Fleeting Moments Over Nanabijou

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 18mm
ISO 100, f8 @ 1/8 sec.
Photo created at 7:33 a.m.

On the morning of September 14th, while on my recently concluded trip along the north shore of Lake Superior, I awoke in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park on the Sibley Peninsula, near Thunder Bay, Ontario. I was staying at the Marie Louise Lake Campground within the park, which provides an excellent view of the “sleeping giant.” Ojibway legend describes the “giant” as Nanabijou, the spirit of deep water that turned to stone when the secret location of a silver mine in Silver Islet was revealed to white men. I had set my alarm to be up well before sunrise as I had hope for some early morning imagery before packing up and heading to my next destination on the north shore. When I arose the sky appeared very cloudy and I was facing a westerly direction so I decided to start packing and make an early getaway. As I was packing I turned and noticed a faint glow on the Marie Louise Lake. The sun had found a clearing in the clouds as it was rising and was starting to illuminate the clouds in the west quite nicely. I grabbed my gear and made my way down to the shoreline of the lake.

The images in this blog post were created within 13 minutes of each other, with the last image being created as most of the color had faded from the scene. The best lighting on this scene really only lasted for 9 minutes and the changes of the light’s intensity can be seen in each of the images as the minutes roll by. Please note the time that each image was created in the captions for each image. Splendid moments like this are fleeting, but when witnessed leave a lasting impression. Being in the right place at the right time and being prepared allowed me to capture this amazing display that Mother Nature revealed on this morning.

This scene also reminded me of one of my most favorite quotes by photographer Ansel Adams – “Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.”

Please do remember to click on each of the images to see the larger sharper version and please take a moment to let me know which is your most favorite of these daybreak scenes on Marie Louise Lake.

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 35mm
ISO 100, f8 @ 1/5 sec.
Photo created at 7:36 a.m.

 

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 26mm
ISO 100, f8 @ 1/8 sec
Photo created at 7:38 a.m.

 

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 35mm
ISO 100, f16 @ 0.3 sec.
Photo created at 7.42 a.m.

 

Marie Louise Lake at Daybreak, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 18mm
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/4 sec
Photo created at 7:46 a.m.

Georgian Bay Rugged Hiking Trail

Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm @ 35 mm, ISO 100, f16 @ 2.5 seconds, Singh - Ray 3 - stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter

One of my most favorite trails for landscape photography is the Georgian Bay Rugged Hiking Trail located in the town of Parry Sound, Ontario. The trail head can be found at the salt docks. This is a 5km linear trail that offers stunning scenery with each step forward along the rugged granite coastline. I am currently up on Horseshoe Lake and am planning another hike along the trail this week. The image featured in today’s post was created three weeks ago. The hike was rather difficult as I made my way out to this spot very carefully during a severe flare up of lower back pain – no pain no gain they say :)  All I took with me for the hike to ensure the lightest load possible was my tripod, camera body, one lens, and my trusty, never leave home without it, Singh-Ray 3-stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter. Now that my back pain has subsided I am good as new and ready for a longer hike along the trail.

Please do click on the image to see the larger sharper version.

Laowa 15mm f4 1:1 Macro Lens Review

 

A male Green Frog in wetland
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 400, f16 @ 1/125 sec (Handheld – 1.5 DX CROP)

In June 2015 Venus Optics announced the release of their Laowa 15mm f4 1:1 Macro Lens. I discovered this lens a few months ago and became quite intrigued by it’s specifications, most notably the ability to focus down to 4.7mm from the front element of the lens. There is currently no other lens on the market that is capable of doing what this lens can do. It is a master at wide-angle macro imagery. I had a hunch that this lens would be deadly for creating my frog-scape style imagery even though the lens requires 100% manual operation, including focusing and setting of the diaphragm as there is no coupling to the camera meter. I had hoped to include within this review the results of how the lens performs for landscape photography but unfortunately I suffered a very painful flare-up of my chronic lower back problems. As a result my mobility has been severely limited for the last week or so. I will do an update to this review at a later date to give my impressions of the lens’ performance for landscape use.

A handheld Nikon D800 was used for each of the images in this review and were photographed using the full frame sensor or the 1.5 DX crop. Notations within the image captions will indicate FULL FRAME or 1.5 DX CROP.

Each of the featured images in today’s blog post were created in my favorite wetland on Horseshoe Lake in Muskoka near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada.

