Showing posts with label
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.
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Showing posts with label
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.
Show all posts
As the day was drawing to an end after a long hike to the top of the Sleeping Giant the light was fading, legs and feet were aching and there was a threat of rain or possibly snow. But every step through the forest was as magical as the first step at the start of the day and the atmosphere in the forest was truly wonderful.
I love these pictures as they really capture something of that atmosphere. They could be anywhere but these shots remind me that we conquered the Giant.
I can't begin to say how excited I was to get up close to this beautiful fox. It was sat on the side of the road and when I got out of the car to try and take a few pictures it trotted across the road and sat no more than two metres away.
The light was poor as it was the end of the day and it had started to rain so these are a little grainy but I could have sat for ages admiring the beauty before me. It was as if it was posing for me and I have several wonderful shots. I was itching to share these pictures with you but I have only picked a few for today and will save some more for another day.
It appears to be smiling and I love the regal profile in the third image.
Just a couple of shots from the trail looking into the canopy of golden green leaves and the leaf litter on the ground.
I took several shots of the leaves because they were so striking. I like these because of the paths that lead the eye into the image.
One of the highlights of my Canada trip this year was the 25km hike to the top of the Sleeping Giant and back. It was something I had been looking forward to doing since my first visit when the opportunity hadn't really arisen. It was definitely hard work in places but well worth the effort and there will be more shots from along the route and from the top in future posts.
However I also used the hike as another opportunity to photograph more of the many varieties of fungi along the way. Here are a few of them. I was amazed by how may different fungi there were and I really like the first of today's specimens that resembles a natural sponge.
Some of you might notice that one of these plants is not actually a fungi and I almost saved it for a post of its own because it is a really interesting plant. It is of course the plant in the fourth image, it is Monotropa uniflora which is known as Indian Pipe or ghost plant. It is a herbaceous plant that grows very quickly when conditions are right. It is unusual because it is white and that is because it does not contain chlorophyll and so it is unable to produce energy from sunlight in the way that green plants do. Instead it is a parasitic plant that draws its energy from micorrhizal fungi which means ultimately it gets energy from the trees. It will often be found near beech trees and because it does not rely on sunlight it can actually grow in very dark environments.
It has a use in herbal medicine as a "nervine" for act on or affect the nerves; quieting nervous excitement. Which is ironic because I was quite excited to find this along the way.
After a short hike to this little cove I had a bit of fun making a splash and then I spent some time experimenting with some stone balancing.
There were plenty of stones to choose from and with some of the driftwood to provide contrast (and a platform) I constructed a few cool looking stacks. I think they look really good set against the backdrop of Lake Superior and the forest of the Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
I love fungi, I don't know much about them and I would be hard pressed to identify more that just a few varieties but I think they are fascinating and I am amazed and the incredible number of different fungi that can be found on the forest floor and all around us.
I do know that they do a really important job in supporting the eco system, helping trees and plants to extract nutrients from the soil or helping to break down dead organic matter so that we are not up to our eyes in dead wood.
Autumn is a great time for spotting them and while in Canada recently I spotted so many wonderful varieties and of course I photographed a good many of them so from time to time you will get to see some of the better ones.
What do I like about them? Well its the shapes and colours and textures, even the smell, what is not to like...?
Northern Ontario in the autumn and the leaves are changing colours rapidly. By now they're a riot of reds, yellow and gold, but on the day that we visited this spot on the lake the colours were not so vibrant although they were beginning to change. I thought that this image looks better in black and white because you can appreciate the contrast much better. I used a preset in Lightroom to add a little more warmth which the scene deserves and I think you will agree this is a lovely shot.
I chose to photograph this spot because a couple of years ago we camped here, about half way along this shore line and I had so much fun canoeing on the lake, getting up close with an otter family and watching a bald eagle fishing. It was really quiet here on this particular day because the season was coming to an end, but even during the summer it is a great place to get away from it all. There is no phone signal right here so you get a sense of being "off the grid" which is refreshing although I confess that there were times when I sneaked off to the other side of the park in order to call friends/family back home.
The picture for today is exactly what it says in the title. While camping at the Sleeping Giant we were treated to some beautiful weather and lovely clear night skies.
I had hoped to capture some good pictures of the stars but the full moon was so bright it made that very difficult however with the calm lake and clear sky this is a lovely picture. I love the way the lake shore sparkles with the reflected light of the moon. There is one constellation which is visible to the right as we are facing south/south-west however I don't know enough about the night sky to identify it, although I am sure that someone out the will know.
Today I have had a great day exploring a place called Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire and I took a number of pictures of the unusual rock formations which I will be sharing over the coming days but for today's blog I wanted to share one of my favourite pictures from my Canadian adventure.
I have posted several views of the Sleeping Giant and I don't tire of the view particularly as there are so many good memories associated with it. I really like this view of the sunset with the giant and the canoe it is such an evocative image. I hope that you like it as much as I do.
The shore of Lake Superior is full of little gems with wonderful vantage points and great views like this one from Sibley Cove looking towards Silver Islet. This was a beautiful calm summer's morning and I tried to imagine what it would be like here in the winter with the lake frozen over. That is a sight I would love to see.
When I wrote the title of today's post I cringed a bit because I had recently told a friend that "At the end of the day" is a phrase that I don't like certainly when it is in a trite way as it very often is. I also thought of the song "A Country Song For Simon" by the band Hefner which starts with the line "don't you just hate all the people that say at the end of the day all the time".
But, it is actually the perfect title for today's offering because it is just what this picture represents. It is so evocative of how our days by the lake ended, the stillness, the golden glow and the darkening sky, followed by a spell around the camp fire with marshmallows and a spot of skunk watching.
This is Eagle Island, although that is probably not its official name. The three dead trees just left of centre were the favourite perches for the beautiful eagles that frequent this spot and fish in Marie Louise Lake. The tallest tree just right of centre was also another favourite perch for a juvenile eagle. Sadly there were no birds in residence on this particular evening.
On my last morning camping here my daughter and I paddled out to the island and I got some great shots and we were able to watch one of the eagles fishing for its breakfast, such a remarkable sight. Also my daughter pleaded with me to let her go onto the island, I agreed but only reluctantly as the wind was getting up and it was an effort to get in close and stay steady enough for her to get out of the canoe.
She was gone for a little while but she returned triumphant having reached the tree where the eagle was sat and collected a feather. I was really proud of her for her adventurous spirit and really touched when we returned to camp and she presented me with her trophy which is a lovely souvenir of our fun times on the lake.
This picture was taken in the evening and as you can see the lake is mirror calm providing a perfect reflection of the island and with the sun behind us the detail is spot on.
One evening I had gone out onto the lake with my daughter for the first time and as we paddled around the island we saw a couple of otters paddling away towards the reed bed. I was absolutely thrilled and we paddled towards them to get a closer look. Unfortunately I didn't have my large zoom on my camera and so I wasn't able to get any pictures of them.
The following morning we set off again, our friends had been out before us and said that there was no sign of any otters so I didn't really expect to see any. I was focused on capturing some good shots of the eagles and I had rigged up a makeshift camo for my lens using a t-shirt because the previous day the birds had been spooked by the lens and had flown off before I got close enough . This time I was able to get much closer.
As we approached the island we could see through the crystal clear water and we saw lots of clams on the lake bed, many of the shells had holes in them and we worked out that this was a sign that the otters had been feeding on them. Then really close by this beautiful mother otter and two kits appeared in front of us playing in the water. They kept at a safe distance and as we paddled towards them they swam a little further away but they kept playing so clearly they weren't too afraid. As they were moving and I was in the canoe it was difficult to get a really steady shot but I was able to get one or two good ones.
This really was one of the unexpected highlights of my trip and is a memory I will treasure.
This lovely scene was taken on the dock at Marie Louise Lake in the Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. It was a dead calm evening and this was taken using a 30 second exposure. I hadn't been able to take my tripod on this trip as it is a bit too bulky. Instead I used a beanbag to keep my camera steady for such a long exposure. It was the first time I had used this set up and I am rather pleased with the result, the stars stand out really nicely and the warm glow to the left of the picture is from Thunder Bay. I had hoped to get some clear shots of the milky way however there was a full moon and so there was too much light to get a clear view.
Another early morning shot for today, this one shows an old miners cabin on the shore at Silver Islet. I shot this in black and white because I think it gives a sense of how old the place is. Silver Islet is known as a ghost town and is mostly holiday homes now. In camera the shot was slightly over exposed with the sky and lake being a little washed out. It gave the effect that I had originally wanted making this look like a really old photo but I decided to make a slight adjustment in lightroom to bring out some of the detail in the early morning sky.
Also just to follow up on my announcement the other day I now have my new website up and running showcasing some of my wildlife and nature shots so please check it out, you will find it here. I would love to know what you think so please leave a comment or contact me using the contact form on the final page of the site. Thank you.
I posted a similar shot to this a few weeks ago, that picture was taken using my smart phone and I have a number of others taken using my camera, this is one of my favourite reminders of this phenomenal weather. It was so thrilling watching this storm approach over the Sleeping Giant and then sitting in the shelter of the tent as the rain hammered down.
Today marks exactly two years since I started my blog and in that time I have posted pictures almost daily. In all I have posted 671 times only missing when I have been ill or on holiday without a good enough signal and I have been committed to keeping this going to share some of my favourite pictures. I have done it because I love taking photos but also because the feedback I receive has kept me going. Through this blog and social media I know that my pictures have been viewed many many thousands of times by friends and by strangers all around the world, in places I never imagined. For everyone who has ever taken the time to view my pictures and read my comments I am extremely grateful
If you have followed me for any length of time you will know that I have posted pictures from a range of different genres or styles demonstrating my overall enthusiasm for photography. Wherever I go I am looking for photo opportunities and while some might say I should try to enjoy the moment I feel that by looking for the image I am actually getting so much out of every day.
I am always looking for ways to improve my skills and I have decided that I need to develop a greater focus on one particular area of photography and so I am starting a new web page under my real name with an emphasis on Wildlife and Nature where I will be showcasing what I think are my best wildlife shots so far in searchable galleries, and of course I will be adding new pictures over time with a little more attention to the technical side of the the image rather than the story behind the shot (which is what this blog is about) and hopefully as I pay closer attention to this I will make big steps forward.
I will continue to take pictures wherever I go, whenever I see something that catches my eye and I will continue to try different things from time to time and with that in mind I will continue to post daily pictures to this blog so I really hope that everyone who has supported me so far will continue to do so. I will post a link to the new site here once it is up and running and I hope that you will all stay with me on my journey to becoming a better photographer.
While camping lake side in the provincial park we were visited by lots of critters on a daily basis including chipmunks, skunks and squirrels. During our stay we saw grey, black and red squirrels but by far the most friendly were the reds, like this one that let me get up close as he posed for this delightful portrait. He had been active around the site all week but had been quite difficult to photograph because he was so darned fast so patience was the key to getting this shot.
I think that you will agree he is adorable.
On a walk along the short trail to see a rock formation known as the Sea Lion we stopped off at a lovely little cove and had some fun skimming stones and climbing on the rocks. At one point there is a rock wall adorned with pebbles each with the names of previous visitors scratched onto them. I left my own memento and then built this stack of stones on the edge of the lake.
I took a number of pictures with different backdrops because from different angle it looked good fitting into the landscape.
I have chosen this one for today because in most of the other shots the stack forms part of the landscape but here it is the focus of the image.
I had stopped here at Surprise Lake just on the way in to Silver Islet on my early morning cycle ride/photo expedition. I had taken a few shots of the lake with the trees reflected in the calm water and I was about to set of when this guy pulled up in his car, casually got out and walked into the lake and began to fish. I was so impressed by how calmly he set about his business and how he left barely a ripple as he cast his fly. I watched for a little while until he caught a lake trout and then I left him to it. It was such a calm and quiet morning, after this I stood and watched a downy woodpecker and a small flock of cedar waxwings in the trees by the shore and I was so glad that I had made the effort to get up and out by myself.
This was also one of the few spots on the Sibley Peninsula while camping that I was able to get a phone signal and I took a moment to call loved ones back home. It is funny that as much as I was having fun being by myself it was also nice to share the moment.
A couple of week ago I posted a photo, taken using my phone, of the front of the old store at Silver Islet and gave a very brief history of the once thriving mining town here. I really loved visiting the area although it is no longer a bustling mining community it has a very special feel to the place and was probably my favourite spot that we visited during the whole trip.
I liked it so much that one morning while camping in the provincial park I got up early, borrowed a bike and set off on my own for the ten mile round trip to take some photos before other people started arriving. It was warm and the air was quite still so I managed to get some nice shots of the small harbour, a small lake and the islands just off the shore as well as the many interesting buildings which have stood for many years against the harsh weather conditions in this area. I will of course be coming back to share some of these pictures with you and I look forward to doing so.
This photo is a rear view of the old store taken from the jetty, it involved a bit of scrambling to get to this spot as the jetty itself was fenced off but it was worth the effort, for this and the several other shots I took from here.
This isolated community as I say had a special feeling to it and I could easily see myself settling here in a cabin facing out into the bay.
