Badlands of Cheltenham

[John R]

North of Toronto there is this place called the Badlands of Cheltenham. Very interesting to look at and photograph. Wonderful for hiking also. Essentially, it is really a deforested area that lays bare its underlying clay layers with little streaks of limestone and other minerals. I really like the patterns of furrow-like hills and the patterns of light that are created when the light hits them. I added from many years ago a shot taken in winter, just to show some contrast and how different light and seasons can affect a landscape.

JMR

[jasonrandolph]

The light, texture and shapes make all of these visually interesting.  I especially like the small amount of grass in the upper left of the first.  Very interesting lines and patterns!

[wolfnowl]

Some great textures, John!  I've driven past that area when I lived in Ontario, but I never stopped to make photographs...

Mike.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Beautiful!
You've given me another reason to get to the Toronto area before too long.
 Eric

[cmi]

Very nice, I like them all, but esp. the winter shot!

//Edit: Because the line flow in this third one appeals to me most

[iancl]

I love the shot in the snow. I've never thought of going there in winter. However, my favourite of your three is the middle one for its simplicity – the rhythm in the final composition is very nice. It's all about the textures and the terrain in the side-light. Speaking of which, I only ever make it out there in the late evening (since I live so far downtown), but, this light looks like it was morning light. Do you find any particular time of day better than another?

I was thinking of heading out this weekend to do some star trails. Maybe I ought to leave in the middle of the night and stay through the morning instead of arriving at sunset and staying into the night.

Some of my best from here:

http://www.iancoxleigh.com/galleries/Lands.../Hope_Climb.jpg
http://www.iancoxleigh.com/galleries/Lands...otos/Fallen.jpg

and this whole folder:

http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=759976

[John R]

Many thanks Mike and Eric. It is certainly worth a visit. Christian and Jason, thanks. And what you descibe is what draws me to the place, time and again, even if I don't take a single shot. And yes Christian, it is the line forms and soft shadows that I like as well.

JMR

[John R]

I love the shot in the snow. I've never thought of going there in winter. However, my favourite of your three is the middle one for its simplicity – the rhythm in the final composition is very nice. It's all about the textures and the terrain in the side-light. Speaking of which, I only ever make it out there in the late evening (since I live so far downtown), but, this light looks like it was morning light. Do you find any particular time of day better than another?

I was thinking of heading out this weekend to do some star trails. Maybe I ought to leave in the middle of the night and stay through the morning instead of arriving at sunset and staying into the night.

Some of my best from here:

http://www.iancoxleigh.com/galleries/Lands.../Hope_Climb.jpg
http://www.iancoxleigh.com/galleries/Lands...otos/Fallen.jpg

and this whole folder:

http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=759976

Well, what an unexpected posting. Thanks for the comments. Yes, for light which helps create and delineate lines and forrows, morning light is probably best. Evening light may be useful but it quickly descends behind the north west trees as the sun goes down, and you may not be able to take advantage of the low light as you would like. As to Star trails, I don't think you would be able to define or show the hills before some kind of light appears on the horizon. so maybe 1-2 hours just before sundown or sun up, would allow you to get both.

Had a peek at your images. I very much like them, especially the first with the child climbing the hills. I also like the quality of light in your images, strikes me as a cross between luminous and sidelight. Very appealing. For best results, may I suggest morning light that is bright overcast, but also directional and soft enough to create shadows without harsh lines and deep pockets of black.

And if you are at all interested, I have some on my web site listed below. They are mostly impressionistic.  I used to belong to the Etobicoke slide club, and so decided to do something different after I stopped going, which can only be done because of the advent of digital.

http://lusalight.smugmug.com/
 
JMR

[iancl]

Thanks for the tips John.

I didn't make it out this weekend, unfortunately, but I still hope to do so soon. As for the issue of horizon light in the star trails, I have strip filters and I also plan to use a small amount of flash fill in the foreground to handle those issues.