Summer In The Marsh

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!

Snowbirds In Formation

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.

Meandering Marsh Boardwalk

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.

Reaching For The Sky

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.

Jumping To Victory

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.