Rural landscapes: under the threatening sky
SPRING POND NEAR AIRDRIE, ALBERTA
Every April and May, I tour the prairies of this western Canadian province searching out compelling ponds of melted snow. I’m often rewarded by scenes like this, captured just a little north of my home in Calgary.
Nikon D7100, tripod, two graduated density (darkening) filters on the sky.
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Natural landscapes: the trees of spring
FLOODED FORESTLAND, PRESQUILE PROVINCIAL PARK, ONTARIO
Went back to 2006 to find this image from one of my favourite photo destinations in southern Ontario. I liked the arrangement of tree trunks and the side lighting, so I tried a big telephoto view and came up with this almost abstract composition.
This park is tiny (less than 9.5 square kilometres), but it has a remarkable mix of landscapes: sand dunes, beaches, wetlands, forests and fields.
Nikon D50, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: the ice of spring
CREEK ICE, CANMORE, ALBERTA
Spring comes very slowly–and with many detours back to winter–in the Canadian Rockies. I was looking for images along Canmore Creek and right off the bat, this ice grabbed my attention. I want for a long exposure so the splashing water wouldn’t distract you from the ice shapes and textures.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, two neutral density (darkening) filters
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Rural landscapes: a lighthouse on the prairies?
SUNRISE LIGHT AT SYLVAN LAKE, ALBERTA
This beautiful lake, about 90 minutes drive from my Calgary home, has become a vacation destination with a charming townsite of 16,000 and all the usual summer lake activities. I visited shortly after an April sunrise and found still water and a dramatic sky – perfect conditions for pictures like this.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Urban landscapes: go this way
DOWNTOWN BICYCLE/WALKING PATH, CALGARY, ALBERTA
A pre-dawn photo outing in this western Canadian city led me to a strong graphic design along the banks of the Bow River. A vertical approach was a no-brainer, so you could get a good look at what pedestrians and cyclists have ahead of them. That’s early spring snow along the right side of the path.
Nikon D7100, tripod, two graduated density (darkening) filters on the sky.
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Urban landscapes: the lights before dawn
BOW RIVER REFLECTIONS, CALGARY, ALBERTA
I was crossing this western Canadian city’s famous Peace Bridge (you can see the bridge here: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-tm) when I looked west and saw how beautifully the river reflected lights along Memorial Drive and an LRT bridge. I made lots of long-exposure pictures, but the best ones included the light of a train crossing the bridge.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Urban landscapes: the spheres, exploded
ONE OF THE ENTRANCES TO THE PLATFORM INNOVATION CENTRE, CALGARY, ALBERTA
I’ve had my eyes on this seven-story architectural innovation for several months. Finally approached it a short time ago and found the massive size and high fences on each outside parking level to be quite challenging.
But one of the entrances had more than 30 chrome-finished spheres/balls suspended high above the doors and they definitely grabbed my attention. I made a few satisfying documentary-style pictures in the dim early morning light, then tried zooming my lens in and out during the long exposures.
The results were so eye-popping that I made a dozen exposures and picked the best three or four. This is one of the keepers, converted into monotone because there was so little colour in the scene. What do you think?
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Rural landscapes: the spring country road
MT. YAMNUSKA, BOW VALLEY PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
I drove deep into the Canadian Rockies on a fruitless search for landscapes with snowy trees. But on the way back home, I was blessed with ideal conditions on the very edge of the mountains. This is one result of that wonderously wintery early spring day.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: the stunning sunrise light
DAWN ALONG THE ICEFIELDS PARKWAY, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
I don’t know the name of these peaks, but I see them every time I drive the parkway. On this morning, the first light of dawn forced me to stop and record the stunning beauty. The colour version is wonderful (you can see it here: https://bit.ly/BanffSnowyMountains) but, as is so often the case, going black-and-white increases the drama.
Nikon D7100, 70-300 mm. zoom lens, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: will it open in spring?
MUSKOKA HOMESTEAD, NEAR BALA, ONTARIO
I visited the archives and found this scene from about 15 years ago. The Muskoka region is renowned for its charming lakes and landscapes, to the point where it’s a summer cottaging haven for the uber-rich.
I was wandering nameless country roads when I found this homestead. It was a challenge to find a compelling composition until I stepped behind these trees and found what I hope is a good mix of near and far.
