Rural landscapes: the prairie skyscrapers
GRAIN ELEVATORS
WARNER, ALBERTA
It was about -20 that afternoon, but there was no wind so spending time finding compelling compositions of this scene was quite pleasant.
Grain elevators, once an iconic sight on the Canadian prairies, are now quite rare. Most have been torn down and replaced by giant concrete storage units at strategic locations. So whenever I find an elevator, it becomes a photographic priority.
In this instance, the photo benefits from strong western sunlight and drifting snow on the railway lines.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: the wall of snow and rock
WINTER LIGHT ON THE PRESIDENT, YOHO NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
I was many kilometres away from this peak but, standing on the shore of Emerald Lake, I was able to bridge the distance with a decent telephoto lens. Look at the trees along the bottom third; they’ll tell you this scene is a gigantic chunk of remote and raw real estate in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
As usual, I made the initial photo in colour and I like that version (you can see it here: https://bit.ly/YohoWinterPeak), but I knew going monotone would heighten the drama. Do you agree?
Nikon D7100, 70-300 mm. zoom lens, polarizing filter, tripod.
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Natural landscapes: topped with tasty white
BERRY TREE AFTER SNOWFALL, CALGARY, ALBERTA
It looks like whipped cream, doesn’t it? I spent all kinds of time around this tree, in the downtown of this western Canadian city, finding ways to capture the white-and-red combinations. The out-of-focus background berries serve as a nice secondary point of visual interest.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: the colourful decay
ABANDONED PRAIRIE HOMESTEAD NEAR STAVELY, ALBERTA
I spent nearly an hour finding various ways to photograph this beautiful old western Canadian property. Playing around with the results produced pictures like this, where I converted everything but the house into black-and-white. Makes for an impactful image, yes?
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: no moving in this weather
FROSTY ANCIENT WAGON
NEAR CALGARY, ALBERTA
Yes, it was absolutely as cold as it looked — in fact it was -25C with a wind chill that made it feel like -30. Thankfully, this wonderful old wagon was right by the road, so I barely had to walk 10 feet to quickly make several pictures. This is one of the best, in part because it doesn’t show any of the very modern house in the background. Going black-and-white was a no-brainer; there was almost no colour in this scene.
Nikon D7100, tripod, fill-flash
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Urban landscapes: Me and the frigid daybreak
FROSTY WINTER DAWN, CALGARY, ALBERTA
As soon as my eyes saw this western Canadian scene, I knew it would make a compelling photo, but only if someone was added to the composition. So I set the timer on my camera and galloped back and forth for several long exposures. This was the best of the bunch. Seeing as I was pretty much the only colour in the scene, I turned the rest of the photo into monotone. Want to compare? See the full-colour version here: https://bit.ly/TheFrigidDaybreak.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Natural landscapes: the snowy solitude
BADLANDS AT WRITING ON STONE PROVINCIAL PARK, NEAR MILK RIVER, ALBERTA
One of the great things about making pictures in winter is the solitude. As I spent hours exploring the incredible hoodoos and badlands of this western Canadian park, I don’t recall seeing even one other person. It was a wonderful time of photography, peace and prayer in a stunning part of God’s cathedral.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Check out my coffeetable book THE ALBERTA BADLANDS: A Landscape Portrait”: http://bit.ly/HtBAW6
Urban landscapes: a walk with the bridge
HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE, LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA
Built between 1907 and 1909 (and still in use today), this 1.6-kilometre bridge is the largest railway structure in Canada and the largest steel trestle bridge in the world. A 100-man gang erected more than 11,000 tons of steel.
I’ve photographed High Level Bridge several times, always challenged to adequately capture its sheer, gobsmacking massiveness. I photographed this viewpoint without the footprints, then went for a walk to add in the tracks and see which version was more compelling. This one is the victor because it gives you a strong line to follow into the distance.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky
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Natural landscapes: the intimate long exposure
SINCLAIR CREEK, KOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
This Rocky Mountain stream, running along Hwy. 93 for several kilometres, was fascinating to follow. Near the bottom it was free-flowing, but the further up I went, the more snow and ice showed up. So it was just a matter of making pictures where the water-ice ratio was just right. 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter and, possibly, a neutral density (darkening) filter
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Check out my coffeetable book “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Natural landscapes: the snowy mountain sunrise
DAWN ON HIGHWAY 93, KOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
What a delight it was to make this drive over the Alberta border and into this Canadian Rocky Mountain park. Snow on the trees opens the door to many photo opportunities, such as this one just as the sun was coming up.
Nikon D7100, tripod, graduated density (darkening) filter on the peak and sky
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Natural landscapes: in a world of frost
WINTER GRASS, DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK, NEWELL COUNTY, ALBERTA
In the midst of spectacular badlands, I found entire fields of wild grass covered in frost. When I found a nice mix of sunny grass and blue shadows, I set aside my wide-angle lens, slipped on a telephoto lens, and spent time searching out intimate close-ups like this.
