Tag Archives: Outdoors

Photography

The Lonely Pine

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I traveled North of Capreol last Friday. This time I traveled on a different road going North. Beautiful sunny day but a cool North wind. I found a couple locations that could provide a composition. But it was not to be this day. The wind never let up into the evening. I will return at another date.

The above photo was taken on the previous trip North of Capreol. Jan Winthers and I were heading back to Capreol late in the evening  when we saw this nice piece of rock outcropping located on the far shoreline of a small swampy lake alongside of the road. There was a small pine tree located on the rock face that looked interesting. The quartz like rock face had many angles to it which creates  that unique depth. There are reddish colored pine needles trapped in the crevices to add more color. Now the trick here is to separated this single pine tree from the trees in the background. There is some lighting from the sun on some of the boughs that allows this little tree to stand out. I shot the composition vertical to complement the trunk of the pine tree. Also this kept things tight and not too busy.

There is a call for entries at the upcoming La Cloche Art Show. Check there website here.

http://laclocheartshow.wordpress.com/

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

Photography

North of Capreol

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Picking up Jan Winthers, I headed towards Capreol. It was mid morning with a lovely blue sky and warm temperatures. This was a day to go adventuring and find some new photographic opportunities. Arriving in Capreol I headed to the nearest gas station to top off the gas tank. When you head up into wilderness locations always make sure you have a full gas tank. When you get near a half tank it is time to turn around and head back. We spotted a couple older gentlemen chatting by the road. I exited the Ford Explorer and approached them. They soon set me in the right direction and off we went.

We left town on a paved road, passed the turn off to the Wanapitei 11 Indian Reserve and were soon on a gravel sand road with lots of dust. Before I continue I will explain a little about this area. The North River runs in a southerly direction and empties into Wanapitaei Lake at the North End. This being Victoria Day weekend there is lots of folks up here camping and fishing. This is Walleye country. As is typical in Northern Ontario, there is intensive logging occurring here.  It did not seem that long before we came to the North River. Crossing over the bridge I decided to head North.

The North River was still running high from Spring run off. The scenery was great to look at with a lot of high hills. But not much in the way of photographing. Heading North we followed the river. Upon reaching the 45 km the road got rough and washed out. By now it was lunch time. Hauling out the camp chairs, Jan and I enjoyed a leisure bite to eat with the sound of running water beside us. Making our way back down the road with windows open Jan and I heard the sound of running water in the bush. We looked and sure enough you could she a small waterfalls tumbling down through the trees.

Parking the vehicle, we made our way towards the running water and found a series of small waterfalls. This stream came from a lake up above and flowed into the North River. The above composition was one of the scenes I created. The rock to the left was rounded and curved. The water flow followed the rock curvature.  I   used that as my eye in. There is not a lot of open space along this stream bed. The evergreens and cedar have a mixture of old and new growth to give you the yellow and green colors. I placed some cedar boughs on the right for added depth. The water flow at a slow shutter speed created a pattern. There is some orange on the rock above the falls. A touch of green reflecting into the water. All in all a nice place to sit on a rock and dangle your feet in the water. Enjoy the sound of running water and the peacefulness that can be found in a spot like this.

Jan Winther has a blog at this address

http://imagesbyjw.com/2013/03/25/bridal-veil-falls-summer/

Well that is it for now. I will continue the journey on my next post. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

The Reflective Side of Nature

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CameronFalls_0286 (2)

 

In this photo a unique lighting has been created. You have the lighting from the late evening sun drenching the rocks  in the background. Thus creating an orange like hue on the rocks. The rocks in the foreground are now darker for the sun no longer affects them. But there is still a touch of lighting on the rocks to the left. This is what helps to add character to a composition. It is the little detail. There is a nice green tinge to the water in the foreground. This is due to the sun striking the evergreens on the far bank and reflecting on the water. If it had been a little earlier the water would be a golden color due to the stronger strength of the sunlight.

This week I received an Award of excellence for one of my compositions.

You can see the selected works here.

http://www.exhibitionswithoutwalls.com/?page_id=5221

Well that is it for this week. For everyone in this part of the world have a safe Victoria weekend. Until next time happy trails

Photography

A Morning At The Beach

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Wednesday morning I crawled out of bed at 4:45 A M. Loaded my cooler with food and water for the day. Grabbed my camera bag and tripod. My goal was to arrive at Killarney Provincial Park at daybreak. I stopped at Tim Horton’s for my coffee and was soon on my way. I arrived at the park a little after daybreak . The first thing I noticed was that a slight breeze was dancing here  and there on the lake surface. Hmm not so good.

I unloaded my camera gear and set up my equipment behind Turner Point on George Lake. This is a very unique rock point with its own character. Many times what I have seen with this type of conditions is to just create your composition in your viewfinder and wait. It was not too long before the water became smooth again. I was then able to get my shot. One of the problems I had here was that Turner Point was getting a lot of sun. The rock could easily have blown highlights. On the other end of the scale the right side of the photo was in shadow as was part of the mountain side. On the plus side you can see the sunlight highlighting some of the trees on the mountains.

