Bill Smith's Photography

As I have mentioned earlier, we were early for fall colours this year, maybe only 20% of the trees changed, if that. The Bat Lake Trail was a great hike in the morning and we drove afterwards along Highway 60 to Whitney for lunch at the Mad Musher. On the way back we got stupid lucky, a moose cow and her calf were eating by the side of the road, this makes up for the lousy fall colours. We weren't the only ones there, my guess there was about 60 to 80 people on the side of the road as well trying to get a shot of the moose. I like to think I'm a decent photographer but I've never shot wildlife either in a controlled environment (zoo) or out in the wild in this case before. My two concerns were one, get something decent because chances me getting anything like this will be slim to none and more importantly have an exit strategy. While the momma moose seemed comfortable around humans we're still talking a 1000 lb animal that can do some serious damage if it felt threat...

Last year, we hit the Bat Lake Trail around 3:30 or 4 p.m., a little later than we should have. Ok by the time we got to the view looking North East, it was about 5:30 seeing the fall colours looked spectacular, downside it was still a long hike back to the car. To make things even more interesting, we discovered fresh bear poop on the side of the trail and near the end we were still hiking after sunset in the dark and it was fast descending into a  re-enactment of the Blair Witch Project. For those who never been to Algonquin Park, it's one of those places if you walk a certain direction, you are neither seen or heard from again. This year we hiked the Bat Lake Trail in the morning and it was a totally different experience with the bright sunshine. Sadly though the leaves barely changed colours so you make do with what you have. I enjoyed the hike and next year, it's time to head elsewhere in the park. Thankfully no bear encounters but we did come across some wildlife aft...

This place is really hard to get to, there's little to no Wi Fi (you're not here for that anyway), cell service is spotty at best and I'm discouraging as many of you who crave the creature comforts of the city from ever coming up here. Those of us who can appreciate the rustic charms of Billie Bear Resort like it the way it is. For me this is paradise, most people crave Bora Bora or a small island in the Bahamas, me,  I'll take a lake in the Muskokas or Haliburtons every time. I did say this is hard to get too....... Cameras: Nikon FM, F2a, Nikkor Ais 50 f1.8 and Ais 28 f2.8 lenses. Film: Kodak Portra 400 and Cinestill 50 respectively.

I love this village. Camera: Series E 3.5 planar Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex Camera Film: Ilford HP5, HC110 B.

I used my Rolleiflex TLR and shot more black and white film on this year's trip up to Algonquin Park and I did some exploring Friday morning on the top of Huckleberry Lookout and later on along the shores of the Lake of Bays off highway 117. With the fall colours being late and not as vibrant, it was  logical choice. Camera: Series E 3.5 Planar Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex Camera. Films: Fuji Neopan Acros 100 and Ilford HP5 400 processed in HC110 B.