Photo of the Week 2012-12-31

Getting away for a couple of days between Christmas and New Years for some winter photography has become somewhat of a tradition (How long does it take to make something a tradition ? ... I dunno, it just feels like a tradition). For the past couple of years our destination has been Tobermorey and we thought we would change it up a bit this year by heading to Algonquin Park. The initial idea was to reserve a yurt and stay at Mew Lake Campground in the park which would allow us to get an early start to locations a bit more removed from the highway and possibly allow us to see some wildlife. As it turned out, the yurts were all booked so we went the more conventional route of booking rooms at a local Inn ... not a bad call given that temperatures dropped to -18*C the first night.

Rising from a warm bed to head out in the dark when temperatures are -18*C requires a bit of determination and a dose of encouragement from having another photographer along to keep you from rolling over for some more "zzzzzz" time. When we had the gear packed in then vehicle and climbed in, the temp gauge on the dash read -16*C but it had dropped to -18*C within a couple of minutes of setting out across Hwy 60 and stayed there until well after sun had risen.

Arriving at Mew Lake, we scouted around and selected a suitable spot to park and gear up for a hike on snowshoes in search of a spot to capture sunrise. It was not long before I was in a position to see morning light as it bounced off some clouds as it began to warm the day.

-18*C and rising

There is something about breathing deeply in the cold morning air and having your nostrils freeze together ... It was the start of another great day.

DJE