Ice and the Lighthouse — TimothyBentley.Photography

Seen through my viewfinder, winter is not a generous season. The cold tempts me to forget about the camera and stay indoors. And even if I venture out, virtually every potential image is brown or grey.

Only the snow, with its myriad shapes and shadows, can sometimes offer photographic redemption to this stingy season.

But this year, to make matters worse, we had practically no snow.

So what’s a photographer to do, especially one who specializes in the outdoors? And itching to take photos?

Well, one cold day at the Mimico Cruising Club, after tending to the boat, I managed to photograph a hundred gulls at rest on the thin patch of ice between empty docks.

Personally, that’s not how I’d choose to spend my spare time, but I’m not a seagull. In any case, the birds did provide a striking foreground to the handsome clubhouse.

There was, however, one feature of this winter that I really enjoyed. We experienced several warm sunny days, one of them near the end of February.

I packed the drone that day and headed out of the city, figuring that the further north I drove, the better the chance of finding some photogenic snowy scenery.

After an hour on the road, I passed Markham. No snow yet. Passing Aurora; no snow. Gormley; no snow. Newmarket; still no snow. I was getting seriously concerned about my prospects by the time I ran out of road at Jackson’s Point on Lake Simcoe.

Not much snow on the ground there either, but I did see something that I liked a lot.

The lake was frozen.

In a typical winter you can set up an ice fishing hut, even drive a car, on Lake Simcoe’s ice. In my childhood, I remember watching the ice being cut up with enormous chain saws, destined to cool ice boxes in the summer. The blocks were loaded onto big trucks parked safely on the ice.

Because of the warm winter this year, there were definitely no trucks. But when I launched the drone, I spotted a single brave soul walking far out from shore on a ridge of snow, apparently without anxiety.

As I watched, he met up with a friend who had bored a hole for ice fishing.

The two were surrounded by unending miles of clear ice that reflected the intense blue sky. A thousand random cracks marked the ice, punctuated to the horizon by ridges and symmetrical patches of snow.

It was a remarkable tableau, and very rewarding to photograph.

Intriguing patterns on the ice of Lake Simcoe

When I finished and turned the drone toward shore, I saw the lighthouse.

Although its shape is traditional, this 30-foot structure is only a few years old. It replaced an aging day marker that used to guide boaters into the harbour.

Standing a distance out from the shore, it’s a welcome reminder of the old days of boating.

By contrast with the crowds that mob this holiday beach in summertime, the lighthouse drew only a couple of admirers on this winter’s day.

Once I’d photographed it, I packed up the drone and headed east along the shoreline toward Virginia Beach.

My timing was perfection – and pure luck. The ferry Aazhaawe was approaching land, on its way from the community on Georgina, the largest of Lake Simcoe’s islands.

The ferry Aazhaawe approaches Virginia Beach

Although it passed fields of broken ice, in this location there were two kilometres of open water between the docks. This allowed the ferry to make several trips a day, loaded with people and vehicles.

In this image, the chunks of ice seems to be directing our attention toward the incoming boat.

The Aazhaawe prepares to dock at Virginia Beach

As the Aazhaawe landed, the crew tied up, and the cars rolled off, I could feel that it was time to land the drone and begin the long trek home. I was tired and pleased with the outing.

Unexpectedly, this winter’s day had treated me really well, allowing me to take a number of satisfying photographs.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this photographic jaunt as much as I did. With spring in the air, I’m looking forward to a growing number of opportunities to indulge my passion.

And upon reflection, I’m wondering if I could possibly have been wrong about winter.

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