Recent Work: An outing in the rain

Spring seems to be moving at lightspeed towards summer. New leaves are out, spring wildflowers are blooming, and just this last weekend, the first apple blossoms appeared. Even though there was rain in the forecast, I didn't want to miss anything, so I went out with my camera despite the weather. Fortunately, when I arrived on site, the rain had stopped, and I was able to take some photographs in the wet forest. This outing was much warmer than my winter outings, but it still takes an effort to get out of the house in bad weather. Persistence pays, not just in the photographs, but with a great feeling of spending time in the forest as it recovers from the winter.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

New Growth

It's really amazing how fast the spring plants grow once the snow has gone. The weather has been hot for spring, and the plants have sprouted with amazing speed. It seems like only a few days ago, the trees were bare, and the forest floor was nothing but crushed fallen leaves. I photographed these wild leeks this morning, as well as the trout lily below -- my first spring flower of 2008.



. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Recent Work: The villiage of Pakenham from the five-span stone bridge

This photograph shows the village of Pakenham in eastern Ontario from an arch in a five-span masonry bridge over the Mississippi River (the Canadian version is much smaller than it's American cousin). The bridge was built in 1901, and is evidently the only stone arch bridge in North America with five masonry arches.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Spring, finally.

Spring is finally here, at least for a while. The massive snow pack is melting, and the rivers are filling up. Fortunately, the snow isn't melting too fast, so the risk of flooding isn't too high around here. The photograph above is from the Hog's Back Falls which is on the Rideau River inside Ottawa's city limits (for other photographs of these falls, see http://www.robwilliams.ca/recent.htm). Ottawa is actually in the middle of a fault zone, and Hog's Back is located where a fault line crosses the Rideau River. It's a small but spectacular falls in the summer, and the volume of water in spring is amazing.

This photograph is a combination of a photograph of the water using a slow shutter speed (1/10s), with a photograph with a high shutter speed (1/500s). It combines the smooth lines of the blurred water with the sparkle of the high-speed image.


. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Snow, snow, snow, and more snow

This past weekend saw a huge winter storm pass through the area, dumping a total of 52cm (about 20.5 inches) of snow on the city. So far, we've had over 400cm of snow (over 13 feet!), the second highest total for Ottawa on record. The snow has narrowed streets, many to just a single lane, collapsed roofs, and caused regular havoc during the many storms.

Despite all of that, I enjoy snow in winter -- it's great to have cold and snow, rather than freezing rain and ice. As a result of all the snow, it's been a better than normal winter for photography, at least for me. The number of storms has led to many days without the sun, but even then, I have taken the challenge of looking for photographs in the dull light of overcast days. The photograph at the top is one example -- a photograph I took during a break in the storm on the weekend. It's not a prize winner, but it really symbolizes the stark beauty of a city in winter.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Subtle Colour

I have always enjoyed strong colour in my photographs. Last weekend provided a clear, cold morning for my photographic outing, and I went out intent on photographing hoarfrost on the trees and shrubs with deep blue skies and strong sun. Sure enough, the cold temperature had done the trick, and the frost was thick on the trees in the area. I pulled off the road at one spot to photograph some bushes with thick frost lit with the early sun, and when I was done, I crossed the road to a stand of trees in the shade. The colour was much more subtle, but the contrast in colours between the tree trunks and the frost, and the pattern of lines formed by the branches was stunning. This photograph was the result -- a larger version can be found in the 2008 Featured Images page on my website.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca