Photography runs in the family I suppose. In the fall of 2010 I sent my 13 year old son on a mission to the Huron Natural Area–take 10 images of vistas that moved him. This is one of the 10 images he came home with.

I set the camera to fully automatic so all he had to worry about composition. I was quite impressed with the balance between the horizon and it's reflection, it's almost a perfect mirror image.

Tags: water, tree, green

Look at this image... and then take a closer look... it looks as though those leaves might be on those branches in the sky... but their not.

The beaver has been going to town at the Huron Natural Area in Kitchener and had recently felled this tree. Now here it lays submerged in the water. Meanwhile, the trees above stand leafless in the sky.

It was a very haunting, ghostly image when I came upon it. I am happy it turned out as well as it did. These things never seem to quite look like you remembered but this one comes pretty close.

Photographed with a Sony DSLR-A100 and a Minolta 70-210mm f4 (beercan) at an effective focal length of 112mm, handheld.

Tags: water, leaves, beaver, yellow, green

I love this image taken in the fall of 2008 on a lookout at Homer Watson Park overlooking the Grand River. I was initially trying to remake some magic captured by another local photographer in the same spot. What I initially viewed as a failure to do so turned out to be a brilliant success as I was later asked if the image could be used for a GRCA trailer and a GRCA Annual Report.

Opportunities like that don't come about everyday.

Tags: orange, yellow, green, river, tree, fall

On a morning walk in early summer I happened to catch a glimpse of this lone dew drop hanging precariously from the top of a single blade of grass. Ample side lighting and a large aperture allowed me to make this blade stand out against a blurred background of other grasses. Despite being a hand-held image I managed to capture a great deal of clarity and definition–enough that you can actually see the street-scape clearly inverted the dew drop.

Tags: green, water

Mid-day photography is rarely rewarding but I felt compelled to take some images of this particular vista while venturing down some country paths in my neighborhood. Not because the crop is particularly interesting or because the colors spoke to me in any way. It was more the lines–the very blue sky and the very green field separated by a band of dark trees. The clouds also add an ominous feeling regal sailing ships on oceanic skies.

Tags: green, blue, sky, crop

I don't remember the exact place this shot was taken but I do recall that we were on our way home from Niagara on the Lake one summer evening. This beautiful vista presented itself. Unfortunately, due to the time of day and lack of light, I was not able to capture the whole range of colors in one exposure so I was forced to snap a series of images that I would later compose into an HDR image.

The result was more "electric" then my minds eye remembers it but it's still a worthy image for those that didn't see what I saw.

Tags: water, blue, green, orange, sunset

This image was taken at what we in Waterloo Region affectionately call "Mount Trashmore", an old heap of a reclaimed garbage dump. The landfill was relocated in the 1970's and the surrounding area built up to what is now known as Country Hills, Laurentian Hills and Glencairn. The landfill was covered and eventually naturalized into what is now the cherished McLennan Park.

For decades sledders braved the winter chill to tackle the regions most popular tobogganing site, and in the warmer seasons, joggers have used the steep slopes to kick their workout into overdrive. The hills geographic location and higher altitude relative to the surrounding area also make it the best place in Kitchener-Waterloo to fly a kite. The community has long since embraced "Trashmore" as their own.

In recent years there has been multi-phased construction projects at the park to make it an official community recreation area. With the addition of Ottawa Street access and a parking lot, the park has become accessible to all. Park benches, landscaping and even a regrading of the sledding slope were some of the first signs of a revitalization, an ambitious and sophisticated bike park soon followed.

And now, land to the immediate north of the giant hill is being developed to accommodate a skatepark, accessible play-structure, splash pad, washroom building, beach volleyball, basketball courts, picnic shelter and more.

Tags: tree, green, grass, clouds, blue, sky