Springtime Adventures

Yesterday, Ralph and I thought it would be nice to go out and take a photograph of the sunrise.  They were calling for nice weather and it was suppose to be warmer than it has been for the last week or so.  We set the alarm for just before 5:00 a.m. with the plan to be on the road by 5:30.  We had checked the sunrise website to see what time it would break and that showed 6:45.  We figured that we had plenty of time.  We have a spot that we usually drive to which is near Hamilton but when we got there it was totally flooded.  So we drove along the streets along the lake until we could find a little park or access to the beach along the lake.  After finding one, the sun was just about to break over the horizon so we rushed to get ourselves set up.  We laughed after it suddenly popped up as I think we had each only taken a few photos.  What now?   Since the temperature was nice (although a little chilly) we decided to drive to Balls Falls in Lincoln County to see what the impact of the spring runoff had on the water flow.

I had packed us a snack figuring that we would be out for a while so we enjoyed that before hiking to the falls.  There are two here, upper and lower falls.  We struck out to see the upper falls first.  We were initially amazed with how fast the water was rushing by.  It was really high.  There was still signs of the previous days snow all around the area and the path was icy and slippery.

As we approached a bend we could hear the loud sound of rushing water.  We were amazed at how much water was flowing over the falls.  We have never seen it like this.

Here is a picture of what the falls normally look like

We then hiked to the lower falls.  Many of the rocks were covered in moss.  It was a bright green colour and made the forest look nice and vibrant!!

It's more difficult to photograph the lower falls because of the wall and fencing that has been put up to make it more safe.  You can see the mud from the runoff in the colour of the water.  

Here is a picture of what the falls usually look like

By now it was about 11:00 a.m.  What do you want to do now?  We felt a coffee was in order so we went in search of a Starbucks where we could plan where to go next.

We decided to check out Beamers Falls in Grimsby.  This was a double fall as well.  It was a bit of a hike to get to a good spot to take pictures as there were so many tree's but we did it.  I climbed down backwards holding onto tree roots and branches as it was really slippery.  It sure wasn't graceful.  Because of the terrain, we decided we would only take one camera.  Ralph and I took turns taking the pictures.

Here is a picture of what the falls usually look like

I really enjoyed the day exploring with Ralph.  We finished it with a nice lunch.  We were a little muddy so I was thankful that we had thought to bring extra socks and shoes to at least have dry feet.

Soon to arrive....twins

Sandra and Sean asked me to take some "maternity" pictures for them before the twins arrived.  Portrait photography is not something that I am vey familiar with.  So for the last month, I have been scouting out locations, reading articles on the internet and creating a file with "maternity" poses that we could use.   The forecast for yesterday was "snow" and I worried that the location I had selected might be too slippery.  I wanted to take the pictures near the river close to the Kortright Centre.  Marian and I checked it out earlier and confirmed that all the snow was gone and walking wouldn't be that difficult.  I had chosen Lake Ontario as my secondary site but I think it might have been too windy.

We left at 8:30 on Saturday morning and I was thankful that it was a cloudy day.  Everyone was patient with me as I set up the poses, referred to my notes and pictures.  We had fun and I am pretty happy with how the pictures turned out.

We came back home and took a few more indoors as well.  It won't be long now before the twins are here.  I can't wait to meet them!!

Last day on the Island

Well today is my last day on the island.  It's raining outside right now.  It's our 2nd day of rain.  I guess you can expect that as it is the rainy season here.  Everything looks very green and lush however the locals have said that they needed the rain as they haven't had much.  There were not as many waterfalls visible and this is one of the reasons.

As I type this update I can hear the rooster crowing in the background.  I have gotten use to the sound and will miss it.

The group I was with comes from all walks of life.  They were all really nice people, each with their own unique personalities. My roommate Shirley comes from Atlanta.  She was the oldest in the group. She was very quiet and tended to stay more on her own but as the week progressed she got more and more involved.  I really liked Shirley.  She reminded me of a southern. "Belle of the Ball" with her soft Georgia drawl.

Mary abd Shirley

Karen was from Australia.  This is her third tour with James and she had the most experience.  She is very outgoing and always looking to help us.  We all loved her unique accent and how she enjoys life.  Karen and I spent the day together yesterday after the rest of the group left.

Karen & Mary

Mary, Lisa and Karen

Mary was from Los Angeles - Ventura County.  She was very outgoing.  She says it like it is but injected a lot of humour into the group,

Lisa was also from Atlanta but in the throws of moving to North Carolina.  She was full of laughter, very athletic and always looking to learn as much as she could.

I was amazed at how quickly we all gelled together.  We laughed every day, sang at the top of our lungs at times and had the van bouncing as we danced in our seats.

James, our instructor is from Texas.  He's young (31) and has a real gift for dealing with people and sharing his knowledge.  He was fun loving and made everyone feel at home.  He sang with us all in the van as we drove from place to place and kept us laughing for the entire trip.  He had a great sense of humour.

A parking lot filled with chickens

The trip itself was pretty strenuous pushing me in many ways.  I tend to be timid scrambling over rocks and walking along pathways.  My balance isn't the greatest.  With a backpack on weighing about 25 lbs it was easy to loose balance.   By the end of the week I was leading the way in some cases.  I gave thanks for energy drinks, vitamin B12 and most of all to our Lord for keeping me safe.

Rocks covered in a red type of dirt

Everything is either up or down
Mary, Lisa, James

Lisa takes the lead

The easy part of the trail







Volcanic rock, we were here till it got very dark. Headlamps came in very handy
Mary, Karen, Lisa



This next picture is a bit blurry but it gives an idea of what we were crawling over.  At times James had us sliding on our bums over the rocks.  It was safer that way.  All to get that perfect shot.  Of course it's optional and you do it only if you want to.

While you can't really see it, this was one of those bum sliding pictures.  I had to bum crawl forward and backward to get up close.

I am amazed at how much we saw and did.  By the end of each day we were exhausted both mentally and physically but still laughing and eager to see what we had captured on film.  We have all seen improvement in our pictures that can be seen every day.   It really has been a wonderful experience.

Today I will go out exploring.  I am on my own now.  It's still pouring rain.  They do caution about flash flooding so I probably won't venture too far.  Hopefully the sun will come out this afternoon.

There is rain falling in the background of this picture which brought out a beautiful rainbow.

Singing in the rain

Our chef

This is Than.  She is our chef and  is a very sweet lady.  She looked after us very well.  She always made a ton of food.  There was always more than we could think of eating.  Her meals were amazing.  She loves cats and had several of them running around but they were usually down in her apartment.  We all enjoyed her stories.  The chickens love her as she takes care of them and their little chicks.

This morning I woke up  at 4:00 to a big rainstorm.  The rain was pouring into the room that Shirley and I shared.  I had to get a towel and soak up all the water.  I couldn't fall asleep after that so I went downstairs to have a cup of tea and found Karen downstairs already.  She was also woken by the storm.  It was too wet to go out and shoot the sunrise so we went out for coffee instead.  I enjoyed a Cortado.  What a smooth espresso.  It was amazing.  The Hawaiian coffee is delicious.

When we got back to the house breakfast was ready.  The rain had stopped (at least for a little while). After breakfast we all went outside with our cameras as one of us had seen a snail (which was very large) and we decided to photograph it.  I know it's hard to think of them as beautiful, but this one really was.  He was at least 2 inches long.

We took some pictures of the flowers around the property.  They were so. beautiful

Afterwards we  reviewed some of the aspects of photo developing in Lightroom and Facebook.  Then it was time to pack uo and say goodbye.  we all enjoyed a nice lunch together and then most headed to the airport.  Karen and I are leaving tomorrow.  It's still raining.  I hope it stops so I can spend my day the beach.

This is one of my favourite shots from this week. It's very difficult to capture.  It only happens at one place on the Island.  Ke'e Beach is where you can set it.