In the Right Light

All of these photos were taken in September and early October. The lake looks nothing like this right now. In fact it's frozen over, snow-covered and melting into icky slush with today's rain. It looked much prettier a couple of months back so I figured I'd pull some of those pics for you instead. I hope you enjoy them. 

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary." - Aaron Rose

They say that photography is all about shadow and light. Of course it is. It's also about opportunity, equipment and a huge dose of luck. But just for the sake of being agreeable, this post is all about light and its ever-present shadows.


This was a very overcast day. I know, it doesn't look all that gloomy but it was dark just moments before and moments after this photo was snapped. The clouds parted ever so briefly, allowing the sun to shine its light - creating vibrant colours and a few dark shadows. The contrast just makes everything come alive.






On a different day, it rained off and on throughout the daylight hours. We counted no fewer than 4 different rainbows between us. Only a bit of this one showed up but it was rather vibrant, and you can see the rain falling from the clouds above where that lovely sunshine fell.





One evening, the clouds seemed to be lit from the side creating a soft pink edge - like an illuminated shelf of cloud.





Sunset on our bay is rarely full of deep, saturated colours because we face east. Behind us is where the real colour is happening but that's blocked by the hills which lie west of us. Every now and then, there's a sunset that must explode with such intensity for those facing west, that its bounce and reflection paints the sky and water of our eastern view. And we're not complaining for one itty bitty moment.






Please indulge me. I can not resist taking image after image when the sky is like this. I'm only going to show you a few. Note how the moon had already risen on this lovely evening in early September.






One more showing the wavelets forming from a passing boat.






Incoming ripples and the moon reflecting on the water.






And a final close up of the colours on the lake's rolling surface. You can add your own sound effects.






Oh just one more - I couldn't resist. A bird flying through a pink sky while wispy clouds kiss the moon's cheek in passing.






We're oh so incredibly lucky that full moons happen to rise over the lake, directly in front of our door. Here's that lovely glowing orb just before it cleared the treetops across the bay. This was actually the night after the full moon - but close enough.






And here it was the night before, sliding in and out of subtle colours of the clouds. What shall it wear tonight to make its October début?

With a bit of luck, shadow and light can go a long way.

More photos coming up soon.

Harmony in Autumn

There is a harmony

In autumn, and a lustre in its sky,

Which through the summer is not heard or seen,

As if it could not be, as if it had not been!

- Percy Bysshe Shelley

The following photos are not all from the same day but they do represent one of the pre-snow autumn days up here. I hope you enjoy them.


The sun comes into view just above the horizon, across the bay. It looks like it's going to be a lovely day.





These frilly steps are growing on a less than healthy tree on the property.





Still, it has much colour, texture and beauty to offer.





A left turn at the end of the driveway takes us toward the public boat launch. This was taken along the way, sometime in October.
 





This little mushroom offers its cap as a resting place for some debris which fell with the season from the tree above it.






This canoe has seen better days. It's to our right near the end of the boat launch path.







Glancing across the bay, we find ourselves looking at beautiful Blueberry Island.






Autumn catkins catch my eye.






Dusk is falling on the lake - in shades of pink and mauve and blue. I can only imagine the view for those who face west.







Later in the night, the full moon offered a glimpse at a tree's bare branches. That was a treat but even more so, it delighted the eyes a bit earlier when it was just rising...







... and it did this.


Thanks for joining me on this (compilation of a) day. It's been a while since we've walked together. Let's not wait so long next time.

Moondance

We're having weather issues which have brought about satellite woes over the past 48 hours. Our connection is working at about 10% of an already very slow service - when it's working at all. This makes it very difficult to view blogs and comment. I apologize for that but until things are running more smoothly, I'll be finding myself back in catchup mode again through the holidays.

I hope to get another blog post out in a day or two but it that proves to be impossible, I wish all who celebrate, a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy holiday. 

Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance

With the stars up above in your eyes

A fantabulous night to make romance

'Neath the cover of October skies

And all the leaves on the trees are falling

To the sound of the breezes that blow

And I'm trying to please to the calling

Of your heartstrings that play soft and low

And all the nights magic seems to whisper and hush

And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush

~Van Morrison

The white saucer like some full moon descends at last from the clouds of the table above. ~ Harold Monro 







I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it. ~ Albert Einstein







Moonlight is sculpture. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne 






I've never seen a moon in the sky that, if it didn't take my breath away, at least misplaced it for a moment. ~ Colin Farrell 








The moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to. ~ Carl Sandburg 







The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand. ~ Frederic Lawrence Knowles







May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door. ~ Irish Blessing







There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery. ~ Joseph Conrad







One moon lights a thousand forevers. ~ Meng Chiao

The above images are from November's full moon. The lake was freshly iced over and not yet snowed upon. 

Somewhere Else

Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car. ~ E.B. White

On one of my trips up here before I actually settled in, we took a little drive to a nearby town or two.



This is Whitney, Ontario. It sits at the southern point of Algonquin Park - Canada's oldest provincial park.






We were late getting started so we stopped at The Mad Musher for lunch. It was rather costly to eat there but the food was decent enough.






The sun poured in through the window prompting me to photograph the shadows across the chair.






The other side of that window provided a pretty view of the Madawaska River.






You know you're in a small town when one small building houses the grocery store, credit union and Sears outlet.






This is a lookout point over Lake Kamaniskeg in the town of Combermere. And they really do mean "look out." The edge of the boulder on which we were standing drops off to the highway below. It was a pretty sight but I'm not crazy about heights and this one was pretty vertigo-inducing. Coincidentally, Tom Petty's Free Falling is playing on the radio as I type.







One last look in the other direction before we crawl out of here.






This image will probably make Frank's sister, Theresa smile. One summer day, about four years ago, Theresa, her husband Evan and I took a drive through the towns surrounding their family cottage. We stopped in a few places and looked around at general stores, antique shops and other spots. One of those stops resulted in the purchase of this unusual Jam. It was pale pink (this one, not so much) and the lady in the store suggested we try it on crackers with cream cheese. So we bought some. Theresa and I opened up a bottle of Malbec and dressed up a few crackers as suggested by the lady in the store. We almost finished the whole jar. It was amazing! The problem was that we had no idea where it was that we stopped and found it. I have been on the lookout for it whenever I see homemade jams ever since. So, on this road trip, Frank brought me to a store where he had seen a huge display of homemade jams the week before, and while I was scanning the labels, he spotted this lone jar on a low shelf. It was the last one that they had but after I told the store clerk that I had been looking high and low for this jam, she took the name down and said that she would tell the person responsible for making them and that there would probably be more at some point. Yay!







Heading back toward home, a drive by shooting of the scenery around us.






I'm cheating here a bit because this photo was actually taken a few days earlier but who can resist a full moon on the rise over the trees and across the bay? Not I.

More coming up in a few days.