Nikon D50, tripod, polarizing filter
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Wander through my photography book “Special Places: A Landscape Photographer’s Vision of Southern Ontario”: http://bit.ly/yNU06F
Natural landscapes: The St. Patrick’s place
GIANT’S CAUSEWAY, COUNTY ANTRIM, IRELAND
This incredible tourist attraction, on the north coast of the island, is made up of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. My wife and I visited on a blustery, wet day in 2017 and before the rain resumed, I managed to find compositions like this to show you.
Ireland is my favourite place on this planet. I have some Irish roots (being born in what was then an Irish hamlet in the province of Quebec), I feel more at home there than anywhere else. Here’s another scene from the same incredible stretch of coastline: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1N7.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: a capful of snow
WINTER AT EMERALD LAKE, YOHO NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Because it’s on the western side of the Great Divide, this western Canadian lake usually receives a heaping pile of snow every winter. That means more often the not, the trees are laden down with snow, making for great ‘winter wonderland’ pictures.
That was certainly the case during this visit. And that snow-capped rock made for a great focal point. There was almost no colour in the scene, so going black-and-white was a no-brainer to increase the drama.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Rural landscapes: wrapped in a blanket of white
SNOWY HAY ROLLS NEAR DRUMHELLER, ALBERTA
Hay rolls always grab my attention when I’m roaming around this western Canadian province. Their perfect roundness is such a contrast to the surrounding landscapes that it often makes for compelling pictures.
That was certainly the case here, where prairie winds cast an artful blanket around this roll.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: under the mountain sky
ALONG THE COWBOY TRAIL, NEAR PINCHER CREEK, ALBERTA
I couldn’t tell if this was a house or maybe some kind of business. But its setting, under a compelling foothills sky, stopped me in my tracks. This section of the Cowboy Trail is among the most spectacular drives I’ve ever made in this western Canadian province, especially in winter.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: parked for your pleasure
ANTIQUE TRACTOR NEAR LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA
I’m a sucker for old vehicles and the glowing late-afternoon light on this snowy tractor caused me to stop my travels and explore the photographic possibilities. I couldn’t eliminate the distant buildings, so I reduced their contrast and put them out of focus in order to fade them into the background as much as possible.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: beauty in the low-flow
KANANASKIS RIVER, KANANASKIS COUNTRY, ALBERTA
Controlled by a dam upstream, this picturesque Rocky Mountain river can often flow quite low. That was the case when I visited on a frigid day (temperature: -20C). Fortunately, a layer of snow cleaned up the scene and left the water open enough to make pictures like this possible. Look carefully in the distance and you’ll see mist coming off the river.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: the glorious fenceline view
PRAIRIE CANYONS NEAR DRUMHELLER, ALBERTA
About 90 minutes’ drive from my Calgary home are these amazing badlands and prairies landscapes around Drumheller. I did several takes on fence-and-snowy-canyon pictures from this spot. It was a tough pick to finally decide on this one.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter and, probably, a graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Urban landscapes: one of the intriguing levels
EDMONTON CONFERENCE CENTRE, EDMONTON, ALBERTA
I went fishing in the archives and pulled this fascinating example of modern architecture onto the boat from back in 2012. I was in this western Canadian city for a trade show and had time to explore the conference centre, which opened in 1983. It’s an intriguing structure, built into a giant slope that, eventually, makes its way down to the North Saskatchewan River.
There are ten levels with water features, escalators and windowed ceilings – about 70 percent of the $82 million centre is underground – so I had a great time.
Nikon D90, tripod.
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Natural landscapes: the fickleness of late winter
CHINOOK MELTING IN
WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK,
ALBERTA
Chinooks – warm, blustery wind that blows in from the west – are quite common along the front ranges of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. In a matter of hours, chinooks can transform a wintery landscape into a warm and wet spring melt.
I liked the patterns created by this melt and spent considerable time working them into what I hope are interesting images like this.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: the snowy mountainscape
WINTER IN THE BOW VALLEY, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
Morant’s Curve is a Canadian Rockies photo location made famous by the curving train tracks running through a breathtaking mountain valley. These peaks (anyone know their names? I couldn’t find out) are across the valley.
I was blessed to visit right after a significant snowfall – and before wind blew all the snow off the trees. This is truly an incredible place amidst the silence of a winter morning. I like the subtle colour version (you can see it here: https://bit.ly/SnowyMountainDawn), but knew it would make a dramatic black-and-white picture. Was I right?
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 “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
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