Tag Archives: Lake Superior

Photography

Cool Morning

2 Comments

Shakwa_3953

 

With a cool morning of 5 C we headed back onto the waters of Shakwa Lake to do some lake trout fishing. The wind was still blowing. The mist was dissipating. My partner and I decided that we had better drift fish the rest of the trip. It is no fun paddling a sixteen foot aluminum boat back to the landing.

Thus we aligned ourselves with the wind. Cast our lines out and commence to jig. A short period later a loon appeared. It was no more than ten feet from the boat. This is not uncommon, but when a loon hangs around there is something amiss. The loon proceeded to dive. I then notice it swimming below the boat. The water here is very clear. Now we were worried about the loon getting snagged in our lines. This display went on repeatedly. Then out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of white just below the surface. Ah, now we knew what was happening. The flash of white turned out to be the mate of the above water loon. It was obviously dead. The live loon was attempting to protect its mate. Now how did that loon die. We had heard no commotion around us to indicate a fight. Our motor was not running so that eliminated that idea. It will be forever a mystery of the wilderness. Reeling in our lines we immediately left the area.

The next day we headed back to the landing with out any mishap. The boat and gear loaded up. We headed home.

That is it for this week. I will be along the shores of Lake Superior for the next three weeks. I will see what I can find.

 

 

Photography

Bathtub Island, Lake Superior

6 Comments

Bathtub_Island_Superior

 

Bathtub island is a typical little island found on Lake Superior. Time worn with sparse growth of stunted trees. It is located at Lake Superior Provincial Park a good walk north of the Sand River mouth. There is a fairly large sandy beach here, along with sand dunes. Just north of this cove is Katherine Cove. I have walked from either direction. There is a trail off the highway that you can walk straight in to Bathtub Island. It traverses through sand dunes that are protected. So do not walk in the sand dunes. Very fragile.

This area is popular with tourists to swim in the clear waters of Lake Superior. Access to the little island is to walk along a sandbar just below the water’s surface. Very short walk. The reason this island is named Bathtub Island is that when you look on left of photo you will see the low rocky part of island. This creates an enclosed pool that is kept filled with lake water. As the waves surge in, the enclosure fills with water. I have made a number of trips in hopes of capturing this scene with the right lighting.

As I hiked into the beach one August evening, the sky was very dark and threatening. There was a bit of wave action to disturb the lake’s surface. The sun was settling to the west. This would be on the right side of photo. This gave a lovely warm glow to the rock face on the island. There were white clouds passing overhead at considerable speed. This created a problem due to low lighting creating slow shutter speeds. Thus I upped my iso to 400. Waited until there was fewer clouds sailing by, But at the same time mindful of the evening getting late. The result was as shown above. Take note of the lighting on the small shrub. A nice touch.

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

 

Photography, Poetry

A Whimsical Isle

8 Comments

Superior_2014

 

A whimsical isle offshore

Evergreens crowd the center

Struggling to maintain hold

Among the worn rocks

The trees are dwarfed

With inadequacy of food

Time and time again

The ravages of Lake Superior

Overwhelm the tiny island

After each bout of ferocity

The little trees still stand

A testament of strength

To withstand the brutality

Of the unforgiving waters

 

With a lowering sun

The water is calm

A rare moment it is

The trees stand bold

In the evening solitude

White clouds flirting

Across the blue sky

Reflecting upon the water

The horizon turning pink

From the sun’s glow

 

The shadows are creeping

Over the reposing land

Darkness has now descended

The isle mere silhouette

Upon the placid waters

The sky is clearing

The stars luminous in the night sky

The moon casts a silver glow

Over the diminutive isle

There is a sense

Of quietude and peace

Along the rugged shoreline

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Old Women’s Bay

4 Comments

_MG_6892_1209

 

 

Old Women’s Bay was made famous by Bill Mason. It was his jump off point for many of his canoe trips on Lake Superior. My wife Maureen and I have made many stops here to enjoy the scenery. If you look closely you can make out the old women’s face. There is a nice evening glow on the rocks. You drive down a fairly steep hill towards the bay coming from the north. I set up on the side of the highway for this particular composition.

