GUIDE TO THE SNAIL RACES
The words behind the pictures. Stories, tips & thoughts
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THE GUIDE: This is still a work in progress. There are a lot of pages. I will be adding more entries sometime. You can view the book in its entirety above or click here. For some entries, I am including some additional photos that did not appear in the book.
Feel free to send me questions or comments about the entries, photos or book. Enjoy!
This is a real sign that I came across on a small, dirt road in cottage country. The sign makes me feel excited about proceeding into what could be unexplored and interesting territory. If someone felt it was necessary to post a warning, it must mean that adventure lies ahead. That’s why I felt this image was a great way to start my photographic adventure.
A small verdant clump of moss, held in my daughter’s hand. The moss is one of those tactile experiences that come with my adventures. It is soft and small, found close to the ground and is often ignored as part of the background.
Page 3 is my textual introduction
but it doesn't have my photo in it. So here's me. I took this photo by
aiming the camera at my reflection in a mini van window. I'm standing at
the cottage with the swamp and forest behind me.
If you live in or around Toronto, a visit to the Scarborough Bluffs is a must! The area contains a treasure trove of visual delights. On the day I took this photo, I was feeling particularly adventurous. I was working nearby in Scarborough and as soon as it was lunch time, I hopped in my car and drove a speedy ten minutes down to the Bluffs.
The day was grey and it had rained earlier in the morning. The Bluffs are often very busy during the summer months but this was early November so the park was deserted. The towering clay cliffs, misty atmosphere and grey-white clouds imposed a mournful, quiet “greyness” to the area. Standing at the base of the bluffs made the world seem as if all the colour had been drained from it, only to be replaced with shades of grey.
How do I get to the Scarborough Bluffs exactly? Behold.
Just take Brimley Road as far south as you can go!
Page 4 (bottom)
Shoreline
The fog obscured the land further down the stretch. This photo doesn’t
really do much justice to the beauty of the Bluffs but I felt it really
added to the overall mood of that day on the shore. The only sound was
the waves lapping at the shore and my footsteps in the sand.
Page 5 (Upper left)
Lapping waves
I really liked how glossy-smooth the sand looked as the water receded
from the shore between each wave. The sun shone faintly off the wet
sand.
Page 5 (Upper
right)
Wild Cat
Much to my surprise, I wasn’t the only one at the Bluffs. There was an
old man who set out small plastic food bowls near one boulder-lined
area by the shore. No sooner had he filled the bowls with food then a
group of fourteen feral cats emerged from the rocks. One moment, there
was only huge rocks, the next, a variety of different coloured, shaggy
cats sauntered up to the bowls for their lunch. I learned that the man
fed them every day at around the same time!
The cats weren’t the only ones interested in the free meal. The cats nibbled some food and left quickly as a flock of huge (and obviously well-fed) Canadian geese came for the leftovers. Once they were finished, some pigeons dropped in for a few crumbs.
The cats took their time re-entering their little caves among the rocks. That’s when I was able to take some of their photos.
Page 5 (lower
left)
Parking-Lot-Pigeons in Flight
On my way back to the car, I walked through a cluster of parking lot pigeons. It was fun to photograph them as they made short flights out of my way. I tried to anticipate where they would fly so I could get a good shot.
Page 5 (lower
right)
Watery Explosion
A quick shutter speed captured the beads of water as the waves
crashed into the shore.
Page 6 (photos on
left side)
Breakers and Froth
Parts of the shoreline at the Bluffs are sandy and some are rocky. These three photos contrast the two types of topography.
I loved watching the spray of water as the strong waves dashed themselves onto the rocks.
I also liked the calm, dark reflection of the bluffs on the wet, sandy shore.
One of the feral cats at the Scarborough Bluffs stopped to watch me after its lunch.
This cat, pictured above, stopped for a scratch.
Page 7 (upper left)
Dry Grass
There are a few trails scattered around the bluffs. The trail I chose
had a mud and clay path lined with tall grassy weeds and local
vegetation. The trail was very slippery and the mud was squishy and
deep. Note to photographers: make sure to look down so you don’t
blunder onto a slippery patch of clay and drop your camera in the muck.
Page 7 (upper right)
Bluffs as seen from the trail
Page 7 (lower left)
Edge of Clay
At the base of the bluffs, looking up into the pale blue grey sky.
(Shown above) Be careful! That's a loooooooooooong first step.
Page 7 (lower right)
Feral Cat Footprints
More proof of the furry denizens of Scarborough Bluffs.
Page
8 & 9
Stones: Sand, Clay, Rock and Brick
Water worn rocks and orange bricks lie exposed on the salt-and-pepper grey sand along the shore.
Many people have asked me how I digitally adjusted the “orange rocks”. Well, I didn’t do anything to modify this photo. I didn’t even adjust the contrast or anything!
At first I was puzzled by these “orange rocks” but after seeing the parallel lines marked onto them, I assumed they were manufactured, not natural…and were probably bricks. How they got there, I couldn’t guess. They did fit in well with the surrounding rocks because the water had worn them down and smoothed their edges.
Next to the Scarborough Bluffs, you will find the Scarborough Marina. At the entrance to the marina, closer to the shore, you will find rows of blocky houseboats. I never expected to find house boats moored on the shores of Lake Ontario! And in Scarborough too!
I liked how some house boats had staircases leading to the roof. One house boat was flying a Jolly Roger flag and I thought that was a good way to have one’s own pirate ship. I was lucky that there was no wind and the water was calm in the marina. The reflections made the house boats look twice as tall.
