Report: Muskoka Autumn Colour Spectacular Photographic Workshop

Daybreak in the Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve, Ontario

On Wednesday October 9 the 2nd Annual Muskoka Autumn Colour Spectacular Photographic Workshop wrapped up. We had a fantastic group of participants and were blessed with some wonderful conditions to photograph in.

Brooks Falls on the Magnetawan River, Almaguin Highlands, Ontario

Our first stop was at Brooks Falls on the Magnetawan River in Ontario’s Almaguin Highlands. We were blessed with beautiful autumn foliage and a good amount of flow in the river inspite of the dry conditions we have experienced this past summer.

Hogs Trough on the Oxtongue River, Ontario

Next on our list of locations was the Oxtongue River. Upon arrival bright sunny conditions plagued us, but a quick rain shower approached to create the best conditions possible for us, both above Hogs Trough and below.

Oxtongue River, Ontario

A quick stop at Ragged Falls further upstream was a little less than desired as this section of the river was running quite low, but autumn color reflecting in the river’s details provided some very nice opportunities, which can be seen below.

Oxtongue River Details, Ragged Falls Provincial Park, Ontario

The second day of the workshop was spent exploring the opportunities around the Bracebridge area, which were plentiful and saw us discovering some really amazing reflections along Potts Creek.

Potts Creek, Bracebridge, Ontario

On our final morning we may our way to the Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve and were greeted by a stunning morning. The cool night air provided the temperatures for mist to rise from Highland Pond and as the first rays of the sun broke over the tree tops the photographic possibilities were endless. What a way to end the workshop 🙂

Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve, Ontario

Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve, Ontario

Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve, Ontario

Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve, Ontario

Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve, Ontario

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Autumn Splendor

Autumn color at Hatchery Falls, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Laowa 15mm Macro Lens
ISO 100, f16 @ 0.8 sec.
Singh Ray Thin Mount Warm-Tone Polarizing Filter

Now that the leaves have fallen from the trees I have found time to process some of this year’s newly created autumn scenes. I took the time to photograph a few typical fall color scenes with the brilliant reds and oranges of the sugar maple trees and the surrounding landscape as seen above and below, but mostly I noticed I focused on different elements of the season.

Georgian Bay near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 24-85mm VR Lens @ 85mm
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/10 sec
Nikon Neutral Polarizing Filter

 

Georgian Bay, North Shore Rugged Hiking Trail in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 18mm
ISO 50, f16 @ 1/5 sec.
Nikon Neutral Polarizing Filter
Singh Ray 2-stop Graduated Neutral Density Filter

 

Oxtongue River, Dwight, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 18mm
ISO 100, f16 @ 1/5 sec
Nikon Neutral Polarizing Filter

As I began editing the new image files I noticed that many of the photos had a more intimate view of the season. The cinnamon tones of dying ferns, autumn colors reflecting in flowing rivers, and impressionistic-style blurs of a grander scene reflecting in quiet ponds. Below are a few of these intimate autumn scenes that were newly created this year during several excursions into the autumn woodlands. The autumn fern scene was created on a particularly blustery day that required me to dial in an ISO of 800 and wait for a bit of a lull in the persistent breeze. After a lengthy wait I was rewarded with a moment of stillness.

Interrupted Ferns, Torrance Barrens, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 18mm
ISO 800, f8 @ 1/20 sec.

One afternoon I decided to park beside a small quiet pond to have my lunch when I noticed the interplay of reflected sugar maple trees and paper birch trunks on the surface of the pond. Using my Nikon 200-500mm lens I zoomed in on various sections of the reflection to create several impressionistic blurs of the scene.

Autumn Reflections, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 200-500mm lens @ 500mm
ISO 100, f16 @ 0.3 sec.

On another afternoon I found myself at McCutcheon’s Falls on the Black River in the village of Vankoughnet. After creating a few various compositions of the waterfall and surrounding autumn color I became drawn to a small section of the river where a sunlit sugar maple tree was reflecting off the river’s surface. Once again using my Nikon 200-500mm lens I zoomed the lens out to this section of the river to create this intimate view of the flowing water with stunning, blazing color as it reflected on the water.

Autumn Reflections, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 200-500mm lens @ 450mm
ISO 100, 16 @ 0.3 sec.

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Intimate Autumn Landscapes with the Nikon 200-500mm VR Lens

Autumn Color, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 200-500mm VR Lens @ 500mm
ISO 800, f11 @ 1/100 sec
Handheld from canoe

A follow-up to my previous post where I featured the juvenile Common Loon that I photographed using the new Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f5.6E ED VR Lens. After I was finished photographing the very cooperative young loon, I spent some additional time in the canoe paddling along the shoreline of Horseshoe Lake and also exploring the nearby wetland. One of my most favorite things about the 200-500mm zoom range of this lens is that it fits so perfectly with my love of creating intimate landscapes. Being able to zoom in on a given scene and extract various intimate scenes from within the grand landscape is a ton of fun. Here is a selection of my three favorites, each created using the impressive 4.5 stops of vibration reduction while handholding the lens from the canoe.

