Nature's Paintbrushes - (enlarge plse)

On Wednesday it was still hot, but not so humid, so we hopped in the

car and went for a drive. Quite often we head to the little picturesque

town of Lakefield, Ontario. It is popular with Tourist's this time of

year - so many cottages near by. We visited one of our favorite

Antique Shops that is right beside the Trent Severn Waterway. It is

very with 'Boaters' who spend their summers traversing the waters of

this amazing water system. If you go to Garry Barker's Portfolio, you

will find a beautiful capture of the Lock's here in Peterborough where

we both live. This composition contains items from various images

taken in Curtis Park that is closer to the water and across the road

from the Antique Shop. (your visits and comments are always

welcome and appreciated very much, :-) Gail)

This is a capture of Lake Katchewanooka that was just behind the park where I took my images, and alongside the area of Waterway Dams at the mouth of the Ottonabee River. Many people own Cottages and Permanent Homes on this Lake. The road just to the right forefront of the image winds around to one of my favorite Ice Cream Parlours!!  (:-) I seem to know where they all are !) I don't know if you will be able to use the link but if you type it into your browser sometime, you can see just what life is like just a few miles from my home. There are a number of Videos from Kawartha Lakes Tourism. It sure is beautiful.

http://thekawarthas.ca/experiences/experience-peterborough-the-kawarthas-videos/  

Here is a shot closer to the street you saw on the right in the image above, this is facing the mouth of the Otonabee River, just above one of the Dams.

This shot is of on of the many Dams, this one was partially open, it is just to the lower left of the above shot.

<sigh> The area looks like fishing and photographic heaven all rolled into one. 

I really like the image of the thistle and the grasses, it seems so typical of this time of year, when it seems to me that we reach the pivotal moment when everything is about to change yet again. A faint sense of autunm is in the early morning air, and the warmth of the sun decreases as the days grow rapidly shorter. There is a warm comforting element in your image that I think is also reflected in the the seasonal change. Its a lovely collection photographed with a deep appreciation of its elements.

Very well done Gail!

Best Regards

 

Alf

You are right Alf, that 'feeling' is in the air. The 'Fair' has been and gone, the Toronto Exhibition is now in full swing, (always the countdown of the last 2 weeks of summer). And we all are in the same mood - try to 'squeeze the best of the last' while we still can. I don't know what the fall colours will be like this year, with such little rain. We had a few downpours that helped the farmers, and there is to be more rain this week. This little town is just one of many in Southern Ontario. We do not have beautiful ocean seascapes for the 'taking'. But if you drive and explore there is always 'gems' to be discovered. We hope to go on a 'dinner cruise' on Stoney Lake this week. It is on one of those old Paddle Wheel Boats. Stoney Lake has many islands, beautiful cottages (many Movie Stars have had cottages there). We hope Dad can come with us and perhaps we'll get some good captures. Thankyou so much for sharing your thoughts with me on this composition. I always look forward to what you have to say. Sincere thanks, Gail

first glance, I like the colors, as the  yellows are of fall (Alf mentioned that whiff) or corn husks that are dying or sunflowers in the fields, and the thistle's pink is of more summer or early summer, so they merge the seasons.  The orange, I suppose, is like pumpkin.  I like the composition too which contains texture, shapes, and seem  to reach out one to the other.  There is a sadness because of the end of something so utopian in concept.  I was wondering why the onset of death -- with fall -- can appear so lovely

What a lovely critique Donna. You are an excellent wordsmith. I think that perhaps there is a sadness when summer is over, especially if you are going back to school. (it was always extra hard on me, my Birthday is Sept. 2, often went back on my Birthday, my last name started with 'A' so I always had to sit in the first seat of the first row...I was so shy). Yet the weather is usually very hot the first few weeks of school. You never know how to dress the kids because the mornings can be very cool, yet by 11am if they are in warmer clothes, they are more than ready to pop back into shorts! I think also the Fall, even though it ends with the 'death' of such 'beauty', it usually is gradual. If we have a good Fall, we experience the wonderful colours as the leaves change.Iif we can, we still have the odd 'corn roast', hike in the country, feel the leaves crunch beneath our feet; the forest floor, once the warm sun hits it, has a heavenly aroma from it's bed of needles. And the air has a new crispness and freshness about it. I always love letting the fall breeze sweep through the house, changing up the air that had been so humid and stuffy through the summer. I think of Activities we do with family and friends, that celebrate that time of year; we take photos of the children jumping in the leaves, going to the pumpkin farms and visiting the animals and bringing home their 'prize' pumpkins. So while Fall is a 'bittersweet' goodbye to summer, I think it is like that 'comfort food' we talked about. Many memories linked to the changes in the Season. I remember when we went to Myrtle Beach the beginning of last November. Driving from the Canada border, as we went through the various States, the route we take is a wonderful drive. The Appalachian Mountains are my favorite. In one area there may be no colours at all, but just round the bend, a wonderful splash of colour may greet us. We had a great drive down, so we were fortunate. I think if we lived somewhere that there was no gradual change, it would be much harder. I hope we are blessed with a lovely Fall. I just went outside to get our paper, and it is really chilly!!! Just last week we had to have the 'air' on, it was so hot and humid. Many thanks Donna for your visit and 'poignant questions'. It will give us all pause -  to think and hopefully be grateful.

I like it a lot! Wonderful colors and shapes mixed together like in some battle of the element of the nature! Please, continue to nurture beauty of this kind dear Gail!

 

Best regards

 

PDE

So good to see you are here, hope all is working right!!! thankyou for that enthusiastic comment Pierre, I'm so glad you enjoyed this composition. Warmest regards, Gail

the whole image fits together so well - the colours bold but harmonious. really great. best, j

Beautiful colours and excellent processing Gail. Congrats.

Really beautiful work with impressive lighting and colours, Gail!

 

I do like your craft my dear Gail !

really like your post work on this image Gail......nicely done

I like the lighting, colors and detail.

Nice location for a trip but most of all as usual interesting way you worked your composition,best light to you.

Gail, I really enjoy this composition.  The softness blended with the vibrant colors speaks to me.  Aloha.

Artistic & colorful image !! Well done ! You are very fortunate to live near this beautiful place, Gail ... and you showed it very well. Kind regards

Hi Gail,

Creative and beautiful.........Best Regards, KA

 

A beautifully processed collage Gail! Lovely light, and colors, in this bunch!

All the best,
Neil

The word for this picture is lush. Apparently you've stumbled on the "open sessame" button in your processing adventures. With PS and similar programs we're presented with so many choices that it's very easy to lose your way and plunge over the cliff of excess. You seem to have an unerring instinct for when to stop. I think your natural sense of curiousity, along with a kind of stick-to-it-iveness are two qualities that are readily apparent if one steps back and looks at your body of work. Your main subject remains Nature but your approach is one of constant technical and aesthetic evolution.

You have such a wonderful way of 'weaving' words that makes me feel so good about what I have created. I often struggle and wonder if the image is 'good enough'. Perhaps I am seeing what others won't. 'I like you eyes'!!! Then again your Portfolio is full of images that attest to just how 'wise' and 'uncluttered' your EYES truly are. My sincere thanks for those lovely words, my heart feels so 'serene' at this moment. Gail

We do such different work, yet it's so nice that we enjoy each other's images. It is like walking into another person's home, and their decorating is so different - (what they are comfortable in and wht they call HOME), yet we feel 'so good' there when we visit. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with me, truly appreciated.

Just an outstanding composition.  Bold, contrasty colors in a mix of complex patterns and textures, that all come together in one harmonious image. 

Joel