Sunrise at Lawrencetown Beach

I'm not one for early mornings, but after two months of social distancing and staying within a few blocks of home, I took advantage of the reopening of provincial beaches and headed out to Lawrencetown for sunrise. With sunrise scheduled around 5:30am, I got up before 5 and jumped immediately into the car. Despite the early hour, there were already hikers on the nearby Salt Marsh Trail. When I arrived at Lawrencetown Beach, the horizon was a nice shade of orange, and there was a nice array of clouds in the sky to turn the sky pink. 

In the distance along the beach and out past the headland, there was a nice low-lying fog to give atmosphere to my images. 

I stayed on the beach for at least an hour, and even long after the sun had cleared the horizon, there were still photographic opportunities. 

Getting the camera down low provides an interesting perspective to landscapes, especially when there are shiny beach stones with which to populate the foreground. 

Once I tired of the landscapes, there were plenty of detail images available, and I'm always a sucker for sea foam and long exposures of flowing water.

I would forgive the viewer for thinking I had placed this piece of seaweed in order to create this image, but it was as I found it - and soon after I took this image, a wave ventured higher up the beach than most and rearranged it into something less picturesque.

A retreating wave flows around a rock.

On my way out to the beach, I had passed a number of coves and islands, where the sea was still utterly due to the absence of wind. Hoping that the water's mirror surface remained, I started my return to the city. I was in luck!

With only a group of ducks swimming by to disturb the water, this tree along the Salt Marsh Trail reflects on the water's mirror surface.

In comparison to the following image, this little island allowed me to isolate the trees within the frame of the image.

For some reason, I really like the mixture of dark & light greens and reds with the blue of the sky and the white of the wind-fallen trees. If you look carefully, you can see the heron that I missed until I zoomed in on the image - though it isn't where you might expect to find it.

Even here, I found some detail shots to keep me there a few minutes longer.

Close to shore, the remains of the previous season's reeds lie just under the water's surface as the current crop start to poke up and cast their own reflections.

All in all, this was a much needed photographic therapy session.

2019 in Reflection

This past year has been a busy one with its ups and downs, and various things have kept me from spending much time on this blog - a busy autumn at my day job, home renovations, and writing for Warships IFR magazine have seen to that.

Nevertheless, I found some time to take photos this past year, so I will do my annual retrospective of what I consider to be my best or otherwise most interesting imagery.

I will start with my Naval photography, as that seems to have the most highlights.

USCGC Seneca.

USS Jason Dunham.

In May, we received a visit from the Mexican Navy's training vessel ARM Cuauhtemoc. 

ARM Cuauhtemoc

The first Sunday in May is Battle of the Atlantic Sunday, and as a Trustee with the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust, I made my annual pilgrimage to the waters off Point Pleasant Park onboard an RCN vessel for the committal ceremony. This opportunity is always a great privilege that yields a unique perspective on the burial of veterans at sea, as well as new angles of the comings and goings from Halifax Harbour in general.

Battle of the Atlantic service, 2019.

While the summer was a bit quiet in this regard, September and October more than made up for it. First, the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth paid her first visit to Halifax, and as a contributor for Warships IFR magazine I had the opportunity to fly out to the carrier in a Merlin helicopter and remain onboard as the ship entered the harbour. 

RN Commodore Utley and RCN Rear-Admiral Baines pose on the ski-jump of HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The ship's crew "man the rails" as she enters port.

The entire gallery of images is here. During her visit, I also caught the departure of RMS Queen Mary II.

HMS Queen Elizabeth at anchor in Halifax as RMS Queen Mary II departs.

September's excitement didn't end there, as a week or so later, I was extremely fortunate to experience my second helicopter ride of the month (and only my third in a lifetime) onboard an RCAF CH-148 Cyclone in order to spent a few hours at sea with HMCS Ville de Quebec during Exercise Cutlass Fury.

HMCS Ville de Quebec as seen from a Cyclone helicopter.

HMCS Fredericton stalks a "vessel of interest" (in this case, Leeway Odyssey) while her RHIB approaches with a boarding party.

RCAF Cyclone helicopter on the deck of Ville de Quebec.

Cutlass Fury provided some imagery around Halifax Harbour as well, and I was able to catch various comings and goings. The gallery is here.

Having previously written about the 1969 gearbox explosion in HMCS Kootenay, I was exceptionally aware that the 50th anniversary was approaching on October 23rd. Upon finding out that one of my fellow CNMT trustees was a survivor of this event, I asked if he was willing to be interviewed about his experience - he was, and I was able to weave his recollections into my existing text and turn it into a two-part article that appeared in the September and October issues of Warships IFR magazine. On October 23rd, the event was recognized with a service at the Bonaventure anchor memorial in Point Pleasant Park.

Rear-Admiral Baines places a wreath at the anchor memorial.

The chain from the refurbished anchor memorial extends into the waters of Halifax Harbour.

Not all my photography was aimed at Naval subjects this year - I also took a few photos of the Coast Guard, and one of my favourite sequences is of the arrival at dawn of CCGS Louis S St. Laurent back in April.

CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent entering Halifax Harbour.

I will end this post with random photos from my other ramblings during 2019.

West Ironbound Island as seen from Gaff Point.

A fallen tree reflected in the waters of the LaHave River.

A wharf reflected on a foggy LaHave River.

A peaceful scene on the waterfront in Lunenburg.

A still at the Ironworks Distillery in Lunenburg.

Blue Rocks, NS.

Ice sculpting in downtown Dartmouth in February 2019.

Ominous clouds approach Halifax from the south, as seen from the ferry.

George's Island receives a ray of sunlight against a dark background.

A tower crane on the waterfront reflected on the surface of the harbour.

Ripples in the sand.

Harbour seal.

Woodpecker set against fall colours.

Trees reflected on the ice of a water hazard in the Brightwood Golf Course.

To close out this post, here are some photos from the 2019 edition of Nocturne - Art at Night.

Street art near Pizza Corner.

An art installation in Public Gardens.

Next to the Central Library, there was a temporary photo booth set up....

...and it projected the photos onto a nearby building.

As well, Incendia Motus put on another show by the Maritime Centre.

Oh, OK - one more photo. The Dartmouth Tree Lighting fireworks at Alderney, fired from a barge on the harbour, make for some interesting visuals with the Halifax skyline as a backdrop.

Here's hoping everyone has a successful year in 2020. Personally, apart from some highlights, I am happy to see the end of 2019.

Sailing Yacht "Louise"

The sailing yacht Louise has been on the waterfront in front of the museum for the last week or so, and so here are the inevitable reflection photographs.

For those interested in the actual yacht, I will start with these: