Tag Archives: Webwood

Photography

Streamside

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I had crossed over from the Tote Road north of Massey to the Westbranch north of Webwood on my journey home. I had spent the day exploring logging roads looking for future photo opportunities. As I traveled south, the evening was wearing on. The lighting getting warmer losing that harshness that is common most of the day. As I crossed a bridge my eyes caught the lighting on this particular scene. The wind was calming allowing for reflections.

The sunlight was coming from the right of me as I set up my tripod on the bridge. The location of the sun was creating sun flares on the lens. I retrieved my Tilly  hat to act as a blocker. Thus holding the hat with one hand and the other to press the shutter button I was able to accomplish the above composition. What is interesting here is how the sunlight highlights certain parts of the scene. There is a lot of softness here with the earth tone colors. There is a quietness to be found here that gives one peacefulness that is very relaxing.

The La Cloche Art show opens next Friday evening July 3 and runs through to July 12. I myself will be there Friday, Saturday, Wednesday and Sunday. If you are in the area stop in and enjoy an excellent art show. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

Tamarack

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This is the time of year that the Tamarack are in their full Fall color before shedding.Tamarack are a species of Larch that is native to Canada.The name Tamarack is the Algonquian name for the species and means “wood used for snowshoes“.The leaves are needle like and turn bright yellow before falling in the Autumn.The Tamarack are commonly found in swamps, bogs, and other low-land areas.

Gerard Leduc arrived shortly after 7:00 A.M. and we were soon on our way to the Westbranch North of Webbwood in Northern Ontario. A quick stop for gas at the Espanola turn-off and a couple of Tim Horton‘s coffee to start the day,we were soon traveling up the Westbranch searching for Tamarack to photograph.There are lots of Tamarack to photograph but find a composition to work.

We stopped at Gordon Chutes at the 20 km mark and Gerard took a few shots of the waterfalls.The falls is part of the Wakanashing River.We continued North photographing as we went.At the 70 km area there are a few lakes to photograph by the road.The moose hunters were out in full force.That meant we had to wear orange jackets for protection.

Since the last rains the water levels of the various creeks had risen,but still not a normal levels.As we drove along we spotted a male Spruce Grouse doing his display.I pulled over so that we could observe this very pretty bird in all his glory.There must be a female nearby.A large creek was now running along the West side of the road.I spotted the Tamarack on the far creek bank. Pulling over Gerard and I set up the tripods and cameras to start photographing.It was a cloudy morning with the sun coming out now and then.I opted to do a close up shot of the bottom of the Tamarack and the resulting reflection to create my composition.There was a nice pattern to be had here.It was just a matter of waiting for the sun to pop out and light up the leaves,turning them a golden yellow.The sun would go back behind the moving clouds and one would wait once again for it to come out again.The thing is you do not want to much sunlight or you will blow out the highlights.

Well that is it for this time.Thank you for visiting and 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

The Changing of The Seasons

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One of the things I love doing is going back to a favourite location time and time again and year to year. I may be passing by a locale and make a quick stop or go there for an afternoon and evening.Many a time the lighting and conditions may not be right or the water level is not good.You will know when you get optimal conditions by looking at the rocks as the colors will glow.This is something that you will develop and get a feel for as you gain expierience in the field.A cloudy day with the right lighting will do that for you.The time of year has a great effect on your photography as the day lengths will vary with the changing of the seasons.This means that if you are getting the best lighting in the evening in July then by November that same lighting is available around noon.The sun in November is closer to the horizon.

The above photo was taken in 2009 in August.I was shooting during the late afternoon catching the last of the lighting coming in and creating shadows.This little waterfalls would be in deep shadow within the half hour.The scene is surrounded by high hills and trees.With that being said you get sunlight filtering through the trees eliminating the harsh lighting caused by the bright sky on this particular day.

I shot this scene with the zoom set at 29 mm.The shutter speed was 0.3 sec @ f22.I was able to capture a beautiful flow of water and rich detail in the rocks.

We will zoom ahead to 2010 mid November.The effects are now quite different.Paul Smith and I decided to head out for the day to see what we could get in the way of photographs.It was a cloudy day with some wind and fairly cold temperatures.There was ice forming on the rocks to add another dimension to the photographs.

The water levels had come up from previous visits during the summer and there was a beautiful glow on the rocks that enhanced the colors dramatically.When you see this effect you will know.Being November the sun is now low to the horizon and the days are also shorter.Evening though it was cloudy the sun can still create diffusing lighting through  the cloud cover to create the much sought after glow.

The above photo was taken at midday with the zoom set at 50mm with a shutter speed set at 0.6 @ f22.This is the same scene as at the beginning but with different lighting different time of year and a year later.The vegetation is also changed in color.

As a side note I came across some elderly gentlemen out photographing whom I had met at a studio tour that I did last Fall.I ended up given some on site lessons to them on where to set up there tripod and composing the shots that I had taken above.This is one aspect that I enjoy.If I can help someone all the better.

With that being said take a moment to show someone  a few of the things you have learned and maybe gain a friend the process.Well that is it for this week so for now happy trails