By 8:00 A M the photographing was finished. I packed up and headed for the Chikanishing River. I left the Escape at the parking lot. I picked up the hiking trail that would take me down to the mouth of the Chikanishing River. This river empties into Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. There are beautiful time worn rock structures along the shore line plus some islands dotted here and there. By now it was getting hot. I found a nice spot to rest out of the sun under an evergreen tree with a flat rock to rest my back. I had brought my e reader with me to pass the time. As I was reading I sensed something in front of me. It was a fairly large Garter Snake eyeing me. It stayed there for short time before moving off to my left and going under a rock.

Evening soon came, but no respite from the light breeze. I finally gave up around 8:00 P M. I wanted to be back at my Escape before dark. I was soon on my way home. While traveling on the Killarney highway I came upon a Moose cow with her  twin calves from last year. They are quite scruffy at this time of year.

Well that is it for this week. It was great to finally get out in the outdoors and do some shooting. I will be at the Rubber Boot Festival in Noelville tomorrow.

So until next time happy trails.

Photography

A Late Morning Composition

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OSALake4250

The above photo was taken last Fall at O S A Lake in Killarney Provincial Park.

It was late morning at our campsite. The La Cloche Mountains were ablaze in color.

Paul Smith and I were relaxing with our coffee after a dawn shot.

I happen to look across to the far shore. There is a small cove there.

A small group of evergreens grew here. The sunlight was highlighting these small trees.

I quickly set up my tripod and Canon 7D. My zoom lens is a Canon 28 to 135.

The resulting composition is quite pleasing with the color and lighting.

I will be at the Rubber Boot festival in Noelville this coming Saturday.

http://rubberbootsfestival.com/festival-2013/

I had 4 Special Recognition at the 15 th Annual Contemporary Art Juried Online Juried Art Exhibition by Upstream People Gallery

2 of my works were selected to the RBC Dominion Securities “Art Impact”
Juried Art Show in Sudbury Ontario

This show is up coming sometime in June.

Looking for a Mothers Day gift for Mom.

Check out my books by clicking on the buttons in the top right hand corner.

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

Photography

The Right Flow

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When you can combine falling water with textured rock, a unique scene can be created.

This type of composition is available when the water levels are low. This can be late summer.

I shot the scene late on a clear evening. This way you have even lighting that creates great color.

This late in the evening your shutter speed is anywhere from 1 sec to 30 sec.

The nearer to darkness the slower your shutter speed.

The f-stop is set at f22

The water flows in at the top left and flows out at bottom left.

All that is missing is the sound of running water.

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

 

Photography, Poetry

Brilliance Of Color

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CameronFalls_0142

Late evening of a warm summer day

The sky is cloudless

The sun is low

Somewhere  on a Northern river

The river runs low

The water is pure

The boulders turn chromatic

The scene becomes dramatic

The slow moving water

Is saturated with color

A reflection of gold

With a splashing of blue

The surrounding rocks

Glowing from the diffusion

Of the surrounding colors

Creating a spell-bounding scene

The evening light is fading

The brilliance of color

Lost in the shadows

Of the oncoming night

The composition above is a dramatic micro scene that can be found in and around waterfalls.

You have to look close to find them.

They are  something to behold.

More so when you have it up on your computer screen

Keep a sharp eye out.

On Saturday May 11, I will be at the Rubber Boots Festival in Noelville , Ontario.

I will be set up from 12:00 to 6:00 in the arena with my photographic works

Along with my books.

For more info on the Rubber Boot Festival  go here

http://rubberbootsfestival.com/festival-2013/

While I was in Noelville I checked out the Backstreet Gallery

Great gallery to visit.

http://frcic.com/the-backstreet-gallery/

Well that is it for now.

The weather is beautiful here now

Until next time happy trails

Photography

Missing Ball

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FrenchRiver_2903

I came upon this composition on the French River one late summer morning. The rock structure in front of me was fabulous. It had color and a great amount of texture to go with it. I also put a bit of green grass in the foreground to add contrast. There was an island in front of me. I used a small portion of this island as my background. There is lots of color on and around theses rock formations. In between the water was calm. This gave me great reflections to tie in everything from front to back. You can also see the bottom of the river in the foreground for a nice effect. When I first looked at this composition I noticed a small beach ball by the grass, floating in the water. I can not remember whether I had seen this when I took the composition.

Thank you everyone for stopping by. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Morning On The French

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FrenchRiver_3046

A beautiful late summer morning on the French River, French River Provincial Park. As you can see in the composition above the early morning light is illuminating the scene on the left. The rocks on the far shore are now highlighted by the morning light. A touch of mist to add to the mood.You will notice that there are rocks in shadow where the sun has yet to appear.

Our snowstorm is over and looking forward to warmer weather now. Well that is it for now. Until next time happy trails
Photography

A Fall View

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johnscreekMatte138

A winter storm has blown in this morning. Spring has been cold here so far.So I thought I would post a lovely Fall scene. This composition was taken at the bottom of The Ladder on John’s Creek in the Onaping area. There was not full color of Fall. But enough color to highlight the scene. I captured the slow moving water  with its unique patterns from the water flow. The rocks in foreground  give depth. Gorgeous colored reflections and color on the rocks. This scene was also taken in late evening. A lovely composition to enjoy on a stormy day.

Below are two painting produced by local Sudbury artist Bill Whitaker.

For more of Bill’s work check here.

http://billwhittaker.scarf.ca/

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