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.

Sunrise through Icicles

After my previous icicle shoot (see last blog post), I went back a couple days later to photograph the last of them before they had melted. I hiked out in the dark to be on location and setup for the sunrise-through-icicles photos I had in my mind. In the first photo (below) the sun was barely up, so I used a splash of fill-flash to light up the icicles. A few minutes later when the sun was higher, there was plenty of warm light shining through the icicles to reveal  the detail of their texture.

Both photos were taken with an EOS 5D mark II, EF 24-70/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray L ColorCombo polarizer.

I can't get enough icicles!

Photo 1 (above): EOS 5D mark II, EF 14mm/2.8 L lens (from http://www.lensrentalscanada.com/)

What do you get when you add a soaked hiking shoe in freezing temps, a wipe out that almost costs you a brand new 24mm tilt-shift lens and a couple of hours laying beneath a ridge of ice that weighs about a ton and could collapse on you at any time? A great morning photo shoot!! 

While hiking yesterday with friends, I found a few lingering ridges of ice that had the best concentration of icicles I've ever seen. The light was dull and the time was ticking - they would melt within a couple of days. I scouted out potential photos and plotted the return trip.

I invited my friend Craig along (he's the mastermind behind the popular website http://www.canonrumors.com/) and we hit the trail in predawn darkness this morning. Mostly overcast conditions crushed the dream  photo I had pre-visualized, but even in dull light the icicles were great. Soon the clouds parted to reveal some blue sky. Nothing beats the contrast of sparkling icicles against a blue sky!

Photo 2 (below): Canon EOS 5D mark II; EF 17-40 L lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer

Photo 3 (below): EOS 5D mark II, EF 14mm/2.8 L lens (from http://www.lensrentalscanada.com/)

Photo 4 (below): Canon EOS 5D mark II; EF 17-40 L lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer

 

Photo 5 (below): That's me. The wide-angle distortion stretched out my torso, making me look skinner than I really am. Excellent! Canon EOS 5D mark II; EF 17-40 L lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer; Canon 580EX II for fill flash

Last of the Icicles on the Georgian Bay shoreline

Unseasonably warm weather put a quick end to the great icicles along the Georgian Bay shoreline that I'd been photographing last week. I made it out for only one more shoot before they had melted away... see photos below (taken with an EOS 5D mark II, EF 70-200/2.8 L IS lens and Singh-Ray LB polarizer). Thanks to my friend Don Wilkes for clicking the shutter on the second one while I smiled! 

Today I finally traded in my trusty 70-200/2.8 IS lens for the lighter and reputedly sharper f/4 version of the lens. I'm looking forward to the significant weight savings (my camera pack is heavy!). I'll be hitting the trails over the next while to test it out. 

Icicles on cliffs near Tobermory, Ontario

Georgian Bay sunset through icicles, near Tobermory, Ontario.
EOS 1Ds mark III; 17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer; ISO 200; 0.4s @ f/22. Mirror lock-up & cable release.

It was a warm & sunny day, so after being stuck inside cleaning the house and working on photo submissions, I was dying to get out for a shoot. There's a scenic, rocky cove about 10 minutes from my place with great access to the shoreline. I trekked out along the waters edge and found incredible icicles hanging from a small, rocky overhang. There was just enough room to scramble under the overhang to get behind the icicles and shoot out towards the bay. The rocks were completely coated in wet ice, making it extremely slick and treacherous (I'd forgotten my ice cleats). I had to brace both myself and the tripod against the rocky crevice to stop from sliding all over the place. It was well-worth it to get this unusual perspective!

Warm days and cold nights are ideal conditions for making icicles... so you can bet I'll be going out there often over the next couple of weeks! Here's a shot of me in behind the icicles - a self-portrat taken with my point & shoot camera.

Icicles on the Georgian Bay shoreline in Bruce Peninsula National Park

The weather forecast for Saturday said sunny; my girlfriend and I had no other plans for the day...it was obvious what we had to do! Before sunrise, we hiked out to the Georgian Bay shoreline to spend the day photographing the icicles hanging from the cliffs in Bruce Peninsula National Park. Our friends with kids joined us and they had a great time sliding around on the ice!

Photos taken with EOS 5D mark II & 17-40mm lens with a 580EXII used for fill-flash.

Icicles along Georgian Bay shoreline

A quick post with a couple photos of the awesome icicles hanging off the Niagara Escarpment cliffs at Indian Head Cove in Bruce Peninsula National Park. It was worth the trek out there to check on the ice conditions. Will be watching the skies - ready for good light for the next excursion. Yes that's me in the first photo. Next time I'll be wearing a red jacket, of course! 

Both photos EOS 5D mark II; 17-40/4 lens (handheld) and Singh-Ray LB waring polarizer. Photo of me taken by D Carey.

icy shoreline

I went snowshoeing out to the Georgian Bay shoreline in Bruce Peninsula National Park this weekend with a group friends. The overcast skies broke with periods of beautiful light -
conditions were about as good as they get!

All photos with EOS 1Dsm2; EF 17-40; Singh-Ray circular polarizer.

Winter is definitely here!

The snow is piling up at my place - there's about 2 feet so far, and my ground-level kitchen window is nearly buried. I can't believe how much it's snowing each day. I'm lucky that my neighbour Ken has a snow blower and very kindly keeps my driveway ploughed out - otherwise I would probably end up house-bound.

The snowy landscape is perfect right now for photos. Yesterday we cross-country skied out to the Georgian Bay shoreline in Bruce Peninsula National Park. It was tough breaking trail, but well-worth it. The icicles at Indian Head Cove are dramatic, and it started snowing like mad while we were out there, which added to the winter ambiance. The sky was heavy overcast, so it wasn't the best light... but hey, you take what you get....

all shots Canon EOS 1ds m2, EF 17-40 lens