The Summer of the Canoe

Canoe and Lake Superior

We couldn’t bring ourselves to make another epic road trip this year. We needed a break. Not that we didn’t work, we did. The ice storm of December 2013 hit us hard and we needed to do a lot of repairs on our house. This limited our travel time and budget. So we alternated between working on the house and canoeing. We managed to paddle in a few provincial parks: Killarney, Algonquin, French River and Lake Superior. It was nice to take the summer at a different pace.

Paddling in Killarney Provincial Park, ON

Georgian Bay Shores

Bullfrog

We found a few things to photograph. Some were close to home such as this cardinal in our back yard.

Male Northern Cardinal

We read good books, drank good wine and paddled to wonderful places. We also got a lot done around the house. So all in all, it was a great summer. The summer of the canoe.

Lori Paddling on Lake Superior

Lori Paddling in Georgian Bay

Pent-up Energy

Lately we have been doing a lot of reorganizing of old images to consolidate our database and spending far too much time indoors for my taste. I felt like I had my creative edge back and yet here I was sitting at a computer. But last week we finally decided to get out of town for a few days. We risked the bugs and the weather and headed to Killarney Provincial Park.

Georgian Bay Islands - Click for larger

Our friend James Toth joined us for a few days of paddling and photography. It's difficult for us to travel with non-photographers. Most people do not want to get up before the sun and risk extreme blood loss from all the biting insects. But James being the fine photographer that he is was up for the adventure.

James Kayaking in Killarney - Click for larger

We did a bit of hiking and paddling. There was a lot to see: orchids in bloom, bears, loons, frogs, and some wonderful scenery.

Pink Lady's Slippers - Click for larger

Female Black Bear - Click for larger

Bullfrog - Click for larger

Cranberry Bog, Killarney - Click for larger

I tried to use my 500mm f4 lens in the canoe. It is so difficult to do. Great when it works but it is so big that using it on a tripod really limits the angle of view. Sometimes it is worth the aggravation and sometimes it is not. I used my 70-200 quite a bit as well.

Common Loon on Nest - Click for larger

Our intention was to get some new loon images. James spotted the one above sitting on a nest on top of a beaver lodge. We saw several and they would swim quite close. We could even watch them swim under the canoe! I didn’t get a photo of the loons underwater but I will never forget the sight.

Common Loon - Click for larger

There was so much going on, it was difficult to leave. Lori and I extended our stay for a few days. We had an event to attend in Toronto on Friday so eventually we had to head back. All in all, we had a great week and have many new images to prep. This was a nice warm up for the summer shoot.

Female Common Merganser - Click for larger

When we arrived home, the cardinal nest in my backyard had 2 hatchlings. The parents were busy feeding the young. I set up my camera in my dining room and spent most of the day photographing their activity out through the back window.

Northern Cardinals at Nest - Click for larger

I have so much pent up energy. I’m really looking forward to getting on the road!