Nestled on the shore of Lake Rosseau in the Muskoka's, is one of the few remaining Grand Old Ladies of the Muskoka Lakes. This is a resort we visit every year, even if only to sit on the masive stone vernada and sip delicious sangria, while we watch one of several weekend weddings on the front lawn, or wait for the Royal Mail Ship, The Segwin, to dock at the shore below.
I say one of the few remaining, and this is true, BUT, several years ago, this grand place was burnt to the ground while a film crew was on site. The only thing left after the fire was the stone verandah. However, public and private interest and support (and no doubt, a hefty insurance claim) led to a complete rebuild of grand dame, with ammenities that weren't possible in original, like, for example, an elevator! And built in air conditioning units!
If you were to compare the original building to the new one, you'd be hard pressed to notice any exterior differences. While inside, the resort is far more modern, it still exudes that charm and class from days gone by, when famiies would take a coach or a steamship to Windermere, and spend weeks, if not the entire summer, on the shore of Lake Rosseau.
I made several images of the hotel and grounds, but thought the dusk shots to be the most impressive - or at least, the most unique. Enjoy.
Sunset view from the second floor. The buildings on the left were part of the redevelopment and are essentially timeshare cottages.
The roofline at dusk.
The Grand Lady, dressed in her finest at dusk. Shot with my very favorite Samyang 14mm lens. Although, straightening out the distortions from the Samyang, was not fun, LIghtroom helped make the process easier.Look closely and you'll see ghosts walking within the grounds . . .
And HDR image, compiled from three images, varying from 10 to 30 seconds in exposure time.
I was literally getting eating alive down at the waterfront while taking this and other pictures that night. There had been two severe storms go through the area during the day and far from reducing the humidity, those storms reinforced the hot, sticky weather and awoke additonal squadrons of mosquitos. The blood donation, however, was worth it, based on these dusk shots. This was a 25-second exposure, at ISO 100, to smooth out the water and maintain good detail. Shot again, with my Samyang 14mm lens. Lightroom came to the rescue to bring detail back into the treeline and accentuate the cloud cover.