Natural landscapes: reaching for the winter sky
SNOWY PEAKS ALONG THE ICEFIELDS PARKWAY, ALBERTA
This western Canadian road, in Banff and Jasper national parks, is considering one of the most spectacular on the planet. There are many scenes like this that are especially stunning in morning light.
There was some colour in the scene (brown rock and glowing blue sky), but I decided to create and show you a black-and-white version, simply because it’s more dramatic in my eyes.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, 24-120 mm. zoom lens
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Check out my coffeetable book “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Rural landscapes: the frigidness of frost
FENCE AND TREES, ROCKY VIEW COUNTY, ALBERTA
Much of southern Alberta experienced several days of winter fog, which created some of the best frosty landscapes I’d seen in several years. I was blessed to be able to get out three times with my photography equipment to find scenes like this.
Normally, I doubt I’d stop to capture this fence, but the thick snow and frost transformed it into something truly memorable. The only colour in this scene was a bit of brown in the wood, so it was an easy decision to created and show you a black-and-white picture.
Nikon D7100, 24-120 mm. zoom lens, tripod
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Natural landscapes: flowing through the snowy day
FORTY MILE CREEK, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
What a blessing it was to visit this woodland stream right after a snow fall and before all the water froze over. Even on this dull, cloudy day, it was hard to make a bad picture. If you look carefully, you can see snowflakes streaking through the scene.
The was almost no colour in the scene (typical of winter in Alberta) so it was an easy decision to create and show you a black-and-white version.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Natural landscapes: a beautiful opening in the ice
WINTER WATERFALL AT BIG HILL SPRINGS PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
A fragile back forced me to stick to photo locales with less walking distance, so I visited this western Canadian park to take advantage of a glorious round of hoarfrost.
The ice-encrusted opening in this waterfall grabbed my attention; I loved the icy frame for the flowing water, so I went for a long exposure to make the water soft against the sharp edges. There was almost no colour in this scene, so it was a no-brainer to create and show you a monotone version.
Nikon D7100, tripod, 24-120 mm. zoom lens
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book, “MOMENTS OF LIGHT: Thirty Years of Photography”: http://bit.ly/JTNnMX
Urban landscapes: the beguiling touch of red
ST. MARY’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, GREENOCK, SCOTLAND
The rain prevented much exploring, so my wife & I visited a pair of beautiful churches in this Scottish port city. I loved the red wall behind the altar, adding a wonderful colourful touch to this ancient place of worship.
Nikon D7100, tripod, 10-20 mm. wide-angle zoom lens
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Check out my coffeetable book, “Light and Lines: An Urban Landscape Portfolio”: http://bit.ly/LIGHTandLINES
Rural landscapes: goodbye to the day
WINTER SUNSET, GLENBOW RANCH PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
The sunset wasn’t as spectacular as I hoped it would be, but by using a telephoto zoom lens, I was able to fill the scene with the best of what I saw. This western Canadian park, a half-hour’s drive from my Calgary home, is an awesome place that I visit frequently. Every visit results in at least a few “keeper” images.
Nikon D7100, tripod, enhancing filter, two graduated density (darkening) filters on the sky, 24-120 mm. lens
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Check out my coffeetable book, “Frank King’s Southern Alberta“: http://bit.ly/1oUzd4A
Natural landscapes: follow the footprints!
WINTER AT DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK, NEWELL COUNTY, ALBERTA
Roaming this western Canadian badlands park in winter is a particularly sublime experience. Often, you won’t encounter even one person during your entire visit.
That was the case for me as I spent hours in beautiful winter light finding fascinating scenes like this.
Nikon D7100, tripod, 17-70 mm. zoom lens, polarizing filter
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Check out my coffeetable book THE ALBERTA BADLANDS: A Landscape Portrait”: http://bit.ly/HtBAW6
Rural landscapes: resting in the winter field
TRACTOR AND FARMSTEAD NEAR LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA
Loved the snow-draped ancient tractor I encountered near the road, but what to do about the red barn in the background? The solution was to go with a very shallow depth of field so the barn would complement, rather than compete with the tractor for your attention. The angled afternoon sunshine made the scene even better!
Nikon D7100 tripod, polarizing filter
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book, “Bring on the Light: Forty years of photography”: https://bit.ly/BringOnTheLight
Natural landscapes: walking the winter road
BOW VALLEY PARKWAY, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
I was blessed to encounter a very snowy landscape when I drove this western Canadian road. Sunshine would have been ideal, but the soft, even lighting worked very well for this self-portrait. I set the timer on my camera, then ran to this spot a half-dozen times to ensure I was in the best possible place for a satisfying composition.
As there was almost no colour beyond what I was wearing, it was a no-brainer to keep me in colour and convert the rest of the scene to black-and-white.
Nikon D7100, 24-120 mm zoom lens, tripod
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Natural landscapes: winter in the forest
BIG HILL SPRINGS PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
This western Canadian park, about a half-hour’s drive from my Calgary home, is one of my favourite places to visit. No matter what the weather, the water is always flowing, the forest is always delightful and I always come away with a few “keeper” images.
