Photo of the Week 2026-10-05

 

One benefit of the days getting shorter this time of year, to me as a photographer, is the earlier arrival of sunset, twilight and dark night skies. Autumn not only brings colourful leaf canopies but also crisp, clear night skies at more convenient times.

 

Speaking of convenience, many wanting to try or further develop their skills in this genre of photography must be prepared to get to a 'dark sky' location when the many factors align and suggest conditions will be right. I have location available right outside the door of the cottage in Tobermory and virtually unlimited access. Those in large urban centres could have considerable distance to travel for dark sky and with never a guarantee of success, there can be many failed or missed attempts and time invested to get reasonable results.

 

With access right out the door, then why I haven't done more photography of the night sky? Good question ...

 

' The Way Through The Trees '

  ... and I really don't have a good answer. But a recent presentation on Astro / Night Sky Photography has again stirred my interest and spawned the idea of frequently checking night sky conditions on nights at the cottage just as I frequently check sunset conditions ... at least until it starts to interfere with sleep ;-)

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2026-08-17

 

 

' Just another Huron  sunset... '

With all of the stunning sunsets I get to experience at and around the area of our cottage on the Bruce Peninsula, it's easy to lose track of one single photo made amongst a series. I rarely make just one image when photographing a sunset. It's my 'M O' to work through different many different exposures and compositions. How many?

 

Well here is a screen capture of the raw files from my Lightroom Catalogue made over a 10-15 minute period during one such outing ...

 

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2026-08-03

 

Last week, we were invited to dinner at our friend's cottage at the very SW tip of the Bruce Peninsula. I've always known that the view of sunset from there would be amazing. Until this occasion, my timing had not been right. With dinner done, we retired to the deck for some wonderful conversation until someone said ... "hey look at the sunset" ... and I was off to grab the camera bag.

 

As I arrived, the ladies were already at the shore, in conversation down on the rock and I heard "where's Doug?", and "over here", "the view is from here" and the like. 

 

' Flying in a V '

I started working the shoreline with the 14-35 wide angle zoom using some rocks and trees as foreground elements before swapping it out for the 24-105 thinking I wanted a little more reach to bring Russel Island more prominent in the frame. 

 

As it turned out, my preferred compositions were made at 24mm from a spot a little further west along the shore. The 1/50 sec shutter speed left the gull blurry from it's motion and mine as I perched a bit precariously on the rock ledge at water's edge.  

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2026-05-04

 

Randomly, but quite frequently, I delve into my backlog of images, either those marked as candidates for processing, or those processed and marked candidates for posting. The number of marked images keeps growing and this week, in an effort to not leave them all to languish in digital purgatory I thought to choose one from May of a previous year, 2017 in fact.

 

' roadside recollection '

A familiar location along the road on drives to the cottage. Sometimes it calls out a challenge for me to stop and attempt a print-worthy capture. This may have met the challenge, at least well enough for a trial print. We'll see.
 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2026-03-23

 

Spring may have arrived according to the calendar, but you could have fooled my camera ...

 

' over the ice to flowerpot in spring fog '

I made the image above on a first hike of spring 2026 when Lynn and I trekked to Mermaid Cove with Sullivan wanting to see what it was like with the water of Georgian Bay still sporting it's coat of ice. Some things on the schedule may prevent me from getting back before the waters are free of winter's grasp.

 

There is a view between the trees looking out to little Middle Island ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... and just to show the difference in the scene from  the first day of spring, March 20 above, compared to early winter, when I was there at sunrise on January 1st less than 3 months ago, below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came across something interesting from Chase Jarvis talking about what he calls "The Messy Middle", when the freshness of a creative project has passed, when the real work is still to be done, before reaching the home stretch when a project is finally wrapped up. I found it interesting. Here is a link if you are interested.

  

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-10-06

 

Mornings in the forest are absolutely magical ...

 

' light to a stump '

' light to a trunk '

... with sunlight penetrating through breaks in the canopy.

