Algonquin Park Fall Colours

I'm still tired. And it's Thursday. I was in Algonquin Park twice last weekend, on Saturday with Ron and Mark and George, and on Monday with 13 or 14 members of the Haliburton Highlands Camera Club. Cheryl from the Oshawa club was there too. Today's blog is about showing you pictures from those visits. Click on the pictures to blow them up.

It all started at 2 am, when we shot the stars:

Here's the Milky Way on a background of Aurora Borealis.  

150 stacked images later... same vantage point, StarStaX and some Topaz. 

Then I turned around to face South, stacked about 50 more images and added in this composite (I think that's Mark) 

A couple of hours later, after a short nap in the car, dawn arrived

This was at Lake of Two Rivers, by the way. Not a spectacular dawn but oh, the mist! 

Never neglect the other direction! This was facing West at dawn. Some Topaz Impression and... OK, I did some Photoshopping! 

After breakfast, we drove up Arowhon Pines Road. Ron and Mark didn't really want to stop, but hey, I was driving.  

We went for a short (Ron said 5 minutes. Try over an hour!) walk but didn't see any good colourful spots. Back in the car, we headed South.

This guy was hanging out just off the road. I took about 20 shots (because my lens was fogged over, I had to take some extras...) Ron took about 1000. Just sayin'... 

We stopped a few other times, but I haven't processed those images yet. Long day... from 1 am to about 5 pm. The next day, Cheryl Goff, whom I had met at the Oshawa Camera Club judging last week, dropped in and we went for a short ATV ride. I haven't processed many of the pictures, however I gave her my camera and asked her to shoot one of me.

My camera, my shot, right? OK, technically no, but I'm keeping it anyway! I like this shot. Thanks, Cheryl! 

Next morning, we left for Algonquin at 5:30 am. We stopped at the Frost Centre. I took a bunch of pictures of people instead of landscapes. This is a montage of some of the pictures I took on Monday

I didn't get everyone, but this is a selection. I have an interesting one of Holly and Christine... taking bids... 

I took them back up the Arowhon Pines Road.

When the direct sun isn't in evidence, the colours are more saturated. Also a bit of Topaz Impression. 

Up at the top of the road, we came across this sign:

So we had to turn around, right? Right. Um...

About a klick down the road we spotted this. It was rather difficult to get to the vantage point to shoot this picture, down an almost vertical slope. Was it worth it?

Most of the other images are obviously edited. So is this one, but I chose to make it subtle. I was going for smooth colours and transitions, and I think this is going to be an outstanding large print. 

On the way back, a guy was sitting by the roadside, having lunch. His lunch was a magnet for these Grey Jays

That would be the "Hand of Man", right? 

Next we went to the Logging Museum. Here's an image from the trail around back painted with Topaz Impression. 

This was also on the trailside. Processed with a brush style that emulates Van Gogh. 

The Dirty Dozen. Missing from this shot were Fred, Kathy and David, who had to leave early. Wendy, Holly, me, Christine, Cheryl, Sarah, Maryanne, Richard, Stan, Lynda, Sharon and Jack. Who says I can't remember names??

One final shot, at the top of Ragged Falls.  

It was a long day – a long weekend – but I think I got some decent shots. A long sleep followed.

And I'm the guy who said I wasn't going to shoot fall colours...

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