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 2026-03-09

 

Sunsets over Lake Huron rarely disappoint and when the weather cooperates to open up a view, it can be truly spectacular ...

 

' curtain call '

With the warm temperatures, rain and then sun in recent days, the snow has melted significantly in my neck 'o the province. At home, just the remainder from the deepest piles lingers. The cottage, from what I see on our cameras, is not quite as thawed.

 

For the shot above, the bay was still frozen quite solid all the way out to the channel but I expect to see different when I'm up next. It's early March, so there's still the possibility of some nasty weather yet. She came in like a lamb. How she will go out remains to be seen.

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-08-04

 

I may have dipped back into film photography but I have no plans to abandon digital. They are both part of the process and journey as I continue to explore photographic horizons.  

 

' wildflowers at sunset '

 

' shoreline at sunset '

In summer, the sun sets north of the bay mouth and can't be seen directly from the cottage shoreline. Still, the colours still echo to the south, bringing the scene to life.

 

As I worked on these images a familiarity stirred. Not just of the of the location but of a moment almost a dozen years ago, with a very similar sky, when it was very new to me and a new chapter began ...

 

 

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 2025-02-10

 

Well this feels a little different ...

 

After 4 months of working through images made during a trip to Scotland last September, I came to the end. Interrupted only thrice since returning, my posts to social media have showcased of images from 11 days of the trip. I first paused for a few days to showcase the awesome images captured during the 'once in a lifetime aurora event' 2024-10-10. The second time was to celebrate the return of Snowy Owls to the Bruce Peninsula after an absence of 3 years, the third, to say farewell to 2024 and ring in 2025 with the annual 'Last Light' - 'First Light' images (though these did not make it to all of my social streams).

 

So it feels different not writing about Scotland, my experiences and my time there. It is a truly magnificent place to visit, the people are incredible (even if some in the tourist hordes are not - such seems the case most places these days). Will I go back? I certainly plan to, maybe for a photo specific visit, maybe more of what I did this go round.

 

Now where am I ... oh ya, back at home in Canada. She's certainly a beauty as well. Let me turn to the images I've been making back home in Ontario. How about we start with a pair of bookends ...

 

' 2024-09-28 08:16:34 '

 

' 2024-09-28 19:23:37 '

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-08-26

For the fourth week, I'm presenting images selected from the sunset series captured  over a period of more than 40 minutes on 2024-08-02. The progression of colour and texture in the sky was sublime, subtle across the passing of seconds, dramatic overall.

 

In the final stages, the cloud structure softened as if by the touch of an artist blending bands and patches of pastel ...

' subsequent softening '

 

' subsequently softened '

I am obsessed with the sunsets over Lake Huron as seen from our shoreline. They are stunning from any location and so seductively available with just a short walk down to the water.

Here's a screen capture from my Lightroom catalogue of images illustrating the progression that always pulls me in.

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-08-19

A few minutes after official sunset, the cloud structure started to diffuse, softening in the evening sky, as a trio of kayakers return home.

 

' the home stretch '

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-08-12

 

' 'V' for Vivid '

Up at the cottage to make some progress on 'the shed project', there was some time to take in one of those glorious Huron Sunsets. Standing at the shore, as the minutes ticked off, colours in the clouds were intensifying.

 

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 2024-04-29

 

Hello darkness my old friend ... 

' enveloping '

Sunset with the ice gone and the water calm ... 

 

The sunlight reflecting off cottage windows on the far side of the bay drew me out from a comfortable chair after a long day of work on the shed rebuild project.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-04-22

 

' 2024-03-01 18:16:02 '

 

Still on hiatus from normal photo activities, so enjoy another late winter sunset ...

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-04-15

Odd as it may be, I haven't made any photos yet in April. No I was not among the throngs of photographers that shot the eclipse (a story for another time perhaps), and after returning from a golf getaway before Easter, I've been working my way through images made of sunset on March 1st.

 

' burning feather '

' vanes of fire '

' smouldering aftervane '

After capturing images of the much wider scene, I switched camera bodies to one with a longer zoom lens and concentrated on the unique cloud details of this particular sunset.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-03-25

 

From a November sunset session along the shore of Hay Bay, Lake Huron ... and I perhaps a little photo insight into how I spend my time from arrival to conclusion of the shoot.

When it started ...

' 2020-11-07 17:32:20 '

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The end result

 

' 2020-11-07 17:37:13 '

 

 

While waiting for a final flourish, I worked the scene, zooming in to isolate the colourful horizon with and without distant shore references for context.

 

' 2020-11-07 17:33:16 '

' 2020-11-07 17:33:35 '

' 2020-11-07 17:36:03 '

' 2020-11-07 17:36:44 '

... and that's how it goes, for me anyway.

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 2024-02-26

' winter's wide expanse '

Enjoying my relatively recent foray into the realm of ultra-wide angle landscapes, I marvel at the way expansive skies are captured. They appear gathered from the edges of sight, pulled into the frame to compliment the earth below, particularly when I'm photographing along the shore near our cottage. Often, as in the image above, the textures in the sky and cloud mirror the patterns and shapes in the rock above and below the waters of Hay Bay.