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-09-08

 

Friends suggested a walk out to the Lake Huron shoreline at Alvar Bay Nature Reserve.
I'd been there before in both winter and summer but was interested to return.

 

Difficult to assess scale in this image, the roots of this tree were nearly as tall as me at 6' and show hoe shallow these root systems are for trees lining on the alvar, with little if any soil above the limestone rock surface.

 

' uprooted '

I tried to work a composition to show the entire root system. It was difficult given the surrounding vegetation I had to get in front of yet stay far enough back with the 24mm prime lens I had at the time. 

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-06-16

 

A few days of the cottage at just the right time allowed me to capture some of the many spring wildflowers currently in bloom. I had planned to present a selection of those photos but there are quite a few and I chose to showcase just two for this post. Others will follow on my social media streams, but for now ... 

 

' lone slipper '

' slipper triplet '

 

I shot these (on morning walks with Lynn and Sullivan) handheld with the RF 85mm f/2 Macro on an R5 at fairly wide aperture for background blur and was very pleased with the results ... some of my favourite images of the Yellow Lady's Slipper so abundant in June on the Bruce.

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-05-19

 More from the archive ....

 

' May Magnificence '

Almost 3 years ago to the day there was a wonderful sunset over Lake Huron as seen from the shore at our cottage. I captured some wonderful photos and processed and posted one or two. One even made it into the Sunset Edition of my Annual Calendar recently.

 

Last evening, I had no such luck. No colour, heavy overcast skies and a fresh breeze off the water. Hence the dive back into the archive.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2025-04-14

 

Sorry (not really) to take you back to winter when spring is really just arriving but I knew I had another Snowy Owl image in the RAW reservoir ... 

' snowy in a snowstorm '

I was out with the then recently acquired RF 200-800 to gain more familiarity with it and work on my wildlife shooting. Approaching the location where I hoped to see a Snowy Owl, the weather worsened with snow falling very heavily by the time I arrived. It was difficult seeing the road ahead at time so wasn't sure how things would be for shooting.

 

Driving slowly along the sideroads, the tires were kicking up the freshly fallen snow and it was accumulating on the side windows of the vehicle. Every so often I would get out and brush off the snow for a clear(ish) view of the fields outside. Deciding to head down a little used track where I'd had success previously and that I knew would be closed to traffic for the season in the next couple of weeks, I stopped to clear the windows and strained to see across the field to a line of wrapped hay bales along a distant fence line.

 

... and there it was !

 

Across the field in heavy blowing snow with the 200-800 at it's maximum, I would shoot short 3 or 4 frame bursts between gusts of blowing snow. I was trying to time the shots such that my subject would be less obscured and managed it a few times.

Notes:

- for context, the top image is original width, just cropped top and bottom to 16:9 ratio 

- this lower image in approx. a 100% crop to show the detail I was able to get at 800mm across fields of blowing snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 DJE

Photo of the Week 2025-03-31

 

 

' on the lookout '

After finding and photographing a Snowy the previous day, I came back to the area in hope of another encounter ...

Quite far from my position, I shot this with the owl in centre frame and then cropped in post keeping much of the remaining barn structure for context. Even with 800mm focal length you can still be too far away for a portrait close-up.

 

Shooting from the car window along the side of a busy roadway, I wanted to work quickly so not to attract too much attention or be a distraction for passing vehicles as there was not a full shoulder with the snow left by plows. Hand holding at 800mm in an uncomfortable position turning to the side is an art that I will be practicing more. As it was, I managed enough sharp frames to pull a couple of keepers from.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2025-03-10

 

' Moody Skies at Burnt Point '

A Black & White treatment seemed appropriate for the moody skies over Georgian Bay ... well it did given I've been working to keep B&W as an option when shooting and processing.

 

As I work my way through captures from last year, I came across this image that I liked but lacked something in colour. I decided to flip to B&W and process to the moody feel that I had when viewing the scene in person.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-08-05

' blowin' smoke '

 

After a full day of work on the waterside shed, I 5took some time to relax and take in this gorgeous sunset. Over the course of almost an hour, 30 min before official sunset to almost 30 minutes after, I moved around the shoreline for different compositions making a number of exposures.

 

Sometimes it's not until after making the exposure and looking at it on a larger screen, that I see images in the clouds ... I see the profile of a man with smoke coming out of his mouth ;-)

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-07-22

 

' MW Arching Over Hay Bay '

A first go at capturing the Milky Way Arch. Six vertical images, themselves each a stack of 4 exposures, stitched into a panorama. Processed in LR, PS and ON1.

 

There is no shortage of 'nightscape' images on the internet showcasing the Milky Way over dramatic landscapes. There are nearly as many processing styles, with options ranging from subtle single exposure versions to the surreal using stacking and tracking techniques to extract the last photon of light and detail.

Recently I was treated to a clear sky forecast while at the cottage and decided to take advantage of it to try out the new (to me) Irix 15mm f/2.4 for some night sky shots. I spent some time planning with PhotoPills, TPE and other online resources to determine time and position of the Milky Way core. I had not thought to try a stitched panorama capturing the full MW Arch until I was out on the shore near midnight and noticed just how much of it I could see.

The process of image capture was relatively simple, though it was my first time out under the night sky with my R5 and with a hew lens as well. I ended up capturing six sets of four images over a roughly 150* (estimated) field of view. I applied lens profile correction in Lightroom, then exported to TIFF's, then used Sequator to stack each set of 4 exposures, following some online tutorials. The resultant output from Sequator (also in TIFF format) were touched up for light pollution and bright cottage lights in PS, saved back to the TIFF and then stitched in LR using photomerge.

 

Challenges came mostly from the quarter moon shining bright to the SW, blazing lights from cottages across the water, and the ever present glare of Tobermory and the Ferry dock megawatt lights. All the aforementioned challenges were tackled using a combination of Lightroom, Photoshop and ON1 Effects adjustments, dodge, burn, clone, heal and curves techniques and tricks to achieve the result shown above.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-07-15

I thought this week's post may have been about my recent nightscape photography, given that a lens purchased for that purpose had arrived late last week. While I did get out on Saturday to give it a trial workout, other aspects of life, namely a new puppy, had other ideas for time that I had planned to learn some new image stacking software for editing the resulting raw files.

 

So I sit here at the keyboard on Sunday night, resigned to the fact that I don't have enough time or energy to get through a new workflow to show you the results of last night's shoot (amazing as it was that I managed to stay up until midnight to see the Milky Way rise in the sky). Instead, I delve into the archive for something and ... lo and behold, there's a nightscape image from over 4 years ago (albeit from winter) sitting there, ready to share.

 

' Front Row Seats '

 Dark skies at our cottage on the Bruce Peninsula are absolutely awe inspiring ...

 

This image was made with the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 on a Canon 5D MkIII DSLR. A while after I got rid of the 5D MkIII, I also hesitantly traded in the Rokinon 14mm with plans to upgrade it down the road. Now I have with the Irix 15mm f/2.5 in EF mount to use with the EF-RF adapter and Canon R5 mirrorless. Hopefully, I'll have something to show from this combination some time soon.

 

Up to now, all of my night sky / nightscape images have been processed from single exposures, as is the image presented here. During my shoot Saturday night, I was capturing multiple frames to stack later with software specifically designed for night sky work. Why? Well, in simple terms, because processing a single image shot at high ISO includes noise that can result in bright pixels ultimately show up like stars making for a busier than actual night sky. How much difference will there be? I hope t' let ya know.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-04-01

 

Spring may have arrived and we may be entering April, but I am still working on late winter images. In particular, I have a set of images from Sunset on March 1st that have me remembering ... reliving ... a glorious display of fire and ice.

 

' sunset on the wing '

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-03-04

Wow! 

 

March already! 

