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

Photo of the Week 2022-09-26

 

' Afternoon at Halfway Log Dump V '

It's good to have some images in the 'back pocket' for those times when you suddenly remember that you need to prepare a post ahead of time and schedule publication while you will not have full access to your files and the internet. Fortunately I have tagged a number of images "for posting" in just such and event.

 

Almost a year ago, I visited Halfway Log Dump after a considerable absence during COVID lock down and the resulting BPNP closure. While working with the images I made that day, I gave luminosity masks a first try. This image, made late afternoon, had some deep shadow along the forest edge and luminosity masks allowed me to bring more of the actual feel from that day to this rendition.

 

Now that autumn has arrived to 'the Bruce', I really must plan a return visit for some more photography ...

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2020-10-19

An image was selected and queued up for the P.O.T.W. ... then the weather cooperated on a Saturday hike with cousin Steve who had come to spend some time with us up at the cottage. We had selected a trail that would show him the Georgian Bay shoreline from an escarpment lookout and from water level. Halfway Log Dump was the perfect spot to offer both views, and the weather cooperated for just long enough for us to get the hike in ...

 

Rock Overhang & Cave Point

West to Cave Point and Bear's Rump Island

East to High Dump and Cabot Head

West end of the boulder beach

It was great that Steve got up to our place for a visit, and that the weather was decent for our hike. It took a while but now he's seen autumn on the Bruce ... we want to show him winter.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2018-05-21

A spring trek to Halfway Log Dump has become ritual. The road is not maintained over the winter and spring runoff usually results in flooding and closure of the road to traffic. So the first weekend of spring where we were up on the Bruce with access opened ... the trek was made.

I've made a point to photograph the gorgeously blue Georgian Bay waters on every visit to Halfway Log Dump, always with satisfying results. This was no different, but my processing is ...

watercolours

...a little painterly effect.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2016-09-12

"waves of blue' ... a new series

waves of blue X

 Halfway Log Dump, mid day, clear sky, direct sunlight ... no time for photography, or is it?

For the second time, a mid-day trek to Halfway Log Dump has proven rewarding. Productive beyond expectation in terms of my photography and as always some time spent admiring the blue waters of Georgian Bay along the escarpment washes away all that matters not.

On an earlier visit, waters were calm and I managed a number of images that made the cut, and from those I crafted the series 'hues of blue". One from that series has sold multiple times as a fine art print and was licensed to Parks Canada for use in one of their displays. Waters this time were more agitated and with the sun just a bright, images were bore abundant with more making the cut for a follow up series 'waves of blue'. Following are a few more from the still growing collection.

DJE

Photo of the week 2014-09-15

This weekend I had a great time having a couple of good friends join me at the cottage for a weekend of photography and sketching on the Bruce. Despite the forecast for questionable weather, the final decsion to go was made Thursday night and after work Friday we headed out, hopeful that there would be at least some time to get out and enjoy the scenery.

This week's image is a shot from our Sunday sunrise trip to Halfway Log Dump. I used the 5DIII with my new Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 to capture a wide angle view of sunrise, made from a low angle at water's edge.

golden shores

The First Annual Fall Shoot & Sketch Weekend at the cottage is successfully in the history books.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-07-07

Spending a week of vacation up on the Bruce Peninsula always rejuvenates the soul and quiets the mind.

This past week, Lynn and I enjoyed the company of visiting friends and family for a few days. Between the visits, there was time to introduce ourselves to kayaking and of course some photography for me, but not as much as you might think. I first had to update my display at Upper deck Gallery with some appropriate seasonal work since everyone (except me) had seen enough of winter. Then I had to hang a number of framed prints to complete my installation running through July at Ancient Cedars Cafe.

Sean from Ancient Cedars is a photographer and of course we had already talked photography on a few occasions, he had also graciously offered to lend me a favourite lens of his, the Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX DG, to use during the week. So images hung and lens in hand, day-one was nearing it's close and we prepared for our first visitors.

I managed to make some images of visiting little ones Emma and Logan over the next couple of days. After saying goodbye on Tuesday, the next morning had me out for a visit at Singing Sands to experience the otherworldly feeling of walking out on the beach into the waves of thick fog rolling in off Lake Huron. You can see one of my images from the outing here on my Photography FB page or my flickr photostream.

My favourite image of the week came a couple of days later when I returned to Halfway Log Dump looking to explore the shore north of where the trail exits the woods to the grand shoreline of Georgian Bay. Mid-day sun is not normally optimum for photography, but the Caribbean blue waters of Georgian Bay can be stunning under sunlight and clear blue skies. I had success at this location recently and decided to return and expand on the "Hues of Blue" series showcased in a previous blog post. After all, one of those images sold from Ancient Cedars and simply has to be replaced with something new in the series.

whale rock - breeching

DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-06-09

... back from vacation and after a week of picking up the camera to shoot multiple times a day, I have mot made one single exposure in the last 7 days.

On the bright side, I have been printing like crazy in preparation for displaying some images at Ancient Cedars Cafe in Tobermory :-)

Here's an infrared image taken on vacation during a visit to Halfway Log Dump. I lke the surreal, high contrast look of IR.

Halfway Log Dump - IR 2014-05-26

DJE  

Photo (set) of the Week 2014-06-02

I am fascinated by the Georgian Bay shoreline along the Bruce Peninsula. In particular, I love the colour of the water which ranges from clear through, teal, Caribbean blue, to deep dark blue as the depth increases moving away from shore.

A while back, I created a set (now album) of images on my flickr stream entitled "Georgian Blue" and now I have added a sub-set called "hues of blue" that will consist of a dozen images from a recent mid-day trek to Halfway Log Dump, Bruce Peninsula National Park.

Enjoy ...

DJE