Page 10 (lower row)
Left – the bluffs and tall hills behind the house boats
Middle – House boats and masts reflected in the water
Right – a pair of big white swans swims by
Page 11
Marina Geometry
An empty gang plank creates an interesting shape with its reflection. I
came across this object also at the marina. There are also good
parallel lines with the wooden planks and metal railings.
Page 12 (top)
Bold Ladybug
During one lunch time walk from work to the plaza at Kennedy Commons
in Scarborough, I came across a brightly coloured ladybug. It was
sitting on a rose bush leaf. I couldn’t resist snapping a pic. My
colleagues at work were surprised to see any “wild life” at all in this
very industrial area. I was also amazed to find larger wildlife such
as groundhogs, raccoons and wood-peckers.
A short story:
Actually, there was a small forested area (very small) that ran beside a river. The river ran past a bunch of manufacturing plants and certain spots stunk awfully from the pollution.
One day, while I was investigating some huge Scarborough thistles, teasels.
Sidenote: Thank you to Jim Cowell who corrected me in my description of the teasels (and not thistles). Teasels grow near water. The dried seed heads have little hook shapes and according to Wikipedia, were "widely used in textile processing, providing a natural comb for cleaning, aligning and raising the nap on fabrics, particularly wool." See this link for more information from the Trowbridge Museum in England.
I noticed a path worn through the grass and weeds near the wooded area. I followed the trail, wondering who had made it, especially since there would really be no reason for anyone to go there. I followed the trail down to the river and it was then that I noticed a large blue shape through the trees. The trail ended at the river but I realized that one could walk along the concrete embankment that kept the river from overflowing. I carefully and quietly padded along the embankment until I came to an opening in the trees. There, I spied a large blue tarpaulin tied to the lower branches of some trees. The tarp was sheltering a small tent, cook fire and several backpacks.
Feeling uncertain whether or not the occupants of the tent were home, or whether they were friendly, I hurriedly (and quietly) left the scene.
Oh the things that you’ll see in Scarborough!
Page 12 (bottom)
Shake Rattle and Roll
My old dog, Farah liked to go swimming in the lake and when she came out she would find the closest person and do the “doggy shake” right next to them. Many an unsuspecting person was swiftly soaked.
Of course, a dip in the lake was not complete without a thorough roll in the sand. I guess dogs are not satisfied being wet and smelly, they need to be dirty too.
Page 13
Bees, butterflies and bright orange flowers
I am always looking to add some culture and knowledge to my day so once again, on a lunch break whim, I visited the Scarborough Historical Museum since it was not too far away.
The museum is located next to Thompson Memorial Park. It consists of a really old log cabin and a slightly more modern farm house.
The house had a very inviting garden with a white picket fence. Bees and butterflies flitted amongst the flowers. I leaned over the fence and zoomed in close. (Also, see the bee on the back cover). I know that monarch butterflies only eat milkweed plants but perhaps this one was attracted to a flower as orange as its wings.
Page 14
Robin Nestlings
One spring, I was working in what was then my computer room and I
needed more natural light. The blinds had been closed for weeks and
finally I decided to open them. Lo and behold, some robins had built a
nest on the window ledge. I could see right into their nest and saw
three pale blue eggs.
After some time, (I don’t remember how long), the birds hatched. I tried to focus on the colours of the birds in this photo, and not the details of the birds themselves. The babies kept their beaks open to the sky until mommy returned with dinner.
The Robin's nest was right on our windowsill
The first baby bird starts to peck its way free
The baby birds are tired after their eggly exit
Momma robin's back on the nest
Page 15
Technicolor Pigeon
Queen’s Park Circle, downtown Toronto. These pigeons are on the
prowl for handouts. This one has some beautiful purples and blues
amongst the grey feathers You wouldn’t normally think of pigeons as
beautiful but if you look, you can find beauty in almost anything.
As you may have noticed, I embellished the colours somewhat using Photoshop. Particularly of use was the Hue/Saturation controls where I increased the global saturation of all the colours.
Page 16-17
Good friends
These two photos show my daughter when she was two years old and my
Golden Retriever when she was 13. Both very cute.
Page 18-19
“Does your dog bite?”
That is not my dog. If Inspector Clouseau met this dog, Gus, I don’t
think he would have tried to pat him. Gus is big with and even bigger
bark. My son met Gus at my friend’s farm and I guess Gus was content to
have a little company as long as he had some space. That’s what I like
about these photos. You can see that there is a respectful distance
between my son and Gus. After Gus became more used to him, my son
reached slowly to pat Gus’ shaggy head.
If you don’t know what I mean, check out this Pink Panther/Inspector Clouseau clip
Page 20
Nacho
This is Nacho. She’s little, fluffy and white—most of the time. Here
she had a little dip in the lake and a dig in the sand. What a face! I
decided to crop this photo tightly to the edge of her head in order to
show the sand on her muzzle and he cute black eyes peeking from behind
her fur.
(See the intro to the book for the initial Snail Races story) One of the little snails hitched a ride on another snail, then slid off to win the race. Note the rubber boots in the background. My daughter loved wearing those boots and was ready to scoop up any snails that went off course. The boots are an important part of the photo as they add story and scale to the image. Without the boots, the photo wouldn’t be as interesting.
Page 21 (bottom left)
The Bad Dog
This is Takara, another Golden Retriever. She’s sitting in the canoe,
sopping wet and not too happy. There’s a story behind this photo:
It was late summer or maybe early fall at the cottage. My son woke up very early in the morning, just as the sun was rising. So that he wouldn’t make a lot of noise and wake everyone else up, I got him dressed, put on his life-jacket and together, we hopped in the canoe. Of course, Nacho and Takara, the two dogs at the cottage wanted to go too. They were starting to make a lot of noise so I had to take them in the canoe.
