I have worked with singer, songwriter Andy Lowe to produce a music video with his song My Home In The North along with my photographic work. The music video has been posted on YouTube for your viewing.
Tag Archives: Outdoors
Watch Your Lighting
Maureen and I awoke Tuesday morning to a beautiful sunny day. A quick breakfast at the restaurant of the Best Northern. We were soon off to Fenton Lake. Then portaging over to Treeby Lake. These lakes were within Lake Superior Provincial Park. From the parking lot it is a 150 meter carry down to the lake. We soon had our gear loaded into the Quebecor 17 canoe. Edging out from shore, we paddled along the East side of the lake. The wind had picked up by now. The good thing was we were going with it. We soon reached our first portage and unloaded. This is a 50 meter portage. With all the gear hauled over. Maureen and I relaxed for a few minutes. Maureen was still suffering from her cold. We now had to make our way along a strip of water towards the Treeby Lake portage.
The Treeby portage is 150 meters in length. The ground and rocks were still wet from the previous rains. There were fallen leaves on the trail. With care we hauled our gear over the portage into Treeby Lake. We encountered a couple of downed trees on the trail. Pushing off from shore it was time to find a campsite to spend the next couple days. The wind had by now become stronger.
Treeby is a lake with approximately 23 islands. That was one of the reasons for coming here. Maureen and I set up camp on a point of land on the West side of the lake. The winds blew and gusted day and night until Thursday morning. I awoke Thursday morning at daybreak. Peeking my head out the tent I saw the leaves were not moving. Looked out upon the lake to behold the calm water surface. All was not perfect as there was a slight breeze skipping and dancing here and there on the lake. From past experience you learn to be patient and wait. In the mean time you set up your gear. The sky was getting brighter by now.
The above photo was captured as the sun splashed the hillside to illuminate the Fall colors. That is an island in front. I needed sunlight on this little island to make it stand out. Again you wait. This is what makes wilderness landscapes challenging. The long waits, the right conditions. When all the pieces fall into place, you have achieved your goal. The most important thing is you are standing on the shorelines of a lake taking in all the beauty, color and grandeur that can be found in our North country.
Well that is it for this post. Until next time happy trails
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Killbear Provincial Park
Gerard Leduc arrived at my apartment around 2 pm. Loading up we stopped at Tim Hortons to pick up some coffee to enjoy well we headed South. We were on our way to check out Killbear Provincial Park just North of Parry Sound. Upon arrival I was immediately impressed with the Park. Beautiful scenery, wonderful sand beaches. There are thoughts of bringing my grand kids here next summer. The beach had nice fine sand. There is one very long beach and a short one. There are some interesting evergreens among the smooth rock structures.
With a bit of time to spare, Gerard and I parked at an empty campsite by the beach. We enjoyed a nice bite to eat before heading off to photograph. Now I had been watching the sky. There was some very unique cloud cover that I wanted to utilize in a photo. I had and island in the distance. Sandstone colored smooth rock in front of me and some interesting tree shapes. I set my tripod up as low as I could get it. This way I eliminated a lot of water in the foreground. The emphases here was the sky. The rest of the material such as island, trees and rocks were used to create the final composition. I gotta tell you my ole joints get a little stiff after crouching down that low. The added bonus was the bit of sunlight appearing on the left.
I plan on coming back here in a couple of weeks. There were a lot of trees here still not in color. Maureen and I are heading back up to Superior for a week of photographing. We are planning a canoe trip into a series of small lakes for a few days near Wawa. Then hopefully I will be able to work the Superior coastline.
So until I get back, Happy trails
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Chutes Provincial Park
Late Monday afternoon I loaded up my gear and drove up to Massey, Ontario. Chutes Provincial Park was my destination. After parking my Ford Escape I hiked the trails along the Aux Sable River. Being too early to photograph, I searched along the river for compositions to work with later in the evening.
The river was running high. The moss on the rocks were wet. You could see were the water was seeping out of the moss and wetting the rock faces. The Fall colors here were not the greatest. But there was enough to work with. The rocks along the river here have character due to water action over the years. After completing my hike, I had a couple hours of wait time. I drove up the Massey Tote Road to visit a good friend Rob Bouchard. Rob is very knowledgeable about the area. It was soon time to head back to Chutes Provincial Park for my evening shot.
