Saskatchewan Aerial Photography

In June I attended the Windscape Kite Festival as and invited ‘celebrity flyer’ in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. It was my second time invited (last time was in 2011). It gave my wife and I an opportunity to have a mini-holiday out west and we took an extra week exploring southern Saskatchewan in day trips from our accommodation at McMaster Manor Bed & Breakfast near Lafleche, SK. A number of aerial sessions were undertaken. There were also a couple of disappointments where I was at ideal locations with insufficient wind. You win some, you lose some!

Here is a sample from the several locations where I flew my kite aerial gear. Click through to the galleries on my website to see many more images from each session.

 

Windscape Kite Festival – Swift Current, SK

The festival was two days on the last weekend in June. I was there as an invited guest to demonstrate Kite Aerial Photography. The wind was overpowering much of the time for most of the kite flyers including myself and rain was frequent. Regardless, a number of good images were obtained during three sessions when the bad conditions softened.

 

Swift Current Railway Lines

Since the kite festival proceedings didn’t begin until 10:00 am each day, I took the time one morning to do some aerial shots of the town of Swift Current and the freight railway lines running through the middle. Light was poor but it was my only opportunity and the images turned out pretty well.

 

McMaster Manor Bed & Breakfast and Farm

We stayed 4 nights at this B&B near Lafleche, Saskatchewan. We used it as our home base to visit communities in the area and both the east and west blocks of Grasslands National Park. The wind was not kind to me on our day trips. I did, however get two good sessions at the farm property of the B&B. I would highly recommend staying there – great hosts and great part of the world. Just remember …. nothing is close by and that includes shops and restaurants.

 

© Rob Huntley Photography / Fine Art Prints / Rob’s Cards and Prints / Like My Facebook

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KAP 2015-8 – Montreal River, Ontario

Lake Superior at the mouth of the Montreal River.

This kite aerial photography (KAP) session took place about 3 days into my journey west which had been planned as a 30-day photographic trip to the west coast and return to Ottawa via the USA. However, a day or two after this I suffered intense back pain which I sustained while my friend, Ted Welch, drove the rest of the way to Victoria, B.C. Subsequently I had two long stays in hospital, 9 days in Victoria and 8 days in Ottawa following surgery. Needless to say, this was not how my summer had been planned.

Here we were at the Montreal River, near the community of Montreal River Harbour. The river empties into Lake Superior at the Twilight Resort. I thank Dan Miles of Twilight Resort for allowing us access to his property in the off-season in order to take these pictures. Unfortunately the wind dropped not long after I put the kite in the air. Only a few nice shots were captured during this time. I would have liked to get more altitude to get a better perspective of the river entering the lake and to get a shot with the whole resort in a single frame.
Here is the Facebook page of Twilight Resort: https://www.facebook.com/TwilightResort

Visit my website gallery Montreal River, Ontario – KAP 2015-8 to see more images from this session.

© Rob Huntley Photography / Fine Art Prints / Rob’s Photo Shop / Like My Facebook

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Rubber Duckies Annual Race For Charity

I don’t think this race is run any more in the Ottawa area but I have seen it elsewhere. This shot was taken as a print, before the digital days. I scanned it some time ago but I have since reworked it with some digital tweaking in PhotoShop.

I have recently added this image to my storefront at Fine Art America.  It is for sale as an art print, canvas print, poster or greeting card. Sales are direct through Fine Art America who handle all arrangements, manufacture and shipping.

Click on the image to go to the same image at Fine Art America.

Rubber Duckies Annual Race for Charity

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© Rob Huntley Photography / Rob’s Photo Cards / STOCK Photography / Like My Facebook

KAP 2013-8 – Parliament Hill and Downtown Ottawa from Victoria Island – March 23, 2013

Downtown Ottawa from Victoria Island. Parliament buildings on the left and the Supreme Court on the right with the semi-frozen Ottawa River below.

Back to the land of snow and ice after a wonderful month of February in Australia. Recently I have made a couple of attempts to KAP the Wakefield bridge without any success so a couple of weeks have elapsed without succeeding with any kite aerial photography. Finally a nice day arrived to do some work with the Parliament buildings and the still frozen landscape. Here are some of the shots from this session.

Downtown Ottawa from Victoria Island. The Supreme Court with the semi-frozen Ottawa River below. Cliff Street Heating Plant.

Cliff Street Heating Plant. Downtown Ottawa from Victoria Island.

These photographs were taken using a remote-controlled camera suspended below a kite line (Kite Aerial Photography – KAP).

Visit my website gallery Parliament Hill and Downtown Ottawa from Victoria Island – KAP 2013-8 – March 23, 2013 to see more images from this session.

Images from this session are available for licensing through Latitude Image, a stock photography agency specializing in aerial stock images. Click the website gallery link above for more information.

© Rob Huntley Photography / Rob’s Photo Cards / STOCK Photography / Like My Facebook

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KAP 2013-21 – Britannia Water Purification Plant and Deschênes Rapids, Ottawa, Ontario – May 1, 2013

Britannia Water Purification Plant alongside the Ottawa River (left) and Mud Lake (right). In the distance on the left is downtown Ottawa.

