Canola at the Springbrook Lookout
To call the lookout over the fields in Springbrook slightly famous would be an understatement. With the great dunes of the Cavendish Sand spit in the distant horizon, this view defines Prince Edward Island in so many ways but that’s no secret. At any given time, the roadside is filled with locals and tourists setup to photograph this iconic scene that would even rival a bear jam in Jasper. Add that to the relatively new rotation of canola on PEI, and you build a recipe for yellow chasing photographers.
I made several visits this summer but found myself never alone. On a few occasions, I had to simply keep on driving to avoid the crowd. Although looking back at the situation now, my one regret was not taking a photo of the photographers line along the ditches.
This year was canola. Last year the field was unfarmed. The year before was potatoes. What colours and textures will the 2013 season bring?
Today’s Image – Storm Clouds Rolling in over Springbrook
On this particular night, I could see the storm clouds building to the west of Charlottetown. My ability to predict is terrible but ideally, you can position yourself on the edge of the cloud front with an opening behind you for the sun to illuminate the deep shadows typically found during heavy rain clouds. This night just happened to be in my favor and it happened to be Springbrook where I found my shot.
At this time the canola had already been cut down. The next few images show the difference from earlier in the summer.
Fun in the Sky – PEI Aerial Photography
I spend alot of time looking at maps. Either it be paper or software, I like having that overview visual of any location I’m photographing. In fact – When the software I use to keep my images organized announced all the newest and latest features – I was most excited for the ability to tag images to a digital map. Having this overview is great but seeing it for yourself is a completely different experience and what can be better then flying over Prince Edward Island in a small 4 seater Cessna?
Holding out for good weather can be frustrating but I recently took to the skies for my first flight of 2012. Here are just a few of the images created in early July 2012.
I really need to do this more often.
Today’s Image – Cape Tryon
I have talked about this lighthouse a few times in previous posts as it’s one of the most photographed and famous of the 63 lighthouses surrounding Prince Edward Island. It also happens to be declared as surplus and the risk of loosing it is very real. The land from the Cape Tryon Lighthouse (lower right) all the way to the New London Lighthouse (center top) is all part of the L.M. Montgomery Seashore.
Reflect on Time
Iceland has a rich landscape made of fields, mountains, volcanos, lava fields, deserts, ash beaches, glaciers, snow, ice and waterfalls in every direction. The Iceland landscape has a little bit of everything and while I’m not ready to return home from a photographic point of view, I am eager to get back out on the coast of Prince Edward Island to experience the last half of the spring season.
But I will surely miss the 4 hour sunsets and 24 hours of light.
Today’s Image – Reflections
The simplistic landscape of a clear water beach in Annandale, Prince Edward Island (N 46 16.136 W 62 26.806) and working the reflecting sky in the light water ripples.
Golden Sand
The blue/yellow polarizing filter is something I rarely use but when I arrived at the beach and realized I had forgotten my standard neutral polarizer — that was as good of an excuse as any to add some color.
Today’s Image – Golden Sand
Sand ripples and reflections in Brackley Beach, PEI National Park.
Big Week of Birding
I am still not a very good birder. I can hear them. Sometimes I can see them. But more often than not, I can’t identify them. If I’m lucky, they’ll land at a close enough distance for an ok photograph.
It’s now June and we’re in the middle of birding week.
The full schedule of events is posted on the Parks Canada website.
“Prince Edward Island National Park is hosting its first-ever Big Week of Birding June 1-10 in honour of its 75th anniversary and inviting beginner and advanced birders to take part” – The Guardian
Today’s Image – The Iconic Bald Eagle
The Gaspereau are running and it’s the season when the eagles gather around the shore lines to feed on fish. While the images I made were not technically perfect, they are still pretty good reference shots. For a giant intimidating bird, they are extremely fearful and incredibly difficult to get close to on Prince Edward Island.
The Dance With Wildlife
It can be challenging at the best of times to come close enough with wildlife. There is always that dance to position yourself in the hopes you do not disturb or scare the bird into flying away. You repeat the cycle of slowing moving closer as they slowly move further away. With each step closer, you fire off a few frames just in case it’s your last.
Today’s Image – Red-winged Blackbird
This small Red-winged Blackbird was special and tolerated my presence more than usual. However, what I was not expecting, was right before I got to that “I can almost fill the frame” distance, my cell phone started to ring.
Coincidence or not and now patent pending — this little guy answered the call.
Changing of the Seasons
Spring is well under way and with the snow and ice long gone — temperatures often still require dressing fairly warm with hats and gloves. The water is moving, shades of green are filling in and before long, summer will be here and I’ll be complaining how hot is it. ;-)
Today’s Image – Island Spring Stream
Nature at times can be quite a mess of details and colours. Here’s trying to organize and make sense of it all in a single image. There is a fair bit to absorb in this one.
A Co-op Photography Art Gallery in Charlottetown?
When I’m in Halifax, I try to stop in for a visit at the ViewPoint Gallery on Barrington — a shared street level gallery space operated by a hand selected membership. It’s kind of like an advanced photo club and part of me is slightly jealous a similar concept doesn’t exist in Charlottetown.
I was recently invited over to Truro to speak at a morning seminar to the ImageMakers Photography Club and took the opportunity to keep going into downtown Halifax to attend the opening reception of a show at ViewPoint sponsored by Atlantic Photo Supply. Photographers from around the maritimes of all skill levels showcased 155 powerful images in commercial, wedding, portrait and fine art categories. The basis of the show was to celebrate the expansion of Atlantic Photo Supply.
If you are in Halifax before June 3rd, this months display at ViewPoint is a collection of infrared images by the always popular Eric Boutilier-Brown. I’m going to miss it but was lucky enough to be in Halifax for Eric’s previous two shows Frozen Light and Symmetry in Stone. I would like to point out this one single image “The Gift” and it’s description. The photographers in the crowd will enjoy the technical specs.
Today’s Image – The Power and Importance of the Buoy
Here, I am playing in the water at North Rustico (N 46 27.362 W 63 17.408) trying to frame and illustrate the role of the red and green buoy that fishing boats must enter and exit between. On either side is shallow and lined with unforgiving rocks.
Supermoon Over New London
Due to the moons orbit, it’s distance from earth varies by approximately 50,000 kilometres over the course of a year. Comparing the two extremes, this difference makes the moon look 14% bigger and 30% brighter and earns the name supermoon. With super in the name, it must be fantastic! But for the most part, it is visibly not that much different than any other full moon. Especially the night before and night after. The idea of a closer moon is very cool but the media hypes it up a bit with camera trickery. Using long lenses, shooting a city a mile away to make it look smaller in relation to the moon is what we see. We are made to believe we missed this enormous moon that filled the sky. I would like to see those same shots on a regular full moon night for comparison.
Today’s Image – New London Lighthouse in French River
For much of the weekend, we had a heavy overcast on Prince Edward Island. The only view of the moon this year for me was the night before as the moon started to rise about 1 hour before sunset.