In order to make this work, I elected to use the evergreens cascading down the hill on either side of the road as my frame. By keeping them dark to enhance the brighter tones of the rocks. At the same time eliminating some of the water.

I am in Nicaragua at the moment enjoying the warm weather. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

A Red Glow

8 Comments

Batchawana_2906

 

I wrote about this particular scene a few posts back. There is an ancient lava flow here that has been preserved over time. The location is Mica Bay, Lake Superior. I had climbed up unto an outcropping of rock and photographed the location. The sun was on the horizon to my left. It was rapidly sinking below the horizon. As I sat there, the rocks took on a reddish hue that was really fascinating.  The red hue was very powerful on the rocks. Withing a couple minutes it was gone. Another episode of what nature can produce before your eyes. The camera and tripod were already set up, thus it was only a matter of setting the exposure and click away. The clouds had a reddish tinge to them. The rocks in foreground stayed dark due to an outcropping of rocks to my left. That was good as it provided good contrast with the rest of the scene.

Well that is it for now. 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

A Boggy Place

4 Comments

Batchawana_3011

 

I was exploring the logging roads in back of Batchawana. It was a wonderful feeling to watch the road ahead. I was driving through a canopy of vibrant fall colors. Cresting  hills to a view of hill tops alive with dynamic colors that only Fall can give.  Making my way along the side of theses hills with a stream flowing far below. Looking past the stream to the craggy rock faces through the tree canopy. The road was in good repair as they were hauling logs here. As I approached the Y in the road I turned right onto a narrower gravel road. Both sides of the road had been cut over. With it being late evening I had no worries of meeting a log truck. I had conversed with the logging people. From them I learned that they were finished each day by 6:00 PM. This piece of road had very few pull offs and it was relatively new.

I came upon this composition in the cutting area. With some vibrant color in the background. The ghostly appearance of the Black Spruce in decay reflecting upon the water. Small boggy islands in the middle ground for added depth. Then the total reflection in the foreground. I purposely left out the sky for more even lighting over the scene. This is one of those compositions that can seem busy.This is a very detailed scene overall. But at the same time alive and peaceful. These locations are one of my favorites  to just sit and absorb the wealth of color and patterns involved. But overall I like the final composition. Remember rules can be broken.

That is it for this week. Until next time happy trails

Photography, Poetry

I Had A Dream

4 Comments

IonaBay

The sound of waves

Rolling upon the beach

Receding before the next

Oncoming wave

The pebbles on the beach

A rainbow of colors

As they glistening in the sun

 

I had a dream

That I was walking

On a lonely beach

 

The sky was blue

The clouds moving on

The hills far in the distance

Covered in a dark mist

The beach stretching to infinity

 

I had a dream

That I was walking

On a lonely beach

 

The sun is settling

Over the vast waters

Of an ever moving

Lake Superior

The lowering sun is

Casting its Golding light

Upon the beach

 

I had a dream

That I was walking

On a lonely beach

 

The waves wash upon

The wet sand

Before receding

Leaving a golden pool

In its wake

The next wave appearing

And slowly receding

A pool of golden light

Remains in its path

 

I had a dream

That I was walking

On a lonely beach

 

The sun ever sinking

In the far horizon

Clouds a pink glow

With the sun’s demise

The darken sky

Turning a rich red

To be reflected

As a mirrored image

On the gently rolling

Surface of Lake Superior

 

I had a dream

That I was walking

On a lonely beach

 

Night has come

The stars beckon

In the night sky

The moon casting

A slivery Path

Upon the moving waters

The trees mere shadows

The hills dark on the horizon

The moonlit beach beckons

 

I had a dream

That I was walking

On a lonely beach