Tag Archives: Water Falls

Photography

Spring Thaw

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HighFalls_0460

 

This past Sunday I headed back up to High Falls for another shoot. A beautiful sunny afternoon with a temperature of 10 C. The snow had deteriorated since the week before. Being much softer you had a tenancy to sink once in awhile. I walked the trail to the bridge above the falls. It was walk up, then walk down. The snow was also slippery in spots.

The river had opened up a fair bit. The roar of rushing water quite noticeable.  The volume of water was higher from my previous trip. There was more open water to work with. The snow surface was now pitted from the hot sun. Chunks of ice were floating down river. The water was dark with a heavy yellow tinge. I composed the above scene to emphasize the chaotic nature of a Spring thaw on a waterfalls. I emphasized the dramatic flow of water. The chunks of ice breaking off from the river’s edge adds great detail.

This is probably my last trip here until the snows has melted. It won’t be long until the river is fully open and the volume of water too high for effective photographing. As I was waiting for the evening lighting, I met up with a gentleman on the trail. He was carrying a Pentax DSR. We had a good chat for awhile. We then moved off in different directions.

This weekend is the Sudbury Art Club’s Spring Show and Exhibition. If you are in the area please join us. While that is it for now. 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

When The Mood Is Right

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CameronFalls224

For the type of photographic work that I do, I am reliant on Mother Natures many moods. When everything comes together it sure is a treat. The right lighting, calmness of the wind and also the view that is presented before you. The above composition was located at the bottom of Cameron Falls on the Aux Sauble River North of Massey. The sun was now below the horizon. Darkness was descending quite rapidly. The color and detail of the surrounding rocks was immaculate. The rock structure in the background created a canyon effect. This in turn added immensely to the depth of the photo. With a slow shutter speed I was able to show the water flow of the river. I placed a small part of a rock structure in the foreground that emphasized my theory of flow in flow out. I had to be quick as time was important here with darkness coming on fast.

On of the coolest things is to be standing there and watch as the changing lighting effects your surrounds. The colors take on a more vibrant look. Detail becomes more pronounced.  Then there is total darkness as if a switch has been pulled. The golden moment of light. Thank you Mother Nature.

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

Photography

Duchesnay Falls North Bay

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Happy New Year everyone.This is my first blog for 2011.2010 was a successful year blogging as I had over a 1000 views to my blog.I want to thank everyone for visiting and to continue to do so.

I am not much into photographing during the winter.My free time is taken up cutting firewood for next winter.I also spend the winter printing out select photos for upcoming shows and displays.

I had the opportunity to spend some time at Duchesnay Falls located just West of North Bay. My wife Maureen and I were heading for Southern Ontario for a week long visit with friends in Newtonville . We left home early Monday morning the 27 September 2010. It was a cloudy day when we arrived at Duchesnay Falls.The time was about 10 am.

Duchesnay Falls offers a 3 km trail that makes a loop.This is a very picturesque location,especially in the Fall.I parked in the parking lot and Maureen decided that she would get some shut eye well I photographed. Grabbing my camera gear I picked up the trail and headed along the waterway.My first site was a picnic table being used by someone.The person had a tarp over the table and was curled up under it in a sleeping bag.

This made me a little nervous in regards to my wife back at the truck.I thought well I am not going to be that long so I continued on my hike.There was not full Fall color but enough to enrich my photos.There was a fair amount of water cascading down and Being a cloudy day I was a little concerned about getting fast enough shutter speed and maintaining my f11 f-stops.The above photo was shot at the upper end of the falls with a zoom setting of 65 mm.The shutter speed  was set at 0.5 sec @ f22.I used the colorful leaves to frame the top part of the photo .The rushing water creates a curved line with flow in and flow out.The rocks give added depth.The one thing I had to watch out for was too much foam in the water.

 

I was able to capture the above scene by creating an S-curve with the running water.The colorful leaves and evergreens added  color and depth to my photo.You will notice that the water is a tea color that is common in Northern Ontario.I took this photo with a zoom setting of 41 mm.The shutter speed was set at 0.6 sec @ f29.I was able to capture a wonderful depth with this shot.Again the water flows from the top of the photo to the bottom of the photo.

The last photo was taken of one of the waterfalls on the Duchesnay water system.The waterfalls was a fairly decent drop and I wanted a tight shot with the leaves creating a frame.I set this shot up so that I had rocks in the foreground to created depth .The zoom was set at 44 mm.The shutter speed  was at 1/5 sec @ f22.

I returned to the truck and Maureen was still asleep.I saw no signs of the person that was sleeping under the picnic table as I didn’t pass that way on my return.There was a couple more cars in the parking lot now.

This is a worth while trip to Duchesnay Falls where many photographic opportunities await you.I will be going back next Fall when the the leaves are in full color.I was a week too early. So until next time happy trails.