Spent the weekend in Bruce Peninsula National Park. Friday and Saturday were cool, overcast with brief periods of rain. When it cleared Saturday evening, I shot the sunset in Tobermory where the ferry Chi-Cheemaun is docked. Chi-Cheemaun, or “big canoe” in Ojibwe, ferries up to 648 people and 143 vehicles on its two-hour trip between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island.
The four photos demonstrate the sunset’s progression from the “golden hour” to the “blue hour”. Blue hour occurs during the last stages of twilight when the sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and residual, indirect light takes on a blue shade that is different from the blue shade visible during most of the day. Most people think the opportunity to take pictures ends shortly after the sun sets and miss the opportunity to take unique and beautiful images during this time period.
The last two photos of the Chi-Cheemaun were shot using a ND (neutral density) filter which allowed extending the exposure to about 3 minutes and smoothing anything that was in motion, like the water.
I was tempted to stay up that night to shoot the Milky Way. The conditions were ideal with clear skies and next to no moonlight. I opted instead to go to bed and wake the next morning at 4:00 to shoot the sunrise at the Grotto on the eastern shore of Bruce Peninsula; something I have wanted to do for some time. The Grotto is a scenic sea cave containing a pool of blue water in the rocky and rugged Georgian Bay shoreline.
After about 30-minute hike through the dark, I arrived at the Grotto and set up my equipment. It was incredibly peaceful. The Grotto is a popular attraction and normally a very busy place, but I had it all to myself this early in the day.
On my hike back I stopped to photograph a small waterfall where Cyprus Lake drains into Head Lake. Two ducks swam just above the waterfall and stopped, and I saw an opportunity for a cool photograph. Again, I used a ND filter extending the exposure to 5 seconds and after about 15 minutes and many failed attempts (the ducks kept moving!), I finally got a shot where the ducks remained relatively still during the 5 second period. They must have known because as soon as I got the shot, the two of them swam away.
Shooting landscapes and wildlife takes an incredible amount of patience. It is not unusual to spend hours, and even days, going the same spot waiting for the light and other conditions to be just right. If you are lucky, you might get that great shot the first time, but that is unusual. Usually it requires a multitude of failed attempts.