We launched the canoe and followed the shoreline as we paddled across the calm, morning water. At one point, Takara noticed something in the water, stood up to look at it more closely and fell into the lake. I awkwardly climbed over my son and the other dog who was barking furiously, put my camera and case down on a seat and tried to pull Takara back into the canoe. She resisted by locking her legs and pushing against the side of the canoe. I almost tipped the canoe right over so I abandoned my rescue efforts. I didn’t want my son, camera and everything else falling into the lake too.
Takara then swam towards the shore, which wasn’t very far. (I don’t go very far from shore with little children in the canoe). Then I went back to my seat and paddled after her. I didn’t realize it but there was an elderly couple quietly sitting at a picnic table, sipping their coffee and watching the whole escapade.
Takara climbed the sandy shore, ignored my shouts for her to stay and shook off the water and sand onto the surprised couple. As I beached the canoe and pulled it ashore so my son wouldn’t float away, the other dog hopped out of the canoe and chased the Takara around the elderly couple. I mumbled apologies while trying uselessly to herd the dogs back into the canoe. After five minutes, I managed to drag both dogs back into the canoe. Then I decided that I had had enough, scolded the stupid dog and paddled back to the cottage. Somewhere around that time, I took this photo.
Despite all the frustration, I really like this photo. I like the reflection and the composition with the dog and canoe. The calm imagery belies the chaos that took place right before the photo was taken.
Page 21 (bottom
right)
The Good Dog
This is a photo of my dog, Farah. She was a good dog and cute and a
good companion. This shot was taken several years before the Bad Dog
Picture. I miss her.
My dog and my daughter. Too cute, no?
Page 22
A day at the Metro Toronto Zoo
When I was a young warthog...
Tiger: tricky to photograph because there is a double cage with the wires/bars set a good distance from each other. That means trying to photograph the tiger without too many distracting vertical and horizontal lines.
Hippo: I took this picture just as the hippo waddled into the water. The reflection came out nice and sharp. My timing was good, because only a few seconds later, the hippo was completely submerged underwater. It stayed there for a really long time and ruined any chance of additional photos. How long can hippos hold their breath for, anyway?
Zebra: Nice and sharp photo. Nice stripes! Not a very original pose but what do you expect from a zoo animal. I’ve seen safari shots that are much more interesting but my photos are about staying local. I used this photo to make some fun photo manipulations.
Sleeping rhinos: would you ever think of rhinos as cuddly? You don’t often see large animals sleeping on each other at the zoo.
I couldn’t resist adding this photo to my book. I tried to capture the image of the Giraffe’s most prominent feature against the blue sky without any distracting trees.
These were beautiful, beautiful and majestic creatures. We were lucky to have our friend’s mother take us to a neighbouring farm to see and ride some horses. It was so amazing to watch the herd come galloping through the gate from one pasture to another.
I used an artistic Photoshop filter to make the image look more painterly. Since it was so bright, a lot of the colours were slightly washed out. Using the artistic filter helped simplify the colours. Then by increasing the colour saturation, I felt that I made the image really come back to life.
Page 25
Butterfly on brilliant flowers
I think I took this photo at Allen Gardens in Toronto. I love the
bright colours of the flowers and the gentle movement of the butterfly.
A slightly slow shutter speed helped blur the butterfly wings, giving
them motion and creating a visual focal point.
Page 26
Birds of a Feather
Top left: The pigeon from Queen’s Park Circle
Top right: Canadian Geese at the cottage
Bottom left: A troupe of ducklings on the dock – cute but
oh so so messy
Bottom right: White geese at the Mill Pond in Richmond Hill. They’re mean spirited waddlers! Watch your fingers.
Page 27
Feeding time at the old stump
There is an old tree just outside a school yard, close to where I live. The tree has no bark, its branches were cut off years ago but it is still home to a host of creatures. A while ago, I noticed a small hole at the top of the tree. It seemed to get bigger as time went by, plus I saw a little brown bird flying in and out. A few weeks later, I saw a bunch of little beaks poking out of the hole. There was a bird’s nest in the tree with five little nestlings!
I stayed for about an hour trying to photograph the mother and father birds feeding the babies. Sometimes it would be 20 seconds between the arrival of food, sometimes up to 2 minutes. I noticed that the baby bird closest to the edge of the tree got fed more times than any of the others.
Page 28
Goldbug
I was sitting in the screen porch at the cottage and noticed the most
amazing, shiny, gold and black beetle. I photographed it on a bed
sheet that was used to cover the sofa. It worked out really well with
the halftone dot pattern for the background. You can also see the
texture of the fabric to get a sense of how zoomed in this photo is and
how small the beetle is.
Upper left: Amorous grizzly bears
Upper right: Tiger takes a drink
Lower left: Can you tell which animal this is? It’s a
really close look at the side of an elephant
Lower right: Gull on a semi-circular sign for the zoo-mobile.
This owl was photographed at the Ontario Renaissance Festival. I went every year for 10 years until it closed down due to lack of funding. There were great photo opportunities including knights jousting, costumed queens, minstrels, players and artisans.
Page 31 (left)
The Lizard
I don’t remember what kind of lizard this was. It can be found at
Reptilia in Richmond Hill. I would have written down the name of it but
I had to chase my kids and keep them away from the crocodile pit.
Page 31
Upper right: giant tortoise skeleton from the Royal Ontario
Museum
Middle: iguana, I think. From Reptilia
Bottom right: pteranodon skeleton from the ROM. I removed the museum ceiling and stuck in my photo of the city of Toronto as a background instead.
