Hatchery Falls on the Skeleton River, Rosseau, Ontario
The 2nd Annual Muskoka Winter Waterfall Spectacular Photographic Workshop wrapped up on Sunday February 10th around 12:00 noon. We began the workshop on Friday February 8th at 1:00 pm after driving through a wicked snow squall in Bracebridge, Ontario with near zero visibility. The snow squall left about 6-8 inches of fresh snow on the ground and coated the surrounding forests with a lovely dusting of snow – a perfect winter wonderland was created for photographing throughout the course of the weekend event.
We had four fabulous and talented participants of which three were repeat clients.
We began with a glorious morning at Hatchery Falls near Rosseau, Ontario. As the sun began to rise it cast beautiful soft light on the distant forest behind the Skeleton River, as can be seen in the opening image. It would appear that this waterfall has been visited very seldom this year as we had to blaze a trail through significant snow depth on the ground, but it was worth the extra effort.
Potts Creek, Bracebridge, Ontario
We made two trips into Little High Falls on Potts Creek. The first trip in was on Friday afternoon, followed by a second trip on the Sunday morning. Both days were equally good, but totally different. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly waterfalls and rivers can change during the winter months when ice formations take on new shapes overnight. A light dusting of snow on Sunday morning help to accentuate openings in the thin sheets of ice that had formed on Potts Creek overnight. This can be seen in the above image and two images below.
Potts Creek, Bracebridge, Ontario
Winter River Details, Bracebridge, Ontario
Potts Creek, Bracebridge, Ontario
During brief breaks in Friday afternoon’s intense snow squalls the fresh fallen snow created beautiful clean winter scenics.
My choice of gear for this trip was kept rather simple. As usual my Laowa 12mm Zero D lens was given a workout. The Nikkor 28-300mm lens was a close second as it is such a versatile lens and great for capturing icy details along the river. When I needed focal lengths in between the 12mm and the 28-300mm lenses I worked with the Nikkor 18-35mm lens. Every image was photographed using a polarizing filter to help reduce or eliminate glare from the scene. Do note that I said “reduce or eliminate” as not every scene will warrant full polarization. There are times when a bit of glare can be used for creative effect within the composition.
Little High Falls, Bracebridge, Ontario
On Saturday afternoon we trekked into Skeleton Falls through 3 feet of snow until we reached the forest where the snow on the ground was much easier to walk through as we made our way down the forested slope to the river.
Winter Details on the Skeleton River, Rosseau, Ontario
Andrew McLachlan 