The Ontario side of the Ottawa River at the Deschênes Rapids is the location of several features: the community of Britannia, the Britannia Water Purification Plant (serving the city of Ottawa), the Britannia Yacht Club, and Mud Lake which has become an urban wildlife watching location. Not too far upstream is Britannia Beach, a popular recreation area. The town of Deschênes, which shares the name with the rapids, is on the Quebec side of the river.

Deschenes Rapids in the Ottawa River. On the opposite side is the town of Deschenes, Quebec. This image is taken from the Ontario side. Shoreline trees are submerge during the spring high water levels.

Mud Lake and the lawns of the Britannia Water Purification Plant

Visit my website gallery Britannia Water Purification Plant and Deschênes Rapids, Ottawa, Ontario – KAP 2013-21 – May 1, 2013 to see more images from this session.

Images from this session are available for licensing through Latitude Image, a stock photography agency specializing in aerial stock images. Click the website gallery link above for more information.

© Rob Huntley Photography / STOCK Photography / Like My Facebook /

KAP 2013-20 – Spencerville Mill, Spencerville, Ontario – May 1, 2013

Aerial photograph. Spencerville Mill. A heritage gristmill on the South Nation River in Spencerville, Ontario.

Spencerville is a small village in eastern Ontario, less than an hour’s drive from Ottawa. It is just north of Prescott and adjacent to Highway 416. It sits on the South Nation River.

I went to Spencerville for the first time about a month prior to this session. I was delivering three prints which I had entered in a juried photography competition/exhibit at the ArtScene Gallery located on Spencer Street (the main street) in Spencerville. Passing the Spencerville Mill, which I had checked out first on Google Earth, I decided that this was a good place for a KAP session. After the delivery I tried to fly my ROK but the wind was very strong and gusty (perfect direction though) so I had to abandon without having attached the camera.

When the photography show ended (I received 2nd place for Walk on the Beach by the way) I went back to retrieve my prints along with friend, and part-time KAP assistant, Ted Welch. You can barely make us out in the second image (and images 4 & 5 on my website), where Ted is playing with a resident’s dog. I believe the KAP assistant’s job description says “… while keeping distracting or dangerous interference away from the photographer”. The wind was much better this time except blowing from the south and parallel to the river which would have been my second favourite choice. Nevertheless the KAP session went ahead using my FLED kite and the results are quite worthwhile. There is another angle of the mill that I would like to try which requires wind from the west or alternatively getting access to private property on the opposite side of the river. The location also warrants summer and winter aerial photography.

Aerial photograph. Spencerville Mill. A heritage gristmill on the South Nation River in Spencerville, Ontario.

Aerial photograph. Countryside beside the South Nation River at Spencerville, Ontario.

These photographs were taken using a remote-controlled camera suspended below a kite line (Kite Aerial Photography – KAP).

Visit my website gallery Spencerville Mill, Spencerville, Ontario – KAP 2013-20 – May 1, 2013 to see more images from this session.

Images from this session are available for licensing through Latitude Image, a stock photography agency specializing in aerial stock images. Click the website gallery link above for more information.

© Rob Huntley Photography / STOCK Photography / Like My Facebook /

KAP 2013-14 – Pugwash, Nova Scotia – April 22, 2013

Aerial photograph. Pugwash, Nova Scotia

Pugwash is a small village on the Northumberland Strait shore of Nova Scotia. Many years ago our family had a short holiday at a friend’s cottage not too far from Pugwash and this town was the local hub for essential supplies. It is also the home of one of the Windsor Salt salt mines.

These photographs were taken using a remote-controlled camera suspended below a kite line (Kite Aerial Photography – KAP).

Aerial photograph. Salt mine of Windsor Salt. Pugwash, Nova Scotia

Aerial photograph. Pugwash Basin and Pugwash Harbour – Pugwash, Nova Scotia

Aerial photograph. Pugwash Basin – Pugwash, Nova Scotia

Visit my website gallery Pugwash, Nova Scotia – KAP 2013-14 – April 22, 2013 to see more images from this session.

Images from this session are available for licensing through Latitude Image, a stock photography agency specializing in aerial stock images. Click the website gallery link above for more information.

© Rob Huntley Photography / STOCK Photography / Like My Facebook /

KAP 2013-13 – Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia – April 22, 2013

Aerial view of the town of Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia alongside the Waugh River.

Tatamagouche is a small town where the Waugh River and the French River empty into Tatamagouche Bay on the Northumberland Strait shore of Nova Scotia. For this session I was in a small rest area alongside highway 6 just to the east of town with a hillside cemetery with trees obstructing the view of the village from my location. I knew the town was there; it was just a question of having the camera pointing in the right direction and lifting it higher than tree level.