If you’re ever in Los Angeles, go visit the Aquarium of the Pacific. I really loved watching these jellyfish pulsate and drift through the water. They’re amazing. I would have spent more time observing them but once again, I had to run after my children. They were very excited to see everything in the aquarium—quickly!
Page 34
King Jellyfish
Tentacles in slow motion, this jellyfish nobly floats downwards. Some
people have told me it looks like a face with a hat.
Page 35 (upper
left)
Crikey! Razor sharp!
I was mere inches from this shark but luckily, we were separated by a
pane of plexiglas. I could easily see the three rows of teeth made
only for biting and tearing. Yikes! It was difficult to photograph this
shark due to the low light, the fact that it was on the other side of
dirty glass and that it was moving.
My tip for photographing objects or animals through glass:
1. Don’t use the flash, it bounces off the glass and ruins the photo.
2. Try to get someone or something to block reflections or light that adds ghosted images to the glass.
3. Watch out for reflected distractions such as other people who are shown in the reflections on the glass.
4. If you’re photographing and animal, you can move the camera with the animal to try to get a good, clear shot.
Page 35 (upper right & lower left)
Phosphorescent Jellies
I'm not sure if the aquarium lights have anything to do with it but there were many different colours of Jellies to see at the Aquarium of the Pacific in California. These were white and red.
Page 35 (lower right)
Marine monster
On one of our discovery walks, we were exploring the paths of
Ashbridges Bay Park in Toronto. We came across this dead fish lying on
the shore of Lake Ontario. If you look closely, you can see at least
two rows of sharp teeth. Scary!
Page 36
Sea Lions - at the Aquarium of the Pacific
The playful sea lions dove down to investigate my childrens' hands and
faces that they had pressed up against the glass. They would swim to my
daughter's pointed finger and chomp at that spot. If my daughter was
in the water with them, would they eat her up? Hmmm... We also were
treated to watching the sea lions play underwater catch with a red
frisbee. They would carry it under their flippers and grab it with
their teeth.
These photos don't stand out well individually, nor are they
particularly artistic. When put together, they create an interesting
account of our visit to see the sea lions. The photos also show how my
daughter was pretending to swim in the sea lion tank.
Page 37
Catch of the day
My daughter was very proud of catching her first frog at the cottage. I
like the golden flecks in the frog's eyes and the proud look on my
daughter's face.
I used my 4 megapixel Canon Powershot G2 to take this photo. I set it
on Macro and manually focused on the frog's face. I asked my daughter
to hold as still as possible then snapped the shot.
Page 38 (top)
Cottage - front
I like how art mimics nature with this rusty garden sculpture. The
spear-head-like tops compete with the tall tiger lilies. (or are they
flocks?)
Page 38 (bottom)
Shore study
Tall weeds along the shore just up through the shallows. Makes me feel peaceful.
Page 39
Cottage docks
Jutting docks and their reflections create parallel lines, separating
small stretches of the lake. I like to look for patterns in nature and
in human construction.
A sea plane makes a sunset landing on Jack Lake. This peaceful picture is deceiving as the loud plane engine cannot be heard in a book.
Page 41
Sunrise - still and silent
The flag hung limply in the silent, still morning air. Mist drew a
silky curtain across the distant tree-line. The glass-like water
created an almost unbroken reflection.
It's not just a visualization, it can be felt. It's a mood.
Honking Canadian geese fly low over the lake, bursting noisily from mist shrouded shores.
Page 43
Peaceful morning as seen from the canoe
Paddling from one bay to the next, we are greeted by this serene
scene.
Page 44
Cottage gravel road
Somewhere outside Apsley, Ontario...
Bright fall colours beckon us onward and upward. The roads follow the
easiest path across the landscape, sometimes taking sharp twists around
rocks, up hills next to swamps and through thick forests.
Page 45
Taking a break on a soft, mossy bed
Page 46
Sunrise greets a new winter day over the
partially frozen lake.
(Above) This is another view of the lake, showing the path shovelled down to the skating rink.
High Hill peeks over the low-lying mist. The glass-like surface of the lake acts as a mirror, held up for High Hill to see.
Page 47 (right)
The early boy gets the dog
My son stands with Nacho, EARLY in the morning, peering out over the
water. Once again, it gives me the feeling of serenity, quiet and the
soft misty vastness of water & sky.
During one early morning canoe paddle at the cottage, I passed a wooded island. The shore of the island had large boulders sitting on even larger water-worn rocks, just below the water's surface. I liked the intensity of light as the morning sun began to rise.
Page 49 (top)
The Bay of Stumps in Autumn
I think this area of the lake was wooded at one point, a long time
ago. Then a dam was built at the “bottom” of the lake and this area
flooded. The water from this lake feeds the Trent-Severn waterway so
from fall to spring, the lake is dammed. Then I the summer, the dam is
opened and the water level drops dramatically. Now there are old bits
of stumps, roots and submerged tree trunks instead of forest.
It’s fun to navigate a canoe or kayak through the stumps. Often, geese, duck, seagulls or herons wade in the shallows, looking for fish. I love how the sugar maples in this photo show off their bright red foliage.
Photo tip: of you get the chance, try bringing your camera with you when you go canoeing. Just don’t drop it in the water or let it get rained on. Maybe bring a waterproof bag.
Page 49 (bottom)
Left: A large rock emerges out of the still waters. It
reminded me of a bear’s head.
Centre: Another view of the Bay of Stumps
Right: Swamp land in another part of the lake
Page 50 (top)
Sunrise on Jack Lake
The sun hadn’t yet peeked over the tops of the trees and the mist lay
heavy on the lake.
