2010 Ice Break-Up: Winnipeg Beach and Steep Rock Manitoba
2010/5/11
This year, ice break-up on Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba arrived about two weeks earlier than normal. Preceding this year's break-up was a shorter, warmer than normal winter that resulted in thinner ice cover. In addition, in the weeks prior to break-up, there was about a two week period of higher than normal temperatures; daytime temperatures reaching 10 to 18 C. Then, on the weekend of April 3rd & 4th, a storm with very strong NE winds swept over the lakes and under the tremendous wind pressures, the ice shattered very quickly! The resulting break-up was very dramatic in the Winnipeg Beach area where winds drove the ice up onto the shore into piles that reached up to 30 feet high in a matter of two days!
This image, taken about two weeks after initial break-up, shows the rising sun coming through a break in the eroding wall of ice. In this shot, I wanted to convey a strong feeling of depth with the leading foreground lines and contrast of colour.
Spring 2010, Steep Rock, Lake Manitoba. Just moments before sunset, I was contemplating my next shot when I saw this kayaker coming around the corner...I grabbed my camera and was able to get one image that I was happy with.
I had visualized this shot all day and hoped that there would be nice light after the sun set. It couldn't have been better! The sun set directly behind the island creating a strong silhouette and I included the ice pile in the foreground to create depth, contrast and visual interest.
Churchill Manitoba Photo Tour, July 2009
2009/11/25
Last July I had the pleasure of leading a small group of avid photographers from Winnipeg to Churchill MB, on the western shore of Hudson Bay. This year, spring was very late arriving in Manitoba, especially in Churchill where everything from ice break-up, birds nesting and flowers blooming, was 3 to 4 weeks behind. We were fortunate enough however to have picked a week of great weather in what was otherwise a dismal spring/summer. When we arrived on July 2nd, the Bay was still frozen over, there were no fledgling birds anywhere and a flower in bloom was hard to find. By the end of our week stay, there were carpets of purple flowers everywhere and the Bay was breaking up rapidly before our eyes. Still, the nesting season for birds appeared to be a bust with only a few nests spotted.
Construction on the Port of Churchill started in 1930 and by 1931 it received it's first shipments of grain. Since being purchased by OmniTrax in 1997, the Port has experienced a revival and now regularly gets in excess of 12 freighters a season. The shipping season is short in Churchill, going from about mid July to the end of October. This image of the Port of Churchill was taken shortly after sunset.
The Precambrian rock outcrop formations along the coast east of Churchill are believed to be around 2.5 billions years old. These rocks are sometimes referred to as Churchill greywacke. Over billions of years, these rocks have been worn smooth by the elements and glaciation. This particular location, about five minutes east of Churchill along the coastal road, was a favourite sunset destination. In this photo, the golden evening light illuminates the rocks and ice flows on the Bay.
Churchill MB is located at approximately 58N latitude; at this latitude in July, the days are very long and so are the sunsets, they seem to go on forever. Well, not really, but the period of great light (before and after sunset) does last for an hour or more. This image was taken about 40 minutes after sunset.
Michigan, October 2009
2009/11/20
This year I went on a Lake Superior Circle Photo Tour in search of fall colors and anything else that caught my eye.
This image was taken about 8km south of Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula MI; on the way to get a sunset shot of the Copper Harbor Lighthouse. The road had recently been resurfaced and too good to pass up! It turned out to be a good choice as the sunset at Copper Harbor ended up a bust.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising MI features many small picturesque waterfalls; this image was taken downstream of Munising Falls. It was the colorful leafs on the fallen log across the creek that caught my attention. I used a 30mm equivalent focal length to emphasize and create greater dynamic impact in the foreground. A shutter speed of 1.3 seconds at f16, ISO 200 was used to create the motion blur in the water.
This image, taken about two weeks after initial break-up, shows the rising sun coming through a break in the eroding wall of ice. In this shot, I wanted to convey a strong feeling of depth with the leading foreground lines and contrast of colour. 
Spring 2010, Steep Rock, Lake Manitoba. Just moments before sunset, I was contemplating my next shot when I saw this kayaker coming around the corner...I grabbed my camera and was able to get one image that I was happy with.
I had visualized this shot all day and hoped that there would be nice light after the sun set. It couldn't have been better! The sun set directly behind the island creating a strong silhouette and I included the ice pile in the foreground to create depth, contrast and visual interest.
