Tag Archives: Northern Ontario

Photography

A Touch of Color

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OSALake4359

Winter is here in my part of the country. It is nice to sit back and go through my photos taken during this year’s trips. I selected the above photo from a trip into O S A Lake, Killarney Provincial Park. Paul Smith and I were sitting around the campsite one afternoon. It was a cloudy wet day if I recall. The wind was blowing a bit. We were talking about the Maple tree mixed in with the White Pine trees at our campsite. I decided then that I would attempt a composition of the colored leaves. There was one branch of orange, red leaves that crossed in front of a Pine trunk. I showed enough rock to break up the contrast. The rock had enough scattered reddish pine needles on its surface to add more color. There is some green color from the White Pine branches to create a more compact photo. Then there is the texture of the tree trunks that adds detail.

After setting up and getting the composition that I liked, it was a matter of waiting for the right moment for the wind to calm down. Well that is it for now. So until next time happy trails

Photography

Bog Island

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BogIsland

I discovered this little bog island at the far end of a small shallow lake a few years ago. It is located  up the Westbranch behind Webbwood Ontario. I fell in love with the potential of a composition that could be had here. This little island had character. From the shape of the vegetation; some deadheads and a clump of small evergreens. The main problem here was to be able to separate the island from the background. The lake is nestled amongst  Spruce trees so everything would blend in. You would then get a bland photo.

With that in mind I needed good lighting. Luckily, were I was able to set up my tripod and Canon EOS 7d the shoreline sloped upwards. This allowed me to get some separation from the far shoreline. This shot worked best in November. The sun is low to the horizon. The vegetation on the island turns a orange, red color. That helps relieve a lot of green. Now the trick is to get the right lighting. You have to have that island stand out from the background. That is very important. I made many trips to this location until I got it right. Early morning did not create the required lighting.

Finally it all came together. It was a beautiful sunny November afternoon. It was 3:30 Pm. The sunlight lit the island up like a torch. The light was coming from the left which was good. I was now getting sun flares in my lens. I used my hat to block the sun flares and shot the above photo. What also helps this composition is the lighting in the background. You can see individual branches being lit up. This is what turns an ordinary photo into a dramatic composition. Lighting.

The above photo was accepted at the 119th Toronto International Salon of Photography.

Well I will close for now. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Rushing Water

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Jan Winther and I crossed over from the Westbranch to the Tote Road North of Massey.We came on to the Massey Tote Road at the 28 mile mark.It was early afternoon as we headed South.This is a very windy and hilly road for many kilometers. Jan loves photographing waterfalls, so I figured we would check out Cameron Falls on the Aux Sauble River. I had hiked into this falls last June.I was very much disappointed when I had arrived.There was no water going over the falls at all.What a disapointment.

So with that in mind we walked into the Cameron Falls.Upon arrival we saw a fair amount of water to make it possible to get some photos.The water level was still low from previous years.Jan was sure happy though so I left him to his thing and started exploring.I have been here many times, but am always fasinated by the unique rock structure found here.There is black rock and red granite rock.Due to the running water over time has reshaped many of the rocks surfaces.

I love doing close up compositions of running water and rocks.The above photo is a typical example.By using various shutter speeds and f22 I am looking for character in the water flow.I want detail in the water and colour.Now color is obtained late in the evening as while as the rocks lose their harshness due to the bright sunlight most of the day.I also found from expierience that clear blue skys with give better effects.You will notice the water at bottom left of photo is a dark blue. This created by clear blue skys above the water.

We stayed as late as we could.But had to get out with enough light to see.I always carry a couple small flashlights in case I get carried away photographing and let the darkness creep up.

That is it for this week.So thanks for coming to visitThe tea is always on.So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Sunlit Grass

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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.

Photography

Daybreak on the French

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This photo dates back to last August. I was blessed with two mornings in a row of some exceptional lighting and atmosphere.The location was the French River at the Flat Rapids Campsite in The French River Provincial Park. The early morning sunlight started to filter through the trees on the point.This gave a beautiful glow in that area.Mist in the background,calm waters and colour in the sky on the left. The rock detail in the foreground is very detailed.

