River Otters - still there!

I went back again this morning, hopeful that the otters would be there, and indeed they were. The light was a bit better than last night (although still overcast). At one point the curious otters swam almost right up to me. The vertial portait above is full-frame, the others (2 otters in frame) I cropped a bit. 500/4IS; 1.4x; Rebel XTi; ISO 400
Photographing otters is a great way to start a day!

River Otter

I lucked out this evening to stumble across two otters popping up through holes in the ice, close to shore. The light was fading fast and my heart was beating like mad - this was the best otter photo opp I've ever had. I set up the gear in seconds and waited for them to resurface. The otters were backlit and it was getting dark, so I had to shoot at ISO 800 and accept slow shutter speeds. Out of about 100 shots, only a handful were sharp. Lucky for me, this was one of them - with the otter looking right at me. I'll definitely be back checking this spot over the next few days!

Techs:
500/4IS; Rebel XTi (still waiting for my new bodies); ISO 800; 1/15s at f4

Porcupine and Argentina photos

Since getting back from Argentina I've been busy with with work, getting ready to move next weekend and buying new camera gear to replace the stuff that was stolen on the trip. I've barely had a chance to get out shooting, although I lucked into this cooperative porcupine near my place recently.

Below that are some Argentina pics (I'm finally starting to process the raw files from the trip). The first photo is of what Argentina is famous for - beef. There are cows everywhere, and often on the roads, so you have to be ever vigilant when driving.

The second shot is my dad and I at the farmhouse where he lived in central Argentina, until moving to Canada at age 4. The house is now abandoned, but visiting it was a trip highlight and very nostaligic.

The last photo is classic Argentine scenery in the northwest - high-altitude desert on the edge of the Andes. I can't wait to get back there again and spend some quality photography time in those hills.

Hope all is well, and happy shooting!

Bohemian Waxwings - 500mm handheld !

I was out birding today and lucked into a flock of about 250 Bohemian Waxwings. I've been wanting to shoot this northern species for years, but have never had a good chance. The birds were jumpy, so I decided to try to stalk the flock with my gear handheld. With a slow and cautious approach, I was able to get very close. This was the first time I've seriously tried the 500IS handheld, and I was amazed to get sharp photos in the overcast light, especially given the effective focal length of 800mm (factoring in the 1.6x factor of my temporary Rebel XTi body). There's no way I could have done this without an Image Stabilized lens.

Techs: ISO 400; f/4; 1/500s

Finally time for a post!

Sorry - I haven't been very active with this blog since returning from my Argentina trip! I've been working on getting my replacement gear, and preparing to move at the end of the month. I'll be relocating to the east side of Georgian Bay (Midland area), which strategically places me in a more central location for access to tons of great photo spots (Algonquin, Awenda, Killbear, Killarney, Georgian Bay Islands NP.... all will be within reach)!

As always, I've also been keeping up with stock photo requests. This has been a banner year for me, continuing the annual growth trend in my stock photo business. My mantra these days is to 'work smarter, not harder' which I'm achieving by shooting in-demand subjects, and focusing my business efforts on a small, but high-quality group of clients. Why didn't I think of that a few years ago when I would regularly work all night on photo submissions that paid so little!

The best news is that I've been enjoying a bit of down-time lately (this is rare for me)! I read a fantastic book this week that I simply could not put down. "Let My People Go Surfing" by Yvon Choinard (the founder of the outdoor gear company Patagonia) is hands- down one of the finest books I've ever read. I'll be giving copies to lots of my friends this year for the holidays.

Today we had our first big snowfall of the year. I hate to bid farewell to autumn (my favorite season), but I don't have a choice. Here are a couple of fall shots from near my house.

Happy shooting!

Fall colors in my yard

There are some pockets of fall colors still hanging on around my place, especially the staghorn sumacs which are in peak condition. I shot these in my yard this evening to test out my new Singh-Ray Colorcombo filter (a combination of the LB Warming Polarizer and LB Color Intensifier). This is a dream filter for vividly saturated fall colors.

EOS Rebel XTi; 70-200/2.8; mirror-lock up and self-timer; 4s at f/9

Argentina photos

Here's a couple from this morning - shot in the Quebrada de Cafayate..... a striking canyon in the Andes. The scenery in the northwest of Argentina is some of the finest in the world - a dream for landscape photography. I'm amazed this place isn't on the radar of North American travelers. More photos soon!

