Photo of the Week 2018-07-30

Conversation with other creatives is inspiring and rejuvenating, a great way to rekindle the fire and often providing a shot in the creative arm.

So it was recently when a friend dropped in for a visit while in my 'neck of the woods'. She brought along a couple of her travelling companions and we spent an evening reconnecting, getting acquainted and sharing thoughts on a number of subjects, some artistic. At one point, my friend brought up the subject of this blog and was very complimentary regarding my writing (thanks Sheila) and I admitted to her that some of my recent posts were getting short on writing content and I felt I was getting lazy with my posts..

While this blog is mainly about showcasing my photography, it is also a journal of sorts, a collection of  thoughts and experiences from my journey, Our conversation reminded me of this and comments by some who have enjoyed my ramblings. It's been good for me to, so it's time to put time back into the writing aspect for those followers and for me. Those who just want to see my images, well they can just look and don't have to read.

---

This past week I decided to spend some time up north at the cottage by myself, something I'd been looking forward to as the "retirement chapter" of my life opens. Up there It's always easy to slide into a easy pace, even more so I wonderfully found with weekend or vacation confines no longer whispering in the margins.

When fog rolled into the bay in front of the cottage the scene changed constantly, from light mist diffusing the view to the far shore, to a thick fog curtain, sun, then no sun. After watching throughout the latter part of the day and after dinner, I decided to head into the village for the evening arrival of the Chi Cheemaun anticipating I might catch it arriving through a fog bank and that I did, staying until it departed again ... but I found myself compelled to stay even further, to watch and continue photographing as the sun dropped lower and lower behind the bank of fog ... this ended up being the most creatively satisfying part of the shoot.

day into night

Moving along the shore, looking out over the water as the light, colours and reflections morphed as the sun dropped further and further, I shot wide then tight, I framed landscape and then portrait. Always seeking that magical combination and finally I found it, something different that I had initially set out to capture but more.

In retrospect, I am again reminded that the act of getting out to shoot, more often than not, leads from one vision to another and takes me further on this journey.


DJE

Photo of the Week 2016-11-07

It was a great week for photography. Twice during the work week, I grabbed some time to make a few images while the light was inviting. 
First thing Tuesday morning I had dental surgery and booked the day off work planning to rest and enjoy the painkillers ... but on my way home the light in a local forest grabbed my attention so I stopped and wandered about with my camera, at least until the freezing started to come out ;-)
I've already shared a couple of the images from this outing on my flickr page here and here. Then there was another medical appointment first thing Thursday morning and on the way there crossing the Gordon Street bridge over the Speed River the scene was just too good to pass so I stopped and grabbed this and this before making it the the doctor's office on time.
By the time the weekend arrived you might think that my photo quota had been filled, but I was off to Tobermory to check on some mouse traps set the previous week (an excuse for a solo weekend in paradise). Before heading out for a photo outing on Saturday morning I grabbed this with my iPhone. When I got to my intended location for photography, I strapped on both DSLR's bandoleer style and went about capturing the fall colour on the fen at Singing Sands BPNP which shots like this.
So it's been a tough one trying to pick the Photo of the Week this week and I'm quite pleased that this is the case. There are sometimes when everything seems just right for photography and I'll take that whenever I can get it ! From the first outing on Tuesday (so I don't get too far ahead and forget about it)  ...

fall leaves in morning light

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-11-02

Sunday morning after Halloween, I decided to get out for a hike along some local trails at the Ignatius Centre, north of Guelph. When I started out, there was a blustery wind pushing the unsettled skies overhead. Now and then a break in the cloud would come and the sun would stream through. Quickly it's warmth would rush over the ground before heading off in the distance. Over and over the sky darkened and I thought I would certainly get caught in a downpour, particularly when I was in the fields far away from where I parked. Each time the wind hurried the heavy dark cloud away.

As I rounded a corner at the edge of a field, along the treeline, the sun burst through to set off the golden glow of several small tamarack at the bottom of a slope. I quickly grabbed a couple of images and then the sunlight was gone.

golden tamarack

For this image I used some different software that I'd been experimenting with (ON1 Photo10 and a plug-in called Smart Photo Editor) to process the RAW file giving the dramatic result above. Fitting around Halloween I think ...

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-10-12

Happy Thanksgiving !

Driving north on Friday, it was evident that some of the maples had decided it was time to show their stuff by Thanksgiving weekend. Fall colour had finally arrived on 'the Bruce' in some measure ... while having coffee in the pre-dawn silence early Saturday, I decided it was time for some morning exploration along roads of the North Bruce.

I have my favourite spots, they always reach out, seducing me with their beauty, trying their best to make me stop and visit. This time I would resist and push on to unfamiliar ground, leaving familiarity behind, searching for a new muse ...

golden blush

DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-04-14

This weekend's photo outing took us to Robert Edmondson (formerly Burns) Conservation Area in Halton Region. We arrived to a chained gate and signs that the area was closed .... pfffffttt. I parked outside the entrance and we decided to go in and see what the "closed" thing was all about.

As Patrick and I walked through the parking area we noticed that the trees and branches broken and downed, during the ice storm a while back, had yet to be cleared and cut up. We also noticed a new "User Fee Station". Our response ... "WHAT ?!?! They're going to charge to come here? How much ? $7.50 per adult ? You've got to be bloody joking !!! "

It seems the costs to change the signs from "Burns" to "Robert Edmondson" were too much for the region to bear. Oh I get that establishing and maintaining conservation areas comes at a cost and the "user pay" model is a fair way to recoup them but ...  by their own admission, Halton describes the area this way; "The park includes a reservoir and picnic area, and features a 2 km trail through wetlands and woods". Charging $7.50 per adult for a single day use of a picnic bench and 2 km trail is absurd. ThIs may be the last time I'll visit Burns errrr Robert Edmondson.

Halton's fees and restricted access early morning and evenings when light is best for photography have already severely limited my visits to their other locations like Hilton Falls, Mountsberg, Rattlesnake Point and Mount Nemo. Pity, it's getting more and more difficult to find accessible natural areas. Municipalities like Halton and Hamilton lock their gates and set fees that are becoming more and more of a deterrent ... for me anyway.

I did manage to make this image during the outing.

golden willows

 DJE

Photo of the Week 2011-12-05

after the frost


On Saturday morning the first hoar frost of the season made for some great photo opportunities while hiking the Speed River Trail west of Guelph. I didn't end up hiking any significant distance but it did take me a few hours because of all the time I spent stopping to capture the landscape painted with a sparkling layer of ice crystals.

All of the images with the frost aside, my favourite from the outing came on the return trek to the vehicle. I was working hard to find images after the frost was lost to the growing warmth of the morning. Then I noticed the chaotic patterns of the wet golden grass in sunlight ....

DJE