I was able to set my Canon 7D and tripod on a bit of slope to give me elevation and create more space between the two points.One thing I will point out is that being out on location time and time again is how you will get these kind of shots.Also take lots of shots.

I received a 10th place finish out of 455 entries at the Countryside Art Exhibition  last week.I am much pleased with the results.You can check the website here.

http://www.lightspacetime.com/countryside-art-exhibition-november-2012/

Those of you who like a challenge should enter these shows.Well that is it for now.Until next time happy trails.

Photography

A Beam of Light

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Jan Winther and I had arrived at our destination lake shortly after dawn. This jewel of a little lake is 80 km up on a gravel logging road.As you travel North you steady climb to a higher elevation.Which means at this time of year it is colder here than at home.We had been observing frost on the trees,but no ice on the lakes and swamps we passed.

After a five minute hike into where we were going to photograph,Jan and I set up our photographic equipment.There is a small island at one end of this little lake that we wanted to work with.I will talk about this island in another post.The lake surface was mirror calm,there was some mist and the air was crisp.The sun was just coming through the trees.

I am always watching around me at all times.The lighting is constantly changing dramatically or very supple.So be aware and you may rewarded with that award winning composition. Many times it is never the shot you came to get.The above scene is an example of that.I relocated to capture the beam of light coming over the water.I put the point on the left side as my lead in.There was just enough mist to create some mood.The real highlight of this photo is the sunlight filtering through the trees on the far shore.This is when it feels good to be a photographer capturing that moment of lighting.I had already made four trips here in the past two weeks to get the exposures I want.The only hang up I have with this photo is the blue tinge on the evergreen trunks.But that is the way it is so I leave it be.At this time of year the shoreline vegetation is a reddish brown in colour.This helps to offset the vast amounts of green due to the evergreens.

Well that is it for now.Thank you everyone for coming and visiting.So until next time happy trails.

Photography

The Extremist

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The Extremist.

I re-posted this article by friend Jan Winther with his permission.I must say that I am quite honoured to be wrote about.So thank you Jan.

My good friend Ken Bennison asked me to come with him on a trip up the West Branch this past weekend. But before I get to that, I should explain the title on this blog post. It came up as we were waiting for the light to be in the perfect spot, and for the wind to die down a bit.
Extremist is (what I learned on this trip)  more or less what his own family affectionately calls him, and it refers to the way he approaches his photography. There is a very good reason why Ken is an incredible artist/landscape photographer. He does what a lot of other people wont do. He gets up at an ungodly hour, drive,hike or canoe for hours, (obviously not at the same time, but most of the time he will have to do all three to get to his location of choice.) And when he gets there he will explore the area, figure out what he want to shot, and wait for the perfect conditions to happen. Ken is not afraid to wait for hours for his shot. He knows exactly what he wants in a picture, and if the conditions aren’t there, he wont even take the camera out of the bag, because he wont be able to use the shot anyway, so if he doesn’t get the shot, he will simply return to the same spot again and again until he gets the shot he has in his mind. And the results speaks for themselves. Check out his website. I should mention that Ken’s is shooting with a Canon 7D, one lens (28-135mm) and his trusty SLIK tripod. Yes, Ken only use one lens.

Anyway, so this past weekend we were up at the West branch north of Webbwood, Ontario. A place I haven’t been to in 2 years, so it was nice to go there again, and revisit some of the places I  have shot before. Examples of previous posts can be found here, here and here. We are about 80 km (~50 Miles) in the bush, driving on a gravel logging road. The weather was perfect. No wind, sunshine and frost in the air. After have shot at a couple of locations, we wound up at the little lake where I had taken the Moonshine shot a couple of years ago. All of a sudden the sunshine starts to come through the trees, and lights up some grasses in the lake. Being the extremist that Ken is, gets up and wades out into the shallow waters. Ankle deep in loon and beaver crap he sets up his tripod and starts to compose a shot. I thought this would be a good time to get a shot of him in action, so I took a few shots of him shooting this sunlit grass, with some mist in the background.

Photography

On The Hillside

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Jan Winthers and I continued driving up the Westbranch, looking for a photo opportunity we spotted a location that was interesting.The camera gear was quickly set up.It was approaching lunch time.The day was great and it was warming up.I composed a few shots and headed back to my Ford Explorer to pack the gear away.

I looked down the road and noticed the lighting on the evergreens.The branches of the Birches were sparkling.Taken note of the Birches beside me,they were not covered in frost.The hillside before me was beautiful.So,I rest up my Canon 7D and tripod and made the above shot.I did not want the gravel road in the scene.This shot is all about light and shadow.The dark evergreens contrasting with the Birch trees along with the sunlight highlighting the trees to a yellowish tinge.As many times you travel a location,it is always amazing the shots that are available for you to take.Whether it is the time of year,the lighting available or something you may not have noticed.Even the angle you look at a subject will give you a different perspective to the composition.At this time of year the sun is lower in the sky and the air is colder.Those two conditions will have an effect on your compositions.

Finishing up our shooting,it was time to find a campsite up the road and have lunch.A short way on, I pulled into a campsite under the Jack Pines.A small lake was across the road for our viewing pleasure.Before long I had water boiling in a pot on my Coleman camp stove.With our camp chairs set up,Jan and I enjoyed our lunch with a hot tea.

Well that s it for now.Thank you everyone for stopping by.The tea is still hot so until next time happy trails.

Photography

A Reflective View

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This past Saturday, myself and fellow photographer Jan Winters journeyed up the Westbranch,North of Webbwood. Our aim was to have a fun day as we travelled forestry roads looking for photographic opportunities, It started out cold,a chilly -5 C.The trees were frost covered.

On our way back down the Westbranch I had promised Jan we would stop at Gordon Chutes for him to photograph.Jan has a love for waterfalls,so this was a good chance for him to get some shooting in.It was now late evening and there was not much daylight available.I have photographed here many times.Whether for a day or just a quick stop in.The water level of the river was low.

As I was crossing the smooth rocks that are normally covered with flowing water I looked up at the rock face on the far side of the river.There was a beautiful glow from the setting sun.With not much time to spare,I did a quick set up to capture the scene before me.But as I looked ahead of me I noticed this beautiful reflection in a pool ahead of me.Wow this is really getting interesting.So now I re-aligned the camera and tripod to capture the reflection and the rock face.I also noticed that there was pink edged clouds moving in.I checked to see which direction the clouds were moving and waited.The clouds were coming towards me.Then it all came together.The result was the photo you see above.

It never seems to matter how many times you photographed a location,there is always a possibility for a shot. I have always liked that rock face but could could never do anything with it. Well low and behold it happened.The warm glow on the rocks did not last long.It was now getting darker and time to head home.It had been another lovely day in the backwoods.Jan enjoyed the experience.Jan has a great blog,so check it out here.

http://imagesbyjw.com/

Well that is it for now.Thank you for visiting.Until next time happy trails

Photography

Awash in Colour

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On my last trip into O S A Lake,Killarney Provincial Park the weather was cool,wet and windy.The above locations is one of my favourites for the structure of the La Cloche Mountains.This particular rock face had a necklace of Fall colours adorning it. It had stopped raining late that afternoon leaving the landscape wet and saturated.The cloud cover was heavy and grey.The sun had not come out yet.

I used the two points as my lead in, showing just a touch of reflections in the foreground.This should make my good friend Bill Whittaker smile in regards to water and reflections.This is an ongoing topic we have.Past the two points is more water.There is a pink tinge on the rocks that gives a unique feel to the composition. Two days later there was large areas bare of colour due to the weather.

I received an email that my artwork titled “Daybreak”  has been selected as an Honorable Mention of the 2012 Landscape Art Contest, an international juried art competition. Mywork will have a full page feature in Artist Portfolio Magazine Issue 10.

Bill Whittaker has a website you may like to check out.

http://billwhittaker.scarf.ca/

Well that is it for this week folks.Thanks for visiting and till next time happy trails.