Joel.Sjaarda's photostream

I went camping this past weekend with some church friends in weather close to -30 degrees without the windchill. This is the only image I managed to grab as my gear and my face were frosting over rapidly. This is a westward facing, 180 degree view of the night sky with Jupiter in Algonquin Park.

The moon was 30 minutes away from rising here so the color temperature of the sky began to drop to a deep blue. From my observations of the night sky, I've concluded that the lunar reflection of the sun's light accentuates the results of Rayleigh Scattering when the moon is in view - and if you look closely or take a 30 second exposure like this one it becomes clear that the sky is not black but blue and purple.

Camera: 5D Mark II
Lens: 15mm f/2.8
Exposure: 29 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 15mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, did not fire

Summer storm over the shoreline of Lake Huron.

Camera: 5D Mark II
Lens: 17-40L
Exposure: 15 sec
Aperture: f/22
Focal Length: 17mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, did not fire

The twilight hours of summer in the north can be magical. I witnessed this scene in the dead of night after I had watched two movies alone at my cottage. I was tired but stoked that the clouds had cleared for some star trails. Making my way to a small road surrounded by wetlands and a lake took only a few minutes. The air was still and the only sound to be heard was the occasional bellow of a bullfrog echoeing across the marshlands. After about 20 minutes I turned around to find my bag on the road and noticed these Northern Lights! I had been completely ignorant of what was going on behind me! I hopped over some stones and moved to the waters edge to capture this scene with a 9 second exposure.

Camera: 5D Mark II
Lens: 24L 1.4 II
Exposure: 9.0 sec
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO Speed: 4000
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, did not fire

The wild westward facing shoreline of Lake Huron is a mystical place at 2:30 a.m. On what was my spookiest and most exciting photographic adventure to date, I was able to capture the Milky Way with slight cloud coverage in this long exposure.

Camera: 5D Mark II
Lens: 24L 1.4 II
Exposure: 13 sec
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO Speed: 2500
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, did not fire

It's been a long time since I've posted...things have been hectic...but I felt it was time to get this up and remind my fellow Canadians (and all the rest of you who are now in cold weather) of the summer nights which many of us already miss. I haven't had much time to get out and shoot lately but I've enjoyed browsing my contacts' images and I hope the connect with more of you soon.

[ tripod + remote + 17-40 w/ Lee 0.9 hard GND]

Camera: 5D Mark II
Lens: 17-40L
Exposure: 5.0 sec
Aperture: f/22
Focal Length: 17 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, did not fire