Along the West Branch Road North of Webbwood Northern Ontario.
This is a panoramic.
Running water,
Far from the maddening crowd.
In this time of a panoramic. It would be nice to stretch out on the rocks on the left.
Close your eyes. The sound of running water music to the ears.
Great memories
In 2014 I spent a great deal of time exploring the shorelines of Lake Superior in Ontario.
I was attracted by this formation of rock with its covering of moss. To get the best detail and color I photographed in the late evenings
Premier Lake, Premier Provincial Park, BC
Late evening, low lighting
A touch of yellow. Dense evergreen forests. Rock structure. Plenty of driftwood.
This made for a nice misty, dreamy scene. Simple and effective.
Very strong on the greens in various shades.
A hint of reflections
With the wind still blowing, the fire’s edge was approaching a gully. I used this clump of hard soil standing like a rock for my foreground. There by creating some depth.
I caught a splash of color between a group of buildings, following the highway North of La Dalia. We parked the truck at road’s edge. With the morning’s mist upon the Peñas Blancas in the background. A splash of yellow in the foreground, I captured the above composition.
Walking the beaches at Pukaskwa National Park on an August evening 2013 turned up some interesting subject matter. With the lowering sun creating warm and interesting lighting on the surrounding landscape. I came across this rock just out from the beach. The waning sunlight brought out the colors on this particular rock along with the intricate patterns on the rock surface. The constant pounding and flow of water over this rock creates smoothness and patterns. The water was not calm that evening. But with the lowering light comes slower shutter speeds to give that dreamy effect of the flowing water. You can see the light touching the back right corner of the rock bringing out the colors. These are the little things that I look for when looking for subject material.
As I drove along the Matagamasi Road, a swampy pond was soon sighted. There was a gentle slopping hill in the background. A growth of young Pine trees covered the hillside. The vegetation on the forest floor was in the early stages of decay. Fall was in full swing. It was a cloudy day with a stillness in the air. It had rained the night before. The Pine trunks had a starkness to them. The earth tone colors consisted of greens, yellows, reddish brown to shades of grey. There was a sense of tranquility about this scene. There was the softness to the earth tone colors. A feeling of peacefulness and placidity to be had.
I set up my tripod in my selected location. I had to shoot across a small body of water. I fastened my Canon EOS 7D to the ball head. I set up the camera for a vertical shot. Thus I would be in harmony with the vertical Pine trunks. There were two objects here that appeared to me. The small outcrop of rocks. The rustic reddish-brown of the ferns. With that in mind, I placed two Pine trees in the foreground. The Pine needles in the upper left greatly added to the depth. The small rock outcrop was now in the middle to offset some color as well as more depth to the scene. The Fall turned colors of the fern circling the larger Pine tree in the background create that added touch.
This is a scene created to give that sense of restfulness and harmony to be viewed upon after a chaotic day. A day in the woods brings a sense of peacefulness and solitude. This is the quiet side of Mother Nature. The majority of my work is meant to create those moments for people to view.
Christmas is over. My wife and I had a great Christmas with my youngest grand kids, 2,4,6. So until next time happy trails.
Exploring the Georgian Bay shoreline in Killbear Provincial Park on a cool Fall evening, a series of small rocks appeared before me. I thought now this would make an interesting composition. The rocks were of different color and texture. The sloping rocky points in background gave depth along with added color. It was still early evening and I decided to keep on exploring. I would return later when the lighting would be much improved.
Returning just after the sun had lowered to the horizon, the above scene was captured with much warmer lighting to enhance the color of the rock structures. I set my tripod up very low. I was on my knees to get the effect I wanted. With a slower shutter speed I was able to smooth out the water to a nice pleasing ripple. The setting sun created a nice yellow glow on the water. The lichen scattered on the slopping rock adds a nice touch. It is all the little things that add up to a good composition. This is a place to just sit and relax to enjoy the view before you before darkness sets in.
I would like to share with you the work of Carole Rodrigue. Carole is a still life artist specializing in contemporary realism. She is a proud member of the International Guild of Realism.
To view still life art at its best, check out Carole’s Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/CaroleRodrigueartist
It is getting cold in my part of the country. Christmas is coming. I have to get my Christmas shopping done. I am working on another book to be published next year. I have been accepted at the American Juried Art Salon’s 19th International Art Contest. One of my photos received a perfect score. More to come later.
For that unique Christmas gift check out my Fine Art Print Page.
https://kenben.org/fine-art-prints/
Or maybe a book of photos and poetry of Northern Ontario wilderness.
Thank you for stopping in. Until next time happy trails
This past week I had the opportunity to do some exploring in Grundy Provincial Park. The park is closed for the season now. We parked our vehicle outside the main entrance. Gerard Leduc was my partner for the trip. It was a very nice afternoon. A fresh coolness on the air as we walked among the pines and maples. Quiet and peaceful at this time of year without the seasonal campers. We attempted to take the Gut Lake trail but encountered an overflowing creek that prevented us from continuing on. We then picked up a route that ran between Gut Lake and Gurd Lake. As we walked we spotted a couple of Ruffed Grouse along the way. This trail ended at the Gurd Lake dam. We backtracked and followed the road until we came opposite Picnic Island on Gurd Lake. We noticed a small point with a pine tree growing basically on top of the rock. Cloud cover was moving in now. I saw a cluster of boulders that would make for a good foreground. The rock point was sloping towards the water. The reddish pine needles in the rock crevices added texture to the scene. You can see the roots of the tree running over the rock. I added just a touch of green in the foreground to balance the color. The moon is just visible at the top of the photo. I also added the second pine tree on the right. I just showed enough of the larger tree to balance out the composition. The sunset was poor, but you can see some color on the horizon in the background. Surprisingly the wind did calm down enough to allow some reflections. But on the whole I kept the water to a minimum. This shot was taken at 2.5 sec at f22. The result was the above composition.
Well that is it for now. I am just waiting for a break in the weather here. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time happy trails.
On Tuesday I drove up the Matagamasi Road for a late evening shoot at Bassfin Lake. This lake is easily accessible from the road, making it ideal for photographing. Bassfin Lake has a variety of islands to work with. The shorelines have some interesting rock structures to work with. This is also a lake to capture some interesting sunsets. What I am always after is rock structures and trees.
Upon arrival there was a bit of wind blowing. As the sun lowered to the horizon the wind started to abate. With the sun almost at the horizon point I captured the above scene that was a point of land jutting into the lake. The sun was filtering through the scattering of evergreens to create some very interesting light patterns. This is the type of lighting that can turn an ordinary scene into a thing of beauty. The water in the foreground is kept to a minimal. The rock on the shoreline gives depth and added contrast to the scene. This is Northern Ontario. As the sun went down the misquotes came swarming around me. I had to step back from my camera in hopes of keeping them from messing up my photos. If there are too many in front of the lens, you will end up with blurry spots in the composition. Another issue at the moment is pine pollen. This stuff is everywhere. In the water, in the air and on land. Whichever way the wind is blowing you will see the yellowish green pollen along the shoreline.
The 36th Annual La Cloche Art Show is coming up. For more info on submissions and dates check here.
http://laclocheartshow.wordpress.com/
Well that is it for this week. Thank you for stopping by. Until next week happy trails
Ken Bennison's Photography 