Landscapes & critters and snow (7 imgs)

I had Tuesday off work so I decided to go for a walk up to and around the local conservation area. It was definately a good day out for scenery and a mix of weather.

Last bits of fall


Beaver


Mink (I think)


Fence


A view of the lake.....well, you'll have to trust me that it's there, in the distance.


A look down the road


A remake of a shot I did several years ago on my 4x5:

[Arpe]

Cool, so to speak. I like the beaver and fence shots. Nice and warm here though, I prefer it that way!

[miguelslo]

the last shot is amazing!

[stewart_photo]

All the images are very nice, but I most like the third image from the bottom with the road, wooden fences, and view of the (invisible) lake, Andrew. That would be a good image for a country-style Christmas card. My only complaint is the obstruction (tree trunk) in the very upper-right corner, but that's very minor.

stewart

[JCSullivan]

I like the Leaf, Fence and the remake.

The fact you shot the fence off-centre with the fence leading-in, makes it an excellent shot. On the other hand, using a different composition with trees at both sides makes the remake equally excellent.

Nice work Andrew.

[vievetrick]

All very nice but I agree that last one is very good. I hope you have prints of that one hanging somewhere. Thanks for sharing and getting reminding me it is time to check the snowblower

[Andrew Faires]

Originally Posted by Arpe

Cool, so to speak. I like the beaver and fence shots. Nice and warm here though, I prefer it that way!

Thanks, Arpe,

On the one hand, warm would be good, but on the other hand, I do love the winter scenery. If only we got more snow!

Originally Posted by miguelslo

the last shot is amazing!

Thanks, Miguel.

Originally Posted by stewart_photo

All the images are very nice, but I most like the third image from the bottom with the road, wooden fences, and view of the (invisible) lake, Andrew. That would be a good image for a country-style Christmas card. My only complaint is the obstruction (tree trunk) in the very upper-right corner, but that's very minor.

stewart

Thank you very much, Stewart. I didn't even notice the tree-trunk in the shot when I was downsizing it for posting, to be honest. I remember thinking I had to move slightly to exclude that tree when I took the shot though but another step might have helped

Originally Posted by JCSullivan

I like the Leaf, Fence and the remake.

The fact you shot the fence off-centre with the fence leading-in, makes it an excellent shot. On the other hand, using a different composition with trees at both sides makes the remake equally excellent.

Nice work Andrew.

Thanks, JCSullivan . It was a perfect day for experimenting with different compositions, but on these two, they seemed to fall into place before I'd even held the camera up to take the shot (excluding the fact the last is almost the same framing as the original).

Originally Posted by vievetrick

All very nice but I agree that last one is very good. I hope you have prints of that one hanging somewhere. Thanks for sharing and getting reminding me it is time to check the snowblower

Thanks Pat. The original has been on the living-room wall for a few years (on and off), but this one will probably find itself in the picture rotation when I get some more ink

Thanks again, for all the comments!

[JamesD]

Great shots, but the fifth and last shot are really quite spectacular. Geeze... I wish I had made that fifth shot. It would surely be hanging on my wall! In a way, I sort of wish the last shot did "not" have the bright spot at the end of the row of trees. Had it been dark, it would have kept the wintry, somber mood. But still... it's just a wonderful shot. Is this a place near you? Have you thought of going back and playing around with it a bit more?

[Andrew Faires]

Thanks, James.

I was kind of drawn to the light spot because it seemed to contrast with the winter leading up to it, but I can see what you mean. It's definately worth looking into the next time I'm up there

All of this involves a 10-20km hike (depending on how energetic I feel ) from where I jump off the bus so I usually end up going there a few times each year to see what's happening. It's safe to say I'll be going back there again at least once during winter....I'm just hoping for more snow next time.

[ccranfie78]

Those are great shots, especially the last one. With the light it's a very inspiring picture.

Quick question, were you shooting the same lens the whole time?

[Tom Lusk]

I believe beaver-in-winter shots are quite rare.

Did he/she actually emerge from the top of the hut?

And, yes, it is a mink.

