From Lake Huron to Lake Erie — A Camera, a Campsite and a Lot of Ontario

Over the years, I have stayed in provincial parks all across Ontario. I have camped along the shores of Lake Huron, travelled down to the shores of Lake Erie, stayed in parks along the Ottawa River, and headed north as far as Chapleau.

Wherever I went, my camera went with me.

I photographed old log buildings tucked into the forest, quiet wetlands under heavy skies, lakes stretching toward the horizon, sunlight breaking through the trees, people paddling across calm water, rocky shorelines and storms rolling in. Sometimes I photographed in colour, and sometimes I switched to black and white because it seemed to tell the story better.

The provincial parks gave me something different from my Toronto street photography. In Toronto I am usually watching people, buildings, laneways and everything happening around me. Camping forced me to slow down. A lake isn't going anywhere. A tree isn't going to complain because I took too long setting up the shot. And if the light isn't right, there is always tomorrow morning.

Looking back at these photographs, I realized something else.

I have travelled across a pretty big piece of Ontario with my cameras, yet I was never invited to a camera club to show my provincial park photographs.

That's kind of funny when you think about it.

Camera clubs spend a lot of time talking about landscape photography—composition, light, reflections, clouds, leading lines, black and white, wide-angle views and getting out to interesting locations. Meanwhile, I have been doing exactly that while sleeping in a tent or trailer and cooking dinner at a campsite.

Maybe my photographs aren't the traditional "perfect landscape" photographs. That's okay with me.

I wasn't travelling around Ontario just to collect award-winning photographs. I was photographing where I had been. The pictures became a visual diary of my camping trips and of Ontario itself.

From the Great Lakes to the Ottawa River and north toward Chapleau, every park looked a little different. Put all those photographs together and they tell a much bigger story than any single picture can.

And maybe that's the presentation I'd give if a camera club ever did invite me.

I'd call it:

“Ontario Through Bob’s Camera — From the Shores of Lake Erie to Lake Huron, the Ottawa River and North to Chapleau.”

I already have the photographs.

I'm just waiting for the invitation.