Why I love to photograph icicles....

Here's a link to a blog post I wrote for Ontario Tourism about my love of shooting icicles. It seems fitting with winter looming. In fact, I was out shooting icicles on the Georgian Bay shoreline this past week... yes it's already happening! 
cheers,
Ethan


http://northernontario.travel/outdoor-adventures/why-i-love-to-photograph-icicles

Muskoka fall colours + waterfalls = a landscape photographer's dream!

Photo 1. Fall color scene on the Magnetawan River near the town of Magnetawan, ON.
Gear: Canon 5D mk III, 16-35mm lens, Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer.

Nothing beats a drizzly, overcast day to get me motivated to shoot fall colors. Those are perfect conditions to bring out the rich red, orange and yellow foliage... and create beautiful images of satin-blurred creeks and waterfalls. I spent a few days this past week touring around the Muskoka area searching out the best scenes, just as the fall colors peaked. Since I've only recently moved over to the east side of Georgian Bay, I'm still learning new locations. Thankfully, there's a great resource to help! Fellow Ontario photographer Andrew McLachlan's ebook "A Photographer's Guide to the Ontario Landscape" is packed full of great locations. It would have taken me years to find all of these spots without Andrew's book!


In photo 1 (above), I laid down in the creek with my wide angle lens to get an intimate portrait of the bubbles and leaves (yes, I arranged some of them). It was worth getting soaked for this shot! I tried to balance the shutter speed.... slow enough to slightly blur the cascading water, but still keep the bubbles and leaves sharp as they were moving slightly. It was shot at 1/2s, f/11.

Photo 2. Fall foliage along the Magnetawan River near Burk's Falls.
Gear: Canon 5D mk III, 16-35mm lens, Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer.

In photo 2 (above), the red foliage was so amazing I climbed into the centre of the small tree with my wide angle lens to shoot through the leaves and have the river running in the background. It took quite a few images to get a composition that I liked.

Photo 3 (below) is one of the most well known fall river scenes in Ontario - the Oxtongue River Rapids just west of the Algonquin Park west gate. These scenes are very easy to shoot. Here's my recipe: 1) go on a overcast or drizzly day, 2) use a tripod for stability and polarizing filter to cut glare and give you rich saturation, 3) set a low ISO speed and stop down your lens to a smaller aperture (eg. f/11 or 16) which results in a slower exposure that will render the water blurred. My favorite shutter speeds for blurred water are around a 1/4 to 1/2 second.

Photo 3. Fall colours at Oxtongue River Rapids west of Algonquin Provincial Park.
Gear: Canon 5D mk III, Sigma 24-70mm lens, Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer.

 The most dangerous part of shooting these kind of scenes is slipping on the wet rocks. I almost wiped out when I was shooting photo 4 (below) of Rosseau Falls. Good footwear and agility is critical!

Photo 4. Rosseau Falls and fall colors.
Gear: Canon 5D mk III, 16-35mm lens, Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer.

Stubbs Falls in Arrowhead Provincial Park (photo 5 - below) is one of the most picturesque of all the falls I photographed this autumn. As a bonus, the access is very easy... a short hike! I liked it so much, I posed for a self-portrait next to the cascade.  

Photo 5. Self portrait at Stubbs Falls in Arrrowhead Provincial Park.
Gear: Canon 5D mk III, 16-35mm lens, Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer.

SOLD: Canon 17-40mm f/4 L USM lens

Note: Item has sold.



For Sale: Canon EF 17-40 f/4 L USM wide angle zoom lens with accessories as listed below. The lens is about 5 years old and has been used for landscape photography. It is in perfect working condition, both mechanically and optically. I can't find any cosmetic wear on it.  

Serial # 916954

It comes with the following:
-original box
-user manual
-lens hood (aftermarket)
-lens cap (aftermarket)
-Canon lens pouch

Price: $550

Includes shipping within Canada (+$10 for continental US).
Payment by interact transfer or PayPal (no additional fee).

Please email (serious inquiries only): info@ethanmeleg.com

SOLD: Canon 5D Mark II body with Really Right Stuff L Bracket

ITEM HAS SOLD

I'm selling my Canon EOS 5D Mark II body with a number of accessories as listed below. This has been my 'landscape' camera body for the past few years. It is in perfect working condition and shows some minor cosmetic wear (a bit of paint scuffed off the bottom of the grip - see photos).  The camera has been regularly cleaned and serviced professionally.

Serial # 0620305822
Shutter Count: 72,700

It comes with the following:
-Really Right Stuff L-bracket
-original box
-user manuals (English and French)
-neck strap
-battery charger
-1 battery
-AV cable

Price: $1350

Includes shipping within Canada or continental US.
Payment by interact transfer or PayPal (no additional fee).

Please email (serious inquiries only): info@ethanmeleg.com

I took the RRS L-bracket off so you can see it better.

Some of the paint is scuffed off on the bottom of the grip. It is merely cosmetic.

