Sunday, January 23, 2011

Icy shoreline of Georgian Bay




















Above photo: Self-portrait this morning; bundled up in many layers to stay warm!

-23C (before the windhcill). That's the balmy temp my friend and I set out in this morning for our trek to shoot the Georgian Bay shoreline in Bruce Peninsula National Park. We picked the coldest day of the winter so far, and could easily have rescheduled for any other day, but we were both too proud to be beaten by the weather (or to admit it).

The frigid wind blew fiercely off the water and created a mist that was at times so thick it was impossible to shoot. But every now and then the sun would peak out and burn off the mist for enough time to snap a few photos.

I'm wiped out tonight from the chill and hiking through snow drifts but couldn't resist processing a few shots from today. I'll be going back again later this week... and crossing my fingers for warmer weather!

Below photos:
Indian Head Cove, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Canon EOS 5D mark II, EF 17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB polarizer & ND grads.




















18 comments:

  1. Ethan, these are staggeringly spectacular photographs!
    Thanks so much for sharing them here.
    Hope you warm up sometime soon.
    Cheers, Ed.

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  2. Thanks Ed! Don W and I went out there together... had a blast!

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  3. Incredible! I only dream of taking shots like that!

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  4. Ethan, these photos are fantastic man! My favorite of the bunch is definitely the second to last image.

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  5. Kudos for sticking to your plan despite the cold. The images you captured were worth the effort.

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  6. Thanks everyone! Josh, my fav is also the second last. Really tough exposure situation, but I did the best I could to manage it (used a 2-stop hard edge ND) and some post-processing work with Nik Viveza 2 software.

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  7. Ethan, excellent shots. I went there just after Christmas, it wasn't as much show as it is now. After I have seen your pictures I definetely will go back there very soon.

    Florin

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  8. Sue Smith7:38 PM

    I can't believe there isn't more ice in the bay? Even in the summer it feels like ice water in this cove ;-) Great pictures!

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  9. Awseome serie, very impressive! The last one is awseome!

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  10. Thanks everyone!

    Florin: the big storm that coated the shoreline with ice was around Dec 13. Since then there's been some melt/freeze that creates the pointy icicles. Did you get to the same place (Indian Head Cove) or maybe the ice was under fresh snow?

    Sue: it's rare for the bay to freeze. In my 11 years living here, only once have I seen it really freeze up (about 5 or 6 years ago)... I was able to walk to Flowerpot Island.

    cheers,
    Ethan

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  11. john Francis8:49 PM

    I was in the same place, the same week. Why don't my photos look like that? This has to be some kind of conspiracy...

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  12. Hi Ethan, This is one of my shots (Dec 28th) http://bit.ly/fc2cKB. And it's taken into the same place. I am planning to go there and reach the other places of interest (The Grotto, etc..).
    I hope the weather will cooperate.
    Again, excellent shots.

    Florin

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  13. WOW Ethan...I'm with Ed...SPECTACULAR! And bravo for braving that weather. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Amazing images ... nice job of capturing such detail and not becoming hypothermic! Thanks for sharing!

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  15. What a difference between fall and winter! I think I'll stick to coming up when it's warmer. =)

    Great photos Ethan!

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  16. Wow! Beautiful photos Ethan! The colors and light are outstanding!

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