Page 50 (bottom)
Morning Reveille
Geese herald their passage with noisy honking. The wing tips look finger-like on the middle bird.
My son tested out a thick and soft patch of green, green moss. The moss looks like miniature evergreen trees but is super soft.
My daughter literally jumps for joy on the neighbour’s trampoline. Another great activity at the cottage.
Much earlier photos of my daughter during her rubber rain boot phase. She wore them everywhere. I guess they were very easy to put on. I couldn’t resist snapping these photos of her enjoying her ice cream on this hot, summer day.
Page 54
Dog day in the canoe
Once again, another photo of our fateful early morning canoe paddle
where the golden retriever fell into the lake. (See “The
Bad Dog” from page 21)
Page 55 (left)
Origato Mr. Roboto
Art at the cottage. Someone took old gears and other spare parts to
create this amazing sculpture.
Page 55 (right)
Top: dried white moss. It’s not soft, it’s crunchy.
Middle: a rocky outlook.
Bottom: soft green moss, really close up.
Page 56-57
Old woods
Just a few steps down the cottage road there’s a stand of tall,
narrow trees. The forest floor is thickly carpeted with fallen leaves
and interspersed with short ferns. This area of forest doesn’t go back
very far because the lake starts again there. That’s why you can see
the sunlight shining through the trees. Unfortunately, there was a
severe wind storm in 2007 and many tall trees were topples. So this
scene looks drastically different now.
My daughter peeks through the leaves of a hanging plant. This shot was actually taken at Rosetta McClain Gardens in Scarborough, near the bluffs. (I thought this photo fit in well with the cottage pics because it looked naturey with those leaves.)
My daughter delights in the scent of the freshly picked water lily. (see the water lily photo on Page 85 ) The lily smells like black licorice or anise but more gentle and soft. The expression on her face is so genuine and the camera has captured her experience. The bright greenery from the water lilies and swamp reeds make an excellent backdrop as it is highly saturated in colour and helps the bright orange life jacket stand out.
Page 60
Cool autumn stroll
My father and my son go for a walk down the cottage lane in the
autumn. I love this photo.
Page 61
Family on deck…make that on the dock
My parents and my two children are in this photo. This photo wasn’t
planned but it came out so perfectly. There is a great triangular
balance with the people wearing red; the middle figure is taller than
the other two. The background green acts as a good complementary colour
to bring out the red jackets.
I have never seen mushrooms like this before. They looked like they had burst forth from the holes in the tree and they were covered with vicious, brown spikes. I think that the holes were originally made from a wood pecker. This mushroom looks like it was being captured or held down by spider webs.
Page 63 (left)
Nature's decomposers
Multiple mushrooms spring from the same hole. They can be seen out-of-focus at the top right of the tree on the previous page.
Page 63 (right)
Evil Tree?
I was trying to photograph a squirrel on this tree when I noticed an unexpected face looking out at me. I increased the shadows around the eyes, nose and mouth to augment and bring out these features. I also added in my mouth and teeth from another photo to help give the tree a more sinister look.
Notice the look of fear in the squirrel’s eyes.
Here's the original photo before I touched it up. Can you see the tree's face?
Page 64
From sea to sky
Thanks in part to the softness of the mist over the lake, the water
blends into the sky. Note the pale circle of the early morning moon in
the sky. The part I liked best about this photo is the transition
between water and sky.
My mother and my daughter play in the sand at the cottage.
Page 66
Misty morning scenes
With these photos, I am trying to convey the feeling of tranquility
and beauty that you can catch if you’re willing to wake up early
enough.
Top
Left: an old buoy. The outer shell has worn off, exposing the floatation foam within
Middle: a mist-wrapped island
Right: the loon, a dark spot in the mist and a loud cry in the foggy silence
Bottom
Left: reflected sun on the lake
Middle: a loud seagull stands on a rocky outcropping
Right: the remains of roots create interesting shapes, reflected in the water
This photo just felt “right” when I was taking it. The water dripping off the canoe paddle left a trail of circular ripples. Do you see how smooth the water’s surface is?
Close up of the droplets hanging off the canoe paddle.
Page 69
Boat house
A place to keep the boats out of the elements.
I tried to take the typical cottage-scene photograph a little further
by shooting from nearly lake-level. Shooting closer to the “ground” can
give a sense of distance. Being in the canoe on a calm, early morning
is very helpful.
Page 70
Docks in the Fog
Contrast this image to the one I took during a clear sunny day. I
liked the atmosphere in this photo. Shapes in the fog are mysterious.
Page 71
At the Lookout
There’s this trail that leads to a very tall, rocky lookout. (I
wanted to call it a promontory, but that means a rocky projection that
juts out over the water. This rocky height didn’t do any jutting, there
was a steep decline on the other side that led to the water at the
base of the bay). Back to the rocky trail; for some reason, I can’t
always find the path that leads to it. There are many trails that lead
off of the main road.
Last time I was at the cottage, I wanted to visit the lookout just before sunset ‘cause I thought it would look interesting. I found a trail that I thought would lead to the lookout but it started to twist and turn through the forest instead. I realized that it was the wrong trail but kept going anyway. I was walking with my wife and kids and to make it more interesting, I pretended that I heard a bear. My daughter was getting a bit uneasy and wanted to turn back.
