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Photography

Wolf Lake Part 4

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WolfLake_1440

 

Monday morning dawned with no photo opportunities available.  Toasting bagels for breakfast with a steaming cup of coffee sure started the day right. It was a relaxing morning. But all good things come to an end. Thus we packed up, loaded the canoe and made our way to the landing. Pulling up on shore a young couple pulled in behind us. Tim and I quickly unloaded to give them room to pull in. This was a young couple hailing all the way from Pennsylvania USA. They were on a one week canoe trip here. The  lad had ripped his knee open on the rocks somewhere. He was toughen it out though. Tim and I soon had my Ford Escape loaded with the canoe tied down. Before long we  where  at Highway 17E . Tim loaded his gear into his SUV. Shaking hands and saying our goodbyes we parted once again. A great trip. I told Tim I was stopping at the first Tim Horton’s for lunch.

I ordered a soup and chicken salad sandwich.  As I was busy eating my lunch, I noticed Tim standing there with a very worried look on his face. Tim asked me if I had seen his camera bag in my Escape. Saying no, I headed out to check. We were worried that the camera might be back at Wolf Lake. A quick search did not reveal his camera bag. Tim then checked his backpack and there was his camera bag. So all ended well and we parted once again.

I first saw this scene from our campsite. I love it when you can find side lighting as such. It  adds such magic to a composition. What you really have to watch here is that you do not blow out the highlights on the rocks. With the rocks a light grey and the lighting being a little harsh this can happen.

This concludes my first trip into Wolf Lake. It was very enjoyable. I hope to be back soon. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Wolf Lake Part 3

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WolfLake_1367

 

With breakfast over and drinking tea made with blueberry leaves and a couple cut up strawberries, the canoe was soon gliding over the calm waters. We headed towards the landing. Tim and I had decided the evening before to haul the canoe over into Dewdney Lake for some bass fishing. I walked to the truck for our fishing gear. I saw a bag that had spices in it. Opening it I spotted the coffee and tea there. Wow that was so good.  Launching the canoe, slowly paddling the shorelines we were soon casting our fishing lines towards shore. In the process we caught and released 30 to 40 Smallmouth Bass. Most were not of any size, but a pleasant diversion for the day. After a couple hours it was time to head to shore for lunch. There was not much wind and it was getting hot. Tim commented that the sun was getting to him and I was beginning to have a headache. Not to complicate things we headed back to camp. At the campsite I laid down in the tent for a nap while Tim went for a swim. When I woke up and met Tim at our chairs we both had cooled down. Tim spoke about how cold the water was and as he dove deeper it got colder.

Evening arrived and photographic wise you could not ask for better. The wind became calm, lighting became great, just an awesome time for a photographer. We set up among the islands to capture the compositions. The one above is one of the results. Finally the wind came back, but that was okay as it was becoming dark and time to head back to camp.

Photography

Wolf Lake Part 2

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WolfLake_1491

 

Having explored the campsite it was time to haul our gear into the campsite. Once the camp gear was in place it was time to sit back, relax and enjoy the grand view. A nice breeze was blowing off the lake. It being lunch time we proceeded to eat lunch. This was when I discovered that I had misplaced the tea and coffee. Tim’s Dad had been an ardent  woodsman and he taught Tim a lot about  the outdoors. One of the things was making tea from plant leaves. In this case he gathered up a bunch of blueberry leaves to put in with the boiling water plus raisins. It was not bad. Experiment and learn.

After stretching out in the tent for a half hour, we were soon on the lake exploring. Wolf lake is not a large lake. As we followed the shoreline enjoying the lake features I noticed that there was remains of trees that had burnt during previous forest fires. All the campsites had been taken. There are apparently four or five campsites on this lake. Approaching the outlet into Sylvester Lake we observed a large party at a campsite. Shooting through a narrow spot between the two lakes, the canoe glided onto Sylvester Lake. Looking around us, it was soon discovered that this lake had nothing to offer for photographing. Paddling back into Wolf Lake we followed the West shoreline to the upper end of Wolf Lake. Turning the canoe back to the campsite, returning in time for supper.

With our meal out of the way it was a matter of waiting for evening to descend upon us. As we sat in our chairs, Tim spotted a Loon across the lake with its one young chick.

I explored the shoreline near camp. There appears to be a very healthy population of Smallmouth Bass in this lake. The lake looks very healthy. There are an abundance of crayfish among the rocks. Crayfish are a favorite of the Smallmouth Bass. We managed to get some photographing that evening. Evening soon turned to darkness. Tim had a good fire going. The mosquitoes appeared. We spent a wonderful evening sitting by the fire under a canopy of stars. The moon was shining as a quarter moon.