Upcoming presentation for the Huronia Land Conservancy fundraiser evening - August 8 in Midland, Ontario

If you're in the neighborhood, I'll be presenting "Confessions of a Crazed Photographer" at a fundraiser evening for the Huronia Land Conservancy in Midland, Ontario on August 8. Come on out and support this great cause! Details are on the poster. Thanks! 

Shooting landscapes photos @ Lake Superior Provincial Park and Wawa

I was up on the north shore of Lake Superior shooting photos this week at some of my favorite haunts. Lake Superior Provincial Park tops my list of the best landscape photography locations in Ontario, boasting wildly rugged shorelines and big topography. I love the place. 

My girlfriend and I camped out the first night in an amazing campsite on the water (where the first three photos below were taken). We had planned to spend several days camping there, but the mosquitoes were so bad that even the drone from outside the tent screen made it difficult to sleep. The sounds of buzzing mosquitoes is psychologically tormenting to me! So after one night, we wimped out.... packed up our camping gear and rented a cabin as a base to shoot around the area. [for the record, the mosquitoes aren't usually this bad, so don't let them stop you from visiting the park or camping.... go in late summer or fall].

Lake Superior Provincial Park, Canon 1D mk IV, Sigma 12-24mm lens,
Singh-Ray 2 stop hard ND grad. 

Lake Superior Provincial Park, Canon 5D mk II, Canon 24mm f/1.4 lens,
Singh-Ray 3 stop hard ND grad.

Lake Superior Provincial Park, Canon 5D mk II, Canon 24mm f/1.4 lens,
Singh-Ray 2 stop hard ND grad. 

For our last night, we stayed at Rock Island Lodge near the town of Wawa. To say this lodge is ideally situated for landscape photography is an understatement. I shot the next photo (below) just steps from our room at the lodge. I can't wait to stay there again soon and am contemplating hosting a workshop based out of the lodge next year! 

Rock Island Lodge, Lake Superior, Canon 5D mk II, Sigma 24-70/2.8 lens,
Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer and 2 stop hard ND grad. 

One morning while waiting for the light to improve, I re-enacted the famous scene from the Karate Kid to entertain my girlfriend. An outdoor photographer has to have a few tricks in the bag to keep things fun when you're standing around on the shore of Lake Superior!

Cedar Strip Canoe on eastern Georgian Bay

Strutting with my canoe, eastern Georgian Bay.

I've officially survived my busiest time of year and am stoked to have more time to get out to shoot for fun... and catch up on long-overdue blog posts!

For most of my life, I've dreamed about paddling my own cedar strip canoe. I serendipitously found one for sale at a great price this year and couldn't resist. My girlfriend and I decided that an epic location was necessary for the maiden trip, so we pointed the bow towards a small chain of islands on eastern Georgian Bay, characterized by spectacular granite patterns. We lucked into superb weather for paddling, camping and photography!

Gear: Canon 1D mk IV, Sigma 15mm f/2.8 fisheye, Gitzo tripod. 

My favorite location is an island I dubbed "The Ramp" because of the smooth sloping rock that tapers off into the the water. The striations here are remarkable and it's easy to walk into the shallow water to shoot from that perspective.

  

During the middle of the day when the light was too harsh for serious shooting, I decided to show my girlfriend how stable the canoe was and how great my balance was. As I stood on one foot and lifted the paddle over my head, I promptly fell over backwards and flipped the canoe. She clicked at the right time to capture the decisive moment (above). Thankfully, I'd taken all of the gear out of the boat! 

As sunset approaches, I become completely focused on shooting images at the top  locations we've scouted out previously. The hour around sunset it downright intense.... it's a race against the light! Here are a few of the images we captured during the evening shoot.   

Gear: Canon 5d mk II, Sigma 24-70/2.8, Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer.

Gear: Canon 5d mk II, Sigma 35/1.4, Singh-Ray 2 stop soft edge ND grad. 

Gear: Canon 5d mk II, Sigma 35/1.4, Singh-Ray 3 stop hard edge ND grad.

Gear: Canon 5d mk II, Sigma 35/1.4. 

After sunset, we paddled back to our campsite under twilight on glassy calm water. I snapped this photo of my girlfriend with the new Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens, which is superb in low light!     

Gear: Canon 5d mk II, Sigma 35/1.4.  

Algonquin Park triple score (Great Gray Owl, Pine Marten, Boreal Chickadee)

Great Gray Owl in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Canon 1D mk IV and 500/4 IS lens. 

When the alarm clock went off at 5:30 this morning, I desperately wanted to go back to sleep. But the weather forecast was too fantastic to allow it, so my girlfriend kicked me out of bed. We made it to Algonquin Provincial Park shortly after sunrise and started working our way east across the park. It wasn't long before we found a half dozen cars scattered along the highway with cameras trained on something next to the road. It turned out to be a Great Gray Owl hunting a small bog. The bird was working its way westwards, flying from one telephone post to the next. All of the photographers were following it from behind (shooting into the sun) and instead of joining the pack, I walked down the road, anticipating the direction the owl was moving. Sure enough, after a few minutes it flew right past me and I got the above shot. What a great way to start the day!
   