Suddenly, a huge black shape stepped out of the thick woods and started across the trail. It was…a huge bull moose! It was at least 7 feet tall with large antlers. I wasn’t sure what it was going to do so I told my family to get back behind a tree. Moose have pretty poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell. I know the moose spotted us because it stopped and looked directly at us. Since it was getting close to sunset and we were in the deep woods, I tried taking another photo with my flash turned on. The moose didn’t like that very much and started shaking its head and stamping its hoof. My wife urged me not to upset it further by taking more photos so I put my camera away. Then the moose lowered its head and stomped off, away from us. It crashed slowly through the trees using its antlers to push small trees out of the way.
Here are two of the three shots I took--pretty bad pictures but the proof is there!
The Moose snaps its head towards us.
The Moose stomps off into the forest
Page 72
Inhabited small islands
I love these small islands. Someone built a small shack and a dock on
the largest island, a shed and outhouse on the medium size island and
left the smallest island alone, since it was too small to put anything
there. Crossing from one rocky island to the next means wading through
the shallow water or maybe a mighty jump.
Page 73
More tiny islands
Much of this island is solid rock—Canadian Shield, they call it. None
the less, some trees have managed to take hold in some cracks of the
rocks.
Page 74
Water rushing between the rocks
This photo was taken at the “Gut”. It’s a conservation area north
east of Peterborough, Ontario. The Gut is located on the Crowe River
where it takes a sharp bend and the waters tumble into a steep, narrow
canyon. It’s an amazing place where the river has worn away sections of
rock. You can walk right up to the small waterfall and can walk along
the canyon to follow the river downstream.
For the history of the Gut, follow this link:
http://www.crowevalley.com/3/3_3/gut.htm
Page 75
Riverside boulders
The fall foliage is visible behind this stand of trees. I took this
photograph standing beside the river.
Page 76
Hiking through the Gut
Page 77
Testing the play set at the cottage
Page 78-79
A busy boy at play
I took five photos and merged them together in Photoshop. I asked my
son to stand in different locations in each shot as I swiveled the
camera around. I liked that he started playing with the trucks and
picked up the foam seat pad to make his poses look different. The
background worked well as there were no boats traveling across the bay
and the water was relatively calm.
Tip: Stitching photos together allows each part of the picture to be of higher resolution and allows you to capture more detail. To ensure a good joining of photos, you should overlap 20-30% of each shot. That will help you to line it up.
Page 80
Boy on the beach
This is the actual size of the first photo or the left-most photo
that I took from the previous pages’ composition. I made the photo in
sepia tones to capture the dark and light tones.
Page 81
Waterside photos
Top left: Waterfalls at the Gut. A slower shutter speed
allows the camera to blur the rapids into a softened white flow.
Top right: An abandoned, wooded dock that washed up on a
sandy beach, far from any cottages. It still had ropes attached to it,
now coloured green from moss. Orange mushroom were at work decomposing
the wooden planks.
Bottom left: Another shot of the dock with fragments of
driftwood and tree bark.
Bottom right: A smooth rock at the Gut. All the other rock around it was worn away, This rock is attached to the ground. It seemed an unusual scene with one round rock and nothing around it.
A busy bee visits this orange flower at the Scarborough Historic Museum
Page 82 (bottom)
A bright bouquet of flowers
Page 83
Daisies and driftwood
Daisies peek through the roots or branches of this piece of driftwood
that decorates my mother’s garden at the cottage.
I showed this photo to another photographer and he suggested that one can help Mother Nature’s compositions by rearranging the flowers and by adding or subtracting whatever you want. In this shot, I did tuck the central flower around one finger of wood but I didn’t to pull out any flowers or leaves – that’s really not necessary.
Page 84 (upper
left)
Rose study on futon cover
The natural cotton colour of the futon cover and knitted texture is subtle enough to add interest without taking away from the main subject of the flower.
Page 84 (upper right)
Purple Climbers
Climbing flowers spread across the rock garden at the cottage. I loved the light and dark purples and mauves mixed with the greens. Once again, the texture of the rock brings out the colours of the flowers and leaves.
Page 84 (lower left)
Bright red kalanchoe flowers
I bought this plant at the local Dominion grocery store. It bloomed for a while then stopped. It took me 3 years to get it to bloom again. Part of my strategy was to reduce the amount of day light it was exposed to. After I would get home from work, I would put it in the bathroom cupboard where it was dark and bring it out the next morning. It worked! Now it blooms continuously.
Photo tip: I used the macro setting on my Canon Powershot G2. Instead of focusing sharply on the flower, I wanted its colours to glow so I took the photo slightly out of focus. I wanted the flower to look a little bit softer.
Page 84 (lower right)
Hoya blooms
They start off small, hard, shiny and look like little pink plastic stars. Then they open up to reveal soft velvety star shapes with bright red centres. In the evening, they give off a fragrant lavender-scent.
Page 85
Water lily
This delicate water lily smelled like black licorice, but much
better. The scent is more subtle and soft. The inner yellow tendrils
sway easily back and forth when the wind blows. Every time I see this
photo, I can smell the flower. Aaaah!
Page 86
White flower and frost
This flower is not a gardenia, but looks similar. It’s not an azalea.
I’m not sure what it is. Anyways, it is very pretty and I liked the
white or neutral background with the creamy-white flowers. It was
difficult to make this photo show white flowers with the neutral
background without losing detail. The background in this image is from a
window with condensation that froze into different sized droplets.
Page 87
White Iris
I found this Iris at Allan Gardens Conservatory in Toronto. The
Conservatory has some neat plants, especially in the cactus room. It's
free to visit which is nice because if you take children, they probably
will get bored pretty quickly.
I tried to focus on the purple detail at centre. The purple center petals contrasted nicely with the yellow just behind them. I also really liked the subtle grey lines radiating out onto the white petals. The dark green foliage from the garden helped bring the flower into the spotlight.