Shot with EOS Rebel XTi; 18-55mm lens and 70-200/2.8; Singh Ray ND grads.

Bad luck today.

I'm in Argentina right now and had a life "first" today...... robbed at gunpoint. No kidding. We were scared shitless and thought we might be killed. Obviously we're ok, hence the blog posting. But I've just made a significant contribution to the Argentine economy - a good chunk of my camera system. I'll be scrambling for gear to make it through the rest of the trip.

It was a pretty scary robbery - we were driving slowly, just pulling onto an Expressway in Beunos Aries, when two guys with pistols ran out of the ditch and stopped our car. They tried smashing the driver window and made us open up and give our up our stuff. We were actually quite lucky not to lose all of our stuff, and most importantly our lives!

After this, it can only be a great trip! More to follow later.....

Outdoor Photography Canada magazine & Singh Ray blog

Check out the latest issue of Outdoor Photography Canada to see my cover shot/story on fall photography in Algonquin Provincial Park. For all of us patriotic Canucks, it's worth subscribing to support this excellent magazine. Credit to the publisher Roy Ramsay for his hard work to launch and establish the mag! www.outdoorphotographycanada.com



And if you find yourself surfing the net, stop by the Singh-Ray blog to check out my tips for using the Singh-Ray Gold'N'Blue polarizer. http://singhray.blogspot.com/

Hope everyone is having a great autumn - happy shooting!
Ethan-

Landscape photo tour

Just caught up on sleep after hosting my Bruce Peninsula landscape workshop/tour this past weekend. Thanks to Clara, Pat, Mara, Steve, Michael, Wendy, Sylvia, Brian and Craig for good company and great photos! We had some outstanding shooting conditions and everyone left with fantastic photos.

Sylvia Fletcher caught this photo of me getting smashed by a huge wave. I was trying to shoot waves crashing into the shoreline and got a bit overzealous. I turned at the last second, saving the camera from almost certain destruction by sheltering it close to my body - fun!
[the wave almost knocked me off my feet]



Dreamy conditions at Halfway Log Dump.
EOS 1DSm2; 70-200/2.8; Singh-Ray warming polarizer LB and ND grads.




Sunset over sand ripples at Singing Sands.
EOS 1DSm2; 17-40/4; Singh-Ray Gold'n'Blue polarizer and ND grad.



Happy shooting!

More Algonquin photos

My trip to Algonquin Park a couple days ago was unusually productive for such a short amount of time (one night). I shot the loons (previous post) in the evening and these landscapes the next morning.

First 3 landscapes:
EOS 1DSm2; 17-40mm; Singh-Ray Blue n Gold polarizer plus ND grads

Fisherman on misty river:
EOS 1DSm2; 70-200/2.8; Singh-Ray Warming Polarizer

Common Loons (first photos with new lens)

I bought a 500/4 IS lens on Friday to replace my older (non IS) 600mm. Naturally I had to test it out, so I headed to Algonquin Park for a couple days. These are the first photos I shot with it.... taken from my kayak using a small tripod that fits in the cockpit and a Wimberley head.
All I can say is WOW - why did I wait so long to buy this lens?

EOS 1DSm2; 500/4IS; 1.4x TC

Photo Mojo

I've had an unusually busy year, with far more time spent at my computer than I'd like to admit. It's been downright tough to drag my butt out of bed for for early morning photo shoots. Office work stunts my photographic mojo.

The dull, rainy weather last weekend was all I needed to stay home, buckle down and finish a ton of work. When the skies cleared on Sunday afternoon, I had renew energy and inspiration to get out and shoot.

With big plans for Monday morning, I set my alarm clock and had the coffee maker ready to go. I woke up at 4:30am, drove an hour, then hiked in the dark for 20 minutes out to a favorite shoreline spot in Bruce Peninsula National Park. The predawn light was just getting good. For a few hours I was inspired by the morning light and found new angles at familiar places. I've barely been able to put my camera down since.

EOS 1DSm2; EF 17-40mm; Singh Ray warming polarizer LB and 3-stop hard edge ND grad (grad on first two only).

SOLD: Canon EF 600/4 L USM lens

SOLD

FS: Canon EF 600mm f4 lens (non IS).

$3400 CDN or best

Optically excellent.