One of the things that I’ve appreciated about Atlantic Canada in the spring is the colourful glow of new growth on the trees. In some parts the appearance is almost patchwork in nature with groupings of trees of the same species making colour blotches over the countryside. You can see this when driving on the Trans-Canada highway through parts of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It is not unique to this region, but it has made a big impression on me in the maritimes. Some of the images in this gallery give a mere hint of what I’m talking about. With it being a long winter I think I was about a week or two early for good colour. Also, I haven’t quite figured out how to best capture this type of abstract view from a kite-lifted camera. Once you have spotted an interesting effect from afar, when you try to drive there you can no longer see the effect to know if you are in the right place because you are in among the trees. Also, most of the time the trees themselves make it difficult to find a place to fly a kite and most country roads have telephone lines on one side of the road which is another kiting hazard. I purposely try to chase aerial tree patterns later on this trip (KAP 2013-19 – to follow) and fail miserably. Anyway, no-one said this should be easy.

Aerial view of a road through the countryside near Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia.

Red asphalt on Highway 6 heading east from Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia.

Aerial photograph of a barn in the countryside near Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. The Waugh River is in the background.

These photographs were taken using a remote-controlled camera suspended below a kite line (Kite Aerial Photography – KAP).

Visit my website gallery Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia – KAP 2013-13 – April 22, 2013 to see more images from this session.

Images from this session are available for licensing through Latitude Image, a stock photography agency specializing in aerial stock images. Click the website gallery link above for more information.

© Rob Huntley Photography / STOCK Photography / Like My Facebook /

Snow geese migration – Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, Quebec

It’s my father’s birthday – April 25th. My father passed away almost 3 years ago and I was inspired to mention all this on account of running into a few geese today.

Thousands of snow geese momentarily took to the air and then settled down again quickly to continue feeding. Migration stopover at Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, Quebec on the St. Lawrence River.

I’ve been touring Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec and I have many images to sift through; most are kite aerial photographs. But I’m jumping ahead to these shots that I took today because of the link between geese and my father. Dad was repeatedly amazed by the semiannual migration of Canada geese, thousands of which flew over Ottawa each fall and spring. We were frequently the beneficiaries of updates in the numbers he’d seen on a given day. Dad liked to talk …. and geese were one of his favourite topics.

Well today, on the anniversary of his birth, it was my last day on the road after a 2 week road trip. I had ample time and as is my habit, I chose to avoid the express trans-canada highway and I drove along #132 which goes along the Saint Lawrence River. There was a horrendous wind so I tuned myself out from the habitual search for Kite Aerial Photography prospects and leisurely decided to take the day as it comes. As I passed by the smallest of the smallest of city parks in the village of Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, a major flash of white took my attention out towards the river. I stopped immediately when I realized it was the largest flock of geese I had seen in my life. They were snow geese and although not the Canada geese which preoccupied much of my Dad’s attention, they were nevertheless migrating geese. It seemed appropriate that on April 25th I should spend time photographing them.

Snow geese migration stopover at Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, Quebec on the St. Lawrence River

There was a smaller group of geese downstream (maybe 1000) and they were coming in groups of a few to 25 at a time to join the larger flock. There was a major headwind which slowed them down enough to improve the odds of getting a good shot of geese in flight.

Flying into a headwind, snow geese migration stopover at Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, Quebec on the St. Lawrence River

Click on the image if you would like to view a larger version on my website.

More images can be found in the Chaudière-Appalaches Region of Quebec gallery on my website.

© Rob Huntley Photography / Like My Facebook / About.Me

KAP 2013-1 Prince of Wales Bridge and the Ottawa/Gatineau Skyline in Winter

Aerial photograph of the city skylines of Ottawa on the right and Gatineau on the left. The frozen Ottawa River passes between.

This Kite Aerial Photography session took place on the Ottawa River shoreline where the Prince of Wales Railway Bridge lands on the Quebec side in the city of Gatineau. Most of the images point towards the Ontario side as they are pictures of the bridge, Lemieux Island and the city of Ottawa skyline. Chaudiere falls is in the middle of the river in the foreground of the aerial skyline photographs of Ottawa/Gatineau.

The Prince of Wales Bridge is not currently in use, and you can see that by the snow on the tracks where only people and dogs have traversed. The bridge is a part of the focus of ongoing discussions regarding rapid transit in the Ottawa/Gatineau region. It has been proposed to operate light rail commuter transit over the bridge.

Actually, one is not supposed to trespass on the bridge as it can be dangerous and accessibility on the Ontario side is difficult due to construction. Despite this, the bridge is often used in model shoots by professional, and not so professional, photographers. Actually, in the picture below, I’m already beyond the sign but hardly in a dangerous location.

Go here for more images from this session.

Prince of Wales Railway Bridge meets the Quebec shoreline of the Ottawa river. That’s me down there, the kite aerial photographer, with the kite line washed out in PhotoShop.

Prince of Wales Bridge runs from the Quebec side in Gatineau, where I am currently flying my kite, across Lemieux Island where there is a filtration plant, and then the bridge continues to the Ontario side in Ottawa.

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