Lake Superior Trip Report

Sunset on Lake Superior, Wawa, Ontario

From October 23rd to November 3rd I was in Ontario’s far north on the shore of Lake Superior teaching two back to back landscape photography workshops. Lake Superior with a doubt provides landscape photographers with the most scenic vistas in Ontario. It is very easy to see what the area caught the eye of the Group of Seven. During this year’s trip we were blessed with inclement weather which saw large waves rolling into the rugged coast, providing us with some very dramatic imagery. We were even rewarded with an early dusting of snow one morning which added further interest to the already impressive landscape.

In between the two workshops I had two half days and two full days off so I decided to venture further north to the area around Marathon, Ontario to explore one of my most favourite parks in Ontario – Pukaskwa National Park. I was also able to locate a specific waterfall along Mink Creek that I had tried to find on numerous previous trips.

Today’s post features a selection of imagery from both landscape photography workshops and my two solo days further afield. I am hard at work putting the finishing touches on the 2020 Lake Superior event and will announce it in the near future. To be added to the contact list please do reach out to me by clicking here.

Daybreak on Lake Superior, Wawa, Ontario

 

Approaching Storm on Lake Superior, Wawa, Ontario

 

Lake Superior, Wawa, Ontario

 

Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario

 

Mink Falls, Marathon, Ontario

 

Agawa Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario

 

Agawa Rock, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario

 

Early Snow on Lake Superior, Wawa, Ontario

 

Lake Superior at Pukaskwa National Park, Ontario

 

Lake Superior at Pukaskwa National Park, Ontario

 

Lake Superior at Pukaskwa National Park, Ontario

 

In-Camera Birch Forest Blur, Ontario

Sandy Beach on Lake Superior, Wawa, Ontario

 

Catfish Creek, Ontario

 

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Singh Ray Filters Pro Gallery

Georgian Bay at Sunset, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada

I am pleased to announce, and honored to have been added to the Singh Ray Filters Pro Gallery. I have relied on Singh Ray filters for the last 25 years to get the job done and photograph scenes the way I see them. I never leave home with out taking them along. The above image was created at sunrise on the beautiful shores of Ontario’s Georgian Bay, near Parry Sound, Ontario. To control the dynamic range within this scene I used my Singh Ray 3-stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter. I much prefer to capture scenes such as this, in the field, the way I see it in one frame. This allows me the freedom to quickly process the image file later at the computer. Sure enough you could capture a few frames and blend the exposures in the digital darkroom, but would you not prefer to be photographing moments like instead of being stuck behind a computer blending exposures?

To save 10% on your next purchase of at Singh Ray Filters use the code “Andrew 10” at checkout.

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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.

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Horseshoe Lake Sunset Solution

Horseshoe Lake at Sunset, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 19mm
ISO50, f16 @ 1.6 sec.

I have just returned from a week long stay at the cottage on Horseshoe Lake near Parry Sound, Ontario and can’t wait to head back up for another week-long stay in a few days. It was a very productive week for wildlife imagery that I will share with you in an upcoming post. On the evening of Saturday July 18th there was a splendid sunset. The lay of the land at the cottage does not usually allow for too many sunset opportunities unless there is a spectacular display. I quickly grabbed my Nikon 18-35mm lens and ran down to the dock when I saw the colors developing in the sky, but the downside was too much wave action from passing motor boats ruining the foreground water. The solution? Create two images. After composing the scene I created one exposure for the sky and then one with a long exposure for the water. This long exposure would “smooth” the surface of the lake hiding the wave action of the passing boats. I then loaded both images into Adobe Camera Raw and made some initial tweaks before opening both images into Photoshop. I am using Photoshop CS6 for my processing of image files so I simply selected the sky image and using the Move Tool moved that image onto the image with the smooth water. I now had each image on its own layer. Next I selected the Eraser Tool and erased the wavy water from the sky image to reveal the smooth water of the second image with the longer exposure.

A simple but effective technique to utilize technology and over-come a challenging situation. If I had waited for the waves to die down the colors in the sky would have been gone.

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

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Top 14 for 2014

Sunrise on Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

 

At this time of year I usually take a moment to repost some of my favorite images that I captured throughout the past twelve months. I did not do as much traveling about as I had hoped to due to various reasons, but I did mange to find the time to travel to the beautiful Caribbean island of Cayman Brac (a return trip is planned for March 2015) for some memorable imagery and discover the awesome Georgian Bay Rugged Hiking Trail in Parry Sound, Ontario. Here is a selection of my 14 favorite photos from 2014. Hope you enjoy them and please remember to click on each image to view the larger, sharper version.

I would also like to thank each of my subscribers for their continued support here and wish you all a safe and prosperous New Year!

Happy New Year!!!

Barn Owl in Cave on Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

Octopus on Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

Snowy Owl in Blizzard Conditions, Thornton, Ontario

Green Frog Chorusing in Pond at Night, Thornton, Ontario

Fisheye Lens View of Hatchery Falls, Muskoka, Ontario

Soldier Crab on Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

Bullfrog on Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound, Ontario

Skeleton River in Winter, Muskoka, Ontario

Cuban Tree Frog at Night on Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

Conch Shell Sunrise on the Caribbean Sea, Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

Sunrise at Pollard Bay, Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

Skeleton River in Black & White, Muskoka, Ontario

Sunset on the Georgian Bay Rugged Hiking Trail, Parry Sound, Ontario

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