January of 2005, off to the Sault for a meeting. Not on my way back home when I was supposed to be, due to a snow storm on highway 17. The road was closed from Thursday to late Saturday. It was quite sunny in the Sault, but a maelstrom was a brewin' along the lake, so wait we had to! While I was there, to kill some time, I set off to see if there were any nice "winter shots", and what you see here is what ensued. The framing was quick and a bit of a fluke, but the lights and shadows make the scene, that is for sure.

Another "Swamp Shot", but a different day and a different set of clouds. Makes for a totally different set of colours. Lots of blackflies, early May!

What would Hornepayne wildlife be without at least one Fox shot. This one is not the one who has been roaming lately, as this was early spring, but a decent shot nonetheless.

This is an interesting story. May of 05, about 50 KM from Wawa, "swoop", right in front of the car is this big bird. I watch it land in some trees on the other side of the highway. I stopped and got several shots as he (she?) perched on the old tree. Once I had several, I took some rocks and threw it toward his direction, hoping it would spook him enough to fly again. He just looked my way and that was it. I carried on, as I am sure he was waiting for me to drop dead on the road so he and the family could eat for weeks!

There is a swamp, just a bit south of the first cutting road, Highway 631 South. If, in the spring, you access it from the highway, around sunset, the shots are really, really nice. I have several in several different colours, depending on the time of day, clouds, etc. This swamp is also viewed from the cutting road, but a sunset has to be seen from off the highway. Blackflies and mosquitoes, too, are quite happy at that time of year, to have a photographer standing near a swamp.

Here we go! Taken in May of 05 in a week when I saw more than 10 bears between Hornepayne and White River. This one was not scared, at all and came so close to the car, some of my shots were blurry! Of the many, many shots of it I took, this is one of the better ones. There are a few also that are a little more "dangerous" looking, but I will post those later. Check out the claws, able, I am sure, to do some damage.

As much as I enjoy shooting birds, I know nothing of them. This is a nice, red one!

Further to fall again, another in the series of photos taken in various locales, behind Larkin Lake. This one in particular, due to the angle of the sun, has nice vibrant colours.

I can't resist a little "fall themed shot". As of last summer, this young lady was a "hunting" survivor, but who knows about after that!

While this does not include a lake, which is one of my favourite subjects, it is a classic Hornepayne fall photo, and deserves to be out there. Heading up a trail like this, with a cool breeze and warm fall sun, is a real treat.

This shot, which could have used a tripod, is a shot of one of the several lakes that are dotted along a rather large and fairly high esker, behind Larkin Lake. It is obviously one of those "green" lakes, like the ones not too far from highway 11. The fowl swimming by was a fluke, but worth the shot. The colours are really nice.

As we are into fall, and forgetting about nice summer days, here is a fall shot. I took this at the south-west end of Larkin last year, after hiking into the bush a bit towards Corner Lake, but not quite making it. Regardless, the blue skies and correct angle of the sun made for some really nice shots.

I have posted information about this blog on www.hornepayne.com. There have been many comments on Gene's guestbook about different photos and the like. Gene has built the website as a means for public communication, but it is also a place of business and as such, it is not intended to be a site to "request" certain photos.

That being said, I plan to post a range of photos on this site, primarily of the Hornepayne area. If, someone is interested in something particular, feel free to post a message, or send an email and I will consider taking some shots to suit the purpose. As an example, many people who follow the conversation on hornepayne.com are former Hornepayners who would like to see certain areas of town again, but do not have access to them. While I do not have a lot of time to devote to such adventures, I may well be convinced to do so, depending on the nature and complexity of the requests. Regardless, I will continue to post some of my own photos for people to see.

Also, as it stands now, I do not sell photos as a business, however I do occasionally get requests for prints. At this point, I will occasionally print a photo and provide it to someone at a cost that only goes slightly above my own costs. If there is sufficient interest, I would offer more prints for sale, but at this point, that is not a priority for me with my photos. The only courtesy I ask, is that you do not download and print these shots, as they are copyrighted. If you really see a print you like, drop me a note and we can work something out.

I love taking photos of airplanes, and being on 2nd government lake gives me plenty of opportunity to do so. Forde Lake Air (www.fordelakeair.com) is right next door, Kayvee Lodge (www.kayveelodge.com) is a few doors down, and Horne Air (www.oliviersflyin.com) is at the other end of the lake. There are also several private planes on the lake. Hopefully, all the affected pilots are not too angered by the sight of me tracking them with my zoom lens, but so far no one has really complained. The accompanying shot is a typical early morning, mid-July photo. The plane is taking off, loaded to the gills, as the mist rises from the lake. Can't beat it.

Feel free to leave messages on the site, and to comment on the photos, good and b

The raft story. Typical Hornepayne story. I had wanted to build a raft to have at the camp, but had put it off. One day, while driving past Pat Jean's house on Marathon, I saw that her entire deck had been removed and was sitting on the ground. I proceeded to check it out and it was not too bad. So, I asked her what she was doing with it. She said she was looking for someone to take it to the dump. So, I volunteered, with no way of getting it there. I made a bee-line to Alf Wernham and asked if his big trailer could accomodate moving it. Of course, it could, and we were part of the way through the plan. Then, I had to get it on the trailer. With the assistance of a few high school students, we loaded it on the trailer and took it out and sat it on the ground. Next was the dock barrels, which Robbie Walton had many of, so for a decent price, I purchased 6 of them. Then came the tough part, of getting it to the front of the camp, so I could flip it over and put the barrels on. I fiddled with it a bit myself, but it was quite heavy. Scott Werden then offered to help and with the assitance of Russ, Crystal and Chris, from Forde Lake (www.fordelakeair.com), we rolled it on the barrels, to the front. Then Scott helped me strap on the barrles, using clothline and he and Clayton and I basically dropped it in the water. The rest is history. It spent its first winter in the water and I lost two barrels, but Marilyn Smith saved one for me, so really I am only out one. I suspect I will winter it in the same manner again, but in a slightly different spot and see how it goes.

Anyway, the raft was quite popular, hosting a few afternoons in the sun and makes a great platform for kids diving and taking shots of all the airplanes coming and going from 2nd government lake.

In this shot, it shares the early morning spotlight with a toy that provides a different type of fun at the lake.

Stay tuned for further posts.

A little ways from Horneapayne, but nice nonetheless. This is from the rocks at Sand River, not too far south of Wawa, on Lake Superior.

Here we are, our favourite insect!