Superior last week for 3 days. Was not successful this time out. The weather was not on my side. Rain and snow my last day there. So until next time happy trails

Photography

Sand Patterns

1 Comment

Superior_1930n

 

It was one of those beautiful cloudy days. The day was warm with a breeze off Lake Superior. Strolling aimlessly along a sandy beach. Lake Superior was on my right. The water gently rolling up the sand. To my left was the sand dunes, three feet or so above the beach. In the dunes was an assortment of plant life that keep the dunes from eroding away. Life is good when you are in locations such as this. Lake Superior stretching beyond the horizon, a gentle breeze on your face. As I continued my stroll on this beach, my eye caught bits of black color in the otherwise light brown colored sand. Running my hand through the black material, I discovered that it was indeed sand. Observing the embankment on my left I noticed a band of black sand running lengthwise in profile. The discovery of things geologically, plant life, and wildlife can be an adventure of its own. One observation that I made was the patterns as shown above. It was created by the gentle wave actions as the water rolled up the beach and receded. Thus you had a pattern of black sand on top of the light brown sand. Very simple in composition and abstract in form. All I did was set up my tripod and camera. Created my composition in the camera and shot looking down. This photo was taken in Lake Superior Provincial Park.

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

Photography, Poetry

Keeper of The Lake

6 Comments

Coldwater_Bay

 

The Keeper

 

I am the Keeper

Lying on the rocks

One of the many

Faces of the Grandfather

Keepers of the lake

I lie on the rocks

Facing the great sea

Known as Ojibwe Gichigami

Waterfowl skim the waves

Dipping their wings in passing

Eagles soar high above me

In the vast blue skies

Hikers trod my back

Along the coastal trail

The Coldwater River ends

It’s journey a short hike

Along ever changing beaches

The sand warm under the feet.

The migratory Salmon and Steelhead

Enter the river Spring and Fall

To start new life

For the coming generations

The great sea is

Through the passing seasons

Of a variety of moods

The annual storms pound

The ever changing shoreline

The great sea is never still

As I keep watch

I have been here

From times gone past

If you look carefully

You will spot me

The keeper of the lake

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, Poetry

Early Summer

2 Comments

_MG_6861_1180

 

It is early summer

In the Northern wilderness

Of the Boreal forest

A clear blue sky

Not a cloud in sight

The sun is descending

On a quiet evening

 

A small swampy lake

Surrounded by Black Spruce

That are stunted and dense

The lake shoreline abounds

With white clustered flowers

Of the Labrador Tea

 

Cup shaped yellow lilies

Perched on long stems

Above the lake surface

Are found in clusters

In the shadow lake

Two quaint  islands dot

The lake’s South end

A beaver house hugs

The smaller island

 

Dragonflies skim the surface

Feeding on the mosquitoes

That are abundant here

Small birds hurry everywhere

Feeding just hatched young

A small sparrow alights

On a grey branch

A momentary perch

Before arisen to flight

 

A Wood Duck hen

Glides along the shoreline

Then rises in flight

Landing near the far shore

 

A Ringed-Billed hen

A rich brown coloration

Appears from a cove

Soon joined by its mate

Gleaming black, grey, white

In the evening light

She dives from sight

While the alert male

Keeps a constant watch

As the hen feeds

They have soon passed from sight

 

A bull moose emerges

From the forest shadows

Its antlers flattened and tined

Are covered in velvet

To stand knee deep

In the calm waters

Eating submerged aquatic plants

The shadows are becoming long

The sun behind the western horizon

The lake is reflectively calm

Darkness descends upon the land

 

I spent a wonderful evening along the shores of a lake in Lake Superior Provincial Park. Just sitting there observing life happening around me.

 

Until next time happy trails.