On a cold, dull November afternoon in 2014, I stopped for a few minutes at Burliegh Falls, a set of fairly intense rapids just off Highway#28 in the Kawartha Lakes region of Central Ontario, between Lower Buckhorn Lake, above and Stoney Lake, below.

It’s a very scenic location, easily accessible from the road, and therefore, very busy in the summer and early autumn. The rapids, adjacent shoreline, and calm pools below, are a destination for tourists, photographers, painters, swimmers, and fishermen.

The intensity of the rapids is dependant on the flow of water through a dam above them, designed to regulate water levels on the Trent-Severn canal system, parallel to the rapids. That November the flow was quite intense. This particular day was cold, windy, and overcast. Not ideal sightseeing conditions but, with the exception of the cold and wind, very nice for photography. The dull skies allowed me to make several long exposure images of the falls/rapids, including the one above, which I manipulated in Photoshop to look like a painting to get the effect I wanted to show. Again, for me it’s about how I see and experience things, rather than being simply an image in time. Don’t get me wrong, the original image is very nice as a photo, but did not communicate ‘how’ this scene unfolded for me at the time.

I’ve mentioned several times in the past that I can’t paint, but would love too. I like to look of the long brush strokes, the intense whites with hints of green and purple, and how it imparts so well the power of the water as it rushes by the far shore. The ‘painterly’ style, also intensifies the texture of the granite in the background. In my mind, this image captures the raw beauty of the province I live in and have the opportunity to enjoy and share.

Nikon D300
Nikor 70-300 mm, f/4.5-5.6 @ 75 mm
1/4 sec, f/32.0, ISO 200

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