2022 Photography A review of the year's Activity

Hogs Back Falls and Bate Island

It was still cold, but not nearly as cold, a few days later when I went out again. This time I went to see how Hogs Back Falls would look in especially cold weather. From there, I returned to Bate Island and found a familiar cold landscape, but not the magical one that I saw previously.

Dominion Arboretum

Early in February a special package arrived, and this is what led to my especially busy photographic year: an infrared converted camera. Infrared was something that I had long wanted to try, and as 2021 was drawing to a close I discovered that LifePixel was having a sale. I thought, why not? So I checked to see if my very, very old Nikon D70s still worked, did a bit of research to determine what kind of infrared conversion I wanted, boxed up my D70s and sent it off to Mukilteo, Washington, USA. I chose a 590nm conversion, that LifePixel calls SuperColor, so that I could experiment with both false colour and black & white infrared photography. (LifePixel's website contains a wealth of information on infrared photography for anyone who may be interested in trying this themselves).

For my first outing with my new toy I wanted someplace with trees. Why? Because tree leaves strongly reflect infrared light and appear bright. Deciduous trees in full leaf would be ideal, but there are none here in February. So coniferous trees are the next best thing. Where to go? I know - the Dominion Arboretum, which is part of the Central Experimental Farm!

Understand that having my D70s modified in this way was a complete shot in the dark. I had no idea if the newly modified camera would produce anything useful at all. But when I got home and looked at my shots from the day I was thrilled and amazed!

Dick Bell and Andrew Haydon Parks

Infrared changes the photographic process quite a bit, which is challenging enough, but by choosing to convert such an old camera, I gave myself a very steep learning curve. The Nikon D70s is a 17 year old camera that is primitive by modern standards. For the rest of the year I worked to both wrap my head around photographing in infrared and to apply technique and technology to squeeze as much performance as I could from such an old camera.

My next outing was to Dick Bell and Andrew Haydon parks that are situated next to each other in western Ottawa. I wanted to see how far I could push false colour. I have to say that not having deal with reality is immensely freeing when it comes to creative expression.

City Walk

Having tried false colour, the next step was to experiment with black and white. I've long loved black and white images, but to this point had done little black and white work myself. So, on top of everything else, I started working to really try to learn black and white technique. As you might imagine, there was lots of experimentation with different black and white conversion methods and tools.

I began this process by going for a walk with my camera from my home.

Downtown Ottawa

As winter started coming to a close a good friend and I decided to do a little outing walking around downtown Ottawa. It turned out to be wonderfully warm day that brought many residents out of their winter hibernation to enjoy the first hint of Spring.

Still getting used to my infrared camera, I decided to do a mix of black and white and false colour.

Spring

Ottawa River and Bate Island

With the arrival of Spring, I decided to go for another little walk from my home, but this time walked along the Ottawa River parkway with a little detour to Bate Island. In the process, I discovered how wonderfully infrared renders wispy clouds.

Experimental Farm

As the weather started getting a little nicer, the Urban Group of the RA Photo Club, to which I belong, decided to have their first group outing of the year to a somewhat novel location: the Central Experimental Farm. This was the first outing where I brought both my infrared-converted Nikon D70s and my current Nikon D800 visible light camera. I used both cameras during the outing.

While the days before and after the outing were all Spring-like, Winter wasn't quite through with us and we had a mix of heavy overcast, light rain, and snow flurries. But we're used to such weather and still had a great time.

Shirley's Bay

My next outing with the D70s was a solo one to Shirley's Bay in the western part of the city. I've visited this area several times over the years, and it offers a mixture of river views, woodland trails, and open fields.

Smith's Falls and Ferguson Forest

Time for a field trip! A good friend and I had been talking about wanting to get out of the city together and decided to revisit Smith's Falls where we had been a few years earlier. Smiths Falls is an easily walkable town with interesting storefronts and historic buildings. The Rideau River and associated canal system bisect the town and present many photo opportunities. A particular, must-photograph, feature is the historic Scherzer Rolling Lift Railway Bridge.

On the way home from Smith's Falls, we made a side trip to Ferguson Forest in the town of Kemptville.

I took and used both of my cameras in Smith's Falls but only the infrared camera in Ferguson Forest.

Mer Bleue

As May rolled around, my next solo outing with the infrared camera was to the Mer Bleue Conservation Area in eastern Ottawa. This is a fantastic location with a truly spectacular boardwalk through the bog.

Shirley's Bay Greenbelt

A short time later, a good friend suggested an outing to the Greenbelt area to the south of Shirley's Bay. I had had a very short visit to that area the previous year and was eager to go back. While temperatures in May are normally mild, the day we went was unusually hot with a temperature well above 30 C. This set a new temperature record for the day.

