Tag Archives: Wind

Photography

Mountain Fire

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The winds were blowing out the North yesterday at a brisk pace. The town of Jinotega, Nicaragua is nestled down in a valley surrounded by the mountains. This event occurred on the Eastern side of Jinotega on the mountain slopes.

It is a common practice that occurs every year in March to set fires to burn the vegetation. It is a very dry time of year as you can see by the color of the grass. No homes were burnt.

AS a photo opportunity I saw some potential. Grabbing my camera I headed to a small hill. Jinotega is infested with wires crisscrossing the streets. So being on the hill eliminated that problem.  There is a gully running the side of the mountain here that gave some depth and a focal point. Three trees surrounded by smoke and fire on the edge of the gully add to the element of this composition. Then I added a few casa at the bottom to present a sense of danger. Will the wind shift to the East and send the fire roaring through the homes

Photography

Fun With Waves

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MontrealRiver_4495

I was strolling the shoreline of Lake Superior, enjoying a breezy summer afternoon. The waves were picking up in size. Thus I thought would be a good time to capture wave action. It was a fun afternoon. Just shooting away as the waves came in. A beautiful blue sky with some cloud cover.

Later it was a matter of going through the photos and selecting the best ones. I liked the above composition. Lake Superior can give you bigger waves, but you get what you get.

So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Along The Jinotega Highway, Nicaragua

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Jenataga_0219

 

As I traveled the Jinotega highway, the mountain views and valleys are incredible. The immense depth of the scenes are incredible. There is cloud cover every day. This allows for beautiful lighting. The biggest issue I have to deal with here is rain and strong winds. Therefore a high shutter speed is a necessity. As always it is a waiting game for the right conditions to happen. Today, tomorrow, who knows. To arrive at these sites I ride the local buses. When a site appears I jump off the bus. I do my work, then wait for the next bus appear and move on.

Well that is this it for this week.  So happy trails from Nicaragua.

Photography, Poetry

In Dreams

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I lay my head

Upon my pillow

I close my eyes

In dreams

 

I am walking in a meadow

The grass tall and waving

In the warm summer wind

Oxeye daisies grow among

The field of  green grass

Swaying to the beat

Of the passing wind

Butterflies flutter in the breeze

In dreams

 

In dreams

In dreams

 

A woodland path beckons

To travel endlessly

Traversing through stately maples

The murmur of the wind

Up in the leafy canopy

The rustle of leaves

On the forest floor

In dreams

 

In Dreams

In dreams

 

A gently flowing river

Dressed with cascading willows

Falling rain drops splash

The river’s surface

As I traverse along the river

A never ending river

With no end in sight

In dreams

 

In dreams

In dreams

 

Sitting by a lake

Quartz mountains enshrine

The sapphire waters

Sparkling in the morning light

A gentle breeze ripples

The clear lake waters

In dreams

 

In dreams

In dreams

 

Standing high on a mountain

Ruffled by strong winds

The land covered in mist

Dark clouds tumbling over

The distant mountains

I feel like the eagle

Soaring on the wind

In dreams

 

In dreams

In Dreams

Photography

As The Wind Recedes

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BassfinLake_2171

Yesterday morning I got busy and made a nice pot of soup, then finished off a poem I was working on. I then made a stew in the oven for supper. With all that out of the way I headed up to Bassfin Lake on the Matagamasi Lake Road for an evening of photographing. Upon arrival things did not look too good. There was some wind blowing across the lake. Some heavy cloud cover was coming in from the West. This is one of these lakes that has a lot of structure in the form of rocky shoreline. The water level here is low. Exposing the shoreline. There is tremendous color to be had here. So I waited. The wind slowly died down and I was able to get into some photographing. This lasted about half an hour before the wind came again.

I had set up my tripod very low in order to eliminate some water in the middle ground. Using the point of land as my foreground and the gorgeous detail and color to boot. I just used enough Pine trees on the left for a frame. There is a rocky island in the middle. In the background there is a quartz like rock on the far shoreline to draw your eye back there. There is just a hint of Fall color to be seen in the surrounding forest. The clouds had moved in by now. I was able to get some nice yellow in the sky plus some yellow reflections on the water.

So that is it for this week folks. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

One Enchanting Evening

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VermillionRiver3944

A beautiful enchanting even. The air is warm. Not a breath of wind is stirring. The moon has risen. The river is at peace. There is Fall colors in abundance. This is the scene that I came upon one evening last Fall on the Vermillion River. It is a wonderful experience to be part of nature when Mother Earth shows this side of her to you. To sit by the shoreline and absorb all this around you.

Well the holidays are over, it will soon be time to plan this year’s trips. I myself am looking forward to Spring. Thank you for stopping by and until next time happy trails.

Photography

Sunlit Grass

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Jan Winther and I were walking the shoreline of a small lake up the Westbranch.It was mid-morning.The wind was calm with mist rolling off the shores of this lake.Now this is a lake that is pretty much down in a hollow.The Tamarack trees are now bare.The lakes this far North are surrounded mostly by evergreens.

We are now into November,the days are shorter and cooler.The sun travels at a lower elevation now.This means the sunlight takes longer to penetrate through the trees on the hillsides during early morning.With that in mind,just close your eyes and envision a scene of a small lake in the Boreal Forest.The evergreens hug the shoreline.The sunlight is penetrating through the trees on the East side were the trees cascade down the hillside to the lake.There is mist covering the lake’s surface.There is no wind.The surrounding landscape is reflecting on the surface.This is a scene that I come across many times in my travels.To be there is a joy and to be able to photograph these scenes is a blessing.

With all that said Jan and I both turned and saw the sunlight highlighting the clump of grass protruding from the lake edge.There was mist moving slowly from the shore.The background was in shadow as the sun has not penetrated that area yet.I waded slowly out into the water.I wanted to make as little disturbance as possible for the scene was only ten feet from me.The tripod and Canon 7d was set up.I composed my shot,then waited for the water to calm down again and took my shot. I intentionally kept the background dark to keep the focus on the sunlit grass and mist.

Photography

O S A Lake Part 3

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By now after a day and a half of rain,dampness along with cool temperatures the weather cleared up.It was now late Thursday afternoon.It is always interesting to watch the grey clouds moving past you and then you spot some blue sky.Within an hour the sky had cleared and the wind had switched to the West.Now it was just a matter of waiting for the evening light and hopefully the wind would calm down.O S A Lake is a large lake prone to windy conditions.I cooked up a meal of Uncle Ben’s rice and canned meat.A nice hot cup of tea to end the meal and we were ready to photograph.

Paul Smith and I had some decent photographing that evening,but you had to watch the wind.In the more open water the wind did not settle down.I captured the above scene on the South side of the island we camped on.I loved the rock structure the protruded out into the lake for its detail.I had photographed this same scene in June.But now I had Fall color and the water level was down considerably since June.Thus exposing more rock structure.There was an old length of a tree jutting into the lake.I put it into the bottom right of the picture.For once I had some decent cloud patterns.

At this time of year darkness comes early.Paul built up a fire and we enjoyed its warmth for a few hours.You could feel the air cooling down now and tomorrow we head home.Thank you everyone for your comments and coming for a visit.Until next time happy trails.

Photography

When The Rains End

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I awoke one rainy morning to the sound of rain drumming on the tent fly.Peering out the tent door I could see fog on the La Cloche Mountains,the wind was picking up and there was a chop on the surface of O S A Lake.Emerging from the tent I ducked into the tarp we had set up for days like this.Soon I had a hot coffee brewing and along with a bagel had breakfast.It was now just a matter of waiting.

By mid morning the rain had quit and the wind was not as strong.The hills had some nice mist and there was stiil  stormy clouds on the horizon.I set up for the above composition to capture the moment.There was a large expanse of water in front of me that I did not want to show.Using the narrows as the foreground,thus eliminating unnecessary water I took a series of shots.I liked the fact that the foreground was dark which gives contrast to the over all mood and adds to the depth.It was also a matter of watching the mist moving through the hills and waiting for the right amount.

By noon it cleared up.It became another beautiful day on O S A Lake.Well that is it.Until next time happy trails.

Photography, Poetry

The Legacy of a Pine Tree

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A dry warm wind

Caresses the rocky shoreline

Of a far Northern lake

Upon the wind a seed

from an open pine cone

Is borne along

To settle among the boulders

Scattered along the water’s edge

In time a small pine tree

Protrudes from the shelter

Of the surrounding rocks

The years go by

The struggling pine tree

Is now stunted and gnarled

Bent to the onslaught of the wind

Its existence at the mercy

Of the ravages of Nature

Then one fateful day

On a stormy dark night

The gale force winds

Churning the surface of the lake

Toppled the struggling pine tree

To lie among the scattered rocks

Its existence no more

The photograph you see above is a creation of my own doing.The rocks were beautiful in form and texture.As I was walking the shoreline of OSA Lake in Killarney Provincial Park I came across the remains of a pine tree lying along the shoreline.I picked it up an set where I wanted it to be positioned.I then searched around for some pine cones to add in the foreground.I placed them on a patch of green grass.Thus I created a bit of a story line which the poem is a creation of.The pine tree comes from the seed out of a cone to its final resting place where ever it falls.

So I hope you have enjoyed this post.I also would like to thank everyone who came for a visit and I enjoy the comments very much.If you are ever out my way stop in for a coffee.Check my link to FAA for available prints for sale.So until next time happy trails.