A Pine Marten Day

Pine Marten – Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm lens @ 500mm (750mm equivalent)
ISO 1000
f8 @ 1/160 sec

 

On the morning of January 25th I awoke early and made the two hour trek north to Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park to spend the day photographing Pine Martens with my new Nikon D500. It turned out to be a very productive visit with many wonderful opportunities. I mounted my Nikkor 200-500mm lens on the Nikon D500 as this combination as been proving to be quite deadly, especially given the fact that the Nikon D500 has an APS-C size sensor, therefore the 200-500mm lens becomes the 35mm equivalent of a 300-750mm lens. Here are a few of the Pine Marten images that were created during this visit to Algonquin. All images were created with the Nikon D500 and Nikkor 200-500mm lens firmly mounted to my tripod with a Wimberely Sidekick attached to my ballhead.

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

Pine Marten – Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm lens @ 220mm (330mm equivalent)
ISO 1000
f8 @ 1/800 sec

 

Pine Marten – Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm lens @ 500mm (750mm equivalent)
ISO 1000
f8 @ 1/80 sec

 

Pine Marten – Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm lens @ 310mm (465mm equivalent)
ISO 1000
f8 @ 1/320 sec

 

Pine Marten – Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm lens @ 420mm (630mm equivalent)
ISO 1000
f8 @ 1/320 sec

 

Pine Marten – Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm lens @ 400mm (600mm equivalent)
ISO 1000
f8 @ 1/420 sec

 

Pine Marten – Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm lens @ 320mm (480mm equivalent)
ISO 1000
f8 @ 1/640 sec

 

Pine Marten – Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm lens @ 270mm (405mm equivalent)
ISO 1000
f8 @ 1/640 sec

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Lake Superior Provincial Park

Sunset at Gargantua Harbour, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 26mm
Singh-Ray 3-Stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter

 

I finally had a chance to go through my image files from my September trip along the shore of Lake Superior Provincial Park. One of my most favourite locations within the park is that of Gargantua Harbour. A long, winding dirt road brings you to within walking distance of the lake, where you will come to a fantastic beach to the left and to the right the shoreline is scattered with large boulders which have been rounded and smoothed by the waves of Lake Superior. A couple of other bays that are often quite productive for landscape photography are Old Woman Bay and Katherine Cove. As you view the images make note of the captions and you will notice that for some of the imagery I chose to use my B+W 10-Stop Neutral Density Filter. I will often resort to this filter when I am wishing to blur the wave action to a silky smooth texture, but the ambient light is still too bright to facilitate this, therefore, I will add the 10-Stop ND filter and presto I can usually go down to 30 second exposures with easy. When using this very dark filter I find it is best to use Live View and open up the aperture of the lens to compose the scene and focus the lens. I will then stop the lens down to my desired f-stop and click the shutter.

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

Gargantua Harbour, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 18mm
30 Second Exposure
B+W 10-Stop Neutral Density Filter

 

Gargantua Harbour, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 18mm
Nikon Neutral Polarizing Filter

 

Old Woman Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 24mm
Singh-Ray 3-Stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Filter

 

Katherine Cove, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 20mm
25 Second Exposure
B+W 10-Stop Neutral Density Filter

 

Katherine Cove, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 35mm
25 Second Exposure
B+W 10-Stop Neutral Density Filter

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Workshop Participant Photos

Red-eyed Tree Frog – captive

Today’s post will feature imagery from Tim Harding. I first met Tim a couple of years ago at Tiny Marsh near Elmvale, Ontario. Tim signed up for my recently concluded frog and reptile photographic workshop that was held at Reptilia on January 7th and captured some lovely images. We had a great turn out of talented folks and I hope to feature more imagery from the workshop participants as they submit their images. Here are a few images that Tim was able to create during the workshop. As usual, the Red-eyed Tree Frogs performed perfectly and posed very co-operatively atop the pink bromeliad blossom. The Vietnamese Moss Frogs with their superb, camouflage coloring blend in nicely on a large, lichen covered piece of tree bark. The dendrobates auratus dart frog with its incredibly bright colors really pops when placed on a few old dried oak leaves to create a forest floor-like setting. And finally the Fire Salamander gives us a nice pose while it is crawling around on a large section of moss. Tim was using a small softbox on his off camera flash to help soften the light. Using small softboxes is an excellent way to soften the harsh light of a bare flash bulb and often they will help to reduce some, but not all, of the flash generated spectral highlights as well.

Vietnamese Moss Frog – captive

 

Dendrobates auratus – captive

 

Fire Salamander – captive

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Architecture

Royal Bank Plaza, Toronto, Ontario

On the morning of January 17th I decided to drive into the heart of downtown Toronto for some architectural photography. My chosen destination was to be in close proximity to the CN Tower and some of the impressive skyscrapers with their mirrored windows, as well as a visit to the Humber Bay Pedestrian Bridge over the Humber River. Although I was out of my comfort zone of woodlands and wetlands it was a most productive day however, the clear skies were quickly becoming over-cast due to inclement weather that was on the way. I worked quickly to capture a selection of imagery before the weather conditions worsened and to make a bee-line for my rural home north of the city, prior to the rush hour traffic that typically brings the traffic to a stand-still. Here is a small selection of the architectural photographs that I created during that day.

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

Humber Bay Pedestrian Bridge, Toronto, Ontario
(Cokin Blue+Yellow Polarizing filter used for creative effect)

 

CN Tower Reflecting in the Delta Chelsea Hotel as window washers are at work. Toronto, Ontario

 

Royal Bank Plaza Abstract. Toronto, Ontario

 

Humber Bay Pedestrian Bridge, Toronto, Ontario

 

The Restored Union Station Plaza Clock Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(Originally from 1927)

 

Abstract of Humber Bay Pedestrian Bridge and Condominium, Toronto, Ontario

 

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Good Morning 2017

Winter Stream, Innisfil, Ontario, Canada

Happy New Year to all!!

This morning I arose bright and early to greet the new year with a winter sunrise over a small stream near my rural home. It was a beautiful and peaceful morning.

To view the larger, sharper version please remember to click on the image 🙂

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