Tag Archives: Outdoors

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

 

Photography

A Y Jackson 2014

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Killarney_0534HR

4:20 AM. I loaded up my gear into my Escape. First stop was Tim Horton to pick up a coffee and a bite to eat for the road. Traffic was light as I drove down to Killarney. Wildlife was scarce on the Killarney highway. This trip I saw one yearling Black Bear and a Fox. I arrived at Killarney Provincial Park and parked at the East end of George Lake. Loading up my gear I walked to the trail that would take me to A Y Jackson Lake. I climbed up the ridge huffing and puffing. This is a fairly steep ridge that you have to tackle right away. It is only a ten minute hike into George Lake.

As I arrived at my destination I saw that the lake surface was calm. This was my first chance to use my new tripod. I had purchased a Gitzo GT1541 carbon fibre Tripod and a BH-40 LR from Really Right Stuff. As soon as the camera was set up on the tripod the wind started to ripple the lake surface. Go figure. I waiting I succeeded in getting the above capture with the morning sunlight illuminating the shoreline on the left and just catching the tree tops on the right. The La Cloche Mountains in the background had a bit of mist. This is one of my favorite lakes to photograph. The best time to get a composition is early morning. My next trip means I will have to get up at 4:00 AM to get the most out of a morning shot. There was a few mosquitoes around but for some reason they were not biting. The black flies were   scare this morning.

That is it for now, so until next time happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

The River Runs

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BirchCreek_1997

 

The Fall rains have come

The Fall colored leaves

Hanging low over the river

They are laden with moisture

The rivers are swollen

With tea – stained water

The turbulent waters crash violently

Over the submerged rocks

Lichen covered rocks withstand

The swift currents rage

A restless river galloping

To its final destiny

At the river’s mouth

The  Sun emerges to dry

The water logged land

In time the surging river

Recedes in depth

No longer violent and swollen

The clean fast water

Scouring the gravel bottom

Fast water trickles  through

The shadow gravel beds

Alive with returning Salmon

To begin a new life cycle

It was a great weekend for me as I won the following awards

The Exhibition Without Walls Award – Manhattan Arts International Celebrate The Healing Power of Art 2014 

http://www.manhattanarts.com/Gallery/Healing-Power-of-ART/Winners.htm

An award of Excellence from the Exhibition Without Walls Impressions 2014

http://www.exhibitionswithoutwalls.com/impressions-finalist/

 

That is all for now, so until next time happy trails.

 

 

 

 

Photography

Creating Depth

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GordonChutes_0252

 

This composition is about combining rocks with with water to create depth. By using rocks in the foreground, middle ground and a waterfalls in the background I was able to achieve the effect I was looking for. The rocks have a variety of color along with the ever present lichen found on the rocks. Using a slow shutter speed creates patterns in the water for the eye to follow. There is some greenery to add a little more contrast. Another important factor is the time of year and the volume of water flowing has a big impact on what type of composition you will get.

Sitting by flowing water is about listening to the flow of water around you and the sense of peacefulness. That is what I attempted to capture when I shot this photo.

That is it for now. Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful Mothers out there. May your day be great. So Until next time happy trails.

Photography

A Neat Composition

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MeardeauFalls_0344

 

Take a very unique rock structure, Draping  trees and a touch of water to create a very nice composition. I was traversing the Aux Sauble River when I came upon this great piece of rock along the river’s edge. It had detail and color. What was neat was the trees cascading down the side of this rock. In the back was a Birch tree that was flowering.  The scales of the staminate aments are a yellow to orange color on the Birch tree. This adds contrast from the green leaves and offsets the color of the rock. It also helps when a beam of light illuminates the Birch tree for more effect. When you wait and watch good things can happen. I added some rock structure in the bottom right corner for added depth. Then the water gives a sense of location to the fact that this location is a river.

A selection of my works will be on display at the Sudbury Arts Council ArtsSPACE, South End Library, Sudbury, Ontario  until the end of June.  It will open sometime this week. I will be posting the open date. So until next time happy trails

Photography

Morning at Cave Lake

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CaveLake_5651

 

On my trip to Cave Lake I had hiked there on my own. I spent the night in my tent alone. It actually went better than I expected. A person seems to develop acute hearing during the night and I am deaf. You can start hearing sounds that are real or imaginary. But all in all I survived the night. I woke up to a beautiful morning with the local black fly population waiting for me. They were thick.

