Jack Pine Trail

[Round Tuit]

After an almost two months hiatus from shooting, I finally managed to take the camera to the Jack Pine trail of the Stony Swamp Conservation area southwest of Ottawa. As the name imply, the area is a mixture of wetlands and forests that are also home to several beaver ponds. It is crisscrossed by a network of 40 kms of trails. The trails are very popular with families because they are readily accessible and most are fairly short.

This shot shows a section of the trail covered by a boardwalk to protect the boggy ground as well as a small bridge across a pound.

#1




In spite of the name "Jack Pine" the forest is quite diverse. This is an area of cedar growing amongst large rock formations.

#2




The area has 251 rare bird species according to the National Capital Commission(NCC). The one bird that you will encounter the most frequently if you walk the trail is the common black cap chickadee. This next shot will give you a hint as to why that is.

#3




People are always feeding them. Children particularly love to have them land on their hand to snatch seeds. In spite of being accustomed to human, they are quite challenging to photograph.
They fly extremely fast and do not stay in one spot for more than a few seconds. They also prefer the cover of trees and branches which make focusing on a bird rather than a twig very hit and miss. Out of about fifty shots, I managed to get one good one!

#4




Squirrels are also very tame for the same reason but they are a lot easier to capture.

#5




Hope you enjoy these shots. C & C are always welcomed.

Andre

[NorthernFocus]

Nice set of images to share your nature trail.

[Wavelength]

Beautiful set of images.....all are very nice

[Manfred M]

Wow! Has the snow ever gone done in the past 2 weeks. We were out snowshoeing on that trail around towards the end of January and the snow coverage sure was much deeper. You've definitely captured a pretty comprehensive view of what one encounters along the trail.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[Round Tuit]

Thank you Dan, Nandakumar, Manfred and John.

Manfred,
These photos were taken last Monday. Since then we have had freezing rain, plain rain, daytime high of 5 or 6 °C and lows that barely dip below the freezing point. If I were to retake the first two shots, there would probably be no snow at all in them. Unless we get lucky and get a dump of a foot or so of new snow you won't get much use for your snowshoes.

Andre

[Geoff F]

With the first image I wonder about a slight crop from the top which would tend to concentrate the view on the end of that path and make it appear to be longer? Maybe reduce the sky by around half and a balancing amount from the sides?

The background in the squirrel photo is a bit distracting; but there isn't really much that you could have down to change things.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice series

[Manfred M]

Unless we get lucky and get a dump of a foot or so of new snow you won't get much use for your snowshoes.

That's the plan Andre - I'm in India right now and won't be back in Ottawa until the second week of March. At that point the amount of snowshoeing I might be planning to do will be very limited!

[IzzieK]

Andre...I think that trail is part of paradise. Imagine the birds and animals being tame to people in the wilds, too. That looks like a beautiful place to walk and explore...More so because of your shots here. I also like the way you processed these.

[Manfred M]

Andre...I think that trail is part of paradise. Imagine the birds and animals being tame to people in the wilds, too. That looks like a beautiful place to walk and explore...More so because of your shots here. I also like the way you processed these.

Nice part of this (and many other) trails is that they are right in town. We go here often throughout the year because it is a 5 - 10 minute drive from our house (the time really depends on how we hit the traffic lights). Great for cross country skiing or snowshoeing in the winter and just going for a walk in the summer (although from late May through mid-July, the mosquitoes can be rather annoying), especially at times that photographers tend to be out.

[Round Tuit]

With the first image I wonder about a slight crop from the top which would tend to concentrate the view on the end of that path and make it appear to be longer? Maybe reduce the sky by around half and a balancing amount from the sides?

The background in the squirrel photo is a bit distracting; but there isn't really much that you could have down to change things.

Geoff,
Thanks for you excellent suggestion. I tried cropping from the top. It does make the path more prominent but it also make it appear shorter. What I should have done is shoot it higher in the frame in the first place. If we get more snow I will try that.
Andre.

[Round Tuit]

Very nice series

Thanks Binnur

[Round Tuit]

That's the plan Andre - I'm in India right now and won't be back in Ottawa until the second week of March. At that point the amount of snowshoeing I might be planning to do will be very limited!

Who knows Manfred. I remember getting a 18 inches in 24 hours in March before. That would certainly stretch the snowshoeing and cross-country skiing season.

[Round Tuit]

Andre...I think that trail is part of paradise. Imagine the birds and animals being tame to people in the wilds, too. That looks like a beautiful place to walk and explore...More so because of your shots here. I also like the way you processed these.

Thank you Izzie.
We are indeed very lucky that a long time ago some far sighted politician established our National Capital Commission with a mandate, in part, to preserve "green spaces" in and around the nation's capital. As a result we can enjoy hundreds of kilometers of nature trails year round.

[John 2]

That's a nice set Andre. No.5 for me as favourite. Its a nicely captured pose but as Geoff suggests, the BG is a bit busy. Might be worth trying to tone down the highlights on the fence and the specular highlights in the BG grasses(?) and then adding a very slight vignette.

[Round Tuit]

That's a nice set Andre. No.5 for me as favourite. Its a nicely captured pose but as Geoff suggests, the BG is a bit busy. Might be worth trying to tone down the highlights on the fence and the specular highlights in the BG grasses(?) and then adding a very slight vignette.

Thanks John.

So far I have only done global adjustments to these photos using Lightroom. I'll drop the squirrel one into Photoshop and see if I can selectively tone down the highlights. Adding a vignette also sounds like an excellent idea.

Andre

P.S. The background grasses are 5 foot tall cattails. I believe you call them bulrushes on your side of the big pond.

[Kyle]

Ottawa has always been one of my favourite places and your photos show why. You've captured a great series.

[Round Tuit]

Ottawa has always been one of my favourite places and your photos show why. You've captured a great series.

Thanks Kyle