When we woke up the next morning the lake was still with mist. I captured the above scene by using the boulders as my foreground and to direct your eye through the V. It helped to eliminate a lot of water from the scene. You can see a small ridge in the background along with what I believe is Wolf Mountain.

I will be posting more work of this trip in the future. I am heading up North of Sault Ste Marie to Lake Superior for a weeks photographing. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Wolf Lake

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WolfLake_1345

 

I met my cousin Tim Bennison at the Kukagami Lake turn off at 8:00 am Saturday morning. While I was waiting for Tim I was able to have a good discussion  with a local gentleman who has spent his whole life in this part of the country. We talked about Wolf Lake and surrounding lakes in the area. He mentioned travelling with his grandfather to the various lakes as a kid. We spoke about the damage that Inco and Falconbridge  had done to the lakes back in the fifties with the acid rain. He confirmed to me that Wolf and Sylvester Lake were now fish sanctuaries. The MNR have planted Lake Trout in these two lakes over the past two years.

With Tim’s gear now loaded into my Ford Escape, we were soon heading North to Wolf Lake. Upon arrival we soon discovered that Wolf Lake is a popular destination for canoeing and camping. As a matter of fact there were even a number of American folks here. A couple of older gentlemen were hauling there gear to the road. We managed to have a chat. They told us where they had been camping. With that in mind we waited until they were finished hauling there gear up. Tim and I began unloading and carrying our own gear down to the lake. It is about 100 foot trip to the lake shore. Pretty easy compared to what we usually do. Heading out on the lake surface we certainly had an awesome view before us. Lots of rock structures and small islands. A spattering of cliff faces. Very nice. The rocks are light grey in color that really glow in the low light.

We headed the canoe across the lake to were the parting gentlemen told us that they had camped. Beaching the canoe in a shallow indent on the far shore, we walked the trail up to the campsite. This turned out to be a wonderful location with a gorgeous view over the lake. We were to be camped on a low ridge over looking the lake. I will take a moment to tell you how clean this campsite  was. There was no garbage to be found anywhere. For an unsupervised area this has to be impressive. The campsite and trails are very well used. Which would mean a lot of campers come here. We discovered the boom box behind the campsite. It was in very good shape. All in all you can not ask for better. I have been at other lakes where the garbage is slewing everywhere. So hats off to the many people that travel here. Keep our wilderness clean.

I will continue this journey in my next blog. It has been a long day. So until next time happy trails.

 

 

Photography, Poetry

Early Summer

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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.

Photography

Color My Rocks

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Colorful_Rocks

 

Sunday June 22, Maureen and I traveled to Lake Superior Provincial Park. This large and beautiful park is North of Sault Ste Marie. Here is a great opportunity to explore the shorelines of Lake Superior and the interior wilderness with many lakes and hiking trails. We decided to set up a base camp at the Rabbit Blanket Campgrounds. Thus allowing me to photograph the North half of the Park. Being close to Wawa allowed for getting gas easily.

The tent and screen tent were soon gracing our campsite. The screen tent is a real bonus. The mosquito population was here. Supper was soon over and we drove the fourteen mile gravel road to Gargantua Bay. This is a narrow road with a couple of newly built bridges. It is a nice drive through open forests in many places. At the parking lot we took the hiking trail to the South. A bridge was crossed and we emerged on to a stony beach. Before my eyes was this small stream flowing over these colorful rocks into Lake Superior. This little stream had to be only ten feet across. Being a long day as it was we headed back to camp for a good nights sleep.

I returned to Gargantua Bay the next evening. The above composition is one of the photos I captured that evening. This was about capturing the beauty of the rocks with the stream flowing around and over them. At the same time the setting sun gives a dramatic effect to the overall scene. If you look close you can see specs of red sunlight on some of the rocks. You need low light or cloudy days to bring the color out on these rocks.

One of the things that I like to empathize is for one to stop for a moment and see the beauty that can be found in the little things around us. The colorful rocks.The sound of running water. Rising of fish during their evening feed that occurred while I sat on the beach. The changing of the sky as dusk approached. Waterfowl floating on the water surface like silhouettes.  So many little things that happen when one becomes aware of his or her surroundings. Give yourself to Nature and you will be at peace.

