Bill Smith's Photography

I usually love shooting waterfalls, Oxtongue Falls just outside of Algonquin Park proved to be a challenge. Finding a decent locations to take a decent photo was tricky as was dealing with a number of tourists. At the top of the falls proved challenging, I prefer not to have a bunch of people walking behind me while I have a camera set up on a tripod centimetres away from the rock ledge with a metre drop into very fast moving water at the top of the falls. Confession here, I have a fear of heights, don't ask me how I painted houses as a summer job during university so long ago. Being up a ladder cutting in on a second story window is one thing,  being nudged by a clumsy tourist who wants a slightly closer look and taking a spill into the Oxtongue River and going over the falls is something else. After getting my shot I retreated away from the top of the falls to safer ground. Next year if the group comes back here I'm shooting from the bottom of the falls. Call it for wh...

I made an effort this year to shoot more colour photography which you have seen on recent posts over the past couple of months, my first love is black and white. In terms of workflow, I drop my colour film off at a lab and I have recently switched to Downtown Camara in Toronto as they have a busy c-41 service and their processing chemistry is fresh and that's important. All the black and white film I process is done at home in the basement and the process is in fact pretty easy. You need a daylight tank and I'm partial to Patterson because their reals are easy to load in complete darkness and in my case I use a dark changing bag. As far as the developing process goes it's three steps.  developer which pulls the image out of the silver emulsion on the film, the stop bath which lasts for 40 seconds of course stops the developing process and the fix bath pulls out the remaining silver particles and stabilizes the negative and that lasts from five to 10 minutes depending o...

I have come to the conclusion that you can become addicted to certain geographic locations, it explains why I want to come back to this part of the world next year. Algonquin Park and surrounding countryside  is the polar opposite of my other favourite place and photographic muse: New York City ,  I don't know if I will get down there in 2014. All the more reason to return here. What I might do is hide out in Dorset on the Lake of Bays for a day or two on the way back to the GTA. You don't have to go halfway around the world to get away from it all. Camera: Nikon F3HP, various Nikkor lenses, Film: Kodak Ektar 100

Algonquin Park is huge, riding shotgun in a friend's SUV in a convoy along Highway 60,  I realized that very quickly when it was about my guess at least a 45 min drive across to Whitney for a late lunch. If you do wind up in that part of the world, check out  The Mad Musher , they have a great menu and I'm partial to their sirloin steak sandwich. The other realization hit quickly too, Highway 60 was really busy with tourists and day trippers up for the fall colours even though the weekend forecast called for rain. There were spots we had to take a pass on because it was too busy. We came on the Spruce Marsh, not the spectacular spot we had originally planned but there's still lots of beauty here. The trail looped around it so we not only got more than our share of shots of dead spruce stands but also the Canadian Shield sticking out of the ground. Even though we had a guide with Wesley Liikane   who has deep knowledge of the park, we stayed on the trail. Algonqu...

Just off Highway 60 on the Oxtongue Rapids Park Road into the woods is a lookout onto the Oxtongue River. I understand what the Group of Seven painters saw when they first encountered the Canadian Shield early last century. Cameras: Nikon F3HP and FM2 with various Nikkor lenses. Film: Ilford HP5 400 for black and white and Kodak Ektar 100 for colour. 

Somewhere between Huntsville and Algonquin Park on Bella Lake is a small piece of paradise. My long weekend road trip took me to Billie Bear Lodge , a family owned cottage resort that acted as our base for photographic expeditions.  What I love about this place was the fact it is off the beaten path, in this case Highway 60.  The first thing I did when I got out my car in the parking lot, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and just listened. I was up there during low season, it was quiet, as in you don't hear civilization quiet and that is an addictive quality when coupled with your surroundings. My friends showed up shortly after I arrived and we took over the lodge at the resort and made dinner Friday night. I have a soft spot for places like Billie Bear Resort, the accommodations are rustic but that's what I like about it. Camera: Nikon F3HP, various Nikkor lenses Film: Fuji Pro 400H