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

Eastern larch in Autumn, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 200-500mm Lens @ 500mm
ISO 400, f8 @ 1/160 sec
Handheld from canoe

Autumn color, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 200-500mm Lens @ 500mm
ISO 800, f11 @ 1/160 sec.
Handheld from canoe

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Muskoka / Parry Sound: A Photographer’s Paradise

The ‘Blue Hour’ on Georgian Bay. Parry Sound, Ontario. Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens, ISO 50, f22 @ 3 seconds

During the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend I traveled between the Georgian Bay shoreline and Muskoka area waterfalls. The weather was a mixed bag of rain, cloud, wind, and sun. I have just found some time to process some of the photos that were created on that weekend and wanted to share them with you. The Georgian Bay shoreline images were created after the sun had set. I love this time of day as the exposures get longer and some really cool effects and colors can be found, like the ‘blue hour’ image above. I like how the wave action has blurred the reeds in the foreground, capturing the passage of time.

In-camera HDR along Georgian Bay. Parry Sound, Ontario. Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens, ISO 64, f22 @ 13 seconds.

Above I used the in-camera HDR function on my Nikon D800 and dialed in a low ISO of 64 for a lengthy exposure to smooth out the wave action on the bay.

Thunder Creek. Parry Sound, Ontario. Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens, ISO 400, f16 @ 1.3 seconds

While exploring the Georgian Bay Rugged Hiking Trail I could hear the distinct sound of a waterfall within the surrounding woodland. I short walk led me to this wonderful cascade on Thunder Creek, which empties into Georgian Bay. I am assuming this small waterfall is only active after periods of heavy rain. On previous visits here in the summer months I do not recall hearing any waterfall as I made my way across Thunder Creek.

Last Light at Rosseau River. Muskoka Ontario. Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens, ISO 100, f16 @ 0.6 seconds.

By the end of what would be my last day of creating images this fall, I found myself at Lower Rosseau Falls as the sun was dipping beneath the horizon. A lovely puddle had formed in a depression in the granite, which had collected rain water, and was now reflecting the lovely autumn colors of a sugar maple tree on the opposite bank. A low perspective ensured that the reflection occupied much of the puddle’s surface.

Hatchery Falls, Muskoka, Ontario. Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens, ISO 200, f16 @ 1.6 seconds.

Another visit was planned to Hatchery Falls during the Thanksgiving weekend as well for one last go around with the fall colors. In this image I positioned myself directly at the river edge, beneath a slight over-hang in the rock, which protected me and my gear from the river’s spray. After framing the scene and confirming via Live View that I was pleased with the composition I created several photos each time I would increase the ISO settings to capture the water at different levels of blur. I settled on the scene that I created using ISO 200. Often when I am creating landscape imagery after I have composed the scene through the view finder I will activate the Live View feature of the Nikon D800 and take two steps backwards to analyze the scene on the LCD screen. You got it so you might as well use 🙂

Please note: On Monday, October 27th I will be presenting for GRIPS (Grand River Imaging & Photographic Society) at the Kitchener East Presbyterian Church. Start time will be at 7:30 p.m. Click here for the calendar page on the GRIPS website and for the map.

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Autumn Color at Hatchery Falls

Hatchery Falls on the Skeleton River, Muskoka, Ontario. Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 21mm. ISO 200, f16 @ 0.4 sec

I spent the early morning hours today at beautiful Hatchery Falls on the Skeleton River in Ontario’s Muskoka Region. The autumn colors are at peak conditions throughout the area and heavy rains have kept the rivers  flowing at a good pace. It turned out be a very drizzly kind of day, which is perfect conditions for waterfall photography. Having visited Hatchery Falls in both winter and summer this year I knew it would be most beneficial to take along a pair of hip waders and wade out into the middle of the river below the falls for a more pleasing view of the river, downstream of the falls. One of the best ways to improve your waterfall photography is to get out into the river for the up close and personal look. I will be spending a few more days in the Muskoka Region this coming weekend and do hope to revisit Hatchery Falls as well as some of my other favorite sites. Today’s images were either created with the razor sharp Nikon 18-35mm lens or the Sigma 15mm f2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens.

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

Hatchery Falls on the Skeleton River, Muskoka, Ontario. Nikon D800, Sigma 15mm f2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens, ISO 100, F16 @ 0.4 sec

Looking Downstream at Hatchery Falls on the Skeleton River, Muskoka, Ontario. Nikon D800, Sigma 15mm f2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens, ISO 100, f16 @ 0.5 sec

Hatchery Falls on the Skeleton River. Nikon D800, Sigma 15mm f2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens, ISO 100, f16 @ 0.5 sec.

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Rosseau River Revisited

One location I have visited frequently this past year has been that of Lower Rosseau Falls on the Rosseau River. I am a big advocate of revisiting locations over and over and over. With each new visit to a location different elements tend to grab your attention. Perhaps it is because the light on the scene is ever-changing and never the same as it was before, or our frame of mind at the time.

During the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend I was up at the family cottage on Horseshoe Lake to close up for the coming winter. The family cottage is only a short drive from Lower Rosseau Falls. So, when most of the chores were completed I took a short  break to capture a few fresh images of the river. On this visit I decided I would make my way down to the mouth of the river where it flows into Lake Rosseau. When the water levels in the river are high, a portion of the water gets diverted around the rocky terrain, which then flows back into the main stream downriver creating a small pleasing cascade.  I have always been attracted to the directional differences of the river here when this occurs. Above and below are two different compositions of this scene.

I was initially disappointed that the autumn color was past peak at this point in time with significant leaf fall, but do think this transition phase of the forest can be equally beautiful. What do you think?

Please click on each of the photos to see the larger, sharper versions.

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