Natural landscapes: welcoming the spring light
FIRST LIGHT OF DAY ON THE OTTAWA RIVER, PETAWAWA, ONTARIO
It was a truly sublime April morning, where I made all kinds of memorable “keeper” photos along a one-kilometre stretch of shoreline in this town on the Ontario-Quebec border.
After capturing this sweet scene — https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1vE — I looked the other way and took advantage of the first rays of warm light touching melting shoreline ice.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, enhancing filter.
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Urban landscapes: bridging the river
RECONCILIATION BRIDGE AND BOW RIVER, CALGARY, ALBERTA
This bridge is beautifully illuminated and I wanted to photograph it in the hour before sunrise, when the sky isn’t midnight black, but it’s still dark enough for the lighting to have an impact. A long exposure ensured the river would smoothly capture light reflected from nearby buildings.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Rural landscapes: the pools of spring
SPRING RUNOFF ON THE PRAIRIES, NEAR CALGARY, ALBERTA
The green doesn’t arrive for a few more weeks, but it’s still wonderful to tour around the farmland of this western Canadian province, searching for ponds of melted winter water in epic fields of gold.
This scene is great in colour, but I often find monotone brings out more drama. The strong sky, reflected in the still water, was the drama I wanted to highlight here.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky
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Rural landscapes: waiting for spring green
THE CLOUDY MORNING, NEAR PINCHER CREEK, ALBERTA
You are *not* looking at spring, even though I photographed this expansive scenery at the end of March. Spring has green, my wife insists, so I merely photographed the end of winter. 🙂
Either way, I really liked this somber vista and looked around until finding an interesting section of fence and a rock to serve as foreground elements.
Nikon D7100, tripod, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Natural landscapes: spring, reclaiming the landscape
DISAPPEARING SNOW ON THE CASTLE RIVER, CASTLE PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
I ventured into the park, in the deep southwest of this western Canadian province, to photograph a waterfall. Alas, the access road was closed until June. So I looked around for other photo subjects and found this view from a bridge over the river. I waited until the sun emerged from a cloud so the distant cliff ridges and shadows would be highlighted.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: the sunrise spotlight
APPROACHING DAWN AT BOWNESS PARK,
CALGARY, ALBERTA
I was wandering along the shore of the Bow River, which flows through this western Canadian city, looking for interesting spring ice formations, when I came upon this opening around a small boulder.
After trying a few exposures, I got the idea of pulling a small flashlight out of my camera bag and using it to spotlight the rock. Worked pretty well, eh? 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod, two graduated density (darkening) filters on the water and sky
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Natural landscapes: the early spring landscape
FLOWING INTO LOWER WATERTON LAKE, WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
The scene looks like early April, but it’s actually February in this Canadian Rocky Mountains park. Still, I like how it suggests the coming of warmer weather. I had lots of fun working with the snow along the borders of the river, which connects Lower Waterton and Maskinonge lakes.
Waterton is delightfully empty in winter and early spring. There’s a townsite, but it’s mostly closed during the off-season, so it’s quite possible to roam around and never encounter another person. 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscape: one of the lighthouse views
LIGHTHOUSE AT CAPE SPEAR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, AVALON PENINSULA, NEWFOUNDLAND
I was blessed to spend over an hour in this cold, blustery and stunning place, which is the easternmost point in North America (so the earliest sunrise and sunset on the continent).
Would have loved sunshine and a blue sky, but that might have made this composition look like a postcard — and most of them aren’t artistic or creative.
I thought a black-and-white version would work, but the colour in the rocks and stairs serve to warm up this scene. And in the end, that’s what it needed to be as compelling a photo as possible.
(Here’s another view of the lighthouse that *does* work in monotone: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-150.)
There are two lighthouses at this site – the one you see here, constructed in 1955, and the 1836 original. Both are still standing and the older one is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Natural landscapes: the slow approach of spring
ELBOW RIVER, KANANASKIS COUNTRY, ALBERTA
Winter begins to depart with tortoise-like speed in the Canadian Rockies. Often, the slow break-up of ice is halted by a snowstorm or days of frigid cold. Still, there’s a sense of change in the air as the sun is noticeably more direct than even a month earlier.
Notice the distant forests? That’s a new layer of snow on them which adds a welcome light touch to the background of this snow-and-water composition.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Urban landscapes: welcome to the basilica
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST BASILICA, ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND
The interior of this cathedral is stunning — you can see inside here: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-15a — but I also like the street entry onto the grounds. I spent 15 minutes on framing possibilities, making sure there was perfect symmetry (which is often surprisingly difficult to achieve).
This place of worship was constructed between 1839 and 1855; at the time, it was the largest Irish cathedral outside of Ireland. The basilica was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1983. Notice the two clocks are showing different times?
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Natural landscapes: the wintery spring dawn
APPROACHING DAYLIGHT AT LAKE LOUISE, BANFF NATIONAL PARK
Spring’s official arrival doesn’t make much difference at this renowned Canadian Rocky Mountain lake; the slow, SLOW approach of warmer weather just continues its rambling, halting pace.