Walking along the shoreline I came across this small rock point jutting out into the lake. There were no clouds in the sky as per usual. I set up my tripod and Canon 7D to place the rock point to the right in my composition. By chosen to have the rock point angled to the center of my composition you can get more of a 3D  effect in your work. It also allowed me to eliminate some of the lake surface.  I showed just a touch of shoreline in the foreground bottom right. There were some small rocks and grass there. The small rocks allowed for a comparison of boulder size in relationship to the rock point. There is a lot of detail in the rock structures to be found. The reflections allow for an almost 3D effect of the rock point. There is a piece of broken wood on the rock edge for added interest. The green vegetation breaks up the rock color for a better appeal.

I was able to have the far treeline angle down into the center of the composition from the top left. I kept the sky to a minimum here. You can notice the fresh green of the Maples among the evergreens. You get this effect well into June. This gives you various shades of green for better contrast. One of the things you have to be aware of is that you have to disturb the blackflies in front of your lense. If not you can get a nice looking blurry spot on your photo.

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

Photography

Cave Lake, Killarney Provincial Park

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CaveLake_5635

The above scene was taken at Cave Lake, Killarney Provincial Park. This was the only trip I had made so far. It requires about a 2 hour hike to reach with two campsites available. I hiked here in June of 2012. The bugs were very bad. Mosquitoes on the rampage in the evening, then dawn I was assaulted by Blackflies. This is not a big lake. The East shoreline is completely forest covered. It appears to be fairly good incline from the top of the La Cloche Range to Cave Lakes water edge. But there is a small section of rock protruding among the evergreens down to the water’s edge. The neat thing about it was that when the lake’s surface calmed, you would swear there was a cave at the base.

This was a dawn shot that I composed. I put some rock surface in the foreground to eliminate so of the water and to add depth. There is some green vegetation in the bottom right corner. Very nice detail of lichen on the rock surface. At this time of year everything is fresh looking. There are some Pine boughs along the edges to add more depth. I wanted to create the feeling that you are standing on that rock and looking towards that hole in the rock on the far shore. With the dense forest across the way there is a combination of low morning like striking the evergreens plus the lighter green of new growth. This will give you beautiful contrast and effect. Plus this is all reflected into the water.

CaveLake_5644

I created a close up shot of that rock structure and was rewarded with the tiered effect going diagonally to the water. An interesting bent Pine is growing on the bottom part of the ridge. Now we can get a better view of the cave effect. Again utilizing the low early morning light and new growth for contrast and break up the all green effect.

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

Photography

The David Lake Series

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DavidLake1

 

The above composition is another panoramic that I captured at David Lake, Killarney Provincial Park. It was late Sept. The Fall colors were not in there full glory yet. This composition contains two overlapping photos to achieve the desired scene that I wanted. The dark scudding clouds added to the mood.  The blown highlights do not turn me on. That is were the morning sun was risen. The little rock islands have great texture that is common in this area. The addition of mist adds to the mood. The mist was coming off the land and moving from left to right. I believe the added colors of Fall in the forest in the background gives added contrast. You can just glimpse the La Cloche Mountains in the background.

The weather here is getting warmer, snow is melting. Happy Easter to everyone. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Spring Thaw

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HighFalls_0460

 

This past Sunday I headed back up to High Falls for another shoot. A beautiful sunny afternoon with a temperature of 10 C. The snow had deteriorated since the week before. Being much softer you had a tenancy to sink once in awhile. I walked the trail to the bridge above the falls. It was walk up, then walk down. The snow was also slippery in spots.

The river had opened up a fair bit. The roar of rushing water quite noticeable.  The volume of water was higher from my previous trip. There was more open water to work with. The snow surface was now pitted from the hot sun. Chunks of ice were floating down river. The water was dark with a heavy yellow tinge. I composed the above scene to emphasize the chaotic nature of a Spring thaw on a waterfalls. I emphasized the dramatic flow of water. The chunks of ice breaking off from the river’s edge adds great detail.

This is probably my last trip here until the snows has melted. It won’t be long until the river is fully open and the volume of water too high for effective photographing. As I was waiting for the evening lighting, I met up with a gentleman on the trail. He was carrying a Pentax DSR. We had a good chat for awhile. We then moved off in different directions.

This weekend is the Sudbury Art Club’s Spring Show and Exhibition. If you are in the area please join us. While that is it for now. Until next time, happy trails