Spring will arrive in just over two weeks and it seems like winter never really arrived here in Southern Ontario. That may please some, perhaps even many, but it causes me concern over what the summer may hold in terms of temperatures and water levels. I expect it will be hot, damned hot and dry, damned dry and that there will be complaints about that, likely from the same group that complains about winter, but I digress ...

 

...  I've not had as much "winter" to photograph this year. Though I've had both stints visiting Matt & Claire at their farm and many more at our cottage, it wasn't a "real" winter this year. Facebook has reminded me of that with memories showing deep snowdrifts along the cottage road and a deck drift from 10 years ago the blocked out view of the bay from the picture window.

 

That's not to say there were no winter photo opportunities, they just weren't as dramatic or intense as I would have preferred. Sunsets always provide opportunity for a striking shot. Not every one of course but I do have the fortune of having a place to see regular end-of-day displays.

 

' burning through the ice '

I submitted the image above to a monthly challenge for a photo group and it was selected as the March banner image for their home page.

https://guelphphotographersguild.com/

 

 DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-02-12

 

' Hay Bay Pano 2024-01-11 '

There hasn't been much snow in my neck 'o the woods this winter and I always look forward to the arrival of the white stuff. We've had a couple of decent dumpings but nothing to establish the winter wonderland that I love so much to photograph.

When I woke to a dusting of new snow at the cottage a few weeks back, I headed down to the shore before the morning walk to capture the scene with it's fresh, thin, pristine white covering. With nothing particularly dramatic to zero in on, I decided to capture the view in 14 separate exposures and then blend them in post to come up with this image.The foreground appears much more dominant in panorama than it truly is, however presenting the almost 180* view is attention grabbing for the impression it conveys.

I've just come back from another visit and it was virtually devoid of snow and ice, a shame since winter is such a beautiful time there. With luck, some type of winter will still pay a visit, even if it's fleeting.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-01-15

At the cottage, it's almost always worth a trip down to the shore around sunset time, even if there isn't a sunset to be seen ...

 

' Evening Mood 2023-12-07 '

... and I still need the exercise developing my eye when using an ultra-wide (in this case 11mm) angle lens.

Recently, working with my 11mm Irix and 14-35mm Canon (at 14mm) has energized my creativity. I'm quite enjoying the process of seeing this wide, of seeking to find conditions, subjects, scenes, compositions that work for these focal lengths.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-01-08

A couple of months ago I decided to visit Halfway Log Dump in Bruce Peninsula National Park. The road in is not maintained during winter and is closed from early winter to late spring. I thought I would take the opportunity to go before the road was closed.

The shoreline along Georgian Bay at this location has provided many photo opportunities since my first visit over a decade ago. This time I would continue recent work on ultra-wide angle compositions, this time with my RF 14-35mm.

Though ultra-wide angle focal lengths can be used for stunning compositions, it requires practice to become proficient in their use, as I am experiencing while I work with focal lengths of 11mm and in this case as wide as 14mm. I made a number of successful images during this outing and in some cases worked a particular subject or view in various ways as I gain more comfort shooting this wide.

 

At one location, an old weathered cedar on a rock ledge caught my eye. My first instincts for a framing had me too far away, surprisingly so and I moved to the edge of a crevice using the lens zoom a bit to frame a shot (version A below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not satisfied, I moved back a step, zoomed back out to 14mm and included a spruce standing above the background treeline as another point of reference. When I reviewed the images on the computer, this ended up being my favourite version.

' old cedar on ledge '

Before finishing with this scene, I moved even closer to the point where I had to remove and set my back pack and tripod down to step off the main cliff onto a ledge in the crevice. Even then I braced my foot on the other side of the crevice to lean slightly more towards the cedar (version B below). Upon review, this wasn't what I was looking for either.

 

' old cedar on ledge -B '

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm enjoying the challenge of working ultra-wide and have made some satisfying images but that first stand out image is yet to be made.

 

Oh yes ... as things turned out and real winter weather yet to arrive, Emmett Lake Rd. was still open when I passed by most recently. Perhaps I will change another visit.

 

DJE