Tag Archives: water

Photography

Rocky Shorelines

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As I travel through the many lakes in Killarney Provincial Park,I am always on the lookout for various rock structures along the shoreline.The right combination to create a pleasing composition are not common.But with a watchful eye you will find these rocky shorelines.Also a quiet evening or morning gives the total reflection and some very neat patterns.Look at this as a geometric pattern.

Mid day creates harsh lighting on the rock surface.Evenings the rocks can take on a totally new look with the soft lighting available.The detail in the rocks become intensified.The above photo emphasizes the rock structure.By placing the first point in the foreground to show the texture of the rock,leave a space of water for the reflections that added very interesting patterns and also to  tie everything together.The dark background of evergreens creates the sharp contrast with the rock points.

 

This next photo was created by turning the camera 180 degrees and photographing from the opposite direction.Again placing the first rocky point in the foreground with some green vegetation for added contrast.A span of water for your reflections to tie it all in.I also like it when the evergreens reflect into the water for that added depth.So by standing in one spot you are able to capture two very nice compositions.So next time out on the water watch for those unique rock structures along the shorelines and come back when the lighting is right.

Well that is it for this week.I am counting down the weeks now until my first trip back into the park.Spring appears to be here now.So until next time happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

Pond Life

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Showy cup like flowers

Begin to open

In the mid-morning warmth

Like stars from heaven

Floating gently among lily pads

A white-tailed doe

Knee deep in the water

Lifts her elegant head

Lily pads dangle

From her dripping muzzle

Ever alert to signs of danger

Dark colored nymphs

Cling to the pond vegetation

Waiting as their wings emerge

To dry in the sun

Before flying over the pond

As an adult dragonfly

An Eastern King-bird waiting on a perch

Darts over the water

Catching an unsuspecting dragonfly

Perched high in a cattail

A Red-winged blackbird

Belts out his conk-la-ree song

He displays his shoulder patch

Of scarlet and yellow

For all to see

His streaky brown mate

Skulks through the undergrowth

In search of food

A blue heron standing motionless

In search of prey

An unsuspecting frog breaks the surface

With a blur of motion

The heron grabs its prey

With a lift of wings

The blue heron is airborne

To feed its young

The sun is waning

The shadows are long

The white lilies are closing

To signal the end of a day

In and around a beaver pond is full of life.It is so enjoyable to sit and watch the activity happening around you.

Here is a blog by a young lady that I have gotten to know on Fine Arts of America.

http://runoverandrightat.blogspot.com/

Do check it out.Very nicely done and a very talented lady

Well that is it for this week.Thank you for your wonderful comments and until next week happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

The River’s Edge Part 3

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As I travel onward

Boulders line the river’s edge

Nimble of foot I step

From boulder to boulder

Careful not to slip

The river now passes

Around and over many

A well-worn rock

The sun is at its zenith

The air is warm

A shaded rock beckons

For a traveller to rest

I ease my self down

My back against the smooth rock

My eyes close slowly

The sound of running water

Music to my ear

The soft rustling of leaves

above my sagging head

As a gentle breeze

Caresses the surrounding trees

I sense something near

Upon opening my eyes

A timber wolf ambling along

Head down to the rocks

On the far shore

Suddenly it stops,looks at me

With a sense of curiousity

We look eye to eye

As quickly as it came

Like a ghost it merges

Back into the wilderness

From where it came

An encounter not often seen

It is now time to move on

To follow the river’s edge.

Thank you everyone for your comments.

This is a great way to pass the winter writing poems about my wilderness adventures.I am having fun and I hope all you folks are too.So until next time happy trails.

Photography

A Spring Outing

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The sun was shining,the sky was blue and Paul Smith and myself headed up the Westbranch to see what was available to photograph.I had just traded in my Canon Tsi Dsr for a Canon 7D.This was a chance to try out the 7D and become familiar with it.

This is actually a pretty drab time of year with not a whole lot of color and the ice and remaining snow being on the dirty side.The Wakonasin was ice free for the most part.I did not find the water levels very high for this time of year.

Our destination was Gordon Chutes about 30 km up the Westbranch.Upon arrival we decided to sit and enjoy a hot cup of tea and blueberry muffin before hiking along the river.We hiked up to the upper end of the falls and I was able to do some tight shots with the rocks and water flow.The above photo was a result of that.I used the rocks and water flow to design my composition.The rocks have a pleasing color to them and you will see that the small pool has green colored water.I shot the scene with the zoom at 135.The shutter speed was set at 1/13 of a sec with f22.This allowed me to achieve definition in the water that I always strive to accomplish when the water flow is fairly fast.When you have detail in the water you give the water character.

Later in the day a fine cloud cover came in and changed our lighting.The wind was cold as is typical at this time of year.I was more than please with my new Canon 7D and I am looking forward to many more outings with the camera.That is it for this week,so for now happy trails.

Photography

Creatively With Water

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One of the things I really love doing is look for patterns in running water as I walk along a river or creek.The photo above was taken at the top end of a waterfalls.For this type of shot you need fairly fast water and a bright overcast day.The water is tumbling over the rocks in three different directions here.I chose a composition at an angle to the flow so the water would exit out on the bottom left corner of the photo.So basically you have the water running in from both sides and the top.This will give you flow in and flow out.The secret here is in the shutter speed as while maintaining depth of field.

Once the camera and tripod are set up I will shot the scene at different exposures.I may take up to 20 exposures so that I can  select the photo that I will use when I get home.You want to create defining patterns with the water.Shooting at 1 sec or so will not achieve the results we are looking for as you would create water that has no detail.This photo that I selected was shot at a shutter speed of  1/4 sec at f22.You will see that the flowing water has character and depth.

