Harvest Moon Over Toronto

I did some research Friday to determine where I should be to photograph the moon and the CN Tower together. This image was taken from the roof of a parking garage in Kensington Market Friday evening.

The “Harvest Moon” appears yellow, because it is low in the sky and is being seen through more layers of atmosphere.

Milky Way - Algonquin Park

Last evening I drove 2 hours north to Lake of Two Rivers in Algonquin Park to photograph the night skies - one of my favorite things to do.

The skies in Algonquin Park are very dark making them ideal for viewing and photographing the stars. I only had until about midnight before the moon appeared and washed out the dark skies.

The Milky Way reveals itself just above the tree line. The reddish North America Nebula is visible in the left portion of the image. Vega, the second-brightest star in the northern hemisphere, is visible in the upper centre. This is a 5-minute-long exposure and I used an equatorial mount to counter the earth’s rotation.

Driftwood In Kempenfelt Bay

This photo was taken on the south shore of Kempenfelt Bay looking northwest towards Barrie’s skyline.

I stayed at this location for a good hour working to get this image.  It was a very tricky photo. It was 8:30 in the evening and the scene included both very bright and very dark areas. I ended up using a 20mm wide-angle lens and the camera set to take a 20-second-long exposure at f/10, ISO 64.

I like this image a lot.  It has a mysterious mood created by the monochromatic blue shades interrupted by a narrow line of orange and yellow lights that crosses the photo.

The foreground is illuminated by a patch of open sky above and highlights the gnarly piece of driftwood and the pebbles below the surface of the water.  The long exposure smooths the surface of the water and blurs the clouds slightly, adding to the mood.

I often receive the comment that I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I won’t deny that luck plays a part, but it really comes down to seeing the potential and then exercising a lot of patience and perseverance. Sometimes you are really lucky and get the image the first time.  Most times it means going back to the same location many times waiting for the light and the conditions to be just right.

Torrance Barrens Dark-Sky Preserve

I went to Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Preserve Tuesday evening to photograph the Milky Way, which is now visible until the fall.

The skies were clear but the half moon is not ideal as it results in too much ambient light, although it does help to light the foreground. Nevertheless, I managed to capture the Cygnus Region of the Milky Way over Highland Pond. The reddish North America Nebula is visible in the left centre third of the image.

This was shot just before midnight using a 5-minute long exposure at f/6.3 and ISO 400. I used a 14mm wide-angle lens and the camera was attached to an equatorial mount to counter the earth’s rotation.

Lightning Over Toronto

I shot this lightning storm over east Toronto Wednesday night.

Lightning is dramatic, extremely fast, and is one of the hardest photographic subjects to shoot successfully. Shooting a streak of lightning in the sky and nothing else may look pretty but it gives no sense of perspective. I used a wide-angle lens and included the city in the image to give context to the photograph. (Danforth Avenue runs towards the horizon and the Don Valley Parkway is visible running left to right in the centre of the photo.)

Lightning can strike in a variety of colors. The most common color of lightning is white, but lightning can actually appear red, yellow, green, even blue or purple. The hue usually depends on gases, chemicals, and impurities in the atmosphere, as well as the actual temperature of the lightning bolt. Vivid white lightning is most common. Orange or reddish-colored lightning can occur if there's a large concentration of dust or pollution in the air.

On average, lightning strikes the earth 100 times every second. Still, a photograph of a lightning trail is unique, and a once in a lifetime shot.

Night Photography

Today’s cameras and lenses perform so well in the dark making night photography fun and interesting. Patience and some creativity can produce some pretty cool images.

This image was shot at the southwest corner of King and Bay in the heart of Toronto’s Financial District. The 14 second exposure catches the CN Tower between two of the city’s skyscrapers, and a passing streetcar appears as streaks of light. Shot at 48mm at f/13, ISO 64.

Milky Way Over Algonquin Park

This image was shot at the Lake of Two Rivers in Algonquin Park.