Lens Barrel of the Laowa 15mm f4 Macro Lens
The inner ring controls focusing
The outer ring controls the diaphragm

The Laowa 15mm f4 1:1 Macro Lens is a well built lens of metal construction. The front lens cap, rear lens cap, and lens hood are of plastic construction. Do note I did not use the lens hood for any of the images within this post as the lens hood would have either shadowed the subject or created unpleasant reflections in the foreground water due to focusing so closely on the subjects. The lens will accept 77mm threaded filters and I was quite pleased to see that my Singh-Ray 77mm Warm-Tone Thin Mount Polarizer did not vignette when used. The lens also incorporates a shift mechanism that allows for 6mm of upward or downward shift, but I did not test this feature as I did not photograph any landscapes as of yet. The focusing and diaphragm rings both have smooth and easy operation. One downfall of the lens is that it does have strong barrel distortion, but since I am primarily using the lens for my frog-scape imagery it is of little concern to me – each of the images featured in today’s post have had no distortion correction applied to them. Chromatic aberration is very well controlled and when present is easily corrected. Center sharpness is excellent but corners do get a little soft, which improves when the lens is stopped down and is seldom worrisome at macro distances such as those in the featured imagery.

In the next series of photos I will illustrate how I go about creating my frog-scape imagery while handholding this set-up.

Arms extended outwards to pull the camera strap tight around my neck for added stability.
Live View and Virtual Horizon activated
Thumb of left hand is positioned on Zoom Button
Index and Middle Finger of left hand are positioned on the Focusing Ring

 

While in Live View my left thumb will zoom into the scene. I would then place the frog’s eyeball within the area of the red square and using my index and middle-finger on my left hand, rotate the focusing ring until sharp focus is achieved.

 

Left index finger and middle-finger positioned on the focusing ring to adjust focus

The Laowa 15mm f4 1:1 Macro Lens is a versatile lens that is capable of producing dramatic wildlife imagery when focused closely on the subject matter. There are many pros to this lens such as:

• low chromatic aberration
• excellent center sharpness
• 1:1 Macro capability
• Focuses down to 4.7mm from the front element of the lens
• smooth focusing
• smooth aperture control
• shift mechanism
• inexpensive at approximately $499 US

The only downfalls I  noticed were the barrel distortion and soft corners. When focusing in at macro distances and stopping down to f16 I found the corners to be more than acceptable for my frog-scape style images. The barrel distortion while more noticeable in some images than others again is of little concern to me. In nature we do not encounter perfectly straight lines that often, therefore, I find the distortion to be not too big a deal and can sometimes be used to one’s advantage for creative effect. I will likely not be using this lens for architectural work or for ocean sunrises where the barrel distortion would become very problematic.

Here are a few additional images that I created using the Laowa 15mm f4 1:1 Macro Lens.

Bullfrog in Wetland
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 800, f16 @ 180 sec
Handheld
FULL FRAME

 

Bullfrog
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 400, f16 @ 1/60 sec
Handheld
1.5 DX CROP

 

Bullfrog
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 4000, f16 @ 1/20 sec
Handheld
FULL FRAME

 

Bullfrog
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 2500, f16 @ 1/80 sec
Handheld
FULL FRAME

 

Bullfrog
Nikon D800, Laowa 15 mm Macro Lens
ISO 400, f16 @ 1/125 sec
Handheld
FULL FRAME

 

Bullfrog
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 400, f16 1/80 sec
Handheld
1.5 DX CROP

 

Bullfrog
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Marco Lens
ISO 5000, f16 @ 1/25 sec
Handheld
FULL FRAME

 

Bullfrog
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 500, f16 @ 1/160 sec
Handheld
FULL FRAME

 

Bullfrog
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 800, f16 @ 180 sec
Handheld
FULL FRAME

 

Bullfrog
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm macro Lens
ISO 4000, f16 @ 1/25 sec
Handheld
FULL FRAME

And one B-Roll image from the wetland. A very co-operative Northern Watersnake that was found sunning itself on a log within the wetland. The front element of the lens is roughly one inch away from the snake’s head in the photo below. This extreme close focusing capability of the Laowa 15mm f4 1:1 Macro Lens makes it my new go to, never leave home without it lens. It is quite simply to versatile and deadly for creating up-close and personal photos of wildlife subjects within their habitat. Spending my hard-earned money on this amazing lens was a good investment!

Please do remember to click on each of the images to view the sharper, larger versions.