Upon arrival I sat at a picnic table to enjoy a quick sandwich. Then it was time to gather up the gear and start photographing. As I hiked the trail I would stop at the various locations and set my tripod and Canon 7D to get the photograph. I soon made my way up to the bridge at the North end of the Park. The sun was now below the horizon and there was a pink cast in the sky.
I had observed this spot earlier and loved the way the water flowed, The rock formations, a little bit of Fall color. As I stood there now I spotted a touch of pink here and there in the water. There also was a pink glow on some of the rocks. This was a result of parts of the rock surfaces being wet. I quickly set up the Canon 7D on the tripod and went to work. This is a 20 second shot at f22. With Photo shop I was able to bring out some detail in the water to give the feel of motion. Where there was white water you are able to observe that too. The pink coloring in the water is from the evening sky. I showed just enough sky to tell you the sunset was a pinkish glow.
As I was photographing an American couple came by and we started chatting. I now was finish photographing, so I said I would walk out with them. They were staying the night at the campsite. We parted company when I reached my vehicle. One of the joys of my work is meeting wonderful folks along the way. It is always a pleasure to chat with these people.
Well that is it for this week. Thank you for stopping by. Always look forward to your visits. Until next time happy trails.
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A Mind in Time
Sitting upon a flat rock
As I relax on a warm
Summer evening
The sound of running water
Is music to my ears
The sun is lowering
Towards the westerly sky
The French River is cascading
Over the historic Recollet Falls
The portage before me
Brings thoughts of ages past
As my mind goes back in time
An Ojibwa warrior dressed in skins
Appears around the bend
With his birch bark canoe
Upon his broad shoulders
Followed by his wife
Packing over their belongings
Two young children laughing
And giggling as they near
The end of the portage
The canoe is soon loaded
The warrior, paddle in hand
Looks at his children
Seated among their belongings
With a smile on his face
He tells them gi zah gin
As he launches the canoe
Into the flowing river
To quietly disappear around
The next river bend.
The evening lighting was dwindling
As I looked around me
The shadows were creeping upon
The surrounding hillsides
A mist appears on the river
The French River ever flowing
As it has for many ages past
Well that is it for now. A great time to be photographing. The Fall colors are still coming on. The weather is co-operating for the most part. Until next time happy trails.
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Hanging Out
My wife Maureen had a day off last Wednesday, so I suggested that we load the canoe and head for Bassfin Lake up the Matagamasi Lake Road. I had photographed along the lake by the road many times. I wanted to find out what else the lake had to offer. With that decided we packed a lunch and headed out. This is a short trip from Sudbury to the lake. We quickly loaded our Quebecor 17 canoe and pushed off. It was a wonderful afternoon. Bright blue skies and warm temperatures. The wind was light.
Maureen and I paddled across the lake and turned into a small channel that opened onto a bay. This is one of those locations were you enter a new world and mysteries. The rock structures were unique. There was a lot of detail in the rock faces. We paddled to the end of the bay. I located a spot to land the canoe. Quickly unloading, we walked up an exposed rock formation that slanted towards the interior of the surrounding landscape. Where I was set up I was overlooking the bay from a height advantage.
By now it was late afternoon. I set up my tripod in a favorable location and waited. This was like sitting in your own little world. No other people around. A beautiful sight before you. I sat their just watching the play of light among the trees. This is a good way to become knowledgeable in the ways of lighting in a wilderness setting. The wind was dancing lightly here and there before setting down. It was not long before the reflections began to appear. I took a number of photos as time progressed. The above photo is the last one I shot where there was just a bit of lighting striking the tree tops in the background. You can also see a sprinkling of light to the left. The sun was setting to my left.
Maureen and I enjoyed a great evening here. Just soaking up the beauty of this scenic location, plus hanging out together.Well that is it for this week. I hope everyone has a good weekend. Thank you for stopping by. Until next week happy trails.
