Granite bedrock patterns - Eastern Georgian Bay

I spent a few days last week shooting on eastern Georgian Bay at a remote location with some of the most exquisite granite rock patterning I know of on the Great Lakes. My friend, Halifax area photographer Dale Wilson, joined me for the trip and was blown away by the scenic Canadian Shield islands. Our excursion was an adventure. The good ship "ViewFinder" was fully loaded with camping and camera gear. Navigating the gauntlet of shoals to reach the best islands was stressful; thankfully Dale contributed better chart reading skills than I have. At one point while en route to an evening shoot location, I looked back only to notice the stern of the boat filling with water and my camera pack partly submerged. The plug had fallen out! After rescuing the gear and beaching the boat on a nearby island, I jumped in the water with all of my clothes on and put in a spare plug before activating the bilge pump. We were dry and back shooting in 15 minutes, just in time for a great sunset!

Now safely back on land, I'm editing through the hundreds of photos from the trip. Below are a few of my favorites. These were photographed with a Canon 5D mark II body, either Canon EF 17-40 lens or Sigma 24-70mm lenses, and Singh-Ray filters. I'm already planning the next trip out there and will certainly be packing another spare boat plug!

Blue-winged Warbler

Blue-winged Warbler has been on my most-wanted warbler photo list for a long time. I've never lucked into a cooperative one during migration at any of the migrant hotspots like Point Pelee National Park. There are quite a few blue-wingeds nesting in the region around the area where I live (Owen Sound) so this past week I spent some time shooting them here on their breeding territories. Here are a couple of shot I'm pleased to finally get! I also had a very obliging Bobolink pose for me while I was on my way to shoot the warblers.

 

Over the next couple weeks I'll be working on Golden-winged Warbler, which also nests in this region. Golden-winged is the elusive prize that I'm lusting over; they taunt me from high up in the treetops. Check back in a week or two to see if I have any luck shooting them!   

 



Blue-winged Warbler. Canon 1D mk IV; 500/4 lens & 1.4x teleconvertor

 

Blue-winged Warbler. Canon 1D mk IV; 500/4 lens & 2x teleconvertor



Bobolink. Canon 1D mk IV; 500/4 lens & 1.4x teleconvertor

Lakeside Daisy - shooting the best of what's around you

Above photos: Lakeside Daisy blooming in a globally rare alvar habitat

I live on the edge of Bruce Peninsula, an area that is famous for wildflowers including 42 species of wild orchids and several species that are endemic (only found here). One of my favorite species is the Lakeside Daisy, a plant endemic to the Great Lakes region and found primarily in globally rare alvar habitats (characterized by shallow soil overlaying limestone bedrock and a unique assortment of plants).

When I photograph around home, or on distant travels, I always seek to photograph things that are unique to a place. I do advance homework, researching the unique species, ecosystems, landforms or cultural icons of a particular area. With that, I develop a shot list that helps me hone in on the essence of a place.

Birders Gone Wild

Starting at 2am on May 20^th myself along with John Haselmayer and Mark Weircinski will be partipting in the annual Baillie Birdathon. Yes, this may sound a bit crazy to some of you, but this is a birding geeks Olympics. Aside from wanting to break our record of 174 species (which we would love to break), this birdathon supports the conservation of Canada’s birds. Our funds will support both Bird Sutdies Canada (BSC) and the Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory (BPBO).

This 24 hour bridathon day includes a crazy day of driving all over the Bruce Peninsula searching forests, fields, and wetlands for migrants and breeding birds. We won’t be sleeping and won’t be eating healthy – it will be a day full of junk food and caffeine drinks. And for me personally a lot of oreos! Any bets in how many I will consume?

For those who are really interested in how this crazy day ends, please join the three of us on Saturady May 28^th for our ‘Birders Gone Wild on the Bruce’ presentation – apart of the Huron Fringe Birding Festival (http://bit.ly/iTdIVb). In addition to our adventures the presentation will also include my bird photography. That’s one downside to this birdathon, there won’t be time for photos – which is hard as a bird photographer!

Don’t worry if you can’t make it I will be sure to post our results on here!

Please support our Team Bruce Peninsula on our crazy adventure and raise funds for our Canadian Birds. It’s easy to do! You can make a pledge by clicking here, which will direct you to the birdathon website. 

It’s on the Newsstands!!

Be sure to pick up the Canadian Geographic Collector’s Edition – Best National Parks Pictures 2011. This is the issue that features my photo of Banff National Park, Moraine Lake on the cover – once again thank you to all who voted! This issue is full of great photographs of our National parks, marine areas and historic sites by many talented photographers.

Spring migrants photographed from my car

Many spring migrants are arriving back in Ontario to take up seasonal residence in their breeding territories. To say that I'm elated is an understatement! All year I dream about spring and summer. It's my favorite time of year with endless things to photograph and never enough time to fit it all in.

One of my spring rituals is to cruise up and down the backroads of the Bruce Peninsula, photographing birds in the meadows and wet fields. I keep my telephoto lens setup ready on the passenger seat and use a beanbag to shoot directly from the car window. Beanbags are a rock solid platform to shoot from. If you turn your car off (to prevent engine vibrations) and use good technique,  it's fairly easy to get sharp photos even at high magnifications.

Birds and animals are often less afraid of a vehicle than a person on foot, so by driving slowly and being patient you can get quite close for frame-filling photos.  Here are a couple photos taken by this method in the past week. 


Upland Sandpiper. Canon EOS 1D mk IV, EF 500/4 lens & 2x teleconvertor.





Northern Shoveler. Canon EOS 1D mk IV, EF 500/4 lens and 2x teleconvertor. 




Shooting from my van with a 300mm lens supported by a "Blubb" beanbag. 



more Great Smoky Mountains National Park landscapes....

Here are a few images from yesterday and today in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I've processed these on my new laptop and am just getting used to the monitor nuances, let me know if they look OK!

Blogger is giving me trouble with captions, so here are the location and tech details in order the photos appear.

Photo 1: Clingman's Dome, Canon EOS 1D mk IV, Sigma 70-200/2.8 lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad

Photo 2:  Clingman's Dome, Canon EOS 5D mk II, Sigma 70-200/2.8 lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad

Photo 3: Roaring Fork, Canon EOS 5D mk II, Sigma 24-70/2.8 lens, Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer

Photo 4: Roaring Fork, Canon EOS 5D mk II, Sigma 24-70/2.8 lens, Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer

Great Smoky Mountains National Park



Photo: Middle Prong Little River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Canon EOS 5D mark II, Sigma 24-70/2.8 lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer

I'm down in the Smoky Mountains for a few days of shooting... this is one of my favorite locations during spring! It was a long drive down so I'm quite tired, but here's a quick shot I just processed from today. Lots more to come! This is the first photo I've processed on my new laptop, so hopefully I've got all the settings ok and it looks decent. Let me know!

I'm shooting almost exclusively with Sigma lenses this trip, with images in mind for my presentation this week in London, Ontario (thanks to Sigma Canada for their sponsorship!).
cheers,
Ethan

Upcoming Presentation in London, Ontario

I will be doing a presentation in London for Sigma Canada and Forest City Image Centre on “Top Tips for Outdoor Photography”. It’s on a Wednesday so if you are looking to break up your long work week come on out and get some ideas on outdoor photography. There are still tickets available.

The presentation is April 27^th at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn & Conference Center. For more information or tickets, see poster above for details or visit http://www.sigmacanada.ca/2011/04/tips-for-outdoor-photography-with-ethan-meleg/ or call 519-661-0325 to register (Forest City Image Centre).

Hope to see you there!

Help! Please vote for my photo for a Canadian Geographic collector's cover

Help! My photo of Moraine Lake in Banff National Park has been shorlisted for the cover of an upcoming collector's issue of Canadian Geographic. The final decision comes down to a public vote. Please help get the cover by voting here (mine is the one on the left, see mock-up below)!

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/contests/coverVotes/SIP2011_natparks/default.asp


Spread the word. Thanks!!



Magnificent Frigatebirds - Belize

While leisurely cruising around Caye Caulker in a golf cart in search of cold beer, I stumbled across a couple of local fisherman cleaning their fish on a dock. They were tossing the fish guts out, which attracted a group of Magnificent Frigatebirds to within point-blank range. This was the best opportunity I'd ever had to shoot frigatebirds and my photo mojo kicked in like wildfire! Aside from a quick trip back to the hotel to get more gear and memory cards, I shot the frigatebirds continuosly until all the fish were cleaned and the birds soared off. When there's a good photo opportunity before me, I stick with it as long as it lasts (thankfully, there was plenty of cold beer to be found afterwards)!

With the blazingly fast motor drive on the Canon 1D mark IV, I blasted about 1200 photos of the frigatebirds in an hour or so. This was a great test of the new lenses that Sigma had sent me.... and I was impressed with the AF capabilities. The only problem now is that I have so many photos to edit!


Photo 1 (above): Magnificent Frigatebird in flight, Caye Caulker, Belize

Canon 1D mark IV, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens; 580EX II flash at +1 1/3

Exposure: ISO 400, 1/400s @ f/6.3





Photo 2 (above): Magnificent Frigatebird in flight, Caye Caulker, Belize

Canon 1D mark IV, Sigma 70-200mm f.2.8 lens, 580EX II flash at +2/3

Exposure: ISO 400, 1/2000s @ f/5.6



Photo 3 (above): Fisherman clean their catch on Caye Caulker, Belize.