As I was walking along above the river I noticed the unique patterns been created by a group of rocks in the river.The river was very low at this time of year.The water depth was very shallow.I found my way down to the river’s edge and set up the camera and tripod to create this composition.The lighting was extremely beautiful that evening and everything had a wonderful glow.

I used the rock on the left for a lead in and the water flows from the top left to the bottom right.I shot this one at 1o secs at f29.There was some very nice patterns created by the water flowing around the small rocks. Again I shot at different shutter speeds to create the patterns I wanted.

You will not see these type of effects too often,but when you do start shooting.You must also picture in your mind what it will look like in Photoshop.Until next time happy trails.

Photography

Adverse Weather

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A couple days ago the phone rang and it was my good friend Paul Smith calling.He asked if I would be interested in going out to do some photographing.I never turn down an invitation to head out and get some photos.

The day was cloudy with various lighting situations and some showers.The clouds were moving very quickly.We headed up the Westbranch to a locale that I had previously taken a very nice photo.Upon arrival I headed to the river that ran along side the road.The first thing that happened was that I took a tumble on the rocks.These rocks get very slippery when they are wet.

I half crawled down the rocks looking for my previous photo location.I looked behind me and saw a beautiful scene before me.I quickly set up the camera and tripod and took the composition you see above.The sun sent a beam of light on the trees in the background and the reflection was gorgeous.When the rocks are wet the colors come alive.The mist gives that added touch.This shot was taken in the middle of the afternoon by the way.It is not often you get mist at that time of day.I did find my previous location but was unable to get any decent shots as the mist got too heavy to photograph.

I shot the above scene with a zoom setting of 85 mm and the shutter set at 1/10 sec @ f22.The mist got too heavy to photograph and I find that I then have trouble focusing automatically and manually.Is this the difference between a 800.00 camera and a 3000.00 camera?I will be upgrading in the future.

We decided to head back and go up  the main road.By now the sky had cleared and the sun was shining.I was driving along and Paul said stop.He had noticed light reflecting on some rocks on a creek through the trees.I parked the truck and gathering up our gear we hiked into the creek.When we got there we saw a beam of light on some vegetation across the creek.I set the camera and tripod and took the photo you see below.

The rocks were pinkish and everything was still on the wet side to bring out the colors.I put a rock to the left in the photo to lead your eye into the photo following the shoreline and the clump of grass helps provide depth and breaks up the water.The beam of light adds that little extra touch to the photo.

This photo was taken with a zoom setting of 85 mm and a shutter speed of 3.2 sec @ f32.When you see light beams like this you had better be quick and get the shot as the lighting can go very fast.In this case the light lasted about 5 minutes as cloud cover moved in.These are the type of shots that requires a little luck and you must recognize that there is a photo to be taken.You also must compose on the fly with out thinking to capture the lighting.

Until next time,happy trails.

Photography

Two Shot Pano

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There are times when I come across a particular locale that I have shot many times that I can improve on a previous shot.To keep the weight down I carry only one lense and camera.The lense is a 28 to 135 zoom.

At times you are limited as to where you can set up your tripod so I have to make the best of a given situation.As I do not carry a wide angle lense I will set up for a panorama.The above photo consists of 2 horizontally shot photos,overlapped.

The 2 photo pano allows me to compose a photo that shows the ruggedness of this scene.I used the rocks in the foreground and the left side to draw in the viewer and lead the eye along the edge of the river and also to create depth.I also have created a U shape in my composition by adding the rocks on the right to complete the composition.

This 2 shot composition was shot at 65 mm with a shutter speed of 1.6 sec at f32. Using photoshop’s photomerge to stitch the pano together,the final product is 34″x12″ with a 1/2″ border ready for matting and framing.

Next time you are out think about trying a small pano.Till next time happy trails

Photography
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This past Sunday I took a trip into Cameron Falls for an evening shoot.The sky was clear and blue with no cloud cover.The wind was brisk and cool but we have to remember it is still March.The water levels were quite low and there were lots of pools. A trio of Hooded Mergansers flew in to the open water below the falls. It was fun to watch the males chase after one another in there attempts to court the female.

With blue from the sky,copper from the rocks,gold from the evergreens reflecting into the pools and the low light filtering through the trees onto the rocks in the top right hand corner I created this colorful scene.

I set my 28-135 zoom @ 80mm and the shutter speed  at 1 sec,F22.Using the black rocks for fore ground  I set this shot up.

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Colorful Rocks

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Rushing water,colorful rocks can create a very nice composition.You must wait until very late in the evening for the lighting to warm up and bring out the color in the rocks. I have gotten exceptional results when the sun has disappeared below the horizon.In the photo I have placed rocks in the foreground  and framed the running water with rocks to give the photo depth. This photo was shot at 75mm with the settings of 4.0 sec @ f29. This allows for great depth of field.

Photography

The Lone Strawberry Plant

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It was a cool mid November,when my partner Paul Smith and I had trekked into Cameron Falls ,North of Massey Ontario. The cloud cover was moving in that evening making for poor lighting on the waterfalls areas. As I walked among the rocks I spied a lone strawberry plant growing on a small ledge. Its location probably created a micro-climate in order for it to survive this late in the Fall. The reddish color of the leaves along with an interesting backdrop of yellowish rock would create an interesting composition. Setting up as close as I could with the tripod, I was maxed out at 135 mm and the camera was set at 2.5 sec @ f29. The cloudy skies and low lighting provided the soft light. Placing the Strawberry plant to the left in the photo and the small water puddle in the lower bottom right corner tells us that this plant has light and water to survive.Even when conditions are not ideal you can always locate interesting subjects to photograph.

I would like to take this time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.