2009 Ontario Camping/Hiking/Canoe Trip

[Lost Canadian]

My wife, and I just returned from a wonderful trip around Ontario, most notably Killarney Provincial Park, Algonquin Provincial Park, and the county of North Bruce, our home away from home. As I'm not much for words, at least when it comes to trip reports, I figure I'll just let some of the photos from our latest tour around our home province of Ontario do most of the talking. One thing that needs to be said though, if you've never been to Ontario in the fall you're missing out. Of course perhaps I'm a little bias, but I've always said no other place on earth comes alive with visual delight like Ontario in the fall.

As I mentioned this was a also a canoe trip so first up is a small series of snap shots my wife grabbed, ya know,...to lay the ground as to how we got to some of these beautiful camping spots.

Yes, this is a 2.6km portage...:REExeSquatsHL1:

...and me following the directions of the portage signs...

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...and finally relief...

 

[Lost Canadian]

...and the proof Ontario's beauty...

​

 

[Lost Canadian]

...yep, an awesome trip...

even the drive home wasn't too shabby.:ylsmoke:

 

[DrMoab]

As Usual Trevor, all I can do is sit back in wonder.

You are truley an artist! And have my deepest respect as such. Beautiful work as always.

 

[dallasrover]

Wow...very nice shots.

 

[KSJeep]

Beautiful Pictures, Thanks

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

:drool::drool::drool:I think I just ruined my Keyboard!

 

[Lost Canadian]

Cheers guys. I should mention that these parks are big, and the best part about them is the large majority of the area within both Killarney and Algonquin is only accessible by canoe or on foot. Actually, the only real way to see these parks is to pack up the canoe, or strap on the pack and get moving. If you're looking for a wilderness experience, devoid of the typical traffic found in most parks, Algonquin and Killarney's backcountry is certainly where it's at for those living on the east. I could probably spend a life time exploring these parks barely scratch the surface.

Just for comparison to give you an idea as to how big, Yellowstone is 3468 square miles, and everyone knows that's big! Algonquin however is over 4755 square miles, it's freak'n huge! Anyway, I may post a few more shots later, we just got home and I haven't even looked at all my shots yet.

 

[taco2go]

Man trevor, those make me want to get up early, early. Very nice series.

...and the proof Ontario's beauty...

[/CENTER]

 

[MisterTinkle]

Wow, Trevor! Wow! :Wow1:

 

[XJBANKER]

I lived in Toronto for two years and the fall time there is beautiful. I took my wife to the Thousand Islands on a trip there a couple of years ago and it was a great time to go. If citizenship and work visa's were not such a pain to get I would really consider moving back there.

Your pictures are wonderful.:26_7_2:

 

[Lost Canadian]

Thanks again everyone, here are a few more. One thing I would like to mention, despite the beauty of the region, these shots were some of the most challenging shots I've ever taken. Getting the exposures right was crazy. For instance, to retain the brilliant colour in the first shot below required 1.7 stops of underexposure. The shot with the two trees over water required a stack of 3 filters, not easy when you're a hand holder like me.

As I'm sure many of you will be shooting fall colours soon, please allow me to share a couple things I figured out this trip with regards to shooting in the fall. One, don't trust the cameras metering or auto white balance. Check the RGB histogram if you're shooting digital, and do not simply rely on the luminance histogram. I found the luminace histogram would indicate a good exposure much of the time but when I cross checked the RGB histogram I was showing a lot of clipping in the red channel more times then not. I took a few shots where the reds looked really blah before I figured this out. Another tip and great thing if you're shooting with a camera with live view, you can check the exposure and white balance right on the back of your camera prior to releasing the shutter. I found a really yellow or red scene would fool the camera into choosing a cool white balance a lot of times. What I found helped was to simply hit the live view, and scroll the white balance until it matched what I saw in front of me. So simple and you can see the results instantly right in front of you so won't need to play around with the WB in post production. Also, live view really helps when using ND filters, because what you see on the back of the camera in live view is what your sensor will record when you hit the shutter. If the sky is blown out on the back of the screen while in live view, chances are it will look the same when you hit the shutter. Placing ND filters accurately is uber easy if you use live view, so if your camera has it, give it a shot.

Oh and do I even need to mention the use of a"polarizer." Anyway, more pictures...

 

[taco2go]

Those are spectacular :Wow1:
If I may ask- what lens did you use for #4 in this last series? It does not have that telephoto- compressed look- almost 3D instead.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

#4 in that Last series is gonna make you famous:victory:

 

[Lost Canadian]

If I may ask- what lens did you use for #4 in this last series? It does not have that telephoto- compressed look- almost 3D instead.

It was shot using a 14mm.

#4 in that Last series is gonna make you famous

LOL :Wow1: