Tag Archives: Northern Ontario

Photography, Poetry

River’s Edge Part 4

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The sun is low on the horizon

A campsite beckons not far off

Upon arrival I am upset

For among the tall grass

Garbage is scattered every where

The sign of wayward campers

I unload my gear

Setting up a campsite

Before the night approaches

I rest upon a rock

By the river’s edge

Enjoying the quiet and peace

That is to be had

Along the flowing river

Marveling at the reflective colors

Of green,gold and blue

Upon the river’s surface

The evening light is waning

I retire for the night

The night is now

Full of noises

From the rustle of night creatures

In the nearby woods

To the haunting call of

A great Horned Owl

That is answered further downriver

As I lay abed

Falling asleep under the canopy of stars

Photography, Poetry

The Pond

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The shadows are retreating

From the morning sunlight

The last remnants of mist

Has now disappeared

The pond now awaking

Bathed in a warm glow

Along the water’s edge

Pitcher plants,purple and maroon

With cup shape flowers

Nodding on their stocks

Awaiting an unwary insect

A beaver with a trailing wake

Is homeward bound

After a night of labour

Painted turtles with glistening shells

Emerge from the pond’s depth

To clamber upon a mossy log

Half sunken at the water’s edge

To bask in the warmth

of the mid morning sun

An elegent Wood duck hen

With bobbing head

Her brood in tow

Merges into the vegetation

To hide and forage

Unk-a-chunk,unk-a-chunk

The call of the American Bittern

From the far end

Of the beaver pond

We are blessed with a great deal of water in Northern Ontario.One is which is the beaver pond.My poem only covers a small fraction of what happens in and around these ponds.The beaver pond is home to a large variety of life.Plant life,aquatic life and wildlife are all sustained by a beaver pond.Spending time in and around the beaver pond is an awarding experience.Go to this web address and you will hear a recording of an American Bittern.

http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/BCWZQTGMSO/bird009.mp3

The above photo was taken at Wagon Road Lake in Killarney Provincial Park.With a beaver dam at one end and very swamp like at the far end I would almost classify this body of water as a very large beaver pond.It is a pretty place to be and an easy hike to get to this body of water.I loved the lighting effect that morning and I stitched a number of photos together to create this scene.

Well that is it for this week.Thank you all for your comments.So until next time happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

The River’s Edge Part 3

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As I travel onward

Boulders line the river’s edge

Nimble of foot I step

From boulder to boulder

Careful not to slip

The river now passes

Around and over many

A well-worn rock

The sun is at its zenith

The air is warm

A shaded rock beckons

For a traveller to rest

I ease my self down

My back against the smooth rock

My eyes close slowly

The sound of running water

Music to my ear

The soft rustling of leaves

above my sagging head

As a gentle breeze

Caresses the surrounding trees

I sense something near

Upon opening my eyes

A timber wolf ambling along

Head down to the rocks

On the far shore

Suddenly it stops,looks at me

With a sense of curiousity

We look eye to eye

As quickly as it came

Like a ghost it merges

Back into the wilderness

From where it came

An encounter not often seen

It is now time to move on

To follow the river’s edge.

Thank you everyone for your comments.

This is a great way to pass the winter writing poems about my wilderness adventures.I am having fun and I hope all you folks are too.So until next time happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

The River’s Edge Part 2

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The Warmth of the sun

On my back as I follow

The course of the river

The river is now narrowing

As it makes its way

Between  a grove  of Birch

Their trunks a splash of white

In the Boreal forest

Ahead of me a bend appears

An abandoned Beaver house

Comes into view before me

Now home to an Otter family

An Otter sitting on a log

Cleansing its glistening fur

Hissing as I approach

Passing quietly around the Otters

I continue travelling the river’s edge

It is now mid morning

The shadows are lessening

Before me a sandbar protrudes into the river

Golden in the sunlight

As I approach the sandbar

Tracks are spotted in the sand

Made by a lone wolf

On its nightly foraging

This is a continuation of my journey along a typical Northern Ontario River.I have spent many years travelling such rivers.Whether fishing or photographing.It is always a great adventure to enjoy.The poem River’s Edge is an accumulation of all my experiences on these trips. Everything that I write whether  wildlife or scene I have seen it.

That is it for this week so happy trails

Photography, Poetry

The River’s Edge Part One

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As I walk along the river’s edge

In the early morning light

Spider webs glistening silver

Among the shoreline shrubs

The day’s first sunlight

Flickering through the leaves

Producing a dappled pattern on the forest floor

A small stream of pristine water

Merges into the ever-moving river

Stately Pines and towering Spruce

Stand guard at the water’s edge

The clear cold water

Is home to the colorful Brook Trout

Rising to the surface

In the deeper pools

Feeding on the emerging Mayflies

Here and there the undergrowth

Chokes the river banks

A dead tree layered

With fungi and moss

Lays in my path

Which I carefully step over

As I walk down the river

Ferns a bright green

With new Spring growth

Grow thick here and there

Along the river’s edge

A kingfisher all red,blue and white

Darts down the river

Vanishing into the shadows

One of my favourite pastimes is spending the day walking along a river.Enjoying the moment and looking to see what is around the next bend.

I hope everyone had a great New Years and I am looking forward to the new year.Thank you all for visiting and until next time happy trails

Photography

Catch The Light

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By catching the light you can create an almost three – dimensional look to your photo.By utilization of the rock structure and evergreen trees to create the effect.Look at the evergreen trees and you will see that they really stand out as the result of the lighting upon them.The shadows around the lighted branches create this wonderful effect.This photo was taken at day break so you had very calm water with lovely reflections adding to the depth you wanted.By being patient and watching what is happening around you,the landscape is ever-changing in terms of the lighting.As the sunrises the light patterns will change.In this particular scene the sun is casting a lovely beam of light on the left side of the photo to highlight the trees.Yet still maintaining shadows in the middle of the photo.In turn this is all reflected on to the water’s surface.

As the morning progresses the whole scene will be lit up and you will lose the balance of shadows and light.I think this is very important if you want to take your photography to the next level.To recognize the lighting before you along with the shadows.You must know the area you are photographing.The direction of lighting at that time of day.Be patient. These shots are not available everyday.But with persistence you will be rewarded.

I captured this scene last Spring on A Y Jackson Lake in Killarney Provincial Park.By setting my Canon 7d on a tripod I was able to capture a great many shots as the conditions changed by staying in the same setup. The above photo also consists to two photos joined together.

Well that is it for this week.I hope everyone had a great Christmas as my family had.I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving comments.So until next week happy trails.

Photography

A Dog of A Stump

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As I am out photographing I am always on the lookout for something unique.Last June while camping on Killarney Provincial Park, Paul Smith and I were canoeing along the shoreline.The lake we were on was Killarney Lake.This is a large lake with clear turquoise blue water.We spotted a group of stumps along the shoreline in a little cove.I selected this particular one where the top of the stump was in the shape of a dog’s head.I set up the tripod and Canon 7D at the waters edge.By placing the stump in the foreground and the lens at f22 for depth I captured this composition.The water is so clear here that you can see the texture of the rocks underwater.

With an eye for detail you will be able to spot many such subjects such as this.Also bear in mind that it is the angle that you look that has a bearing on what you see.While that is it for this post.I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe one.I would like to thank everyone for coming for a visit.So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Late Summer Storm

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From out of the North

A cold wind blows

Churning the lake’s surface

Into a frothy turmoil

A Common Loon bobbing

On the surface of the lake

Paying no heed

Over the far horizon

Dark and ominous clouds appear

Soon to engulf the land

The sound of thunder

Off in the distance

Mother Earth’s warning

Of a storm fast approaching

The thunder rolls

Echoing through the mountains

Lighting flashes

Illuminating the landscape

In its momentary light

The rain dapples the lake’s surface

In endless patterns on the water

The rain falling steady now

To drench the landscape

The thunder rolls

The lightning flashes

As quickly as it came

The storm passes on

The sky is clearing itself

Of high scudding clouds

The sun has returned

To warm the land

The above photo was taken early one morning on O S A lake in Killarney Provincial Park.The early morning lighting and mist was great.I chose to create a panoramic view with the La Cloche Mountains.I also elected to create a black and white Image for effect.

Check out this blog by Danita Cahill who is a very talented lady.

http://miracahills.wordpress.com/

http://www.danitacahill.com/

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

Photography

A Northern Spring

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The smell of the earth is upon the wind

As the sun’s rays warm the land

Mother Earth awakens

From her cold slumber

The lakes once covered in ice

From the long Northern winter

Now home to migrating waterfowl

Rollicking on the lakes surface

The loons have returned

To their northern haunts

The bare trees now budding out

Soon to be dressed in a coat of new leaves

A moose calf born the year past

Foraging in a swampy bay

Ever alert for the presence of danger

A Blue Heron stalks the shoreline

In search of its elusive prey.

Song birds in a variety of color

Fluttering among the flowering shrub

Voicing their songs for all to hear

The sound of running water

From the hills above

Rushing down to merge into the lake

The first of the Spring flowers

Blooming on the forest floor

Heralding the return of Spring

Spring in the North Country is a joyous time.When the weather warms,everything grows anew after a long cold winter.

The above scene was recorded last Spring on A Y Jackson Lake in Killarney Provincial Park.I was attracted by the bent Pine tree and the rock formation.It took me a couple of attempts to photograph this composition.For what ever reason the wind would channel into here and I would feel it on my face as I walked down a beaver trail to the lake shore. But as you see I did manage to capture the photo.

Please check out David Gadreau’s blog .David specializes in wedding and portrait photography

http://davidgadreauphotography.ca/

Well that is it for this week’s post.So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Carlyle Lake

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The above composition was taken last May.Paul Smith and I launched our canoe at the West end of Carlyle Lake.This lake is one of the lakes in Killarney Provincial Park that is easily accessible.It was a beautiful warm sunny Spring day.The wind was light.It made for a day of leisure canoeing and exploring Carlyle Lake.The forest for the most part grew down to the shoreline with little rock structure of interest.Using our GPS we paddled into a bay about half way up the lake on the North shoreline.Not finding any possible photo locations we paddled across the bay to a small lake that we had seen on the map.There was also a camping site available between Carlyle Lake and Terry Lake.

Paul heard running water up ahead and sure enough there was a small creek running down into Carlyle Lake from Terry Lake.Beaching the canoe we explored the layout between the two lakes and had a look at the small lake.This lake turned out to be a swampy type of lake. Being lunch time we grabbed our sandwiches and water.We found a nice shady spot beneath a large White Pine.These White Pine are common to this area.It is so nice to just lean back against these large trees and just relax as you munch on the sandwiches. It is an opportunity to lot around and study the land.The above scene caught my eye.I was intruded by the sun highlighting a grassy point across from us.My biggest problem would be wind.

Having finished eating I grabbed the tripod and Canon 7D.First I looked to see what I could put together with that beautiful point of grass.I then noticed the rocks that you see on the right.This rock had character and structure.I also used the White Pine growing off the right hand rock as a fill in plus the lighting on the branches was beautiful.You will also noticed spots of light on other shrubbery as well as on the rock itself.Boy this was sure creating a very interesting composition.But as I mention before, I had a problem with the wind.The wind was light but it would ripple here and there but would not calm down.Finally after what seemed like hours I did manage to get the above shot.One thing about a not real sharp reflection is that you get a nice painterly affect.

So by using the rock structure on the right as foreground leading into the photo along with the greenish reflection on the water, I created the above composition.I thought it was pretty good for a middle of the day.

This week I would like you to check out Blue Maple Photography by Brian K Mollenkopf.Brian is an excellent photographer

http://www.bluemaplephotography.com/

Well that is it for this week,so until next week happy trails