Northern Watersnake
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 800, f16 @ 1/160 sec
Handheld
FULL FRAME

 

 

 

Misty Morning on Horseshoe Lake

Sunrise on Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 24-85mm VR Lens @ 34mm
ISO 400, f16 @ 1/200 sec
Handheld from canoe

I spent last week up at the family cottage on Horseshoe Lake near Parry Sound, Ontario. On the morning of July 17th we were treated to a rather refreshing break from the heatwave we have been enduring with a morning temperature of 10 degrees Celsius. This drop in temperature created the perfect conditions for autumn-like mist to blanket the entire lake. Seeing these conditions I abandoned my plans of heading off in search of a cow Moose and her calf that I had seen the day before in favor of a paddle on the lake. The mist was so thick at times I could barely see the tip of the canoe as I paddled across the lake to a couple of small islands that the sun would soon be rising behind. This was a very special morning whereby the heavy mist conditions persisted for roughly three hours past sunrise, before the sun had rose high enough in the sky to burn off the mist. Best of all I had the entire lake to myself. It was such a tranquil morning to be out on the water enjoying the beauty of the moment and listening to the sounds of nature with no motor boats to rudely disturb the moment.

Each of these images were created handheld while seated in my canoe with various lenses (see captions for details).

Please remember to click on each image to view the larger, sharper version.

Sunrise on Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 24-85mm VR Lens @ 24mm
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/160 sec
Handheld from canoe

 

Sunrise on Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 24-85mm VR Lens @ 62mm
ISO 200, f16 @ 1/160 sec
Handheld from canoe

 

Misty sunrise over forest, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 200-500mm VR Lens @ 500mm
ISO 400, f16 @ 1/250 sec
Handheld from canoe

 

Sunrise on Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 24-85mm VR Lens @ 24mm
ISO 200, f16 @ 1/160 sec
Handheld from canoe

 

Sunrise on Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens @ 18mm
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/60 sec
Handheld from canoe

The Wimberley Sidekick

As a landscape photographer I do not really have a need for a full gimbal style tripod head, however, on more than one occasion I do recall wishing for such functionality in a tripod head with some of the wildlife encounters I stumble upon while shooting landscape imagery. Enter the Wimberley Sidekick. The Sidekick is designed to convert any ball head into a gimbal-style tripod head in seconds and is available from Wimberley. The Sidekick is light weight at 1.3 lbs and can easily fit into a gear bag or the large pockets of cargo-style pants (as I do with my Sidekick). I find the Sidekick to be particularly useful when I am using my Nikon 200-500mm lens. It would also be highly useful for other folks that are using other super-zooms such as the Sigma 150-600mm lenses or the Tamron 150-600mm lens. Although super-zooms are designed to be relatively light weight they do still weigh in at 5-7 lbs (when handholding this gets heavy and can cause arm strain after awhile, especially if you suffer from tennis elbow), by adding a Sidekick to a ballhead the strain of supporting the gear is completely eliminated and you can effortlessly track and photograph you wildlife subjects.

Wimberley Sidekick attached to ballhead with Nikon 200-500mm lens mounted on a Nikon D800

When fitting a super-zoom set-up to the Wimberley Sidekick you will need to slide the lens’ tripod foot in the Sidekick’s quick release mechanism to find the optimum balance for the gear depending on what focal length you have the lens zoomed too. To effectively balance your rig you may need to purchase a long lens plate such as those available from Wimberley here. I am typically using the lens at it’s 500mm focal length for the wildlife subjects I am photographing, so balancing the set-up is usually required once and then I am good to go. To use this set-up you must flop the ballhead into the vertical position and then insert the Sidekick and lock the ballhead’s quick release mechanism. Position the lens and camera in the Sidekick’s quick release mechanism, balance the set-up and lock down the quick release mechanism. Once proper balance is set you can loosen the ballhead’s panning knob and the Sidekick’s five-lobed soft touch knob. You should now be able to freely and effortlessly move the gear around, in all directions, without fear of the lens flopping up or down because it is perfectly balance within the gimbal style set-up.

The convenience of this small, light weight accessory to convert my ballhead into a gimbal type tripod head is a huge advantage for me in the field. I never leave home or head down a trail without it. I can make the switch from photographing landscapes to wildlife in seconds, which can often translate into getting the shot or missing the shot.

Below are a few images that I have created over the last several months of using the Wimberley Sidekick with my Nikon 200-500mm lens:

Do click on each image to view the sharper, larger versions.

My dog Koko.
She is often my guinea pig for new photo gear when the need arises.