City Walk

Still working to refine my technique with the D70s and with black and white processing, I went for another solo city walk. My route took me past Remic Rapids, Bell and Lemieux Islands, and the Chief William Commanda Bridge.

Cumberland Heritage Village, Rideau Hall, and Beechwood Cemetery

Doors Open Ottawa took place at the beginning of June. After being online only due to the pandemic, the in-person format was resumed for many of the 2022 venues. I took full advantage of this weekend event. A good friend and I visited Cumberland Heritage Village and Rideau Hall on the Saturday, and I did a solo outing to Beechwood Cemetery on the Sunday.

Mud Lake

As Spring was winding to a close, a good friend organized a small group outing to Mud Lake. As I often do, I arrived a bit early so that I could also photograph the stretch of the Ottawa river that is nearby. Since I've photographed both areas with visible light in the past, I was interested to see what I could do with infrared.

Summer

Upper Canada Village

The pandemic derailed everyone's lives. One thing in my life that got put on hold was the quasi-annual visit that a good friend and I had been making to Upper Canada Village, just outside of Morrisburg, Ontario. Finally, in 2022, virus concerns had abated sufficiently for us to resume this tradition. While we were in area, we also took in the nearby Battle of Crysler's Farm National Historic Site.

City Walk

With all the experimentation I was doing, sometimes I just wanted to go out and take some shots with a secondary objective of testing a new idea. Luckily I live in a photogenic area of Ottawa where a short walk brings a wealth of photo-worthy subjects.

Experimental Farm

I had been to the Experimental Farm earlier in the year before the crops went in and was eager to capture it again before all the crops were harvested. It was a beautiful Saturday, so the parking lot was packed, but the space is so large that that hardly mattered.

Beaver, Lime Kiln, and Jack Pine Trails

Shortly after my trip to the Experimental Farm, a good friend and I decided to revisit a few of the local Greenbelt trails that we had explored last year. We found remnants of the damage caused by the derecho that hit Ottawa in May all along these trails. I had never heard of a derecho before this year. It's an unusual windstorm associated with fast-moving and severe thunderstorms. The derecho caused extensive wind damage throughout Ottawa. Even after three months, several Greenbelt trails were still closed as cleanup efforts continued.

City Walk

I'm fortunate to live within walking distance of the Ottawa River, and I love to explore the shoreline and surrounding parkland. I walked a familiar route through Remic Rapids Park, past Lazy Bay, and as far as Lemieux Island Park.

Fall

Shirley's Bay Greenbelt

With the arrival of Fall, I returned to the Greenbelt area that I had visited with my friend in the Spring. What a difference a few months of further growth had made!

City Walk

I made one final walk along the Ottawa River in October heading West. Something about the water adds to the serenity of the walk. And water and shoreline provide a nice complement to forest and parkland for photographic subjects.

Pinhey Forest

A couple of years ago, a good friend and I happened upon the sand dunes in Pinhey Forest - not what you expect to find in a forest in the middle of a city. Of course, we now know that the dunes are remnants of the Champlain Sea that covered this area in ancient times. We made a repeat visit in October. We knew that this area had been particularly hard hit by the derecho that swept through Ottawa in May, but even so, we were astonished by the severity of the damage in some areas. Thankfully, much of the forest remained intact.

Mill of Kintail

The Nature Group of the RA Photo Club, to which I belong, ran several outings during the year, but for one reason or another I only participated in one - the annual Fall Challenge. This is a friendly competition among club members. I always try to participate, even though the competitive aspect is quite secondary to me.

This year there were two venues: the Mill of Kintail Conservation Area and the nearby Blakeney Rapids Park. A good friend and I travelled together and decided to limit our attention to the Mill of Kintail.

Limerick Forest

I love Limerick Forest! To be precise, I love that section of Limerick Forest near Oxford Station, about 45 minutes South of Ottawa. I've been to this part of the forest many times and the trail network is like visiting an old friend. Visiting Limerick Forest was another one of the things that got derailed by the pandemic, and I was really happy when a good friend organized a small group outing. Limerick Forest was my last out-of-town outing before the pandemic hit, and I was excited to finally return.

South March Highlands Conservation Forest

My last outing of the year turned out to be a trip to South March Highlands Conservation Forest. This can be found in the western suburbs of Ottawa. It is one of those obvious places that I had somehow never visited. On hearing this, a good friend who had been there several times suggested that we go there together.

This is a large area and I barely scratched the surface of what's available. It's on my list of places to visit again.