Winter Wonderland
Algonquin Park in early Winter
Dec 3–5 Temperature around zero degrees Celsius, snow and cloudy
Algonquin Park is a wonderful place at every point of the year, but it takes on a magical quality in late November and early December with the first snowfall that generally occurs before the water freezes. Stepping onto a trail at this time with little to no civilization there to disturb you — there are often more moose than people at this time, eases one’s soul. Being mindful of the sound of your foot as it crunches fresh snow along the path, the running water of a creek, there is little doubt that this is what it means to be at peace. The heavy snowfall only adds to the mood, it dampens the world, with absolute silence being broken only by the sound of branches breaking under the weight of the heavy snow. This creates a unique and magical opportunity for landscape photography, and in my opinion, eclipses that of the autumn season. The heavy snow made a wonderful effect in this image, and is by far my favourite of the trip (left).
With the wind calm, the reflections in the water of snowy trees also take on a special quality. There is something special about a photograph with open still water and snow. They are the same molecule, but I find it fascinating that they can exist in different states at the same time — nerdy I know, but makes for magical images.
Winter wildlife in Algonquin Park can be very unpredictable. For those who are avid birders, winter in Algonquin is special. This is the southern most range of the vast boreal forest in Ontario. With climate change the species that inhibit this range have begun to be more scarce in this region, and sadly even the most popular bird of the park, the illustrious Whisky Jack is in decline. This year in particular was a challenge from a birding perspective — it appears that the cone crop failed in the boreal forest this year and forced an irruption of finches in and around southern Ontario and the upper northeastern states. Therefore little to no sign of finches, but still some wonderful opportunities with the local birds:
If there is one animal that is synonymous with Algonquin Park, it is the beaver:
Just kidding it’s actually the moose. And I was lucky enough to find this at the side of the road posing for a number of photographers on the final morning of the trip. Although I snapped a number of photos of this male bull, my favourite is of this majestic animal at the top of a small hill and snowy branches in the background. I was able to get this shot because I zagged vs. all the other photographers on the road. I noticed a group of trees parallel to the road in the path of the moose and positioned myself accordingly instead of crowding together. As a result I was up to my knees in deep snow, but was able to safely position trees between myself and this beast and get this shot. I should also mention that it was still taken with a 600MM lens from a distance. I would never turn my back on such an animal in attempt for a “selfie”. A wonderful way to end the trip.
