Misty Sailboat
Misty Sailboat
It was a misty morning in the village of Colpoys on Colpoys Bay. We were waiting for the sunrise and this pretty little sailboat was anchored on the bay. I put on my telephoto lens and took a few shots. Because of the conditions the results were rather flat – so I started to experiment in Photoshop with several different layers and techniques.
Hope you enjoy the result.
Sunset Sail
Sunset Sail
Sailing into the sunset is good for the soul!
Taken on Lake Erie last summer
Cape Croker Lighthouse
Cape Croker Lighthouse
Sailing from Tobermory to Wiarton this summer – we knew we were almost home as we rounded Cape Croker and spotted the lighthouse.
Lone Tree
Lone Tree
I took this picture while sailing up the St. Clair River this summer. Trees standing alone in a field have always caught my attention. I always wonder why.
Tall Ships 1812 Tour
Bride of Baltimore II
We went up to Owen Sound and Collingwood this weekend to check out the Tall Ships 1812 Tour. This turned out to be a very popular event. Owen Sound was sold out with 6000 tickets sold to see the ships and the wait in Collingwood after purchasing tickets was at least an hour. With that number of people we chose to veiw from afar. This is the Pride of Baltimore II is a reproduction of an 1812-era topsail schooner privateer docked in Owen Sound. I will post more shots later this week.
Storm Clouds
Lake Huron Clouds
Sailing out in the middle of Lake Huron gave a unique perspective of the storms that were passing to the south of us. These huge storm clouds would surge high into the sky quite rapidly. It makes one marvel at the amount of energy it must contain.
Big Tub Lighthouse
Big Tub Lighthouse Tobermory
Sailing to Little Tub Harbour Tobermory, we passed by the lighthouse at the entrance of Big Tub. It was a warm day the the swimmers were testing out the cool water.
Lake Huron Sunset
Lake Huron Sunset
Sailing on up lake Huron this summer I took this sunset shot. The colours blend together nicely with this paint filter. Dynamic auto painter creates some beautiful effects with lots of control.
Detroit River Light
Detroit River Light
This light marks the turn for upbound vessels into the entrance of the Detroit river from Lake Erie. Here is a little history from the Lighthouses of the Great Lakes web site.
“Completed in 1885 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at a cost of $78,000, the Detroit River Light replaced a Canadian lightship that had served since 1875. The light was first exhibited August 20, 1885. Located near the end Bar Shoal which projects from the Canadian shore, in Lake Erie just south of the entrance into the Detroit River. This is the point where up bound vessels make the turn into the Detroit River.
The 49-feet high cast iron plate tower is 22-feet in diameter at the base and 18-feet at the top. It was built on a pre-fabricated 45′ x 18′, crib that was transported to the site from Amherstburg, Ontario, sunk in 22-feet of water, filled with concrete and surrounded by a granite pier.
The light station pier has the appearance of a vessel, with the pointed end directed toward the mouth of the river to break ice flows coming down river.
The construction of the station was tested in December 1997 when the 635-foot freighter Buffalo struck the station dead on while sailing downbound for Lake Eire. Damage to the station was minimal involving only the structure’s rock and stone foundation.
The freighter faired much worse with its steel bow push in like a tin can. The station’s stone pier torn a 25-foot gash across the bow of the freighter which then took on water. The vessel was able to control the flooding and continued on for repairs.
The lens has been changed several times to change the characteristics. The present lens has six panels of 60 degrees, with three bull’s-eye panels each separated from the other by a 60 degree blind panel.
The station contains a fog signal, and is similar to Harbor Beach Lighthouse which also was built in 1885. The station is an active aid to navigation and is only visible from a boat.”
Long Point Lighthouse
Long Point Lighthouse – Lake Erie
On the end of Long Point on Lake Erie stand this Lighthouse to warn boaters of the shallow waters. Here is a little history from the site Lighthouses of the Great Lakes.
“This tall white concrete tower stand near the end of Long Point in Lake Erie. It is the third light to be located here to mark this dangerous sand bar peninsula that extends well out into the lake. Previous lights were built in 1830 and 1843.
A keeper’s dwelling was located near the tower, but was allowed to fall into ruin after automation of the light.Viewing the light is best done by boat. A large part of the end of Long Point is a Canadian National Wildlife Area.”
Port Colborne Outer Lighthouse
Port Colborne Outer Lighthouse
Leaving Port Colborne you pass by this lighthouse on the outer breakwall. The following is from the web site Lighthouses of the Great Lakes. “Outer Light – The Port Colborne Outer Lighthouse was built in 1928 to replace some older light structures out on the breakwall. The continuous red light, with a focal plane of 36 feet, is shown from a square cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, rising from the center of a 1-story concrete fog signal building. The lighthouse, floodlit at night, is painted white, lantern red.”
Waiting out the Storm
Waiting out the Storm
After going through the Welland Canal we spent the night at Port Colborne. The next day brought a forecast of stormy weather so we decided it would be best to stay put. This is a shot of one of the storms that passed to the North West of us.
This is a 3 Exposure HDR.
Bridges over the Welland Canal
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- Welland Canal – An overhead bridge followed by a bascule bridge
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- Welland Canal Bascule type bridge
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- Welland Canal Lift type bridge
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- Welland Canal Overhead bridge
While traveling through the Welland Canal there are not just locks to navigate but bridges also. The overhead bridge is no problem but the lift and bascule bridge you have to wait for them to stop traffic and open. Click on an image to see it larger.
Welland Canal Lock 1
Welland Canal Lock 1
I’ve had a busy evening so I only have time to post one picture tonight. This is the entrance to the first lock in the Welland Canal which goes from St. Catharines at Port Weller on Lake Ontario to Port Colborne on Lake Erie. The canal is basically a bypass for Niagara Falls. We were able to have the lock to ourselves and they are huge. There are 8 locks and the length is 261.8 meters and or 859 feet. The lift of the first lock is about 14 meters or 46 feet.
Sailing the Great Lakes Pt.1
50 Point Marina – Grimsby
It has been about 2 weeks since my last post. I have been on a sailing trip moving a boat from 50 Point Marina in Grimsby on Lake Ontario to Wiarton on Georgian Bay. The trip took 11 days including one layover day due to stormy weather. We left 50 Point 3:00 pm.
Lake Ontario
We had great wind for the sail over to Port Dalhousie with storm clouds to the North over Toronto. The wind died so we brought down the sails and started to motor. This turned out to be the calm before the storm because the wind shifted to the north and became very strong. It didn’t rain but the wind stayed strong and we were glad to have the sails down. We arrived about 7:00 pm. and prepared to go through the Welland Canal System.
Port Dalhousie Light House
There is a nice lighthouse at Port Dalhousie but it is no longer lit. Tomorrow we will go through the Welland Canal System.
Happy Canada Day Weekend
Happy Canada Day from Colpoy’s Bay
The weather is perfect here in Wiarton on Colpoy’s Bay. We are spending the weekend here relaxing and taking photo’s.
Colpoy’s Bay Sail and Sun
Colpoy’s Sail and Sun
The anchor is set. The sun is setting. It was a beautiful evening on Colpoy’s Bay when I shot this a few weeks ago.
Water Colours
Water Colour
Sometimes something will grab your attention and you think to yourself “that’s cool”. Of course it is different for everyone but these sail boat masts reflecting in the water made me stop and shoot a few shots.
This started out as a single camera raw shot. Processed in Lightroom – softened with some noise reduction. I just kind of played around with it the software till I got it to the point were I was satisfied with it. That’s one part of the Art of photography I enjoy.
Safe Harbour
Safe Harbour
This shot was taken this summer at 50 Point Marina near Grimsby Ontario Canada. We sailed across the west end of Lake Ontario from Bronte Marina. Though we had mostly sunny weather we could see thunder storms all around us. We got safely docked and the sky opened up with lightning and thunder. After the storm we were treated with this beautiful sunset!
This HDR is a 2+/0/-2 three exposure shot process in Photomatix – touched up in Photoshop, Topaz filters, Imagenomic Noiseware noise reduction.
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