Canon 1D mark IV, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, Singh-Ray LB polarizer



Belize photos

I just returned today from a week in Belize that was a great mix of photography and vacationing (I don't like winter, it was a great break from the snow!). I'm tired and have barely sorted my photos, but here are a few initial photos. I'll add captions and more info when I catch up on my sleep.

All these were shot with Canon bodies and Sigma lenses. First 2 photos are shoreline scenes on Caye Caulker, the last two photos are Black Howler Monkeys (captive) at the Belize Zoo.

Algonquin Park winter scenes

I'm off to Belize tomorrow for a short escape from winter to do some tropical shooting. In sharp contrast of weather, I was in Algonquin Park this past week and one morning checked my themometer which read a rather frigid -24C (but it was a beautifully sunny and calm morning!). A friend called me on my cellphone and my cheeks were so numb I could barely speak! 

I don't have much time to process the files (I'm packing) but couldn't resist posting a few inital shots: 

 

Photo 1 (above): Hoar frost along Opeongo Lake Road, Algonquin Park. Canon EOS 5D mark II; Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray 3 stop hard edge ND grad

Photo 2 (above): Sunset over Lake of Two Rivers, Algonquin Provincial Park. Canon EOS 5D mark II; Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad

Photo 3 (above): Sunset over Spruce Bog, Algonquin Provincial Park. Canon EOS 5D mark II; Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 3 stop soft edge ND grad

Photo 4 (above): Common Redpoll on spruce crown, Algonquin Provincial Park

Canon EOS 1D mark IV; Sigma 300mm f/2.8 lens

Photo Exhibition & Presentation, Kingsville (Ontario) -upcoming

I hail from the small town of Kingsville in the southernmost part of Ontario, Canada (about 45 minutes from Windsor/Detroit). For the first time ever, I'll be doing an exhibition of my photos and presentation back in my home town. 

During the month of March, drop by the Kingsville Public Library (during business hours) to see 12 of my favourite photos on display. The library is located at 40 Main Street West in Kingsville, Ontario and the hours are:

Monday, Tuesday - 1:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Thursday - 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday - 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.


The exhibition is a prelude to my presentation "Confessions of a Crazed Photographer"on April 9 at the Pelee Island Winery. For more info or tickets (limited numbers, get them quickly), see poster above for details. Or visit Shooters Photography Club website: http://shootersclub.wordpress.com/ethan-meleg-event/


If you make it to see the exhibition or presentation, let me know what you think!

Algonquin Park - Boreal Chickadee, marten, redpolls and snow angels....

Photo 1 (above): Boreal Chickadee, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. Canon EOS 1D mark IV;  500mm/4 lens & 1.4x; 580EX fill flash at -1 2/3; ISO 800, 1/125s @ f/5.6

Boreal Chickadee has been on my photo wish-list for more than a decade. I've tried to call the shy and secretive species in for photos, but my best efforts had only resulted in shots of blurry blobs hidden behind branches. So when I read a bird report last week about several Boreal Chickadees coming in to a new suet feeder in Algonquin Provincial Park, I packed my gear and headed to the park. The birds were more cooperative than I ever could have hoped for. Over the past two days, I shot hundreds and hundreds of photos of the chickadees. Bird photography bliss!   

To make things even more exciting, an American Marten dropped in for a visit to the suet. It's not often that I end up shooting two new species for my collection in one day.... well worth standing around in a cold, damp spruce bog!

Photo 2 (above) American (Pine) Marten, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

Canon EOS 1D mark IV; 500mm/4 lens; ISO 640, 1/250s @ f/4

There were a few flocks of Common Repolls coming to birdseed at other locations in the park, so I put up a platform feeder setup (on a spare tripod) with a snowy spruce branch as a perch and enjoyed some great finch shooting! The birds were so close and approachable, I was shooting full framers with a Sigma 300/2.8 lens. 

Photo 3 (above): Common Redpoll on spruce, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

Canon EOS 1D mark IV, Sigma 300/2.8 lens; 580EXII flash at - 2 1/3; ISO 400; 1/250s @ f/4

I always try to end my day at a scenic spot to photograph sunset. Thankfully picturesque lakes are in abundance along Highway 60 in Algonquin Park. In the last light of day, I ran onto the snowy lake and made a snow angel for the photo. Using a Canon TC-80N3 remote time, I set it to shoot an image every 10 seconds, allowing me to be my own snowy supermodel.  What fun!

