Tag Archives: Outdoors

Photography

From Dark to Bright

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BirchCreek1984

I have been going through my files and redoing a lot of my work. I now have Adobe CS6 loaded on my desktop. Cs6 has been greatly upgraded to the better. I highly recommend upgrading to it. Let me tell you, CS6 will improve on your work.

Getting to the photo above. This was taken on a Fall day trip a couple years back. The left side of the shoreline had some interesting rocks covered with green moss as well as a mossy ground cover. Some fallen leaves to break the color. But the problem was that the foreground was sheltered by overhanging trees. Being late afternoon it had become quite dark there. The background was the other extreme. Due to the low sun shining on the background creating a very bright scene there.

I set up my tripod very low. This meant that I had to lay on the ground. I proceeded to take a number of exposures at different shutter speeds without changing my f-stops, that were set at f22. Uploading the files I selected the dng file I wanted and came up with the above composition. It was a matter of opening up the foreground to what I wanted. The flowing water I wanted to have character there. This has all to do with your shutter speed. I wanted to show the power of the water here.

I was selected to the 2013 Quest Art 9th Annual Juried Art Show Midland. The show runs from Mar. 8 – May 4. I will be at the reception. If anyone that comes here for a visit please come to the reception and we can have a chat.

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

 

Photography

Color Along The River

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Westbranch7801

Last Fall Paul Smith and I were wandering along the Wakanasin River. Paul and I had looked at this scene many times but could not put it together. We looked at it during many seasons other than Winter. Up the Westbranch there is not a lot of Maple and Oak for the red and orange Fall colors. There is mostly Evergreens, Birch and Poplar in this part of the country.

I stepped out in the water to set up this composition. Having placed the tripod and camera I set about composing the above scene. There was cloud cover, which cut the glare of the sun on the running water. You can just make out some reflection, reddish orange on the right in the crystal clear water.

Well that is it for this week. Until next week, happy Trails.

 

Photography

View of Silver Peak

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David7459

Two years ago my wife Maureen and I made a five day trip into David Lake by Bell Lake in Killarney Provincial Park. After carrying over the first portage with our canoe and gear we took an extended break. This was Maureen’s first trip out since before the kids were born. That is going back at least thirty years now. I spotted Silver Peak to my left. There was a piece of narrow swamp leading my eye to Silver Peak. So I thought this might be interesting. Keeping some shoreline on the left to lead the eye to the swamp which you then follow up to Silver Peak. Silver Peak is the highest elevation in the La Cloche Mountain Range. It rises to a height of 1782 feet. Silver Peak is a very popular destination for hikers to take in the view from the top.

I have just completed a softcover book through Blurb. There is also an ebook available as well. Check them out here.

http://www.blurb.ca/my/book/detail/3996210-wilderness-scenes

 

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

 

Photography

Pinkish Mist

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VermillionRiver3739

Daybreak on the Vermillion River. The mist was rolling down the river at a good pace. There is a rocky point of land on the West side of the river. Loading up my camera gear I made my way over to the rocky point. The rock structure here is rather unique in that it has good detail and many rock faces. The neat thing was the sun was creating a pinkish glow in the mist. I set up my tripod and Canon EOS 7D to compose a photo. The biggest problem I had here was with the mist. I had to wait a bit before I could see the rocky point. The greenery gives a break in the scene along with the little Maple in its Fall glory.

Well that is it for this week. We are in the middle of a pretty good cold snap here in Sudbury Ontario. So, until next time happy trails.

Photography

Abstract and Color in Nature

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Westbranch0147

It is a beautiful sunny day. It is late afternoon, mid June. The ferns scattered along the river bank are a lovely lemon green color. There is a slight breeze so the bugs are not too bad yet. It is always a joy to walk the shoreline of a river looking for photographic opportunities. As the sun lowers on the horizon the surface of the water takes on the colors of its surroundings. A great time to look for abstract type of compositions. I came across some rock just below the river’s surface that created some interesting water flow and color. The trick here after setting up your tripod and camera ad getting the composition you like is to take a number of shots at different shutter speeds. This will allow for different looks to the movement of water in your photo. Then it is just a matter of selecting the one you like on your computer.

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

 

Photography

Mist and The Maple Tree

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VermillionRiver3732

It was just after sunrise on the Vermillion River near my home. It was one of my many trips to the river to photograph. It was Fall and the colors were very nice. The mist was heavy that morning. I saw a maple tree across the river being lit up by the early morning sun. I proceeded to set up my tripod and Canon 7D. It was just a matter of waiting for the mist to thin out a bit. I managed to capture the above composition of the Maple Tree in all its Fall glory.

Well that is it for this week. Thank you for stopping by and for the comments. Until next week happy trails.

Photography

A Tight Composition

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BirchMaple

Last Fall I spent a couple of evenings looking for compositions of Birch Trees and Red Maple leaves. In previous posts you will come across the Birch and Maple theme. The Birch Trees have marvellous texture on their trunks. So this time I decided to find something that I could do up close. Strolling through a grove of Birch Trees I came across the above composition. I set up the Canon EOS 7D on the tripod for a vertical shot. There was a blackish piece on the white trunk where maybe at one time there had been a branch. It formed a V shape. Using this as a focal point and the red Maple leaves surrounding it, a composition was created.

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

Photography

One Enchanting Evening

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VermillionRiver3944

A beautiful enchanting even. The air is warm. Not a breath of wind is stirring. The moon has risen. The river is at peace. There is Fall colors in abundance. This is the scene that I came upon one evening last Fall on the Vermillion River. It is a wonderful experience to be part of nature when Mother Earth shows this side of her to you. To sit by the shoreline and absorb all this around you.

Well the holidays are over, it will soon be time to plan this year’s trips. I myself am looking forward to Spring. Thank you for stopping by and until next time happy trails.

Photography

Golden Light

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Westbranch802712

Happy New Year everyone. The above photo is a story of light. Take away that light and you just have an ordinary photo. The first thing that the lighting does is make the little pine tree stand out from the background. I purposely kept this shot tight so as not to have the lighting become too overpowering. There is just a touch of mist. The small piece of rock helps to add depth along with some darker evergreens. The background is as if a painter took a brush and painted the evergreens a golden yellow. All of this is reflected in the water in the foreground.

How does this happen? Mid November, the sun is low on the horizon. This means that it is late in the day before this side of the lake sees any sunlight. On the left side of the photo is a fairly steep hill covered in Pine trees. right down to the waters edge. The morning sunlight filters through the trees to highlight the little pine tree and create the above composition.

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

Photography

The Nature of Light

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Killarney0059Print

This photo was taken on a small creek that runs out of Johnny  Lake in Killarney Provincial Park. My partner, Paul Smith and I were exploring along the creek. As we made our way through wooded growth to the shoreline , I suddenly noticed the strong glow of lighting on the grasses and trees. Now there was cloud cover moving overhead rather quickly. This meant the sunlight came and went. It was late afternoon so the angle of light was right. Moving quickly I set up my tripod and Canon 7D at the creeks edge. Due to the large amount of green and yellow I kept the reflections to a minimum. The dead wood broke up the mass of green on the right. There is shadow in the background and the creek takes a bend. It was a matter of waiting for the sun to pop out from behind the moving clouds. This photo shows you what the right lighting can do to your composition. Normally this would be just an ordinary shot.

Well that is it for this week. I thank you all who came for a visit. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone and there families a Merry Christmas, especially the little ones. The campfire is beckoning and the tea is ready. So until next time happy trails