Tag Archives: river

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

Sculptured by Nature

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HighFalls_0413

 

What a beautiful day this past Sunday. Plus 6 C and lots of sun. I spent a late afternoon and evening exploring High Falls looking for possible compositions. The above capture was the last photo I took that evening. The shapes and patterns of the snow and ice are very interesting. My goal here was to put all theses forms into a composition. When you look at the sculptured snow and ice you can see a tremendous amount of detail. On the snow on the left you can see scoured lines leading down and towards the middle of the scenes. I placed a bit of water in the left bottom to give some color contrast. There are remarkable amount of detail along the waters edge. By placing the right hand curved piece in the foreground I accomplished more depth to the scene.

Do not forget to join me and my fellow artists at the Sudbury Art Club’s Spring Show and Exhibition on April 11TH, 12th, 13Th, 2014

Well that is it until next time. Happy trails

Photography

High Falls, Levack

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High_Falls_Levack_0307b

Last Sunday I took an early evening trip up to High Falls. I parked where the locals slide down the hill. There were a couple families having fun. It was a nice sunny day with moving clouds. The temperature was -8 C with some wind. Gathering up my gear, I trudged up the hill, located the path to the bridge and started a downhill journey that appeared to be slippery at times. The bridge soon appeared ahead and I was greeted to a display of streaking shadows and sunlight over the undulating snow bound river. It was very easy to notice the many shapes and forms that the wind had created in the snow. There were open areas of rushing water that cascaded between the snow and ice. As I walked to the middle of the bridge, I spotted something black moving across the white snow. It was a mink going from one open stretch of water to another.

The best photographing here is between 4 and 6 in late afternoon. At this time of day the shadows are becoming long. The sunlight is filtering through the trees to create an ever changing patterns with the sculptured snow forms. You can get tremendous depth with this type of scenario.

The trails were well beaten here. Near the end of my stay I took a trail that followed the river on its downward descent. I had just finished photographing from the bridge. As I walked the trail, I spotted some gold reflection in the water ahead of me. I walked off the trail about ten feet packing down the snow as I went. I found a spot to set up my tripod and Canon eos 7D. I set up for a vertical shot. I had some branches ahead that I had to remove in Photoshop. The main reason for the vertical was to eliminate as many branches as possible. At the same time I wanted to put in the foreground the beautifully formed snow with its curves and lighting. Vertical shots of flowing water seem to add to the direction of movement by the water coursing on its journey.

The golden reflection in the water creates a very unique aspect along with the blue on the snow and ice. Now I purposely left the blue coloring on the snow in the foreground. I feel it adds to the overall sense of the composition. You will not see the blue with the naked eye. The color blue is common in shade areas.   Correcting for blue snow can be as easy as selecting the “Shade” white balance setting on your camera before you begin shooting. You can also remove the blue cast in Photoshop and Lightroom by moving the blue saturation slider to the left. I love the effect of the blue in this composition. Thus I have taken artist licensing with this piece of work.

Well that is it for now. Join me and the Sudbury Art Club at the annual Spring Art Show. For more info check there website.

http://sudburyartclub.blogspot.ca/

I have updated my Fine Art Page with a new addition. So check it out

Until next time happy trails.

 

 

Photography

Winter Shoreline Patterns

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Sudbury_0162

With the weather warming up I decided to go on a mid morning hike. Gathering up my camera gear, I drove to the Fielding Park parking lot. It was a bright cloudy day. Thus making for even lighting. I crossed the Fielding Road and picked up the trail that follows  the river flowing out of Kelly Lake. It was a beautiful morning. There was no wind. There was fresh snow on the ground. The evergreens had a blanket of snow. So nice to be there.

As I traversed the trail I was met by a lone chickadee flirting from branch to branch above my head. On the river ahead of me was a large flock of Common Mergansers. Walking on I spotted a dip in the far shoreline with interesting patterns. There were tracks following the shoreline that could add interest to the scene. Those tracks had to be an old set of tracks as there was a covering of snow in them.

I set up on the trail with my tripod. If you stepped off the trail you were in deep snow. I set this up as a tight shot. Up in the left hand side their is a clump of vegetation. But most important you will see a diagonal line running down to the water’s edge. This will help give more depth to the photo. I kept the water to a minimal to just allow the reflections to show. There is tremendous detail to be had in this composition. I must say that the tracks help create this scene.

The weather is changing here. It is warming up. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

The Chippewa Falls

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ChipawaFalls

About 30 miles North of Sault Ste Marie, one will come upon the Chippewa Falls. It is quite visible from Hwy 17. The Chippewa River empties into Lake Superior a short distance away. On our trip up to Wawa last October, Maureen and I stopped in to have a look at the falls. There was a fair amount of water cascading down due to all the rain that fell this Fall. We parked in the available parking lot. There were fishermen here below the falls fishing the pools for fall run salmon. I walked up along the trail that followed the river to observe were I might get the best shot. I selected the above location for my composition. I had a point of rock for my foreground. This also created depth in the photo. The water exits out of the bottom left corner and enters at the top right corner.

It was still cloudy to achieve even lighting and give the colored leafs more saturation. I quickly set up my tripod and my Canon EOS 7D. I knew the lighting was going to change very soon as blue sky was appearing in the distance. The final result was what you see above. The Fall color in background to give you the time of year. The rugged rocks along the river that have very good color. The force and energy of the flowing water add dynamics to the overall effects of the composition.

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

Photography

The River Flows

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Paradise_1566

 

The idea of this composition is to show the beautiful rock texture and the color of the water. With that in mind I have my flow in with the waterfalls in background. Flow out of the water at the bottom right corner of the composition. The tripod was set low to eliminate some water in the upper pool. On the left of the composition the rock in foreground gives added depth. I experimented with various shutter speeds to obtain character in the water. The water here is a wonderful turquoise blue. There is just enough green to give a final touch. There is also a little wildflower growing on the rock in the foreground. This location was in the Wolf Lake area North of Kukagami Lake region.

That is it for now. Thank you for stopping by. 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

Beam of Light

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Mile31051

Strolling along the riverbank of the Aux Sauble River, North of Massey Ontario. It was late afternoon. I saw this beam of light highlighting a clump of grass on the far shoreline. Keeping the composition tight and keeping the rocks on the left for structure. Looking behind that clump of grass there was vegetation being highlighted by the beam of light. I will also tell you that there are high hills on either side of the river. That is why you will get these beams of light in late afternoon. By evening this area will be in shadow.

The water is slowly moving here. A nice yellow reflection is cast on the river. I quickly set up my tripod and Canon 7D. In situations like this you must be quick. You do not know how long you have to get the composition. It could be a minute or ten minutes. So speed is of ultimate importance. I do not have to think how I will compose a shot. I do it automatically. Another factor when photographing along rivers like this is that the wind is not as much of a problem as opposed to being on a lake with a wide expanse of water.

Well that is it for now. Thanks for the comments and dropping by. Spring is just around the corner. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

Making Use of Rock Structures

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Mile3_1116

A short half hour canoe ride brings you to a stretch of fast water that has some interesting photo opportunities. The location is the Aux Sauble River North of Massey Ontario. This scene was interesting in that on the West side of the river was an unique rock structure. The face of the rock was smooth and dished from constant wear by water over countless years. There is a nice overhang of Pine branches on the far shoreline. I set up my tripod and my Canon 7D to use the rock structure on the right as my lead in to the composition.

Well that is it for this week. Thanks for stopping by. 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.