Photo 4 (above): Self-portrait making snow angel, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

Canon EOS 5D mark II; Sigma 24-70/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer and 3 stop reverse ND grad; ISO 400; 1/10s @ f/20; Canon TC-80N3 remote timer

F-stop camera pack - my latest love!

Photo 1 (above): A ravishing model (self portrait) sporting my F-stop Tilopa camera backpack on the shoreline of Georgian Bay in Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario.

When the guys at F-stop Gear contacted me to see if I wanted to try one of their packs, I initially brushed them off. I already had a gear room full of camera packs, at least a dozen, and I didn’t really think another would add anything but more clutter.

A few days later, curiosity lead me to the F-stop website and I was pleasantly surprised to see that their packs didn’t look at all like the traditional camera packs I already owned. Intrigued, I called them back and they sent me their Tilopa pack to test drive. That was nearly a year ago and I’ve been using it ever since. In fact, the F-Stop Tilopa has become my every-day camera pack. I’m hoping they don’t call and ask for it back, I’m not giving it up without a fight!

F-Stop’s packs are designed for outdoor adventure-nature type photographers who hike (or ski, snowshoe, dogsled, mountain climb, etc) with their gear. The packs look and fit like a typical hiker’s daypack or small backpack but are fitted with a removable ICU (Internal Camera Unit) to securely hold camera gear. All of my other pro-quality camera packs are bulky and rectangular-ish, which makes them top heavy and clunky for hiking. F-stop is a refreshing new approach to camera pack design. As a photographer who hikes often, and sometimes long distances to get to my shooting locations, I'm shocked to now know what I was missing before owning (hoarding?) an F-stop pack!


Photo 2 (above): The F-stop pack in action, that's me on a recent winter photo hike.

What I like most about the F-stop pack:
1. It’s comfortable on long hikes due to an excellent harness system, padding and weight distribution. In my opinion, this is the very best camera pack on the market for hiking.

2. It doesn’t look like a camera pack so potential thieves won’t suspect that it’s full of expensive gear. It also doubles as a great prop in hiking photos, which is why I chose a red one. They refer to this color as "Cranberry". I wish they'd butch-up and rename it "kick-ass red".

3. There’s room in the pack for other gear (clothing, food, etc). Several secure zippered compartments are perfect for small accessories like car keys, a GPS or cellphone.

4. Interchangeable ICUs of various sizes make it easy to customize the pack according to the gear you need to carry. I have both a large and extra-large ICU. They fit plenty of gear and are deep enough to fit pro bodies. See photo 4 at bottom.

5. The ICUs are great on their own for shooting out of a car or in a studio.

6. You can access your gear in the ICU through a zippered hatch on the back of the pack. With the pack on the ground (or snow, see photo 3 below) your gear and the camera harness stays clean and dry.

7. Outer side pouches and quick-release straps make it easy to attach a tripod to the pack.

8. The pack is high quality; mine has stood up to months of heavy use and it's still in great condition.

9. Take the ICU out and you have a great backpack for carrying groceries or smuggling souvenirs across the border, if that's what you're into.

Ideas for improvement:
[Note: the guys at F-stop told me these have already been fixed in updates to the pack since I received mine]
1. The dividers in the ICU need Velcro on both sides for greater customization.
2. The ICU needs to fit the pack better when accessing it from the rear hatch (the frame gets in the way a bit).

So what's the bottom line?
There's no better camera pack for an outdoor/nature photographer who hikes with their gear. I love the Tilopa and just ordered the smaller "Loka" as an additional pack for short treks and around-the-town shooting.

If you bump into me in the field, be sure to check out my "Cranberry" Tilopa. If you're the folks from F-stop and you want your pack back, I'll already be around the next bend!
Photo 3 (above): The back hatch of pack opens for easy access to camera gear in the ICU.


Photo 4 (above): The interchangeable ICUs (Internal Camera Unit) loaded with gear. That's a large on the left and extra-large on the right. I often use them just like this if I'm shooting from my car or in studio.

Ice + sunshine = a great winter photo shoot!

I hiked out to the Georgian Bay shoreline of Bruce Peninsula National Park yesterday with photo buddies Ian "Flash" Brooks, Roy Ramsay (publisher of Outdoor Photography Canada magazine) and David Topping (website to come). It was a beautifully sunny and cold day - perfect conditions for a winter photo shoot!

Ian was wearing a bright red jacket and felt like being a supermodel, so I took advantage of his willingness to pose. Having a person in the photos adds depth and perspective to the landscape.

All of these photos were shot with:
Canon EOS 5D mark II, EF 17-40mm lens; some using a Singh-Ray LB polarizer and/or 580EX flash

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.