SPRING BIRCHES

Yesterday was a beautiful Spring day. Of course there are no leaves on the trees yet but we also don't have the blackflies either. So here a simple image of a stand of birches along a nature trail.

MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVAL, POWASSAN, ONTARIO

Yesterday my wife and I visited the Powassan Maple Syrup Festival. It was a very enjoyable event. I like these country festivals, where you will meet friends and others you had not seen for awhile. In the last decade or so Mennonite families moved into the area and are now quite prominent around town and have become an integral part of the community. I photographed this group of young women who were watching some of the events. What attracted me was the shape of the traditional hats. While the Mennonites live a very traditional lifestyle, I thought it interesting that the clothing was made of polyester rather than wool or cotton.

BLUE AND YELLOW, NEW YORK

The blue tire and yellow painted scribbles on the pavement made an interesting abastract image.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE, NEW YORK

This morning I downloaded the updated version of the VirtualPhotographer plugin. It is an excellent plugin which offers an almost unlimited amount of effects. Here is a sample I made using this amazing free filter set. Try it you will love it.

ANOTHER VIEW

This is just another view of yesterday's landscape. I like the dark brooding atmosphere of this scene. It reminds me of some of the paintings by Turner.

EARLY SIGNS OF SPRING, LAKE NIPISSING

The first signs of Spring start to appear. The ice is still on the lake but is rapidly disappearing with the first warm days of the season.

OLD CEDAR TREE OTTAWA

Time to post again. It is a very busy time around the house. last week we had to move all kinds of "stuff" from the basement. This morning the contractor came to start some extensive renovations. At least the weekend was very enjoyable with all the family celebrating Easter. Hopefully I will get a chance to get out to do some photography but I suspect that the next few weeks will be chaotic.

CRABAPPLE TREE, PINNEYS POINT, OTTAWA

It is still Winter here. Over the weekend we received lots of rain, which changed to snow. It feels like February again. So I thought let me post this graphic image of the still bare crabapple tree. Enjoy.

CEDAR TREES, PINNEY'S POINT, OTTAWA

Another picture of my rainy walk along the Ottawa river. Its a simple image of just textures and colour.

RAIN, OTTAWA RIVER

Spent some time in Ottawa again. Last Monday I went to Pinhey's Point on the Ottawa river. It was avery wet and dark day but I like walking in that kind of weather. The colours are rich and warm. Ochers and dark blues are the predominant hues.

MINIMALIST VIEW

This image of Lake Nipissing is a very minimalist view of the lake. It reminds me of certain paintings by Christopher Pratt.

JUST A REMINDER

The light dusting of snow is just a little reminder that Winter is not over yet. I liked the way that the light snow emphasized the shape and texture of the rocks.

ROCKS, LAKE NIPISSING

Just a simple composition of rocks along the shoreline of lake Nipissing. I tried it in black and white but I think it works better in colour.

REMAINS OF OLD DOCK

Slowly getting out of hibernation, actually I have been busy with planning our basement renovations in April so I have not spent much time taking pictures. Today I felt it was time to get back to doing what I enjoy, which is taking pictures. The snow is slowly disappearing and I should say ever so slow. So I went to some of my familiar spots. So here is an image of the remains of an old dock along the shore of lake Nipissing. I liked the various patterns and textures with the subtle warm tones contrasting with the snow still on the frozen lake.

ALONG HWY 17

Again I have neglected my blog for quite some time but now the Winter is slowly coming to an end and I am itching to start working on some new images. The days are getting warmer, even though it still looks like Winter. But you can see and ear the water running in a few weeks all the snow will be gone. I made this picture along Hwy 17 just outside North Bay. It still looks very much like Winter but I know Spring is just around the corner.

DRAIN PIPE, QUEBEC CITY

A simple picture of a corroded drain pipe. I liked the pattern and colour of the subject.

BIRDHOUSE, QUEBEC CITY

The birdhouse blends into the tree but I was more interested in the composition of the contrast between background and the shape of the tree.

CONTRAST

I simply titled this image "contrast" because of the painterly effect of the decaying wall on the right which contrasted with the obvious photographic view of the window on the right. I think if I had eliminated the window the picture would lose the interesting viewpoint and would look like an abstract painting.

WALL, QUEBEC CITY

I made this picture of a wall at an old military barracks in Quebec City. The place looks pretty run down but it is a great place for taking interesting images.

WINTER ROOFS

I posted a picture of the same roofs about two and a half years ago. This time I was interested in seeing how the same subject would look in Winter but the steep metal roofs did not leave much snow. I still thought it worked well visually so I posted the image.