My wife and I were staying with family at the Chateau Lake Louise, so I was up before dawn to see what kind of long-exposure pictures could be had. A light touch of new snow helped give some form to the forest around the Lake Louise boathouse.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: the fields & peaks of late winter
LAST DAYS OF WINTER ALONG THE COWBOY TRAIL, NEAR PINCHER CREEK, ALBERTA
It was one of those magical days in March when the weather is great and the views even greater. As I often do along the southern end of the Cowboy Trail, I wandered off the trail east along a dirt road until finding this outstanding view of prairies and Rocky Mountains with a dusting of snow. Here’s another beautiful scene photographed the same day: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1fQ.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Natural landscapes: celebrating St. Patrick’s Day
GIANT’S CAUSEWAY, COUNTY ANTRIM, NORTHERN IRELAND
I made this photo during a May 2017 cruise ship vacation, but decided to post it in March as a way to celebrate the day when everyone wants to be at least a little bit Irish.
I was blessed to be born in what was then a predominantly Irish community in the Canadian province of Quebec. There are other nationalities in my heritage, but Irish is the only one that’s ever counted.
The causeway contains about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, created as a result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 and, before the pandemic, attracted almost a million visitors annually. Here’s another picture of Ireland’s stunning north coast: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-X5.
Nikon D7100, tripod, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Natural landscapes: the peace of winter silence
LOUISE CREEK, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
To look at this scene, you’d never for a moment think that spring is just five days away. This looks more like January, but that’s how it goes in the Canadian Rockies, especially at higher altitudes where winter doesn’t really start to leave for another month.
I liked the stillness of this scene and the soft lines of the open water. There was pretty much no colour here, so it was an easy decision to show you the more dramatic black-and-white view.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Natural landscapes: the winter viewpoint
MOUNT TEMPLE FROM MORANT’S CURVE, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
While photographing at this famous spot in the Canadian Rockies (here’s a view: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-tH), I loved the clean, simple view of Mount Temple, one of the best know peaks in the park. So I made several exposures and really liked this one because there’s lots of space around the peaks, making the composition almost minimalist.
A key to compelling winter photography is often snow on the trees. I would not have bothered making this picture if the trees were bare. There wasn’t much colour, so it was an easy decision to go black-and-white. That said, you can see the colour version here: http://bit.ly/3dUos3y.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the most of the sky.
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Urban landscapes: the precarious balance
“DEVICE TO ROOT OUT EVIL”, CALGARY, ALBERTA
I’d seen this 6.5-metre tall sculpture several times while driving around this western Canadian city’s downtown looking for potential photos. But before this winter dawn I’d never tried to make a picture because the setting is very busy with roads and buildings.
The perspective and lighting you see here convinced me to make an attempt. It was still a challenge because isolating the 1997 Dennis Oppenheim creation, mounted on a concrete platform, was pretty much impossible. So I incorporated Device To Root Out Evil in a larger scene, trusting that the lighting would make the surroundings complement the sculpture, rather than compete with it. Was I right?
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Natural landscapes: me and the sunrise river
PHOTOGRAPHING THE BOW RIVER AT DAWN, COCHRANE, ALBERTA
The temperature was a tolerable -8c, but the footing was treacherous along this western Canadian river. Large chunks of snow-covered ice were everywhere and in between was a thin layer of snow and ice that my boots often plunged through. Fortunately, I had a small flashlight in my camera bag and it was quite useful until the daylight increased.
Apple iPhone 8, processed in Photoshop Elements.
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Natural landscapes: the dramatic landscape of snow
SNOWDRIFTS AT BOW SUMMIT, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
These incredible, sensual formations are caused by a new layer of snow falling on plowed snow at the entrance to one of the most popular places in the Canadian Rockies: the gobsmacking lookout over Peyto Lake.
I was fascinated by the abstract play of light and shadow and how it illuminated the texture of the snow. So before I went any further, I spent a half-hour just exploring these drifts. The colour version is a compelling mix of blues, but going black-and-white produced this eye-popping drama.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Natural landscapes: the dark and delightful landscape
ATLANTIC OCEAN WAVES AT CAPE SPEAR, NEWFOUNDLAND
I was blessed to spend over an hour in this cold, blustery and stunning place, which is the easternmost point in North America (so the earliest sunrise and sunset on the continent).The low clouds and angry surf made for incredibly atmospheric photos. Here’s another one to prove my point: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1gw.
Nikon D7100, tripod, graduated density (darkening) filter on the clouds and distant shore.
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Natural landscapes: the frozen wonder
TROLL FALLS, KANANASKIS COUNTRY, ALBERTA
A two or three-kilometre walk brings you to this waterfall in the midst of a very rocky mountain landscape. It’s a sweet photo locale any time of year (here it is in summer: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-Iv), and when the frozen waterfall is in the winter shadows, it’s possible to record beautiful shades of blue.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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