 

Common Loons at Tiny Marsh
Elmvale, Ontario, Canada

 

Blue Jay
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

 

Gray Jay
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

 

Pine Marten
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

 

Female Northern Cardinal in Winter
Thornton, Ontario, Canada

 

Red Squirrel
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

 

Common Loon
Horseshoe Lake, Ontario, Canada

Bruce Peninsula National Park

Halfway Log Dump, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens
ISO 50, f16 @ 3 seconds
Singh-Ray 3-Stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter

It has been roughly 10 years since my last trip to Ontario’s stunning Bruce Peninsula National Park. Last week I made a much needed return trip to to the park and spent several days exploring familiar locations within the park as well as discovering some new sections too. From the endless cobblestone beach at Halfway Log Dump, to the iconic view of Georgian Bay from atop Halfway Rock Point, to sunsets in the town of Tobermory, to finding new perspectives from which to photograph the extremely popular Indian Head Cove, this post highlights some initial edits of my favorite images from the trip. As you read the captions you will notice that I opted to use my Singh-Ray 3-Stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter for the sunrise and sunset images. I never leave home with this filter as it is the one piece of gear I consider critical to creating my sunrise and sunset imagery. You will also notice that I chose to use long shutter speeds for the sunrise and sunset scenes as this will cause the water to blur to a smooth, glass-like surface that will not distract the viewer or compete for attention within the image.

A few of the images within this post were created with the Sigma 12-24mm Lens, which I rented specifically for use during this trip. The stunning shoreline along Georgian Bay within the park begs for extreme wide-angle lenses to be used. I will do a review of the Sigma 12-24mm lens at a later date as time permits.

Please do click on the images to view the larger, sharper versions.

Halfway Log Dump, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/6 sec
Nikon Polarizing Filter

 

Sunrise on Georgian Bay, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens
ISO 100, f16 @ 1.6 seconds
Singh-Ray 3-Stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter

 

Halfway Rock Point, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Nikon D800, Sigma 12-24mm lens
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/5 sec

 

Halfway Rock Point, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Nikon D800, Sigma 12-24mm lens

 

Sunset on Georgian Bay, Tobermory, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens
ISO 100, f16 @ 8 seconds
Singh-Ray 3-Stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter

 

Intimate View of Indian Head Cove, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/8 sec.

 

Indian Head Cove, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens
ISO 100, f22 @ 0.4 sec.
Nikon Polarizing Filter

 

Indian Head Cove details, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/8 sec.

 

Sunset on Georgian Bay, Tobermory, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm Lens
ISO 100, f16 @ 8 seconds.
Singh-Ray 3-Stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter
This image utilized In-Camera HDR feature on the Nikon D800

Snakes!!!

Reticulated Python
Nikon D800, Nikon 105mm Micro Lens
ISO 100, f22 @ 1/60 sec
Nikon SB400 Speedlight on a Wimberley F-2 Macro Bracket

Since my last Frogs of the World workshop I have been extremely busy with print sales and submissions to clients, but did want to take the time to share a few more images from the previous workshop. After the frog portion of the workshop is completed participants receive free admission to the Reptilia Zoo where we can photograph many different species of snakes and lizards. I am partial to the snakes, especially the large constrictors and the venomous species. Here are a few of my favorite snake photos from the last workshop.

On another note, my native frog photography has been put on hold for the last week or so due to unseasonably cold evenings. When the temperatures dip too cold at night the frogs go silent. However, this coming weekend I hear that the temperatures are on the rise so I will be visiting my favorite woodland pond in the Parry Sound region in between the various chores that go along with opening up the cottage on Horseshoe Lake for the coming season. I am also hoping to have a productive weekend photographing Common Loons on the lake. Stay tuned🙂

Please do click on each of the images to see the larger, sharper version.

 

Long-nosed Viper
Nikon D800, Nikon 105mm Micro Lens
ISO 100, f22 @ 1/60 sec
Nikon SB400 Speedlight on a Wimberely F-2 Macro Bracket

 

Cottonmouth
Nikon D800, Nikon 105mm Micro Lens
ISO 100, f22 @ 1/60 sec
Nikon SB400 Speedlight on a Wimberley F-2 Macro Bracket

 

White-lipped Viper
Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400mm VR Lens with Canon 500D Close-up Filter
ISO 100, f22 @ 1/60 sec.
Nikon SB400 Speedlight on a Wimberley F-2 Macro Bracket