[Leaf Fan]

4th (Fence) 5th (Lake) and last shots (remake - tree line) are really nice. I love the Ontario winter scenes (but I'm a bit biased).

Could you share where you took these photos?

What is that light spot at the end of the trees in the last photo?

[Peter Zack]

Yes that's a mink, lucky for you he wasn't interested in a bite from your ankle. Those little guys can be fierce. An excellent series. Great shot of the Beaver. The last shot is superb, yeah here it comes, the but... White balance which can easily adjusted in PP. The snow can be very blue sometimes and it gives more of an impression of the cold but I think it needs some adjustment. I tried it on your shot and think it looks better with less blue. It also makes a great B&W if you want to try something different.

"view of the lake" is a great shot as well. Stewart's right that the small amount of tree trunk needs to be cropped or cloned out. I know I find in many shots that the 95% viewfinder sometimes adds a few unwanted items that need cropping later that can't be seen when the shot is taken.

[Andrew Faires]

Originally Posted by ccranfie78

Those are great shots, especially the last one. With the light it's a very inspiring picture.

Quick question, were you shooting the same lens the whole time?

Thanks, Chris. All these shots are with the 16-50, except the mink and the beaver. They were done with the FA* 400 f/5.6

Originally Posted by Tom Lusk

I believe beaver-in-winter shots are quite rare.

Did he/she actually emerge from the top of the hut?

And, yes, it is a mink.

Thanks for the confirmation on the Mink, Tom. When I first spotted him/her, I thought it was an otter

There was a family of beaver there but the shots of the kit (?) didn't come out as sharp as I'd have liked. They were coming through the bottom of the lodge and would swim around to keep the ice from forming around it. Naturally, Jr. was snacking away as much as possible while mom & dad gathered mud and sticks. The lodge itself was on the shore and build up from water level to about 10'. They were the main reason for my hike.

Originally Posted by Leaf Fan

4th (Fence) 5th (Lake) and last shots (remake - tree line) are really nice. I love the Ontario winter scenes (but I'm a bit biased).

Could you share where you took these photos?

What is that light spot at the end of the trees in the last photo?

Thanks, Leaf Fan!

These were all shot in and around Guelph Lake Conservation Area, just North of the city.

The light at the end of the trees is a bit of scrub and a farmers field, so it really makes for a 'light at the end of the tunnel' shot.

Originally Posted by Peter Zack

Yes that's a mink, lucky for you he wasn't interested in a bite from your ankle. Those little guys can be fierce. An excellent series. Great shot of the Beaver. The last shot is superb, yeah here it comes, the but... White balance which can easily adjusted in PP. The snow can be very blue sometimes and it gives more of an impression of the cold but I think it needs some adjustment. I tried it on your shot and think it looks better with less blue. It also makes a great B&W if you want to try something different.

"view of the lake" is a great shot as well. Stewart's right that the small amount of tree trunk needs to be cropped or cloned out. I know I find in many shots that the 95% viewfinder sometimes adds a few unwanted items that need cropping later that can't be seen when the shot is taken.

Thanks, Peter. I was far enough away from the Mink that I had no worries....needless to say the beaver and mink shots were heavily cropped. It was unfortunate that the couple of shots I had of the Mink with a fish in its mouth were slightly blurred, but he seemed to get along well enough with the beavers.

I didn't play around with the WB too much on the last shot, but I think you're right....some adjustment would help. I did have to reduce the cyan on a number of them though. The original shot I took of that pathway was done in black & white, which is why I've left this as a colour shot. Here's the original:


Unfortunately, the scan doesn't do the original justice in the detail or the contrast.

I think in the case of the tree trunk in the 5th shot it was a matter of me not looking to the top right corner....once the tree was off the right side I fired instead of checking more thouroughly. I'll definately clone that out when I go to print .

Thanks again everyone for the comments!

[CJSpangler]

That lost shot is amazing - seems like you are having a good time taking photos outdoors.

I prefer the color - black and white may loose the effect that the snow leaves. The nice warm light at the end of the snowwy tunnel of trees seems to be a really nice focal point an really helps draw the eye even further down the tree line. Well done.