Natural landscapes: welcome to the freezing dawn
WINTER SUNRISE ON THE OTTAWA RIVER, PETAWAWA, ONTARIO
Whenever my wife & I visit family near this military town, I make sure to visit the river because there are almost always amazing creative opportunities to be had. This particular morning was as frigid as it looks, but I don’t recall much of a wind and that always makes things easier.
The colour version is good (you can see it here: https://bit.ly/PetawawaWinterSunrise), but I knew it would also make a dramatic monotone picture. Do you agree?
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the trees and sky
Click 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, “Frank King’s Southern Ontario”: http://bit.ly/11kOiRk
Rural landscape: shelter on the winter prairies
WEATHERED BARN NEAR CARMANGAY, ALBERTA
What a great setting for a charming, ancient barn! The snowy patterns in the field, beautifully lit by the angled winter sun, allowed me to put the barn on the left and let your eyes wander through the field.
Then, just to make it a touch more interesting, I kept the barn in colour and converted the rest of the scene into monotone. You get a hint of the deep blue sky in the snow on the roof. (Here’s the photo in full colour: https://bit.ly/AlbertaPraireBarn.)
Click 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 NEW coffeetable book, “Bring on the Light: Forty years of photography”: https://bit.ly/BringOnTheLight
Rural landscapes: Merry Christmas from Alberta
SNOWY WAGON NEAR CALGARY, ALBERTA
Could you ask for better conditions to capture a winsome Christmas image? The wagon was close to the fence, so I went for the shallowest possible depth of field in order to put the fence out of focus.
A full-colour version (which you can see here: https://bit.ly/SnowyChristmasWagon) has been one of my most popular pictures on another website, selling almost 10 times over the years. But I like this version’s popping red surrounded by black-and-white.
Some thoughts on the season, from “Frank’s Cottage,” my other website: Christmas is about our creator seeing our broken condition and reaching out to us — coming to earth as a helpless baby born in an obscure Middle Eastern village. That’s what makes this season so wonderful, even in the midst of a pandemic. 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod
Click 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, “Frank King’s Southern Alberta“: http://bit.ly/1oUzd4A
Natural landscapes: the epic valley view
COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, RADIUM, BRITISH COLUMBIA
As Highway 93 heads south from this town, there are spectacular viewpoints to see over the valley and Rocky Mountains to the west. I especially like the grasslands landscape, but as I looked through the camera viewfinder, I knew adding a person to the scene would give you something to rest your eyes on in the bottom half of the composition. So I turned on the camera timer and galloped down the hill a half-dozen times to make exposures. This one is the best of the bunch. Here’s the scene in full colour: https://bit.ly/WalkingInRadium.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the mountains and sky
Click 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 “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Natural landscapes: under the dome of sunrise
DAWN COLOURS, BOW RIVER, CALGARY, ALBERTA
I’ve seen more spectacular sunrises, but for some reason this scene – just a few kilometres east of this western Canadian city’s downtown core – came together spectacularly well. It helped to have a nice mix of water and ice. Plus, the long exposure turned the water mostly silky, which helped it reflect the sunrise colours.
Nikon D7100, tripod, two graduated density (darkening) filters on the sky.
Click 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, “Frank King’s Southern Alberta“: http://bit.ly/1oUzd4A
Natural landscapes: the dance of ice and water
WINTER AT SINCLAIR CREEK, KOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
I had planned all along to finish my day-long photo trip with a stop at this stream in the Canadian Rockies. As you can see, I was not disappointed.
The sun had set by the time I made this picture and I needed a 15-second exposure to compensate for the declining light. In fact, my long-exposure picture-making along this creek ended when my camera battery ran out of power.
The picture works very well in colour (which you can see here: https://bit.ly/SinclairCreek), but I knew it would be quite attractive in monotone. Do you agree?
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
Click 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 “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Urban landscapes: approaching the avenue of trees
BROOKFIELD PLACE, CALGARY ALBERTA
Completed in 2017, the 56-storey, 810-foot Brookfield Place is the tallest building in Calgary and among the ten tallest in Canada.
I struggled to capture the building’s outdoor plaza and trees until figuring out how to add the illuminated bench to the scene. Then I figured out how to add the small restaurant building to the composition. Finally, tilting the camera a bit introduced more dynamic lines to the final photo.
Click 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, “Light and Lines: An Urban Landscape Portfolio”: http://bit.ly/LIGHTandLINES
Natural landscapes: in the land of dinosaur hunters
WINTER AT DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK, NEAR BROOKS, ALBERTA
Many people have never walked in the strange, fascinating world of badlands. So to see them covered in snow is even more exotic. I spent half a day here (one of the world’s most important dinosaur fossil sources) and it was glorious – photogenic landscapes were everywhere and I did not encounter even one other human being.
The only real colour in this scene was blue, so I opted to show you a monotone version, which heightens the drama. That said, here’s what the park looks like in winter colour: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-12t.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
Click 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 THE ALBERTA BADLANDS: A Landscape Portrait”: http://bit.ly/HtBAW6
Natural landscapes: the snowy mountain perspective
SNOWY TREES IN A HIGH MEADOW, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
I made the short, steep trek up from the road to check out the post-snowfall views and was blessed with this glorious scene.
As is so often the case with winter pictures, the colour version is compelling (you can see it here: https://bit.ly/SnowyBanffTrees) but going black-and-white increases the drama.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
Click 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 “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Rural landscapes: the road to winter heaven
COUNTRY ROAD NEAR THE COWBOY TRAIL, ALBERTA
The Cowboy Trail is one of the most astonishingly beautiful drives in Canada. I love it in all seasons, but winter often provides the most spectacular photo opportunities – as you can see here. Look carefully and you can spy the Rocky Mountains shrouded under the clouds.
The colour version is nice (you can see it here: https://bit.ly/CowboyTrailWinter) but as is so often the case with winter pictures, the black-and-white version has far more drama.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
Click 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, “Frank King’s Southern Alberta“: http://bit.ly/1oUzd4A
