Figtography

This is a continuation of the swan photos at Calf Pasture Point in Presqu'ile Provincial Park.

After the swan glided to stop in front of us, it began to pose.

I feel like it thought we were doing a NatGeo shoot or something.

The first photo in this set is the fourth photo out of ten. The rest are posted in order.

Just in front of the Park Souvenir Shop in Presqu'ile Provincial Park is a fairly large row of bushes separating the beach from the grass. Many spiders make their webs here and do quite well for themselves.

This European garden spider (araneus diadematus) was happily munching on prey.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a shot from "overhead" as the top of its body was facing into the bushes.

Some flowering lily pads along the Marsh Boardwalk Trail in Presqu'ile Provincial Park.

There weren't too many by the trail - and these ones were the most spectacular.

When I first saw this eastern garter snake at the beginning of its shedding process (ecdysis), I snapped (and posted) some pics using my phone in case it slithered away.

After that, I ran to the car and grabbed my macro for some better images. A shame it wasn't later in the process - capturing that would have been fascinating!

We walked along the Marsh Boardwalk Trail in Presqu'ile Provincial Park and came across this wee painted turtle sunning itself on a submerged branch.

Hard to make out the face, but my favourite is the two feet sticking out.

During a recent camping trip to Presqu'ile, one of my friends and I went to Calf Pasture (Presqu'ile Day Use Area and Bird watching area) on the north side of the point. While he fished, I photographed a mute swan in the distance.

To our surprise, the beautiful bird decided to fly right at us.

These are the results of that incredible minute. First image is the final shot of the flight (the last photo I took of it gliding to a halt was not good enough to post). The rest are in order from furthest point to second last frame.

Apologies for some of the angles - it was completely unexpected.

Snek.

Final image post from our Bon Echo trip.

Looking forward to seeing this sign again one day!

This is the final set of sunset images from our trip to Bon Echo Provincial Park (I swear!) - and a bonus shot of my canoe at the end.

Just a single image today.

I am a sucker for photos of maple leaves. This red maple sapling was growing next to our campsite and really needed its image to be captured.

Second last set of sunset photos from Bon Echo.

Truly a magical place.

Tried something new for this set.

These argentine ants were busy on a red cedar - I thought I would try my hand at some macro captures - but they move so fast!

These are the best of the set (along with an ant hill for good measure).

Some white meadowsweet along the shoreline of Joeperry Lake.

I took more photos of the skyline this trip than any other type of photo. That being said, how could I not?

These are the shots I did in portrait orientation.

Here are some images of St. John's Wort captured from our recent trip to Joeperry Lake in Bon Echo Provincial Park.

These were plentiful, growing just beside the main part of our campsite among a group of fallen trees.

It rained a fair bit on the day that I took these photos. We were pelted, but the sky cleared up periodically throughout the day to reveal some beautiful scenery.

This small island was a short swim away - and there was clearly a requirement to make it the subject of at least one image on the trip.

Various normal and macro shots of some shrooms around our campsite at Joeperry Lake.

Here is another species of bird that chose to hang out with us during our backcountry trip to Joeperry Lake in Bon Echo Provincial Park.

These song sparrows were lively, singing quite frequently and flitting about the site.

Here are some macro shots of lichen growing on the stump of a coniferous tree in Bon Echo Provincial Park.

Always fascinated by the texture of these organisms.

I went on a bit of a wander on the peninsula where we were camping (Joeperry Lake in Bon Echo Provincial Park) and came upon these cones.

I think they're eastern hemlock (based on what the interwebs tells me).

Regardless, I think they look pretty cool.

I discovered this orb weaver (araneus nordmanni) one night while I was tying up the food bags.

She was quite large - with her head and thorax being almost an inch in length (with the full span of ler legs almost doubling that. 

Her face looked like she was wearing a mask, and from the front it looked like she had a demon's face on her back.

I caught her briefly (she was actually eating a deer fly when I caught her) in order to take some macros during the day (this species is nocturnal). She was very cooperative.

Definitely an intimidating looking specimen.

When I was done, I released her back to where I found her. She was clearly very successful given her size.

During our backcountry trip to Bon Echo Provincial Park (Joeperry Lake), there were a few red squirrels who were clearly accustomed to being spoiled by campers. They tried to get into our drybags but were stymied by lack of access.

They certainly gave us a piece of their minds (very frequently).

That being said, they were all devilishly cute.

  echo

On our recent backcountry trip, this hermit thrush was very vocal.

It has a very interesting song, as well as a sharp call. We used Merlin (the bird app) to identify it and played some songs back to it. It flew very close and was kind enough to sing some more for us.

Absolutely happy with our site on Joeperry Lake. What it lacked in bears and moose it more than made up for in birds.

One of my best friends and I did our annual backcountry trip this past week - choosing Bon Echo Provincial Park (instead of our usual Algonquin Park destination). The views were incredible.

While we were treated to severe thunderstorms, crazy wind, a downpour and hail, the bulk of our time gifted us with views like these.

I have several sets of sunset photos so I will spread them out - and within each set there is some variety, so please enjoy!

After even more rain, hail and crazy winds, we were treated to this beautiful sight.

Sometimes you have to put up with a flash storm to appreciate the after party...

If you look carefully, you can see the master at work, capturing the sunset.

Our backcountry trip will not be to Algonquin Park this year, which makes me a little wistful. So I decided to highlight some photos of the wonderful texture of red cedar trees.

We're going to be heading to Joeperry Lake in Bon Echo - which will give us a whole new set of image opportunities!

That said, there will always be a soft spot for Canisbay Lake in Algonquin Park.

Here are some images of a scarlet waxcap mushroom found on a hike along the Tulip Tree Trail in Rondeau Provincial Park.