Nikon D7100, tripod, 70-300-mm. lens
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Check out my coffeetable book THE ALBERTA BADLANDS: A Landscape Portrait”: http://bit.ly/HtBAW6
Rural landscapes: Merry Christmas from Alberta
WREATH AND WAGON WHEEL, NEAR CALGARY, ALBERTA
I would have loved to scatter some snow on the wreath, but that would have intruded on private property and rural homeowners in this western Canada province are hyper-vigilant about security. (That’s understandable; it takes police much longer to reach country properties and criminals know it.)
All that said, I hope you find a way to have a merry Christmas in this pandemic world, and ponder the life-giving reason for the season:
“As I read the birth stories about Jesus, I cannot help but conclude that though the world may be tilted toward the rich and powerful, God is tilted toward the underdog.” – Philip Yancey
Nikon D7100, tripod, 70-300-mm. telephoto zoom lens
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Natural landscapes: in the footsteps of the fossil hunters
PHOTOGRAPHING BADLANDS AT DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
I photographed this astounding mix of badlands and prairies just minutes before the setting sun disappeared behind clouds. Sensing the scene needed a little something extra, I turned on the ‘time exposure’ mechanism and stepped into the scene – first in the centre, then looking into the scene from the left. I like both, but this one seems a little more compelling. That’s the frozen Red Deer River in the distance.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, two graduated density (darkening) filters on the sky
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Check out my coffeetable book THE ALBERTA BADLANDS: A Landscape Portrait”: http://bit.ly/HtBAW6
Natural landscapes: in the path of the fossil hunters
DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK, NEWELL COUNTY, ALBERTA
One of my favourite photo destinations is also among the world’s most renown dinosaur fossil locations. Forty species have been discovered at the park and more than 500 specimens have been removed and exhibited in museums around the globe.
Back in 2009, I visited right after a frosty snowfall and the photographic results were spectacular (here’s one example: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-td). This time, there was just enough snow to make winter pictures possible and I spent most of the short December daylight roaming around and finding glorious scenery like this.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Check out my coffeetable book THE ALBERTA BADLANDS: A Landscape Portrait”: http://bit.ly/HtBAW6
Natural landscapes: the flowing winter water
PIPESTONE RIVER, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
Early winter is the best time to capture beautiful Rocky Mountain rivers like this, before they’ve almost totally frozen over. I was blessed to find this viewpoint from a bridge crossing the river near Lake Louise. There was very little colour in this scene, so it was an easy decision to go black-and-white. That said, here’s the colour version for comparison: https://bit.ly/PipestoneRiver.
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: under the threatening sky
PRAIRIE FARM BUILDINGS NEAR AIRDRIE, ALBERTA
I’m always attracted to ancient buildings on western Canada’s spectacular prairies. In this case, I liked the random space that separated one building from the others. And that sky! Combine it with the low sun of late autumn and you have the makings of a compelling photo.
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, “Bring on the Light: Forty years of photography”: https://bit.ly/BringOnTheLight
Rural landscapes: the spacious prairie ranch
BARN AND FENCE, NEAR STAVELY, ALBERTA
I really liked the barn (red barns almost always make me to stop in my tracks), but needed something else to complete the composition. The intersecting fences served that role quite well, especially as I could make the picture from above, along the road, with a telephoto lens. That elevation allowed me to put a bit of space between the posts and the barn, which was important to make the picture compelling.
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, “Frank King’s Southern Alberta“: http://bit.ly/1oUzd4A
Natural landscapes: the gobsmacking winter sunrise
DAWN ON THE GREAT LAKES, WHITBY, ONTARIO
During a visit to my previous home town, I was blessed to get out early enough to capture a cold, stunning sunrise on Lake Ontario. It’s funny; I never realized just what a photographic resource was that lake until I moved far away. When I return to Whitby (in the Greater Toronto Area) for another visit, I’ll be sure to capture a sunrise – if the weather cooperates.
Nikon D50, tripod.
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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 afternoon flow
BOW RIVER AND CASTLE MOUNTAIN, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
The day had been mostly overcast, but in the last hour, while on the way home, the sun finally found a hole in the clouds and added brilliant illumination to this stunning Canadian Rocky Mountain scene. There wasn’t a lot of colour, so it was an easy decision to show you a black-and-white version – especially as B&W is often more dramatic. (That said, here’s the colour version: https://bit.ly/AlbertaRiver.)
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
Urban landscapes: silence in the cathedral
ST. DUNSTAN’S BASILICA, CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Built in 1916 (after a fire destroyed the previous structure), this cathedral is all the more stunning because it’s in a city of just 40,000. It was designated a Canadian national historic site in 1990.
I was blessed to spend nearly an hour here, making long exposures with no one to bother me. Here’s another view of this incredible building: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-10b.
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
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