D J England Photography

2016-06-12

Photo of the Week 2016-06-13

A few weeks back I posted 'a walk through the trees', an image made of a favourite trail running off the cottage road. It's not long and it's easy to access. I often shoot the section just at the start as you enter off Simpson Ave. I shoot it under different light and through all 4 seasons.

Recently I decided to make images at various locations as I walked down the trail one misty morning with Murphy alongside. I felt the resulting series of images went well enough together to make a nice set and I decided to present them together as a multi-tych collage.

"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson -

DJE

2016-06-06

Photo of the Week 2016-06-06

What do you do when when it's just another version of a scene you've captured before ...

... as Friday night reminded me yet again, you go and photograph it again, because there is always something different. It's always worth another go. Your frame of mind will be different, your vision will be different, conditions will be different and sometimes ... your luck will be different. That's right, your luck !

I'm a firm believer that the harder you work, the more you try, the luckier you will be. It applies to literally everything. So, photographically speaking, even when you have shot the scene before, go back and capture it again, see just what might be different or how you can improve on your image from the last time

Case in point, my sunset image made in Tobermory this past Friday night. Heading up Hwy 6, as we got close to the cottage, the sun was dropping quickly, it was closing in on 9 pm. I thought to myself, "you got some sunset images from the village a couple of weeks ago, how would sunset shots tonight be any different tonight". I know, right? Well, we wouldn't make the cottage in time to get the kayaks out and get on the water for a sunset paddle anyway, so I decided to make the short detour into the village just to have a look.

Now I won't try to tell you that I had any idea I would get something like this, but the harder you try ... and as luck would have it, I got something quite different.

matchstick sunset

Part of making good photographs is being ready with your camera gear, knowing what conditions to plan for, were to go, and just getting out to that spot to shoot ... and then sometimes, every now and then, it all comes together and luck adds the final touch.

Serendipity Rocks !

DJE

2016-05-30

Photo of the Week 2016-05-30

On a still spring evening with uncharacteristically calm water, we set out in the kayaks onto Hay Bay. What was intended to be a sunset paddle, turned into more of a paddle in movie. We just went out from shore enough to see the sun setting behind the clouds, floated around and watched the show. It was stunning ...

heavenly reflection

I can see this being a regular activity at the cottage when conditions are right :-)

For those interested in some further insight, Lynn and I recently purchased sit-on-top kayaks for the cottage and they were delivered on Monday, the first day of our recent vacation. We chose sit-on-tops because we're not experienced 'kayakers" and with me being a "bit of a phobe" when it comes to boating in water I'm unfamiliar with, this was seen as the prudent choice. You can check out the boats using the following links, Lynn's is a 2016 Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120, mine is also a Wildi, but the Ride 135 model.

Lynn is the adventurous one when it comes to exploring on the water and I need to remind her to slow down and let me take small steps as I work through my 'issues'. I'm committed to pushing my comfort envelope and through desensitization, cracking this nut that holds me back. This past week was a great success as far as I am concerned. We got out a few times, not going very far yet, staying inside Hay Bay, but each time a little further. With scenes like the one above, I may have a little more incentive to pull me through.

Oh, and now I'm looking for a camera solution to use when kayaking. I won't be taking either of my DSLR's out for photographs like this on the water, though they may come with me packed in a dry-bag to come out once we find a location to land and go ashore. My selection for this image was my EOS M3, small and easily packable in a small dry bag I was comfortable taking it out, particularly with the calm water.

DJE

2016-05-23

Photo of the Week 2016-05-23

Spring is a wonderful time to get out in the woods in Southern Ontario ... if you can find spots the mosquitoes haven't
;-)

I'll be starting a week of vacation and looking to scratch the photographic itch while taking advantage of the down time. I have plans to hike a few trails and catch some of the orchids on the Bruce if they are are out yet.

Enjoy your week !

DJE

2016-05-16

Photo of the Week 2016-05-16

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. Robert Louis Stevenson
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/forest_2.html

"It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit."

- Robert Louis Stevenson -

'a walk through the trees'

... and a spring walk along a favourite trail, with shafts of morning light penetrating the freshening greens, is the perfect place to take in 'that something'

Along the way, I was treated to the songs from birds returning on their trip north for the summer. I'm not able to identify many of the species from their call yet, but I'm working on it. At one point in my walk, I broke into a broad smile as I recognized the calls of a merlin pair. Two years ago I caught sight of a mating pair in the same area. Then, they were caught up in their aerial courtship atop a tall spruce visible from the road as I passed by along the roadway. This time I first heard only their calls back and forth. One was close, very close, so I stopped and scanned the tops of the trees, catching sight of one.

I'm not good enough with my identification to know if this is the male of female, I need to see them together ... perhaps on my next visit to renew my weary spirit.

DJE