Tag Archives: side lighting

El Chile, A Poem

_MG_9904

 

Off in the distant

The mountains stand tall

In the converging mist

The morning air cool

The sun not yet appeared

Dark shadows cover the highlands

It is the season to be dry

 

The Rio Trentino meanders

Through the lower valley

Arching boughs over the water

Of a near dry river bed

Mist rises from the river

To mingle with the smoke

Of the breakfast fires

From the brick and mud chozas

 

The sky becomes enlightened

The mountains and highlands

Ghostly in the moving mist

Open fields cover the hillsides

In shades of green and brown

Ganado appear on the exposed hills

Flights of Garza wing overhead

Gleaming snow white in the mist

To land among the Ganado

Feeding on stirred up insects

As the Ganado graze

 

The air is alive

With flights of parrots

Flocking to the soybean fields

For their morning feed

The air is warming

The sun rays filtering

Through the shadowy mist

To enlighten the highlands

With bands of light

 

Black Vultures take to the skies

To catch the air thermos

Warming in the morning air

Gliding high above the land

Searching for carrion

The throaty haunting cries

Of the Congo monkeys

Echoes upon the mountains

As they feed upon fruit and leaves

High in the tree branches

Along the Rio Trentino River

 

The mist is thinning

A sun lit El Chile emerges

From the swirling mist

Regal and graceful behind

The rolling sunlit hills

Billowing white clouds appear

A golden glow enshrines

The rugged mountain scene

A momentary spectacle

That is soon lost

The wind is increasing

Blowing from the north

A haze now appears

With the mist frittering away

Leaving a hazy scene

As the morning advances

Wolf Lake Part 4

WolfLake_1440

 

Monday morning dawned with no photo opportunities available.  Toasting bagels for breakfast with a steaming cup of coffee sure started the day right. It was a relaxing morning. But all good things come to an end. Thus we packed up, loaded the canoe and made our way to the landing. Pulling up on shore a young couple pulled in behind us. Tim and I quickly unloaded to give them room to pull in. This was a young couple hailing all the way from Pennsylvania USA. They were on a one week canoe trip here. The  lad had ripped his knee open on the rocks somewhere. He was toughen it out though. Tim and I soon had my Ford Escape loaded with the canoe tied down. Before long we  where  at Highway 17E . Tim loaded his gear into his SUV. Shaking hands and saying our goodbyes we parted once again. A great trip. I told Tim I was stopping at the first Tim Horton’s for lunch.

I ordered a soup and chicken salad sandwich.  As I was busy eating my lunch, I noticed Tim standing there with a very worried look on his face. Tim asked me if I had seen his camera bag in my Escape. Saying no, I headed out to check. We were worried that the camera might be back at Wolf Lake. A quick search did not reveal his camera bag. Tim then checked his backpack and there was his camera bag. So all ended well and we parted once again.

I first saw this scene from our campsite. I love it when you can find side lighting as such. It  adds such magic to a composition. What you really have to watch here is that you do not blow out the highlights on the rocks. With the rocks a light grey and the lighting being a little harsh this can happen.

This concludes my first trip into Wolf Lake. It was very enjoyable. I hope to be back soon. So until next time happy trails.

Keep it Simple

FoxLakeRd_1956

 

It was late Sunday afternoon when I turned off Hwy 144 North of Onaping onto the Chicago Mine Road. It was a beautiful sunny day with cloud cover. The wind was minimal. I drove past Windy Lake Provincial Park. It seemed to be closed for the season. There are a number of small  lakes along this stretch of road. I was heading to the Ladder on John’s Creek. It is located off of Fox Lake Road.

As I drove along I spotted the above scene on the far shore of a small lake by the road. The lighting was beautiful and it was fairly calm water with the slight ripple. I set up my tripod. Mounted my Canon 7D. I switched to the Canon 70 to 200 L Series lens. My objective here was for a tight vertical shot without overloading the composition. Keep it simple. We have a lot of vertical lines here in the form of tree trunks. They add a grey cast to offset the greens and yellows.

On the shoreline there is a nice clump of shrubs growing to give depth. The sun is to the right and as it is getting later in the year it is much lower to the horizon, allowing for some very good lighting. The sun is casting light on various parts of the scene. I used only a small portion of the reflections for a better effect. What you have here is basically 1/3 water and 2/3 forest. This is like taken a pair of scissors and cutting out the part of the scene you want.

I have added a new print available for sale. It can be found in the Fine Art Prints section on my blog.

I received an honorable mention at the My Art 2013 juried Landscape Completion

http://myartcontest.com/winners-feb.html

I will be set up at the Anderson Farm Fall Fair in Lively Ontario this coming Saturday.

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

Around The Bend,Onaping Lake

As Gerard Leduc and I slowly motored in and around large and small islands.I was on the lookout for photographic compositions.We had already eaten supper and it was still early evening.As we moved in and out of various channels I noticed the above location.At the moment the lighting was still harsh.I figured another hour would be needed for the sun to get lower in the sky and soften up the scene.This particular set up had very strong side-lighting.I truly love this type of set up when I can find it.

After a waiting for the sun to get lower on the horizon we headed to a predetermined location to set up our camera gear.With the suns location we had the background a bit darker and the foreground awash with sunlight.This gives separation front to back.The rocky shoreline breaks up all the green and yellow that predominates the scene.The calm waters gave a lovely reflection adding to the overall scene.

I shot the scene by bracketing.There being so much differential in the lighting.When I returned home I was thus able to process the images in a HDR program.But I went straight into Photoshop to finish it off.I did not want to create a HDR image.I only wanted to open the shadow areas.

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

Light Up The Hills

With the warm early morning sunlight splashing the mountainsides decorated with fall color here and there.I quickly looked about for some foreground to give the photo depth.I was standing on the North shoreline of O S A Lake near the West end of the lake.There was a couple of interesting stunted pines on a island in front of me.By using part of the island to fill in the photo and add depth I created the above composition.Keeping the stunted trees to the left for added interest yet at the same time allowing a clear view of the hills to be shown allowed for a fairly open view.A touch of color on the water in the form of reflections adds to the overall look.The added bonus was the side lighting on the island to add some very good contrast.

These type of photos do not come around everyday.You just have to be there and be aware of what is happening around you.If you do not find what you want today,then next time you may.In other words Nature creates the scene with the available lighting and you must be aware of it.It helps to explore various locations you would like to shoot.If nothing also you have enjoyed the beauty of the land before you along with the peace and quiet of a wilderness setting.

That is it for this week.Thank you everyone for all the comments.So until next time happy trails