Woodland and Waterfall Photography at Indian River, Mill of Kintail

Mill of Kintail Bridge and Boulders

Mill of Kintail is one of my favorite spots for woodland and waterfall photography.  The site is ideal in many ways with a variety of interesting elements like mature trees, mossy boulders, the Mill building and bridge, and the beautiful Indian River.  The fact that I live 5 minutes away is also an added bonus!

Early, very early..

It was a cold but beautiful morning on this October day, especially before sunrise but soon enough the sun came up and flooded the woodland casting a nice warm but soft light.  I have to admit that I froze my fingers a few times especially while holding my metal tripod but it was worth it (mental note... GLOVES).  But showing up early is probably the only way to achieve this ethereal effect with the fog, and the dim light is perfect for long exposures creating the soft/smooth effect on the water and waterfalls.

The photo of the Mill of Kintail bridge above ended up being my favorite of the day. But it took several shots and a lot of moving around to find the final composition.  Here is one of these shots which I still think is decent. 

If you zoom in a bit in the left upper area, you can actually see the tree and the boulders from the final shot.

Mill of Kintail Bridge and Indian River

Indian River and Trunk

Here are a few more of the shots I took trying to find a good composition of these waterfalls and fallen tree.  I thought the tree would make an interesting subject with the waterfall and the mossy boulders as added foreground interest.  I initially used a landscape orientation (see photos below) but for some reason portrait suited the scene well (in my opinion).

Indian River and Trunk

Compositions

Here are examples of the different angles and composition leading to the final shot. Lets call them practice shots..

Twisted Tree

And finally, this last photo was actually one of the first one taken that morning. On a previous outing, I had noticed this twisted tree branch hanging over the river and thought it would interesting to shoot in a very dimly lit scene.  this was taken before sunrise.  Hope you enjoy and thanks for visiting!

Twisted Tree over Indian River

The Mill of Kintail Conservation area is a 154 acre site located in Mississippi Mills, Ontario featuring a network of scenic trails along the beautiful Indian River which flows across the property. The site is also home to The R. Tait McKenzie Memorial Museum and the James Naismith Museum.