I never get tired of shooting the night sky and enjoy every aspect of capturing a night sky image - from the trip, to making camp, hiking to the location in the dark, the time spent capturing the images, and the time to process the images at home.

Arguably, astrophotography is the most difficult type of photography. At the very least, it is the most time consuming making images like this one even more meaningful.

Vibrant Sunset

As the day drew to a close, it appeared we would have an average sunset. However, within minutes after the sun had dipped below the horizon, the clouds lit up a bright yellow and orange, and deep purple. In my experience sunsets are usually best after the sun has set and light from the set sun shines upwards to light the the undersides of the clouds overhead.

Cygnus and Wind Turbine

While driving through Grey County, I saw the red flashing lights of the many wind turbines that populate that area and had an idea.

Granite Ridge, Killarney

This photo was taken on the Granite Ridge Trail in Killarney Provincial Park. The hike is about 3 km with steep sections that make the hike more challenging, especially at night carrying 30+ pounds of camera equipment. The effort is worth it with an elevated view south over Georgian Bay and an unobstructed view of the Milky Way.

Ideal conditions for shooting the Milky Way consist of dark skies, low humidity, no clouds and at most a quarter moon behind you to light up the foreground. In this case, the ambient light of a quarter moon is enough to illuminates the red granite in the foreground.

Algonquin Airstrip

I am in my 5th year of shooting the night sky and I continue to find ways to improve the images. That includes finding interesting foregrounds to include in those of the Milky Way Core.

This was shot at the abandoned airfield in Algonquin Park which is littered with the “skeletons” of trees destroyed by fire. I used a longer focal length lens that “compresses” the image making distance objects appear closer than they are.

There are a lot of things that I like about the photo. The starkness created by the dead trees, the mist that obscures the trees in the distance and the Milky Way itself with its clouds of interstellar dust, gas, nebula, and star clusters.

I took this about 1:00 in the morning and could hear in the distance the howls of wolf cubs and their parents. Often I get as much pleasure taking the photo as I get capturing the image.

Japanese Beetle

I took a break from sitting at my computer and saw this beetle on the ground. It was the size of a Lady Bug, and very colourful. I grabbed my camera, got down on the ground and snapped this picture.

Nighttime in Prince Edward County

After months of isolation and foregoing many things we take for granted, we spent four days in Prince Edward County visiting wineries, the sand banks, and starting to feel normal again.

It is quite dark here so I took advantage and grabbed this shot of the Milky Way Core and Jupiter just to the left.

Pink Sunset

There are many beautiful places on earth, and sometimes you don't have to look any further than your backyard.

Friday evening the sky lit up with bolts of lightning that rivaled a fireworks display. Sunday evening the setting sun lit the clouds a vibrant shade of pink and orange.

Although sunsets mark the end of the day, they are also symbols of harmony, peace, and the promise of a new day.

Nature's Light Show

Lightning is an amazing display of the sheer power of nature. It is one of nature’s most unpredictable phenomenon and presents a unique challenge for photographers. 

Lightning occurs in a split second making it extremely hard to capture a decent image by tripping the shutter when you see a flash. It requires a lot of technique, some luck, and perhaps most importantly, patience.  

These images were captured Friday night in Toronto.

Natures Fireworks

The City of Barrie cancelled the traditional Canada Day fireworks display due to Covid-19, but nature put on its own show this evening.

Tuesday Evening's Stormy Sunset

The scene required some exposure blending to retain detail in the shadows without blowing out the sunset.

Astrophotography Will Always Be a Passion

Astrophotography remains a passion and I continue to learn more every time I stand under the night skies and point my camera towards the stars.

Algonquin Park has an abandoned airstrip that dates back to the days when large portions of the park were actively logged. This area remains clear today through the use of prescribed burns that kill the trees that would slowly take over the area if left unattended.

The result is a unique landscape scattered with dark burnt trees that makes for an interesting foreground in this Milky Way photograph. This 5 minute long exposure was taken at about 1:00 in the morning. The air was still and patches of ground fog wafted slowly through the area, while Mars peaked through the branches of the dead tree.