Page 88
Spotted pink orchid
The portion of the flower at the lower right reminded me of a Chinese
dragon’s lower jaw. The colours in the flower were brilliant and it was
hard to choose the best angle to take the photo.
This is a giant banana leaf (I think), from Allan Gardens Conservatory in Toronto. There was no way to take an artistic photo showing its huge size so I zoomed close until the leaf filled the whole frame. That wasn’t too hard to do considering the size. The strong lines in the leaf help make this a strong and somewhat different picture.
Page 90 (upper left
& lower right)
Tulips cover a grassy hill at Riverdale
Farm in Toronto. The children and I enjoyed the trails, farm
animals and old buildings at the Farm. The location is another great
example of natural beauty surrounded nestled peacefully in the midst of
urban highways and downtown life.
I tried a couple of different shots, focusing on individual flowers, small groups or sections of the grassy hill that was lit up by them.
Page 90 (lower left)
Another photograph of the water lily from the cottage. This time, I put
it on a piece of drift wood to change the background. Still smells
like anise!
Page 90 (upper right)
I should probably brush up on my botanical names and flower
identification skills. I don’t know what type of flower this is but I
knew that it needed photographing. This flower was found on one
adventure to the flower garden behind Spadina House Historical Museum. This museum is
located right next to Casa
Loma on Spadina Avenue.
The garden is a perfect place to visit if you want to brush up on your floral photography skills. It’s free to visit the garden but there is an admission fee to visit the interior of the house as it is now a museum. We went in the early summer and we thrilled with the resplendent colours and aromas from so many flowers and interesting plants.
This is one of my favourite photos of my daughter. I took this photo just outside the Casa Loma stables. This small garden was filled with tulips (at least I know what these flowers are called) and there were other great backdrops for portraits there and near the castle itself.
My daughter’s photogenic nature shines again in this photo of her on a field of dandelions. We were adventuring at Sir Winston Churchill Park which borders on a scenic ravine. My daughter had picked wild flowers and spent a lot of time rolling down the steep hills.
Page 93 (upper
left)
Pining
Pine needles up close and personal, radiating out from the end of the
branch. Strong green lines with a brown star burst centre.
(Page 93 upper right and lower right)
Giant Teasel
Surprise, surprise. Scarborough’s got some great pockets of nature.
These are giant teasels I found on a walk one day during my lunch
break. The amount of prickles is a good reason why many animals avoid
them, although apparently, sheep love to eat them. No sheep in this
part of Scarborough, to my knowledge. I hadn’t seen such large thistles teasels before and wanted to show their size by shooting from below the
flower. I also wanted to avoid showing the shopping plaza in the
background so the angle I used filled the background with sky.
Page 93 (lower left)
Bean leaf with climbing tendrils.
Stately purple tulips stand guard in front of a white picket fence and old gardening shed. This photo was taken beside the Gardening Shed at Spadina House Historic Museum. After parking the van on the streets near Casa Loma, my shutter fingers were itching – this was a scene too good to pass up. Notice the dappled shadows on the white fence created by the leafy trees at left.
Page 95
Purple, orange and green
A purple iris flashes its colours in the garden at Spadina House. I positioned the flower at centre so that the yellow, white and purple lines provide a focal point and radiate out towards the edges.
There’s a little black fly hanging upside down on the plant. See it? I thought the unopened flower was an interesting subject because it stands out among all the greenery.
Page 97 (left)
These purply-pink flowers looked different to me with their ring of
yellow and neat petals.
Page 97 (right)
Tulips past their prime
I really liked the background in this image with the small light-blue
flowers, green ferns and brown stump.
I also liked the background in this image with the small light-blue flowers, green ferns and brown stump.
Page 98
Daffodils at the Metro Toronto Zoo
The field near the giraffe enclosure was full of these bright, cheerful blooms. I got down, really low to take the photo close to the base of the tree and near the height of the flowers.
Page 99
Blue elephant ear plant
A friend and former co-worker of mine gave me this plant. She didn’t
know what it was called but said it reminded her of elephant ears
because of the large size of the leaves. I took a little artistic
license and used Photoshop to shift the true colours of the plant from
reds and greens to light and dark blues. The veins in the leaves almost
make it look like a film negative or X-ray.
Page 100
Corn cobs
I brought home a package of corn from the supermarket one day and my
eyes fell in love with the bright white and yellow, smooth, round
kernels. I would actually enlarge this photo onto canvas and hang it in
the kitchen, but the idea got vetoed by the boss. It’s interesting how
something as “normal” as corn can be turned into a great picture.
Page 101
Silky Oranges and Fuzzy Yellows
I really zoomed in close to capture this image of a busy bee
gathering pollen on a Scarborough flower. The close cropping is very
important to make this small bee look large. I purposely allowed a
little green background to show at the top to add definition to the
flower’s shape.
Page 102
Star
Back at the Spadina House garden in central Toronto, I came across this
amazing star-shaped flower.
Page 103
Spiky Flowers
These look like Echinacea flowers. I took these two photos at my
mother’s garden. I really liked the energy in these flowers as they
pushed upwards, sending their spiky centres skyward and pink or white
petals downwards. It reminded me of a human figure with arms down and
slightly back and chin held proudly high, face to the sky.
Originally, I made a layout for this page with both photos taking half of the page, one on top of the other. That didn’t work so I picked one to fill the page while the other provided a larger context of the garden as the inset. The small image shows the wooden fence behind the flowers as well as some yellow and red contrasting flowers mixed in.
Page 104
Left: Spiraling sunflower seeds at centre.
