Chimney Pond to The Knife Edge

Chimney Pond nestles in the Great Basin on the eastern slope of the Katahdin Massif. Here is a campground, a ranger station, a source of drinking water and a base camp for exploring the higher elevations.  The calm water reflects the saturated greens of the Maine forest and soothes the hikers' spirits. Over the three days we bunked in Baxter State Park, I went down to this pond time and again to watch the changing light and try to capture its beauty. This is my favourite close-up view (focal length = 95 mm); the foreground filled with a range of greens and reflected deadwood and the bright 4:30 pm sky removed from the background. 

Two and a half hours of relentless scrambling up Dudley Trail transports you from Chimney Pond to Pamola Peak and the famous Knife Edge Trail. Gone are the lush vegetation and soothed spirits. Hikers are faced with hard rock, unlimited views down to the east and west and potentially dangerous winds and exposure to lightning. However, on a fair day, this 1.2 mile ridge walk along to Baxter Peak (5267') is a most enjoyable and spectacular hike.

40% Chance of Thunderstorms

Our annual walk/picnic at the north end of île d'Orléans (Point Argentenay) started under a warm and humid conditions when I took this bucolic shot of two horses hanging out along the fence. 

An hour later we pulled up logs and driftwood along the gravel headland of the island and sat down to a potluck picnic still with no sign of a storm.

It wasn't until the end of our ten kilometre loop as we started driving home that these impressively dark storm clouds loomed over the island and the mountains of the north shore. I took the above photo from the Chemin Royal not far from Saint-Jean-de-île-d'Orléans.

Crossing the island on Route du Mitan towards Sainte-Famille we stopped at the height of land to admire the distant hills. While I tried to capture the irregular bolts of lightening on "film" this tractor and hay wagon came up from behind and presented me with this composition.

As Louis Pasteur famously said, "In the field of observation chance only favours the prepared mind". In this field I was happy to be carrying my Canon 7D.

Last Look

Ten days ago I re-travelled the path by the Cap-Rouge River for another look at spring's finest colours. I photographed these trout-lilies (Erythronium, dent-de-chien) elbows propped in the soil for a ground-level shot. For this effect I set my zoom lens's widest angle of view (15 mm or 24 mm equivalent) and cropped the picture to a cinema widescreen panorama (2.39:1).

In this an un-cropped normal view (50 mm or as it looks to the eye) of the Cap-Rouge River looking north back to one of its several bridges. By now theses pale greens have mostly darkened and dulled into a summer uniformity.

June brings other photographic pleasures and challenges: time to head back into the mountains and other vistas.

Spring Energy

Indian Poke (False Hellebore, vérâtre vert, Veratrum viride)

May 10 along the Cap-Rouge river; our favourite and most frequently walked path and best place to watch for early spring flowers. Besides the fiddleheads,  Indian Poke is the most conspicuous and fastest-growing plant in the moist soil. Its bright yellow-greens leaves of early spring turn a dull green as it grows quickly to a metre tall.

Bloodroot (sanguinaire, Sanguinaria canadensis)

Bloodroot, a member of the poppy family, grows very close to the ground and has very showy but transitory white petals. A week after this picture was taken all that remains are the pale lobed-leaf that surrounds each stalk.  


Ten days later on May 20, we re-walked our river path, Paulette with her binoculars and I camera in hand. Stay tuned for another spring-flower post. (Now that our living room has a nice fresh coat of paint it should be soon!)

Inviting Foregrounds

Those of us who live in Quebec City (on the north shore of the St. Lawrence) rarely see its true old-world beauty. Last Thursday, Paulette and I joined our walking group (the TamaLOUPs) for a three-hour promenade and chilly picnic along the south shore bike path. As we headed west from Lévis towards the Pont du Québec, I kept turning back to see when I had a foreground element that would lead the eye into the background and the spectacular Château Frontenac atop the cliffs. The Canadian Coast Guard boats are a little distracting but, with no ice to break, this is where you find them! 

Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f/4L lens at 113 mm; 1/1250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, hand held

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Friday, we went to see the snow geese at Cap Tourmente. With temperatures below freezing not a goose was to be seen; a first in all our many visits there during the spring and fall migrations. Mont Sainte-Anne stands invitingly behind le Marais de la Petite-Ferme. Again the foreground helps leads the eye towards the main subject in the distance. The snow and ice in the marsh with the snow-covered ski trails reinforce the cool, early-spring feeling in the photo.

Canon 7D, EF-S15-85mm lens at 59 mm; 1/400 sec at f/8, ISO 100, hand held

Click here to see the snow geese from April 12, 2010

St. Patrick's Parade

Saturday, March 26, 20 000 people braved the cold and wind along rue St. Jean to cheer on the second annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. Colourful pipe & drum bands from Montreal, Boston, NYC and Quebec City mixed in with community groups and schools.

I'm not particularly a parade-loving person. However, armed with my 70-200 f/4L Canon lens, I zoomed in on all sorts of happy faces and bright greens, flashy reds and military finery. A high early-afternoon sun created strong shadows and made metering tricky. I shot in the full sunny areas and cropped the photos to eliminate  the darkest shadows and finished with a good number of keepers.

To see more go to my flickr site - link.

Oh, and the Irish beer after the festivities with Paulette, Monique and Phil added to my merriment.

Photos Afoot to Photos Ariding

It's minus 3 C (-9 with the wind chill) and there's still plenty of snow about. Yesterday Paulette and I explored la Montagne Fendue on snowshoes (link). Today I couldn't resist going for a spin on my new deVinci Silverstone road bike.

Here's a picture of the blue bomber in our backyard supported by at least two feet of crusty snow. Came home with frozen hands and feet, pleased that I could manage the clipless pedals and curved handlebars.

I'm ready to hang up my MSR Ascents and climb aboard my deVinci for more outdoor fun. Not sure though how compatible my camera will be with biking. I'll let you know.

Out Like a Lion

Got up this morning to 10cm of fresh falling snow. Instead of suiting up and heading out, I took a series of pictures through the windows and open patio door (the lazy photographer's method). I especially liked this shot of our special white pine tree.

The sky was overcast and the light pretty flat so I gently "Photoshopped" the brightness, increased contrast and lightened the middle tones to achieve this result. Hope you like it too.

Pentax K10D, focal length 230mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 200

Vernal Equinox a.k.a. Spring

Spring break-up is at hand. Even at 600m altitude, where we snowshoed this week in the Forêt Montmorency, the temperatures were above freezing. The thick snow cover is giving way to expose warmer colours underneath. I like the combination of melting snow and the subdued earth tones in the shoreline rocks.

Pentax K10D, focal length 170mm, f/11, 1/500 sec, ISO, 400

Sugaring Off

The maple syrup season in Quebec started on February 28 in the Beauce (an hour's drive south of Quebec City and home to Marie-Philip Poulin who scored the two goals for the Canadian Olympic Hockey team).
Temperatures were mild all through January/February and snowfall less than average. Daytime highs are above zero and nighttime lows below; ideal conditions for pumping maple tree sap toward the awaiting leaf buds. This picture from March 4 illustrates the snow loss around tree trunks and on the south facing slope of Mont Écho. While the sky is a saturated cool blue we could feel the sun's warmth on our bare hands and faces. A perfect end-of-season snowshoe!
Pentax K10D, focal length 27 mm, f/9.5, 1/750 s, IOS 200, hand held.

Early Spring!!

February temperatures were 4 degrees above average. The snow is disappearing before our very eyes. Our snowshoeing days are numbered. Can spring flowers be far away? I photographed these backyard tulips on May 24, 2008. How warm the colours are when contrasted with last week's picture of snow along the Cap-Rouge River. I guess my eye is looking to next season's display of new, vivid colours.
Pentax K10D, focal length 170 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO 100, tripod used