Full details plus lots of pics of the lens can be found here:

http://www.ethanmeleg.com/600mmlensforsale.htm

Reason for selling... just bought a 500/4 IS.

Give me a shout if you have questions.

cheers,

Ethan-

Lake Huron sunsets

Sunset - St Jean Point Conservation Area

This small shoreline park is a rather obscure spot about 20 minutes from my house. Last night was my first time photographing there, and I was treated to a fantastic sunset.
I shot these using a Gold-n-Blue polarizer to accentuate the rich colors, 3-stop hard edge (4x6" size) ND grad handheld in front of the lens, plus off-camera fill flash (set at -3 stops) to show some detail in the boulders. The wind was so strong it was blowing over parts of my gear.

EOS 1DSm2, EF 17-40mm lens, Singh-Ray filters as mentioned above.
exposure top image 6s at f/18; bottom image 1s at f/20

kayak trip

Just got back from a couple days of kayaking and camping on the east side of Georgian Bay with some friends. Here are a few shots.
[all with EOS 1DSm2, EF 17-40mm lens. Singh-Ray warming circular polarizer]

1) Waterlilies - To get this shot, I hung over the side of my kayak and dangled the camera at water level. Unable to see what I was shooting through the viewfinder, I'd take a shot, review on the LCD, then try again. It took about 30 tries to get it right.

2) Kayaks - sunset on the shore of our camp. 3-stop soft edge ND grad.

3) My friends' dog "Gunner", a big, lovable bull mastif. Very rare to capture a moment where there wan't a long string of drool hanging from his mouth. Fill flash at -2/3.

sometimes you get lucky

I stumbled onto this scene a couple nights by sheer luck while en route to an engagement. With only a couple of minutes to spare, I setup and shot quickly. Two Singh-Ray filters were key to capturing what I saw: a warming circular polarizer to cut glare and improve saturation, and a 4x6" ND grad angled to hold back the bright sky and water.

I first tried the 3-stop soft-edge grad, but it wasn't holding the water back enough, so I opted for the 3-stop hard edge. I was worried the gradation of the hard edge was going to show in the image, but the gradation on the larger 4x6" sized filters is better than on the smaller versions - and it blended perfectly.
EOS 1DSm2; EF 17-40mm

Sunset over canoe on Cyprus Lake, in Bruce Peninsula National Park.

September landscape workshop plus latest pics

My apologies for the lack of postings lately - the weather has been far too good to be sitting inside at a computer!

Just wanted to give a plug for a landscape photography workshop I'm holding here on the Bruce Peninsula in mid-September (15/16). Check out my workshop webpage for full details by clicking here:
http:www.ethanmeleg.com/programs.htm

The first photo below is a a place we'll visit on the workshop - Indian Head Cove in Bruce Peninsula National Park. This is one of my favorite spots on the peninsula. The photo is a self-portrait from a few days ago.

Photo 2 is Piping Plover tracks through rippled sand. The pattern and late day shadows really caught my attention.

The last photo is from yesterday, at the wedding of my good friends Ron and Carrie. I was in the wedding party, tux and all, but still had my camera handy to shoot some candid photos of Ron & Carrie.
Hope you're having a good summer!
cheers,
Ethan-

Frogs to fields to birds.....

This is a great time of year for photography - so many things to shoot and so little time! I'm so far behind editing photos. Here are a few from the past week. All with EOS 1DSm2





About the photos:

1) My friend caught this Wood Frog and I shot it at a setup on my deck before releasing it. 70-200/2.8 lens with 25 + 12mm extension tubes.

2) Canola field in peak bloom, along Highway 6 north of the town of Ferndale. 17-40/4 lens with Singh-Ray warming circular polarizer LB (my favourite filter - I use it for 90% of my landscape shots).

3/4) Piping Plover adult and chick. 600/4 plus teleconvertors.

Hope you're enjoying summer!

cheers,

Ethan-

eastern Georgian Bay

Just got back from a shoot on the east side of Georgian Bay, in the outer islands area of Georgian Bay Islands National Park. The islands were beautifully scuplted granite outcrops, litearlly covered with orange lichens (Xanthoria elegans). Some of the islands had shallow pools with tadpolls (see 4th photo down) and a few lily pads (last photo).

All these were taken with an EOS 1DSm2, 17-40mm lens and Singh-Ray warming circular polarizer LB.