Right: Natures class on complementary colour theory. This flower shows Yellow and Purple as colour complements. Check your colour wheel.
Page 105
Pale pink flowers appear almost translucent as they are backlit by
the strong sunlight coming through the window.
Page 106
A big pink rose at Spadina House gardens
I thought these three images would make a good triptych or three-paneled photo. Found these at the gardens at Spadina House.
Page 108
Red Cactus Flower Bud
I used to work at a company that had some really neat plants in the
lobby. One day a piece of cactus came home with me. It looked really
interesting and I was happy to have it stay on my window ledge. I like
plants and enjoy growing them from seed or from cuttings.
This image shows the cactus flower bud before it is ready to open. The petals are fleshy, firm and a beautiful, deep red. Some told me this is a Christmas Cactus. OK. So be it. During the summer months, it lives outside on my balcony. During the winter is spends its days safely indoors in the hallway of my building. There it stays warm and tries not to scratch people going up the stairs.
Page 109
Cactus bloom
Here the beautiful red flower has bloomed. Protected by the firm,
fleshy petals are delicate, yellow tendrils, in the centre of the
flower. I didn’t detect any flowerly aromas.
Page 110
Foxglove flowers
My friend’s family farm is just north-west of Toronto and one summer,
we went to visit. His mother had planted a beautiful flower garden and I
went to investigate. As I was photographing this Foxglove plant, I
noticed tiny, round and yellow butterfly eggs attached to the inside of
one of the flowers. I wonder what kind of butterflies or caterpillars
would hatch from those eggs. As a side note, my friend’s mother
informed me that these flowers were called Foxglove and were relatives
of the deadly Nightshade plant.
Page 111
Pink Water Lily
Have you ever seen a pink water lily before? Apparently, they are
quite rare, especially in Ontario. This photo was taken at my friend’s
family farm and his mother told me she had planted the lily herself.
She kept them in huge pots and for five years had tried coaxing the
plant to bloom. As luck would have it, we were there at just the right
time as this was the first time the plant had ever bloomed. Just as my
friend’s mother finished telling me how rare the pink lily was, my
daughter spied it and plucked it from its watery home.
My friend’s mother was not pleased one bit and my daughter apologized. Luckily, I had already taken a photo of the flower on that warm and sunny day. That reminds me, I have to send her a copy of the photo!
Page 112
Daisies – negatives and positives
I thought it would be interesting to take the same photo of these
daisies and create a sharp contrast with the negative and positive
image. I wanted to show how tall these flowers were so I took the photo
from close to the ground, aiming upwards. I think that the negatives
really help capture some of the detail that goes unnoticed in the
regular image.
Page 113
Assorted flowers and a raspberry
Sometimes it’s neat to take a bunch of different coloured and shaped
flowers and place them together. They might not be so interesting on
their own but together, they make the observer enjoy the colours,
texture and patterns in nature.
Page 114
Kiss of the tulips
This tulip was so vibrant and I zoomed right in to capture the black
and yellow of its interior. I also wanted the red to fill the image,
right to the edges. The focused texture of the stamen contrasts nicely
with the smooth red walls of the flower. This type of photo may be
common, but it’s good practice to try different ways to treat the
image; should I focus on colour and make the image blurry? Should I
show the whole flower or just a section? How can I make it look more
unique?
Page 115
Sea of Tulips
I found this tulip garden at Queen’s Park in Toronto. I tried to get a
low, wide angle to make it look like the flowers go on forever. Of
course they don’t, but don’t tell anyone.
Page 116
Japanese Painted Fern
The colour and texture of this plant is amazing! The leaves are so
intricate and the colours are so different than the ferns I’m used to
seeing. (See Page 138). It’s hard to artfully capture
the beauty of this plant so I opted for a close-up of some of the
leaves radiating like wintergreen rays from one branch.
Page 117
Dry lips
Call the gardener! The red rows of thirsty tulips stand tall and
proud over a desert of parched soil. For some reason, showing these
flowers in context with their soil makes for an interesting picture.
Page 118
Moss friends
A tiny plant peaks out from a bed of furry green moss. This image
represents to me the idea of the power of nature with birth, youth and
growth.
Page 119
Psychedelic ‘Shroom
How do you make your ordinary mushrooms extraordinary? Invert the
image to make a negative, then play with the hue and saturation until
you bring out the wild energy hidden within!
Page 120
Cauliflower in the pot
Are you hungry? I think that the cauliflower florets are so
interesting and fractal-like. First you see the head of cauliflower,
then you zoom in and see one branch which looks the same as the head,
only smaller. Zoom in more and you see individual ends of the florets,
which look the same as the branches, only smaller. And so on…
Page 121
Lizard skin succulent and flower
I found this character at Allen Gardens Conservatory. It’s a
succulent plant covered with a green pebbled texture. Amazing! It’s
quite small but grows in thick bush-like shapes. On some of the plants
there are pink flowers as shown.
Page 122
At the apple orchard
I can just taste these fall-fresh Macintosh apples. So tart and
crisp! Mouth-watering delicious!
Page 123
Make a wish
The children and I went for a hike at the nature trail by Todmorden Mills in Toronto. There was no shortage
of white, fluffy milkweed seeds that needed help to be blown into the
sky. My children were only too happy to help out. For a close-up of a
milkweed pod, see Page 188.
Page 124
Leafy Trail
It’s amazing what you can find on your walks if you just look. Some
good advice from a friend: “keep both eyes open”.
I found this strange pattern on a leaf near the cottage. Looks like it might have been created by an artistic insect with a passion for leaf mazes.