On this morning, it was bitterly cold, but I dressed for the weather and was blessed to encounter intimate scenes like this. There was very little colour in the forest, so I planned all along to create a black-and-white version to highlight the drama. Nevertheless, here’s a link to the colour version: https://bit.ly/BigHillSpringsCreek
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book, “Bring on the Light: Forty years of photography”: https://bit.ly/BringOnTheLight
Natural landscapes: flowing through the cold winter
AMISWKI RIVER, YOHO NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
The weather, sadly, was thoroughly overcast, but the snowy trees still made for some good photo possibilities. The key, usually, was to keep the bland grey sky out of the picture. That’s what I did here, capturing what I hope is a classic Canadian Rocky Mountain scene. Merry Christmas!
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Rural landscapes: beauty under a winter sky
PRAIRIE FARM BUILDINGS, STARLAND COUNTY, ALBERTA
Phew! What a blessing it was to witness this silent, peaceful western Canadian landscape. I ignored the cold and did my best to capture it in a compelling way. Was I successful?
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book, “Frank King’s Southern Alberta“: http://bit.ly/1oUzd4A
Natural landscapes: the alpine sunset
LAST LIGHT ON THE MITCHELL RANGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Kootenay National Park, in this western Canadian province, is a favourite place to make pictures. I was blessed to be there in late afternoon, way back in 2013, to isolate this peak with the last light of a winter day.
The park was created in 1920 as part of an agreement between the province of British Columbia and the Canadian government to build a highway in exchange for title to a strip of land, approximately eight kilometres on either side of the route.
Nikon D7100, 70-300 mm. zoom lens, tripod
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Rural landscapes: under the prairie traffic
CROWSNEST RIVER BRIDGE, LUNDBRECK, ALBERTA
Lundbreck Falls is a much-visited natural attraction in the south end of this western Canadian province. After walking a path into the canyon below the falls, I turned my attention to the opposite direction, where a bridge soared over the river.
The scene needed something extra to make it compelling, so I put myself into the photo. During processing, I created a version with every colour eliminated except red. This is the fascinating result.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky above the bridge
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book, “Frank King’s Southern Alberta“: http://bit.ly/1oUzd4A
Urban landscapes: the lights of rush hour
MORNING LIGHT TRAILS, CALGARY, ALBERTA
I stood at the corner of 8th Avenue and Centre Street in this western Canadian city, making long exposure pictures of traffic as it zoomed south while chatting with a friendly construction worker at an adjacent work site.
Then a fire truck roared by with lights blazing. I knew as I made the 15-second exposure that it would be the best of my photos from this spot. And I was right.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book, “Light and Lines: An Urban Landscape Portfolio”: http://bit.ly/LIGHTandLINES
Rural landscapes: at peace with the snow
ANCIENT TRUCK IN A WINTER WORLD, ROCKY VIEW COUNTY, ALBERTA
It was -17c when I ventured out to find beautiful winter scenes like this on the prairies of western Canada. I wore two sets of gloves and they were barely enough to withstand the cold. Still, it was worth it to photograph this old truck and other scenes. There was little colour to be had and I was thinking black-and-white even as I made the picture.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book, “Bring on the Light: Forty years of photography”: https://bit.ly/BringOnTheLight
Natural landscapes: the fabulousness of frost
A COLD DAWN AT SOUTH GLENMORE PARK, CALGARY, ALBERTA
During a visit to this western Canadian park, I spent all kinds of time slowly walking around and inspecting the frosty ground to see what might make a compelling picture. I believe this frosty berry, combined with a very shallow depth of field, qualifies. Do you agree?
Nikon D7100, tripod, 70-300 mm. zoom lens, fill-flash
Natural landscapes: enduring the beautiful cold
FROSTY AUTUMN LEAVES, COCHRANE, ALBERTA
The morning was cold enough to create and maintain frost on many trees and branches in this western Canadian community. So I wandered around with my photography equipment, looking for compelling examples and finding this. Pretty cool, eh? 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod, 70-300 mm. zoom lens, fill-flash
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Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book, “MOMENTS OF LIGHT: Thirty Years of Photography”: http://bit.ly/JTNnMX
Rural landscapes: under the cold autumn sky
HAY ROLL AND SNOWY FIELD, ROCKY VIEW COUNTY, ALBERTA
A substantial November snowfall sent me out to find compelling landscapes. This scene, with the fenceposts flanking a hay roll, fit the bill. I just needed to darken the sky to make the picture truly eye-grabbing. Check out the colour version here: https://bit.ly/AutumnPrairies
Nikon D7100, tripod, two graduated density (darkening) filters on the sky
Click/tap on the picture for a larger view.
Want to buy this picture? Email me and I’ll make it happen! (fdking@hotmail.com).
Check out my coffeetable book, “MOMENTS OF LIGHT: Thirty Years of Photography”: http://bit.ly/JTNnMX
Urban landscapes: the silence of dawn worship
THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH
OF ST. COLMAN
COBH, IRISH REPUBLIC
Bad weather changed our cruise ship route and that turned out to be a great thing because it gave me another day on Irish soil.
I was up and off the ship at dawn with the goal of photographing this cathedral, which I had seen in so many Irish photos. To be able to get inside and have the place mostly to myself with an added bonus.
I needed a 20-second exposure to properly record this scene. The cathedral is relatively new, completed in 1919. The 300-foot steeple is the tallest in Ireland.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Check out my coffeetable book, “IRELAND: Visions of Light”: http://bit.ly/IrelandVisionsOfLight
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