I did a interview over at Exhibition Without Walls. You can read it here.

http://www.exhibitionswithoutwalls.com/ken-bennison-fine-art-photographer-author-sudbury-ontario-canada/

This Friday is the opening of the La Cloche Art Show at Whitefish Falls. This is show is in its 37th year. It runs from July 5 to July 13.

http://laclocheartshow.wordpress.com/

I am still in the process of working on my photos from the Superior trip. There will be more to come. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Norway Lake Part 2

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NorwayLake_0957

 

Saturday dawned as another beautiful day. Tim and I enjoyed a leisure breakfast of bagels and coffee. The lake was fairly calm. The past evening I had explored a small stream flowing a couple hundred feet from Norway Lake. It crossed the portage. The water was clear and cool as it flowed over gravel and stones. This was were we obtained our drinking water by filtrating it into our drinking bottles.

Tim and I canoed over to the portage. We walked along the stream until a steep slopping rock ridge appeared. Here the water flowed down through a crevice in the rock structure as a series of very small waterfalls. The crevice was no more than four feet across. The tiny pools were clear and colorful. There was a green tinge to everything in the crevice. One of the problems I had here was very low light. I would say that there was very little sunlight appearing here. Thus I was shooting with very low shutter speeds. I used the small rocks in the foreground to give the sense of depth. The little waterfalls in the background added to the magic allure to the scene. You can see how the rock face on both sides are slanted.

Tim and I had agreed to portage back over to Killarney Lake the next morning.  This would eliminate the hardest portage on Monday. Sunday morning on another beautiful calm day we packed up our gear. We soon had our gear over the portage, leaving the bloodthirsty bugs behind. A short paddle brought us to the first island at the East end of Killarney Lake. I had camped here two years ago. The campsite has a beautiful view looking West. Minnows were present along the shore. We observed one of about four inches long. It was deep bodied like a bass. But then we saw a flash of silver like you see on a shiner.

Monday morning at dawn we did our morning shoot. The wind was very light. Just enough to mess up the photographing. It was not long before we were on our way out. The winds again were good, making for relaxing canoeing. As we approached the last narrows to the portage landing a yearling black bear was walking the shoreline. Letting the canoe drift, Tim took a few shots of the bear. As we passed the bear, it came down off the rock structure and swam across to the other side, disappearing into the woods. The trek across the portage was uneventful and we were soon paddling on Freeman Lake. As the next portage over to George Lake appeared, a yearling doe was spotted in the water feeding on underwater vegetation. There was a pair of loons to the South of us. The female climbed up on a small mud island followed by the male. The male mounted his mate. This to me is late as I have seen eggs in there nest by late May.

It was not long before The vehicle was loaded and another wonderful trip over. Tim and I bid farewell until the next trip and we headed off on our separate ways. Well that is it for now. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

NW Corner

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GeorgeLake_0671

I ventured into the Northwest corner of George Lake last Friday evening and Saturday evening to photograph the quartz rock ridge that is located in a small bay. This quartz rock formation has great detail to work with. Friday I canoed here with a friend and then Saturday I hiked in. I must say the bugs are bad at this time of year. They can cause a few problems with photographing by leaving streak marks on your photo or just a nice blurry blob.

There are just enough trees and shrubs on the side of the rock face to add depth and contrast. I framed the rock with a portion of the forest at the top. I tied this rock structure in with a portion of the La Cloche Mountains . There was a lone cloud in the upper right corner surrounded by blue sky. There was also some mist like cloud cover that can be seen.

While that is it for this week. I am off for a four day canoe trip tomorrow into Norway Lake in Killarney Provincial Park. So until next week week happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

Art by Nature

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Killarney_0553

 

The forest in shadow

Beside a small lake

On a Spring morning

Dawn is now breaking

The sky is brighter

A trickling of sunlight

Coming unexpectedly

Through the dark  Pines

Edging the boughs gold

The rippled lake surface

Creates a colorful abstract

Of gold, green and black

Of the forest reflection

A dazzling array of color

Radiant before your eyes

Mother Nature’s own art

For those who see

Soon lost in time

 

We can be totally overwhelmed by the grand scene before us.But if you were to look within that scene, you will find small things happening around you. The lighting is ever changing. Look for the small details of what that lighting is doing. Many times I have gone out to photograph a scene and as I am capturing that composition  my eyes pick up on another possibility. Train your eyes to be constantly on the move. Lighting is fickle. So be prepared to work quickly. Make light and shadow work for you.

That is all for now. Until next time happy trails