Manitoulin Magic

Lori and I travelled to Manitoulin Island for a few days. We were there to celebrate her Mother's 89th birthday. Although we were having a good visit, I couldn’t resist sneaking off for some spring shooting.

Birch Tree at Dawn

We had good weather. I always see so much when on the Island. With little traffic and abundant wildlife, it is a photographer's dream.

Midland Painted Turtle

Everything seemed to be waking up after a long winter.

Red Fox

May and June can make for long days! Getting up before sunrise and working until sunset can really wear you out but it's well worth the effort. I’m still working with time lapse and image stacking, which make for even longer days. Here is an example of star trails:

Night Sky Star Trails

We saw more Bald Eagles on this trip than ever before.

Bald Eagle

While driving along highway 540 near Gore Bay, I spotted a Great Gray Owl.

Great Gray Owl

I was able to work with this big guy for about 2 hours. I just waited for the light to warm up a bit and set a bit lower in the sky.

Manitoulin never disappoints!

Don't Be Shy

Lori photographing icebergs - Click for larger

You just have to say it upfront. Say what you want. Be clear, especially when you are dealing with a strong northern peninsula Newfoundland accent. We met a man in Ships Cove while we were sitting up high on a hill looking at icebergs. We hinted, we even told him that we didn’t have a boat but that we would sure love to go out and circle the big chunks of ice. We talked awhile. Then he wandered off. We talked to another man as we walked to the van. That man said, “He has a boat you know. He was just waiting for you to ask him to take you out”.
“Hmmm”, I said, “I even mentioned we wanted to go out. Maybe we didn’t understand his response.”
“Yes, he is hard to understand.” the second man said. He told us where he lived but by the time we got there the man with the boat was gone. The next morning we didn’t have great light but when a fisherman said to Lori, “Do you want to go out?” She pounced on him. Well not really but she made it obvious we were interested. I came back to the van and we settled on a price. We followed him to a dock and we were off. You really get a different sense of an iceberg from the water.

Icebergs - Click for larger

Icebergs - Click for larger

Icebergs - Click for larger

And speaking of not being shy, this fox walked over the hill on the path we were hiking the day before. He walked right past us and lay down in the sun.

Red Fox - Click for larger

I was able to approach quite close.

Red Fox - Click for larger

We have had very little light this trip so far. I shoot as much as I can but I’m getting a little tired of rain. I photographed this iceberg from shore on one of the few sunny days.

Iceberg - Click for larger

We are now heading further east. I hope the skies clear up a bit…

Planning

It's my favourite part of travelling - looking at maps searching for interesting places to go. I get a calendar out and plot our course and think about where we want to be and when. We start to buy things like a cargo container for the roof of the van and camping stuff. We need a new dining tent and I would like to get some new camera accessories. Nothing major, just some little things. Oh, and I need new hiking boots and maybe another pair of shorts. I have recently replaced my worn out Tilley hat. It was guaranteed for life so the store replaced it for free.

The Worn Out 20-year old hat - Click for larger

We talk endlessly about our trip. I enjoy the planning as much as the trip. It’s kind of like buying a lottery ticket and then planning on how you will spend it except we really get to do this!

I make lists. Lists, it turns out are very important. Without them you forget stuff, you get to remote places and look for something as mundane as black pepper for your morning eggs and can’t find it. We usually do a short trip in the spring. It helps us refine our loading technique for the van and get a sense of what we need and what needs replacing. Lori is the van arranger/rearranger. She just has a way of sorting things out so they are accessible. When you travel as much as we do, things wear out much faster. Most people use a tent for 3 – 4 weeks tops per year. We might use ours 10 – 12 weeks per year.

The Tent - Click for larger

The Dining Tent - Click for larger

We will need guide books on birds, plants, and flowers, with us along with maps and travel brochures, and notebooks and pens for our journals.

We also need to look after things at the house. We have great neighbours and family members who look after our mail and check on the place regularly. As far as worrying about valuables in the house, well, they are all with us in the van. Cameras, lenses, computers, they all get loaded up and make the trip with us. We turn off the water, empty and turn off the fridge.

I have 2 Mac Book Pro laptops, 3 TB of storage, cables, power cords, battery chargers, cleaning supplies, tripods and filters. All have a place, all will be used. It takes three backpacks for camera equipment.

Bear spray. Still need to get some bear spray...

Bear Warning Sign - Click for larger