Georgi-i-i-i-na, Where You Goin' To ?

Tonight I was a little restless. There is supposed to be an amazing Northern Lights display due to some extreme solar activity a couple days back. However, the sky is overcast, bouncing the glow of the city right back at it. That did not bode well for my growing photography addiction, so I grabbed my gear and drove north.

I often do things without a plan. There is a book, called Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, that I read a long time ago. In it, the main character has a thing he does whenever he gets lost driving. He picks a car and follows it until they get where they're going, and inevitably it's somewhere important and generally recognizable. When I traveled I used a similar approach to inner city navigation, and had great success with it - it got me on a Melbourne cricket pitch for a cool view before I got kicked off, and other interesting places.

Anyhow, there I was, driving north. I followed Yonge St. If you ever get to downtown Toronto, and go to Queen's Quay, there's a spot where Yonge St. meets Lake Ontario. In that spot, on the sidewalk (if it hasn't been demoed) is some artwork. It's a rough map, showing how Yonge St. extends from that point all the way to Barrie, making it the longest road in Canada.

FOR THE RECORD: I'll have you know Yonge St. does not extend uninterrupted to Barrie. In fact, there's a considerable, un-navigable swampy gap in Yonge St. near Newmarket. FYI, don't try to drive it all the way to the end or you will wind up in a cul-de-sac near a marina with some kid looking at you like he's going to call 911.



Anyway, on I drove, until a Lake appeared alongside the road and on my BlackBerry Google Maps/GPS display. I at first thought I would drive around it to continue my northward journey, but as more and more of it loaded onto the display, I realized that wasn't going to happen. Hello, Lake Simcoe.



This spot was a place called Paradise Beach (that appeared to label the two feet of sand between the roadside and lake), in a place called Georgina; Far beyond the wilds of Keswick.



For the record, I don't want to be the 'when in doubt, shoot a sunset' guy, but I was there, and there was water, and reflections, and birds and a whole lot of color - how could I not?



It was like the photos were begging to be taken. Shots like this one are cool, but also indicate to me where I have to do more research. I was underexposing everything to keep the light under control and the colors strong, but was that the best thing to do? Meh... I dunno.



Of course, the last few minutes of a sunset are the most spectacular, and while this one didn't have a stellar sky display, the colors showed strong near the end, the effect magnified by the reflection.



Just before the end, everything was reddish pinkish purple. Fantastic. Begone, evil grain! Begone!

Alas, I stand on my balcony looking north. And I see the same soft pink clouds I always see when it's overcast. Oh well, I hope someone, somewhere is getting an eye-full of Aurora Borealis (or Aurora Australis).

© Jeremy Buehler and Bug Noir (www.bugnoir.com), 2010.