Photo Impressions, Photography by Pat Beaudoin, Sioux Lookout

This story begins back on October 7, 2004 when we two chickens ( well, one cocky rooster and an old hen) went missing from Drayton Road.  We were assumed to be abducted and the mystery began.   A search for us ensued over several months to no avail and we’re here to tell you that those first few months on our own were tough go’in.  The truth is, we were never abducted… we were totally ABANDONED by our former owners (who out of common decency will remain nameless of course).  Yep, just thrown in the back of a truck and taken to an obscure spot further down Drayton Road and dumped by the side of a road.   Imagine our shock!  But we should have known something was up given that it was done in such a sneaky rush… the “Nameless Ones” acting all nervous like someone was going to arrive home and catch them or something.  They couldn’t get out of there fast enough!

Well, it turned out that a family lived on either side of that road.  We tried to hide at first, but it is pretty tough to do while dragging a ceramic body around.  The people mostly ignored us, probably totally po’d at having junk dropped off in their yard.  The snow kept us warm over the winter and by Spring everyone had mellowed; before long we had grown on them and were accepted into their family.  We now had a spot by the side of the road to call our own! 

                              
Oct 7th, 2004  2:37 p.m./pre-truck                        Oct 22nd, 2004                                         Feb 8th, 2005

Turns out the ”Nameless Ones” did us a huge favour – we LOVE it here with Uncle Roger and Auntie Anne!!!  We hang with our best ”bud”, Licorice and now a new horse, Raven.  It’s so fun to have regular meals, swim, frolic in the field with Licorice’s mega bouncy-ball and Uncle Roger even takes us for rides with Licorice!   Uncle Roger’s pretty good with the poopy-scooping thing too.  The puzzling posters about us that came unexpectly, anytime-anywhere, have stopped arriving for the last couple of years.  Thank goodness, it near drove poor Uncle Roger crazy!

So, we are neither abducted nor abandoned  -  we are instead, very happy run-aways.

The mystery has ended… we confess!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

ROGER & ANNE ! 

Not much time for photography during this busy season, however, I did want to stop and wish everyone a Happy Christmas! 

Truthfully I enjoyed these few minutes away from all the preparations with my camera… .  hopefully I’ll get out for some seasonal shots soon to  add to this theme. 

The poinsettia was taken with the LensBaby Composer plus the Macro accessory.

The thumbnail images are the result of a fun photo excursion with my 11 year-old grandson on December 23rd.    Justin brought home his wonderful interpretation of Xmas lights with my Canon PowerShot G5 and a whole lot of movement – a reminder for us adults to “just try it” and see what happens!    The day was grey and almost over for my landscape shot but it verifies that we do indeed have more than enough snow for Xmas.

Ralph Lake on November 6th, a little after sunset.

Gorgeous warm sunshine during that last week of October even though the air was plenty chilly.  I set up on one of the shores along Pelican Lake and very quickly forgot about how cold I was with the reminder of how beautiful nature is at this early hour.

                              
I could hear the float plane taking off long before I could find it.   The last image is Frying Pan Island on Pelican Lake.

I like the movement in this floral and the painterly feel to the background.  It was taken on a windy day, with some back lighting.  Normally I would grab my macro lens for a floral, but this time I got up close with the 17-55mm IS at f/2.8 and I really liked the results.  More to follow…

The original image was converted to black and white with one of my favourite Lightroom presets, after which I just tweaked my way along to make it my own.   

These delightful figures are scattered along one of our rural roads thanks to the “Holletts”, new residents who immediately gave of their artistic talents.   

I have taken to visiting the road regularly, looking for my favourites and enjoying the surprise of anyone new.  I love their fit into the natural world and imagine each figure will grow even more beautiful as they meld with the environment. 

I’m sharing my favourites here and you can view the complete series in my Image Gallery.   These were taken over the summer at various times and in varying light. 

We spent a few days in the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario recently.  Since we have little available in our small town, these quick trips are usually about power-shopping and treating ourselves to the pleasures of a larger centre.  I was definitely in need of different scenery as well, so this time I brought along my camera and made some time to just be  a tourist.  We discovered their fabulous Water-Front along Lake Superior and re-visited Kakabeka Falls which is just outside of the city.  The City’s Web Site is here  if you’d like to know a little more about Tunder Bay.

The sun was only minutes away from slipping below the horizon behind me, when I took this shot.  The peninsula behind the sail boats is known as ”The Sleeping Giant”, more about this well-known landmark here.

Kakabeka Falls is often referred to as the “Niagara of the North”, located within a beautiful Provincial Park of the same name.  More here.

This is not a good summer for phototography… rain, rain, rain.  Since flowers are quickly and easily accessible in my yard, that is mainly where I have been using my camera.  The gentle curves of the Calla Lily are especially beautiful to me. 

These were taken with the Lensbaby Composer plus the Macro accessory. 

  Marchington River

                              
 My personal favourite…                          Simple Bunchberries                                  Stormy water

Wind-blown clouds made for dramatic and swiftly changing light on this day back in May.  Amazing colour.

I watched the show from the shore of  Sandy Beach for a couple of hours, having to seek the shelter of my car only a couple of times.  The Town lies across the lake in view #4. 

You have to meet Charlie… he belongs to our friends, Pat & Bill, who graciously let me wander around their lakeshore property for a couple of afternoons taking pictures.  Charlie kept me company and didn’t I just fall in love with this animal!  All personality and charm he is. 

He loves swimming – underwater!  I’ve never seen a dog do this before and he scared me a couple of times because he stays under for so long.  He dog-paddles around the surface of the water for a bit like he’s looking for something inparticular and then he suddenly dips below the surface and combs the bottom for a lengthy time.  Just as suddenly he bursts to the surface when he finally runs out of air, shakes himself off and gets ready to repeat the process.  Amazing to watch.

Look at how sweetly he posed for my top image… that’s because he had plopped his ball right by the leg of my tripod for the millionth time and when I happened to turn around, he was waiting patiently for me to throw it for him again.  A beautiful little soul – I love this dog!

(Wish he hadn’t left his toy on the dock though – I don’t have the editing skills necessary to clone that one out.)

Well, normally that is true but we received snow instead for both months and no spring flowers as a result.  However, I did get these beautiful Tulips for Mother’s Day and spent two enjoyable afternoons photographing them, indoors and outdoors.  Tulips are becoming a favourite of mine to photo, I love their delicate, trim lines. 

New territory for me and I found it quite interesting, especially with a little ice still on the lake.  These images were taken in early May and both boat launch areas are represented.  I really liked the stark look of the scenery and planned a return visit for more photos after the snow was gone.  When I did return later in the month, the water had risen to cover all of the beach area and that was that for the time being!

While we were there we came across a plate of food, left in a quiet sheltered spot overlooking the lake.  It is apparently Native Canadian tradition to provide food for the deceased, to nourish them on their journey after death; perhaps this was such an offering.  It was touching to find and had me wondering about the circumstances surrounding someone’s loss.

On a happier note, my site is officially launched!  I’ll continue with improvements over time and post at least weekly initially.  Enjoy…