2010-04-27

Algonquin Spring 2010

Thanks to the suggestion of a friend, I made my first visit to Algonquin in years, many years. As I mentioned in the previous post, we went in search of moose to photograph and that was certainly a great experience. What struck me most was the beauty of the scenes at the edges of the lakes, rivers, ponds and bogs. I could have spent all my time there framing all the magnificent detail and reflection at waters edge. The changing light throughout the day was constantly transforming the scene before my eyes ...

standing sentinel


DJE

2010-04-25

Photo of the Week 2010-04-26

... back from a weekend of photography in Algonquin Park. I had forgotten what a picturesque area this park actually is.
A few of us went specifically in search of some images of moose as they become active in the spring and come close to Hwy 60 in the salt laden roadside wetlands to feed. We managed to spot 10 moose (meese?) in total from Friday evening to Sunday morning. Friday evening was the most eventful as far as the moose went but ...

Even in spring, with trees just beginning to bud, there are beautiful images to be made in this part of the Ontario wilderness.

floating rock


... look closely.
This image is actually upside down (intentionally). I made an exposure of the reflection of the evening sky in the open water of one of the bogs in the park. I composed the image with the reflection of the sky dominating the the lower half of the frame. The reflections from the trees cover a rock protruding from the water that looks quite normal when viewed in correct orientation but seems to levitate in my "flipped" image.
This is a technique I choose to use with some of my reflection images. I quite like the effect ... although it drives one of my photographer friends silly with the disorienting perspective.


... here is the image in correct orientation.
I like it too, but for different reasons :-)

DJE

2010-04-19

Photo of the Week 2010-04-19

cherry blossom hillside

Thanks to stumbling on a post about the cherry blossoms being out at High Park in Toronto, Lynn and I headed there Sunday morning. The skies in Guelph were overcast but as we approached Toronto the cloud cover was clearing and the sunshine of a spring day replace whatever that was we had on Saturday.
I expected the park to be busy with the improvement in weather but it was ridiculous. I had not known we would be participating in the centuries old Japanese tradition of Sakura Hanami. The areas around the blossoming trees were packed with visitors and more than a few photographers. While I really would like to have gotten an image without all the people, the challenge was to get an image despite all the people.

... what a beautiful day ...

DJE

2010-04-12

Photo of the Week 2010-04-12

Morning Shadows - Mt. Nemo Trail

There is something about the light on the forest trails of Southern Ontario in the early morning light. My eye is always drawn to the patches of light and shadow across the paths and forest floor. This early in spring, the sun penetrates so much more than when the trees are fully adorned with leaves. There are strong linear shadows falling over the terrain. Textures of the rocky escarpment outcrops are defined in extreme detail. I could wander these trails for hours on end but the sun rises and the magic is gone ... until tomorrow.
DJE
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2010-04-05

North Along Lake Superior

While planning for my work travels to Northern Ontario later this year, I was reminded of the beautiful scenery from my travels last fall. I had been meaning to go back through my image library from the trip and this was just the nudge needed.

Driving from Thunder Bay to Marathon and back in early October, the weather was very unsettled and skies were overcast for most of the trip. As the weather system moved through, there were opportunities when the cloud cover would break and provide drama that would compel me to stop and grab an image.
I wish the drive could have lasted much longer ...

reflection beside Hwy 17


Lake Superior Fall '09


On the last day, I wanted to make time for a stop at Ouimet Canyon to capture it in fall colours. A twenty minute drive off the main highway brought me to the park. I had not encountered a single car since turning off Hwy 17. This late in the season I did not expect anyone else to be around but I encountered one visitor on his way out. Other than that, for the 30min that I was there, I was alone with the sun, wind and scenery .... quite a feeling, especially when you are on a platform overhanging the side of a 100 m deep canyon. I wanted an image to capture the scale of the canyon and the strong sun and shadow posed a challenge but this was my only opportunity. The following image was saved with some shadow and highlight adjustments in CS3.

Ouimet Canyon sun blast


Fall of this year ... north along Lakes Huron and Superior from Manitoulin to Wawa.
I can't wait.
DJE

Photo of the Week 2010-04-05

a view of the lane

Some images need a little work after the capture to present them in a way that represents the scene as it appeared to my eye.

On a recent photo outing to an abandoned farmhouse with some friends, I was drawn to the view of the lane from an upstairs window. I knew the bright morning sun outside and the dark interior presented more dynamic range than a single exposure could capture. I decided to bracket 3 exposures to process as an HDR once I returned home. HDR is not something I do much of but for scenes like this it can be a perfect solution.

I wanted the scene outside the window with the lane curving down to the road to dominate the image yet have the interior of the room visible. My goal was to keep the "HDR effect" from overpowering the image which proved difficult. I ended up adding a layer mask in CS3 to hold back the interior and adjusted opacity to allow just enough to be revealed.