I was going through an odd photography dry spell lately when I went out on this day. It was odd because I have been very motivated the last several months.

I didn’t want to go to far and I knew of this church that was just out of town located on a hill. I always thought about photographing it but never got around to it…until this day.

On the way there I knew that capturing an image in my camera was only going to be the first part of producing an image I would be happy with. While it’s a nice old small church, it just didn’t do a lot for me. I knew I could probably produce something satisfying during the post processing.

So here is what I managed to create. I wanted to convey a dark almost haunting feel to it. I converted the photo to black and white and then worked on producing the right tone. I’m happy with the final result.

I have driven by this small lake for years but never took the time to stop and photograph it.

I was driving home one evening and wasn’t in any hurry so I decided to stop and set up my camera and tripod to see what I could capture. It was a cool September evening but it was clear with calm water conditions which I figured could produce some nice reflections.

The first photo was taken shortly after sunset and was a 30 second exposure that produce a beautiful blue tone to it.

The second photo was taken about 25 minutes later or so when it was much darker. The exposure lasted almost 5 minutes which allowed me to pick up the movement of an early star in the sky and the lights of passing traffic on the road to the right.

I have been craving trying a good honest effort to photograph a full moon with the  moonlight reflecting off the water but could never get it right.

The problem has always been exposure. The moon is always too bright to allow for the proper exposure of the light reflecting off the water. The only way to get around this problem was to combine two separate photos into one.

I photographed the moon at one exposure setting and then took a separate photograph of the moonlight on the water. I combined the two photos to create this final product.

The second photo was taken two days earlier when the moon wasn’t quite as full and with it further in the sky but the process was the same.

It was a calm, warm, hazy summer evening along the shores of Lake Ontario. I was sitting at the campsite in my comfy chair with no real intention of taking any photos.

Around from behind the distant island I spotted a sailboat. With not even a hint of a breeze, the vessel made its way under power to a location not far from our location.

The boat came to rest and something about the scene was just begging to be photographed so I grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos. This final edit was one I was very pleased with.

During my recent trip along the Marsh Boardwalk at Presqu’ile Provincial Park near Brighton, Ontario, I had a chance to not only work on my tan but work on my photography skills and eventually some photo editing as well.

There weren’t many marsh flowers within a good distance for photographing but there were plenty of lilly pads.

Normally I wouldn’t expect these to be very photographic as they just sit in the water and aren’t exactly the most beautiful but I did my best to make something that others could enjoy and I would be happy with. I think I did a pretty good job with this one.

The summer in Ontario has been very wet so far so when a rare beautiful day finally arrived, I decided to grab my camera and head out to the Marsh Boardwalk at Presqu’ile Provincial Park near Brighton, Ontario.

Not surprisingly the bulrushes, cattails and tall grass were flourishing thanks to the recent weather conditions.

With a lovely blue sky and some nice clouds in the distance I was able to capture this image of a typical marsh scene. It was so nice I almost didn’t mind having to deal with the deer flies taking bites out of my legs…almost!

On July 4th and 5th of this year an air show celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Powered Flight took place at 8 Wing / CFB Trenton in Ontario. It also marked the 85th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Among the sights in the sky enjoyed by the thousands of people in attendance over the two day event were the CF-18 Hornet, Lancaster Bomber, Search & Rescue Demonstrations, C-17 Globemaster, SkyHawks Parachute Team and the always popular Canadian Forces Snowbirds Aerobatic Demonstration Team.

The very first time I witnessed the team was also in Trenton in 1972 but sadly two of the planes collided in mid-air resulting in the crash of one plane and the death of one of the pilots. This was the first time the Snowbirds suffered a loss like this but sadly it wasn’t the last.

In this photo the eight Snowbird Tutor Jets complete a loop in tight formation. I have seen this team perform since I was a boy and they always provide a thrill.

It started out as a beautiful day but by the time I arrived at the newly renovated Marsh Boardwalk at Presqu’ile Provincial Park near Brighton, Ontario the clouds had moved in and the threat of rain was imminent.

After parking my car in the lot, I grabbed my camera and decided to chance it. I headed out on the boardwalk and walked along the winding trail out into the marsh where I heard more birds in the tall grass then I actually saw. The new boardwalk was very well done and is a nice leisurely stroll through the marsh. I was the only person out there which made it extra enjoyable.

I took only a few photos on this outting as the rain began to lightly fall. This is one of the shots I liked as I thought the sight of the boardwalk snaking it’s way through the surrounding tall grass would make for a simple yet interesting and eye-pleasing photo. I think I was right and was pleased with the final result.

I can’t speak for other photographers but for me there’s nothing worse than a long layoff between photo shoots. After nearly a month I finally had some time off and managed to find some time to get out into nature once again and take some photos.

I ventured out to one of my favourite areas and came away with about five photos I was happy with out of about 80 frames. Some of the other frames were OK but I guess I’m just becoming too picky and decided to weed out the so-so shots.

This was probably my favourite photo from the day. I found a small patch of yellow wild flowers (someone smarter than me can tell you what they are) and tried many different things to be creative. I finally decided to get low and shoot up at them looking toward the sky and I was pleased with this result. I loved how the colours were strong and think it works nicely.

Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.

I attended the local High School Track and Field Championships recently and enjoyed a few hours of photographing many of the races and field events.

It wasn’t an overly warm day but it was comfortable and the sun was shining. I forgot to bring a hat and paid for that mistake later in the day when I realized my shaved head had become rather sunburned.

I had several shots from the event which I was quite happy with but decided to post this shot for you to view as I really liked how it turned out. It has good action and thanks to my improving editing skills I was able to eliminate the distracting background. I was pleased with the final result. Hope you like it as well.