My friend Nigel and I headed up for a long weekend to catch some waves, so to speak, in beautiful snowy Wawa. By “catch some waves” I mean photographically not actually getting in the cold, stormy water of Lake Superior.
Before looking for those waves we decided to explore Michipocten and Wawa for some snowy winter scenes. It wasn’t too hard to find those winter scenes as the snow started lightly falling on the already snow-covered landscape.
Middle Silver Falls in the distance
Middle Silver Falls. Black and white version.
We explored Michipicoten a little more and found a beach with some small waves crashing and as we explored more we found a boat shed. It looked a little worn but that’s what I loved most about it.
The Boat Shed
After exploring Michipicoten we decided to head in Lake Superior Park to scout out some locations and get a few photos along the way. We found this hidden little beach at one of our stops.
A Secret Beach
Our final stop of the day before heading back to Wawa for dinner, was Magpie Falls.
Magpie High Falls
As always when travelling there is usually something that is under construction. Little did I think that there would construction at a waterfall. So more intimate photos will have to do.
Today I headed with my friend Nigel up to Lion’s Head for a weekend adventure on the trails. This three and a half hour drive can be tedious but there are some goodies to photograph along the way.
Abandoned House
An old abandoned house, on the west side of the highway, has caught my eye a few times but with the fall colours it was hard not to pull over and get some shots. And then I had to try it out in infrared.
Abandoned House IR
Back on the road after getting some shots of the house we decided to stop at Jones Falls in Owen Sound and make our way along the trail to the bottom of the waterfall. Someone had decided to build a little waterfall guardian at its base.
Guardian
I couldn’t leave you without a photo of the falls so here is a view just off to the side.
Jones Falls
From here we got back onto the trail and headed back to the car for the final leg of the trip.
This lone goose gave me a cackling welcome as I walked the trail along the Grindstone Creek. I was in search of an apparent waterfall that was downriver from my favourite waterfall, Smokey Hollow Falls. I searched the trail and as I was walking back I noticed an area across the river that could very well be the elusive waterfall. However, as with most waterfalls in the area it runs dry at certain times of the year. It seems I was here at the wrong time.
So, I trudged back up the trail and then down into the gorge to get my obligatory photograph of Smokay Hollow.
Smokey Hollow Falls
Smokey Hollow Falls is one of my favourite local spots. There is so much to see along the creek. All of that is highlighted by the waterfall. It’s also fairly easy to get to the bottom of the gorge and right up to the falls. Just watch out for the spray and slippery rocks if you’re visiting.
I decided to add a quick stop at Sherman Falls for photos before calling it a day.
Sherman Falls detail
The sun was out so I photographed detail shots of the falls rather than fight with the glaring white spots where the sun hit to get the full shot. Usually, I try not to photograph waterfalls on a sunny day. The best time is when it is overcast so you don’t get those nasty bright spots on your photos.
And here my day out water falling ends. Although I didn’t find water at the mysterious falls that I’ve never seen on my adventures along Grindstone Creek at least I now know where it is. The big question now is when to go.
This morning I headed out to Grindstone Creek to play with my new toy – the DJI Spark. It was my third time operating a drone and needless to say it didn’t go as planned. Seems I need a lot more practice. “Why?” you ask? Well I crashed my new drone (don’t worry it survived with no issues) and so this video is a short one.
Beautiful Grindstone creek shown from the viewpoint of my new drone.
I traveled up to the Ottawa area this weekend with a my friend Nigel to meet up with our friend Paul. And of course, going anywhere with Nigel means a lot of pit stops before we even get anywhere close to Paul’s place. First there was the waterfall:
Flinton Falls
Then there was the burnt out shell of a home:
Burnt Home
And finally the small river:
Broken Branch in the River
Okay this last one was my pit stop – I had Nigel pull over to get this shot.
Finally we got over to Paul’s home in Carlton Place, a small city outside of Canada’s capital, Ottawa. Once we got the tour of Paul’s new home we got back into the car and headed to Quebec. Specifically we were headed to Jacques Cartier Park where MoasicCanada had a beautiful display of plant sculptures. What are plant sculptures? Well, its sculptures made out of plants and plant material.
Shanghai
This submission by Shanghai is made completely of flowers, plants and branches. I mean, WOW! Isn’t it spectacular? But check out this amazing creation of Mother Earth. You can see just how large some of these plant sculptures are.
Mother Earth
And there are some that are even taller. It was an amazing afternoon here. I could have stayed forever.
The next day we checked out areas close to Paul’s place. One of them was one of the only 5 span (arch) bridges around – the Pakenham bridge. It was built in 1903 and reinforced in 1984 for car and truck traffic rather than being torn down and replaced by a newer bridge.
Pakenham Bridge
Unfortunately it was time to head home but before we did we had to make one pitstop along the way.
Tractors
This pitstop was my doing. There was something about these tractors sitting just inside the barn. Originally I thought the colour version would be what I would choose in the end but I love the black and white. The texture in the wood was what did it for me.
