Some Bright Skies and Wildlife of the Vermilon River. A Post to Skywatch Friday.

Bright Skies



Rock Face




Upper River



The weather has been pretty hit and miss, with four overcast or rainy days to one of sun. So you're seeing some of both here. The river scenes are all of the upper river.

 Click to Enlarge Photos.



Rock Face




White -throated Sparrow




White-throated Sparrow





White-throated Sparrow



These White-throated Sparrows were all shot in very gray overcast weather, which gives the background a gray look making them, I think, look like Oriental prints. The same goes for the song sparrow, but the Warbler was shot in sunshine. The Pussy Willows were shot in shadows of the woods as I had to move off trail to get them. I did this overcast shooting previously, during the winter with some starlings, and some winter scenery. The winter scenery was almost monochromatic showing colour only in the evergreen trees. Dull gray and bright sun are the norms of the North, although they are extremes, and usually what photographers would advise to avoid. But, they are the North, and need to be dealt with.


White-throated Sparrow.




White-throated Sparrow




Profile of White-throated Sparrow.




Song Sparrow




Yellow-rumped Warbler




Pussy Willows.



Grackle



Common Grackle

The Grackles were shot in super bright sunshine and certainly benefited from the sun as it picked up the iridescence in their feathers, and enhanced the slightly mad eyes. Again dealing with a norm of the north. I think the iridescence certainly adds to the photos. The same I think is not true of the starling whose feathers have all the sheen, but lack the reflection that bright sun would give to them.

Common Grackle

Head On Grackle

Starling

Is there a point to my rambling ?? Actually yes. I think Northern Ontario is a rugged country that should be depicted as one. It's colour schemes and lighting is not the same as Southern Ontario or anywhere else for that matter. This is the same argument that, of course, founded the Group of Seven, those artists that are so basic to Canada. They rejected the UK Lake District genre that was popular here and embraced the rugged extremes.

 To avoid dealing with the extreme light or to turn the wild cold water soupy or jello like with a filter and a slow shutter speed is to turn a wild animal into a zoo animal, and does a disservice to the ruggedness of the  area, or at least that's what I think.

A Post to SkyWatch Friday @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Some Winter River Scenes Under Sunny Skies of the Vermilon River. A Post to Sky Watch.

The River to the NW, and unlimited hiking.

The West River Bank with rock outcropping.



The little Islands to the NW



The west river bank.



The south end of the Island



Again the South end of the Island.



The west bank .



The SW bank showing cedars which grow along the river bank.



The West River bank now with a cloudy sky.

This is the upper river which performs a dog leg curve starting in the NW and curving to the SE. The river here runs around rocky islands forming little lakes,and some fairly broad wetlands. Here you may see some people as there is a road ,which runs to the ski hill. The favourite form of exercise is driving to the ski hill for coffee. Crazy eh?

For our hike Boom and I use this upper area, cross the bridge and turn left. Any vehicles turn right and that's the end of the few people we'll see.Normally, we'd use a RR maintenance road and come in from the south because it runs right through the forest and exits at the bridge. That way we would see no one. We could go to the upper river and hike to the west along the river on an unlimited distance hike. In fact all the way to the Canadian west, but unfortunately Boom and I are a little too old for that now. Once there was a time.....

Later I'll be taking you to wetlands and lakes to the north and east where there is no one but Boom & I and the wildlife.

To those people from Germany who jumped onto the site this AM. Welkomme!! This area is a wilderness forest as opposed to the provincial parks such as Algonquin park that you probably know about. Unlike your own forests you do not need permission to hike it , but you do need to be careful as the wildlife is extensive, and in some cases big.There are no facilities in this immediate area to outfit you, but further east and west it's possible to get equipment and you're going to need canoes or kayaks because of the many lakes and rivers in any directions. If you have questions use the comments section, and I'll try and answer them, but in English please as I have lost all my German. If you should see me I'm the guy with the big dog and the camera say hello.


A Post to Sky Watch Friday @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/