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Kettle Point #2, Landscape Photograph
We’ve been spending many beautiful evenings on the shores of Lake Huron lately. Mainly in the Kettle Point area which is peaceful beyond words. Have you been? If not, you should. The water is often quite calm, the shore void of people.
And it’s quiet, oh so quiet.
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Where’s your favourite place to be in the quiet of nature?
I was delighted one winter morning four years ago when our two feet of snow quickly and quietly melted during a three day mild streak, because I knew what that meant. When the cool snow met the warm air it created this lovely blanket of fog.
It was an absolute honour to see my landscape photography grace the pages of Photo Life Magazine.
Lake Erie #15, Peaceful Minimalist Photograph
If you’re on our Sneak Peek Emailer list then you already know that today we released my newest photograph: Lake Erie #15. This image was somewhat inspired by my love for the work of Mark Rothko, you’ve probably seen his paintings before and not realized it.
And if you’re not on our Sneak Peek Emailer list then you should sign-up! It’s the best way to hear about new photographs before anyone else does and you can expect to hear from us every 2-4 weeks. Plus if you add in your mailing address you may receive the occasional holiday card too.
Lake Erie #14, Peaceful Minimalist Landscape Photograph
There’s something pre-historic about this rock, don’t you think? Darren says it looks like some sort of ancient turtle. What do you see?
Last week we found ourselves on the beach in Port Glasgow, Ontario. The water was high and rough which really limited what we could photograph. Many of the interesting rocks were submerged and there wasn’t much land left to perch my camera on. But it still made for a lovely, peaceful evening, watching the sunset and having a picnic dinner in the car while staring out over the water. Made me think this must be nature’s drive-in.
Such a beautiful gloriously foggy morning to drive out to Port Stanley. I’ve been itching to try a different composition with my seascape photographs and I’ve finally had a chance to try it out. Just beautiful bands of colour formed by the lake and the sky. Plus I found some new angles while I was there, I’ll just have to schedule more trips to the beach. Like I always say, making photographs begets making more photographs.
Currently featured in our October 2011 desktop calendar.
So what do you think? Is it too minimal? Have I gone too far? Please let me know in the comments section, I’ll see you there!
{Lake Ontario #13 is now available in our landscape photography shop}
You got to see a sneak peek last week of Lake Erie #12 as part of our September desktop calendar. And now, as promised, the story behind the photograph.
I made this photograph in July on the night of the full moon, in Erieau, Ontario, Canada, about an hour and forty-five minutes south-west of London. Darren and I had big plans to photograph the moonrise, but it wasn’t long after we arrived that we realized there would need to be a change of plans.
I’d done my research using The Photographer’s Ephemeris, determining that the moonrise was going to begin at 9:12 pm, and I checked in with The Weather Network and it looked like Mother Nature would be cooperating that night. What I was unable to predict from so far away was how high the lake was. It was so high, in fact, that there was only a narrow strip of beach remaining where I had planned to set up the camera.
Since the moon was so far north and the water was so close to the rocky retaining wall I wasn’t able to photograph the full moon rise. Lake Erie #12 is what I came home with instead.
{Lake Ontario #12 is now available as a limited edition print in our landscape photography shop}
Lake Ontario #6, Toronto Landscape Photograph
This is the final image from my recent photography travels to Toronto, and I’m so happy with the collection! This latest photograph has quite the tale, I waffled about photographing the Humber Bridge, I really felt like it was over photographed by everyone that visits Toronto. But I decided to go ahead and create an image with my own special feel.
I got up bright and early to make this photograph at 4:55 am, before the sun was up so I could catch the glitter of the lights. My vantage point was the sidewalk of the bridge on Lakeshore Road that passes over the Humber River. I got all set up in the dark, in the perfect position to get the angle and crop that I wanted, and while not standing directly under a street light that could possible cause flare in my image. Then I waited for the light to be just right. I watched lights turn on in nearby apartment buildings. When the time was right I began photographing.