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Little Tree, Little Island
4:30 a.m. comes early. Hauled my self out of bed. Loaded the gear into my Ford Escape. Stopped in Lively to pick up a Tim Horton’s coffee and some breakfast. Next stop was for gas. Then it was off for my morning shot. I arrived on location at 6:00 am with an hour to spare. Sunrise about 7:10 a.m. The temperature was hovering around 0 C. There was mist on the lake but it was still too dark. Lesson learned. Stay in bed an extra hour.
But the end result was the above photo about an hour and a half later. A little tree on a little island. Beautiful golden morning light saturating the mist. I kept this photo tight so as not to distract from the subject. By shooting vertical I was able to do that.
Well that is it for now. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time happy trails.
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As The Wind Recedes
Yesterday morning I got busy and made a nice pot of soup, then finished off a poem I was working on. I then made a stew in the oven for supper. With all that out of the way I headed up to Bassfin Lake on the Matagamasi Lake Road for an evening of photographing. Upon arrival things did not look too good. There was some wind blowing across the lake. Some heavy cloud cover was coming in from the West. This is one of these lakes that has a lot of structure in the form of rocky shoreline. The water level here is low. Exposing the shoreline. There is tremendous color to be had here. So I waited. The wind slowly died down and I was able to get into some photographing. This lasted about half an hour before the wind came again.
I had set up my tripod very low in order to eliminate some water in the middle ground. Using the point of land as my foreground and the gorgeous detail and color to boot. I just used enough Pine trees on the left for a frame. There is a rocky island in the middle. In the background there is a quartz like rock on the far shoreline to draw your eye back there. There is just a hint of Fall color to be seen in the surrounding forest. The clouds had moved in by now. I was able to get some nice yellow in the sky plus some yellow reflections on the water.
So that is it for this week folks. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time happy trails.
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Soft Colors
The changing of the seasons is upon us. Fall is here. The vegetation is dying off for another year. We are getting into the lovely reddish browns now. One of my favorite colors. As you can see here in this composition the marsh vegetation is turning color. The ferns on the forest floor under the pine trees are starting to change to a yellowish color. Thus breaking up the mass amount of green. The pine trunks stand out in stark contrast. With that being said, I used the small channel of water as my lead in to the pine trees.
That is it for now. Thank you for stopping by. I welcome my new friends who have subscribed to my blog this past week. I hope that you will enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer in my part of the country.
So until next time happy trails.
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A Humid Day
Tuesday morning came as a wet cloudy affair. I spent the morning getting caught up with my work. Just before lunch I looked out the window to notice that it had stopped raining. There was a mist to be seen and the wind was almost non existing. With a quick lunch, I loaded up my gear and headed up to Paradise Lagoon. As I traveled the Matagamasi Road I stopped here and there to capture various scenes that attracted me. The humidity was high. It was a bright cloudy day. Everything was wet and there was a mist in the air. This made for some intense colors. The forest vegetation is changing color now.
As I was photographing by a lake, a truck came around the bend in the road. They stopped and I was asked if I knew the way to Wolf Mountain. Giving them directions I told them I was going to Paradise Lagoon. If they liked I would take them there. I loaded up my gear and off we went. We soon arrived at the side road and parked. Loading up my gear I lead the way up the bush road to the trail that takes you to Paradise Lagoon. Being so humid we were all soaked from sweat and the water coming off the trees. After our arrival and quick look around we parted company.
The above shot was a location that I wanted to capture previously. Due to high water I was not able to. I removed my running shoes and socks, but then after observing the rocks in the water I decided to put my running shoes back on. There was some pretty sharp looking rocks under the water. Using my tripod as a walking stick I cautiously waded the stream till I was in position. I now was knee deep in water. The intensity of the rock colors was vibrant There is enough greenery to offset that with the water being on the dark side due to the cloudy skies. The water felt good running around my legs and was not cold.
No matter how many times you return to a location there is always something new to find. The lighting is different. The water levels change and the various seasons have an effect.
Well that is it for this week. I am busy getting ready for the Anderson Fall Fair this Saturday. The Anderson Farm Museum is located in Lively Ontario. I will be set at the stable with my work from 10 to 4. So if you are in the area stop by for a fun time. My running shoes are still drying out from the episode in the river, but I got the photo that I wanted.
So until next time happy trails
Ken Bennison's Photography 