I'm looking forward to many more outings with the ultra-wide focal lengths and the opportunity to hone my skills while creating compelling landscapes.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-10-16

 

For me, photographing a sunset is often a process, an opportunity work the scene over a period of time and frequently results in a series of images. Such was the case with last week's ' sun down ' and a number of others from the session. Then I teased that this week's post may provide a look into the process behind it all.

 

In this instance things started early in the day when I checked weather apps for wind predictions. The previous day had been mostly devoid of wind, leaving waters calm. It was predicted to continue through the day and instead of repeating the previous morning's calm water outing, I chose to go search for fall colours fairly certain that I could catch sunset later.

Late in the afternoon, I checked on things down by the shore and began by making a few images of the interesting skies with clouds reflecting on the smooth surface of the bay. It continued as I kept an eye on the changing skies, light and position of the sun, exploring different foreground elements and positions. In all. I shot 45 frames and a screen capture of the RAW files from my Lightroom library will give you an idea of the complete range and how it evolved.

When I shoot sunsets I use daylight white balance to keep things consistent throughout the shoot. With the cloud cover during this shoot, a cloudy white balance would make images too warm for my liking. I always shoot in RAW file format and could change white balance in post if I chose or needed to do so.

 

I mostly shoot in aperture priority mode and use exposure compensation to capture the light levels that I am seeing. As the skies darken, I dial in -1/3, -2/3 and at times -1 EV as the situation dictates. A case can be made for manual exposure and I have on occasion worked in this mode. I just seem to be more comfortable with aperture priority at this point, your mileage may vary.

To explore compositions, I work my way along the shoreline to positions that allow placing the sun centre frame, right third of the frame and also explore with the sun high, middle and low. Options with different foregrounds follow next. I use rocks with sunlight glinting of their wet surface, rocks visible through the clear water and explore leading lines and "s" curves along the shoreline to the extent possible. I've also made a mental note to get in the water and explore vantage points yet untried. Obviously not all options are successful, but the process can have a flow that helps in finding something different. At an unfamiliar location there can be more capture frames and with a familiar location such as out cottage shoreline there can be less.

' calm & composed '

Those interested in seeing all of the images that were selected and processed can check them out on my flickr page beginning with this one and scrolling through the half-dozen or more that I've posted.

Before heading in when I was done, I decided to set up a remote shot with me in the frame and I think it worked out OK but those with a sharp eye will note that I've done some distortion correction from the RAW file seen in the grid above ... such is the case with low POV ultra wide angle shots.

' curtain call '

Let me know if you found this post of interest and I may just work on something similar in the future.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-10-09

 

' sun down '

Some unusually calm weather over a couple of days at the cottage provided both sunrise and sunset opportunities for photography. Taking advantage, I was again out working the scene along our shoreline using the smooth water to capture surreal reflections.

At 9:10, the sun had just dropped below the horizon, the day's performance was coming to an end, so too was my photo session. It had begun almost two hours earlier as I checked conditions trying to predict whether this would be a photo worthy sunset.

A number of captures were candidates for processing over the following days and now, a week later, my favourite of the bunch has been selected for this week's photo.

.

.

.

 

Teasing next week's blog, I may be giving some insight into my process when working a sunset such as this ...

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-10-02

 

Well ... another 12th of '23 has passed and the final quarter is upon us. Fall colours have arrived, in varying degrees depending on your location. Time is set aside to visit some of my favourite locations for autumn photography, the results of which will be shared in days and weeks to come.

 

My appetite for creating images is returning, slow but sure. Just putting myself in regular positions that have led to success in the past has been a big help in getting things to flow again. I returned to one of those places, and at a time I had been letting slip by ... early morning, near sunrise. What a quiet, still, glorious time it was.

' quiet moments '

An unusually quiet and still morning on Hay Bay, Tobermory.

DJE

 

 

 

 

Photo of the Week 2023-05-15

 

' (Even) In the Quietest Moments '

With the wind down and the bay calm, it was just right to sit, have after dinner coffee and let the serenity envelop us.

 

Taking it all in, I was drawn to the shape of the clouds following the profile of the shoreline trees. For the image,I moved along the shore in search of a composition that would offer a little more than a mirror image reflection. In this case the clear waters provide a hint of what lies below and the exposed rock breaks the reflection of the sky over the calm waters. I placed the horizon mid frame to emphasize the symmetry of the reflection.

 

I regularly make images of sunsets along these shores. The colours are without a doubt awesome and I dare day equal to those anywhere in the world. However the colours are not the only draw when in comes to a Lake Huron Sunset.

Title chosen with a nod to Supertramp, thanks for a great song ...

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-05-08

 

' below the surface '

I've been working to improve my sunset photos by including more foreground elements into the compositions. At first, I found it challenging from positions along the cottage shoreline. Last week's photo used a pair of chairs as foreground which worked fairly well, if a little cliche. Subsequently, I published an image using the silhouetted shoreline rock to add some foreground interest.

For this week's POTW, I chose to show the rock just below the surface of the water since it really is a defining characteristic of our shoreline and the waters of Hay Bay. I think it works quite well and intend to try it again when waters are this calm.

 

DJE