Hmmm… When I checked the back of my camera, something wasn’t right. The photographs didn’t seem to be in focus. I rechecked the camera and pressed the shutter again. That didn’t seem to help. Was I fooled because the light level was so low that I couldn’t focus the camera properly? No. Were all my settings correct? Yes. Then it dawned on me, traffic driving on the bridge I was standing on was shaking the tripod causing the image to appear out of focus. I find sometimes it’s hard to tell from the image on the back of the camera if it’s out of focus or if there’s camera shake.
I started to panic a wee bit. This was my last opportunity to make a photograph on this trip and I really wanted it to work out. Plus I hate heading out at 4:15 am and coming home with nothing. All I could do was hope for the best and make some attempt at timing things so that when my shutter was open for over four minutes there weren’t many large trucks driving over the bridge. But lucky I was! And this photograph is the result.
{Lake Ontario #6 is now available as a limited edition print in our landscape photography shop}
Lake Ontario #5, Toronto Landscape Photograph
This nautically inspired, beautifully curved retaining wall is part of the Toronto Water Treatment Plant in the Toronto Beaches. I made this photograph on my recent trip to Toronto, it was such a gorgeous evening for photography! The weather was cooling off for the day and the sky was clear. So clear, in fact, that we were able to see fireworks across the lake. I know! Pretty incredible! We never were able to figure out if they were in St. Catharines or some place in New York State.
{Lake Ontario #5 is now available as a limited edition print in our landscape photography shop}
Lake Ontario #4, Toronto Landscape Photograph
I used to live in Toronto, did I ever tell you that? It was long before I began my series of Seascape Photographs, it almost seems like another lifetime now. I made Lake Ontario #4 on my recent travels to Toronto, early on the first morning I was there. Ridiculously early in fact. I believe it was some time to the tune of 5am. It’s beautiful to see the city so quiet, to watch it start to slowly wake up as the light of the sun softly bathes the streets. Inspiring and full of happiness!
{Lake Ontario #4 is now available as a limited edition print in our landscape photography shop}
Lake Ontario #3, Toronto Landscape Photograph
Recently some members of our Facebook Community suggested that we check out some spots in The Beaches in Toronto. Well, in June, the opportunity finally presented itself and I was able to take a few days to travel to Toronto purely to make photographs. Such a wonderful trip! I couldn’t have done it without Carren, whom I met ten years ago working at iPIX. She shared her home and her couch with me for my three day visit, and for that I am extremely beholden. Thank you Carren!
Toronto, approximately two and a half hours northeast of London, Ontario
The Beaches is an area in Toronto located just to the east of downtown and it features a beautiful, long sandy beach and a charming little community. There’s a boardwalk that runs from one end of the beach to the other and a dog park where puppies splashed in the water. It was wonderful to see so many people out unwinding by the lake at the end of the day.
I have to admit, I was a little uncertain about being away for three days making photographs in an area that I wasn’t entirely familiar with. So before I left I did some research and drew out a loose schedule of the spots that I wanted to visit and the scenes I wanted to photograph. The very first evening I was there, after a sushi dinner with my friend Danielle, I made my first photograph of my trip. According to my pre-production I was to photograph along one of the piers, running perpendicular to the beach, just after sunset as the day was turning into night.
Lake Ontario #2, Toronto Landscape Photograph
I got there nice and early and I was set up and ready to make my photograph long before I knew the time would be right. As I stood on the pier, staring out across the beautiful water, I saw the beginnings of a bright rainbow forming in the east. Slowly but surely it grew and grew, arching across the sky. What a wonderful sight! And then something I could have never predicted happened, the rainbow arched back downwards right in line with the end of the pier I was perched on! I kid you not!
It was at that very moment that I realized that we make our own luck. If I hadn’t planned to be out on that beach, ready to make minimalist photograph Lake Ontario #2, then I would never have had the opportunity to make Lake Ontario #3. Even if I lived in the area, and I saw the rainbow in it’s early stages, I could not have gotten out there in time to make that photograph.
{Limited edition photographs Lake Ontario #2 and Lake Ontario #3 are now available in our landscape photography shop}