We hit a bunch of the bird photography hot-spots in the park and were excited when this Pine Marten came out in the open along Opeongo Lake road several times at close range. I've photographed martens here before, but today was the most cooperative one I've seen and I ended up with my best shots of the species.

Pine Marten, Algonquin Park. Canon 1D mk IV, 500/4 IS & 1.4x extender. 

Our last stop of the day was at the Spruce Bog, which has become an excellent bird photography location since park staff started putting out a suet feeder each winter (huge kudos to the park for doing this!!). This is the best spot I know to photograph Boreal Chickadees.... they come in regularly to the suet feeders and are quite tame (one landed on the end of my lens this afternoon; others were being hand-fed by birders). As the light was fading this evening, I got my best shot of a Boreal Chickadee so far. What a great way to end the day!

Boreal Chickadee, Algonquin Park. Canon 1D mk IV, 500/4 IS.

Snowy Owl and Black-backed Woodpecker

I haven't been home quite a week yet since my trip to Vietnam and Laos. I'm still messed up from the jet lag (wide awake at 3am most days), but this hasn't stopped me from taking advantage of the great winter conditions in central Ontario! I met up with Len Sylvester a couple days ago to shoot Snowy Owls in the Barrie area. This turned out to be a great afternoon and I ended up bagging a bucket-list shot of an adult male (all white) Snowy Owl against a pure white background of snow. [note, the bird was lured in with food]
If you want to get some incredible photos of these owls, join Len for one of his Snowy Owl workshops: http://www.ttlphoto.com/snowy-owl-photography-workshops-ontario/

Snowy Owl. Canon 1D mk IV, Sigma 300/2.8 lens. 

After visiting my girlfriend yesterday for Valentines Day, I headed north to Algonquin Provincial Park to photograph birds today. Boreal Chickadees are regularly visiting a suet feeder on the Spruce Bog Trail, so I parked myself there for about 5 hours this afternoon. I was ecstatic when a Black-backed Woodpecker landed in a nearby tree and spent about 10 minutes working its way along the trunk 'scaling' the bark in search of insects. I managed to get a few clean shots, my first decent photos of this species. Thank the camera gods for image stabilization, because I was trembling with excitement..... this is a bird I've wanted to photograph for a long time! Two bucket list bird photos in one week makes me a happy photographer!

Black-backed Woodpecker. Canon 1D mk IV, Canon 500/4 IS & 1.4x extender.

Asia bound! What's in my pack?

I'm at the airport waiting for my flight to Vietnam. The next three weeks will be jam packed with hard-core shooting..... Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Our itinerary will keep us very busy! For an overseas trip, I'm traveling very light this time.... mainly because we'll be photographing more cultural scenes and landscapes then wildlife. Nevertheless, I always travel with 3 bags: 

1) The large MEC duffle bag at my feet goes into checked baggage. It contains my tripods, heads, miscellaneous accessories and clothing. Typically I have so much stuff in this bag that it's overweight. That's why I use a duffle bag - the bag itself is very light compared to a standard suitcase. I use my clothing as padding to protect the gear.

2) The pack on the right is a Gura Gear "Bataflae" 18L. Normally I use a Gura Gear 32L pack, but on this trip I'm not taking a huge telephoto lens. This bag is my my primary carry-on and contains all of the expensive, fragile stuff. See the photo below to see what's in it.

3) On my other shoulder is a small North Face day pack which is my 'personal' item for carry-on. It contains my laptop, binoculars and reading material for the long plane flight!

This is traveling light for me! The Gura Gear "Bataflae" 18L is amazingly spacious for its size and weight. What's in the bag for my Asia trip? Going clockwise from the top left: Canon 24/1.4 (Canon 1.4x II TC underneath), Sigma 15/2.8 fisheye (Canon 2x II TC underneath) , Canon 17-40/4, Sigma 24-70/2.8, Canon 70-300/4-5.6, Canon 1D mk IV body, Canon 5d mk II body, Canon 300/2.8. I also have a Canon 580 EX II flash that sneaks in next to the 300mm lens, but I took it out for this shot so you could see the glass.

Happy shooting!
Ethan

Canon G15 - my new point & shoot camera

Above Photo: That's my setup for behind-the-scenes photos... a Canon G15, Joby GorillaPod and Really Right stuff BH-30 ballhead.

I carry a point and shoot camera with me everywhere I go, especially when I'm traveling or out on photo shoots. The convenience of a p&s allows me to shoot candid pics and behind-the-scenes photos/video for presentations and articles. My choice for years has been the Canon G-series.... I've gone through the lineup with a G2, G6, G9, G10, G11, G12 and I just picked up the latest G15 today. A bunch of things appeal to me about the G-series cameras: build quality, image quality (quite good for a p&s), intuitive controls and optional manual function (although I usually just shoot in auto mode!). As a bonus, Canon makes relatively inexpensive underwater housings for the G-series cameras.... which I use for creative perspectives when shooting canoe or kayak photos, and when I'm snorkeling. 

I'm packing right now for a trip to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia... the above rig will be at my side so I can capture all kinds of fun photos!