Natural landscapes: a badlands encounter
SPRING AT DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
Dinosaur Provincial Park is one of the richest fossil areas on the planet. Forty dinosaur species have been discovered at the park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site about two hours’ drive from my home – and more than 500 specimens have been removed and exhibited in museums around the globe.
The weather was supposed to be clear, but that didn’t happen ’til late morning so I improvised, usually keeping the dull sky out of each photo and concentrating on the fascinating badland shapes and textures.
This image is compelling because it’s difficult to tell if you’re looking at a compact section of landscape, or dozens of kilometres photographed from a plane. It’s the former. 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Natural landscapes: say hello to the new day
BOW RIVER, WYNDHAM-CARSELAND PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
As you can see, spring takes its time arriving in southern Alberta, but it’s always worth the wait. I was blessed to find a high vantage point to photograph this part of the park, which is southeast of Calgary. The lack of wind was also a rare and welcome factor. Here’s another Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park photo from the same morning: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1iz.
Nikon D7100 tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Urban landscapes: this way to the party
HALLWAY TO SKYWALKERS LOUNGE, CARIBBEAN PRINCESS
On the final day of our 2017 Ireland-UK cruise, I was up at 4 a.m. to make long-exposure pictures like this aboard the Caribbean Princess cruise ship. Skywalkers was a throbbing dance club at night, but in the day it was a silent respite from the rest of the ship.
My wife and I spent a delightful afternoon in the lounge’s comfy chairs, looking out the windows to distant North Atlantic wind turbines, reading and occasionally eavesdropping on nearby conversations.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: a walk in spring glory
BUTCHART GARDENS, BRENTWOOD BAY, BRITISH COLUMBIA
This 55-acre tourist attraction, crafted out of a limestone quarry, is a National Historic Site of Canada and employs 50 full-time gardeners. It’s truly a gobsmacking place to visit (and more than a million people think so each year).
The lighting was harsh and difficult when I made this picture (cloudy conditions would have been better), but a lot of Photoshopping made the best of the situation. Nikon D90, polarizing filter.
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Natural landscapes: hangin’ with the boulders
STARFISH, COX BAY, VANCOUVER ISLAND,
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Starfish usually hang out together in twisted configurations, so to find one flying solo in a compelling west coast landscape was a bonus.
I spent almost a half-hour trying various compositions; I like this one best because you see the starfish in its larger setting — and what a stunning setting it is!
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, fill-flash.
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Rural landscapes: the red, white and blue of spring
JACK’S BARN, NEAR SYLVAN LAKE, ALBERTA
I was making pictures of this beautiful barn and fences along the roadside when the owner came along on his ATV and generously invited me onto his property to photograph wherever I like. This is a rare blessing, so I took full advantage.
The encounter turned into something else entirely when Jack asked me some photography-related questions about pictures of his wife. Turns out she had died just a few months before and Jack was struggling to keep going. The Spirit prompted me to ask if I could pray for him right then and there. He graciously agreed and the resulting prayer was as much a help to me as I hope it was to Jack.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: the delicate spring light
FOREST GROWTH, MACMILLAN PROVINCIAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
This Vancouver Island provincial park is probably better known as Cathedral Grove, referring to the drive through an incredible old-growth Pacific rainforest. That’s where my wife and I stopped and hiked along the easy trails flanking Highway 4.
During the hike, I spotted a shaft of light slipping through the trees and illuminating this growth. A shallow depth of field was important, keeping the background out of focus and helping you concentrate on the flower and leaves.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: peace on the lake
SPRING SKY REFLECTED IN SYLVAN LAKE, ALBERTA
I wasn’t able to get to this resort lake, about 90 minutes’ drive from my home in Calgary, in time to photograph sunrise. But I’m pretty happy with how these cool clouds and a surprising lack of wind resulted in several “keeper” images. The colour version is really nice (you can see it here: http://bit.ly/SylvanLakeClouds), but even as I made the picture, I knew it would also make a compelling monotone image.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Urban landscapes: lighting the way over the river
LRT/PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE, CALGARY, ALBERTA
I’ve lived in this western Canadian city for over a decade, yet it was only a few weeks ago that I discovered the striking illumination of this bridge over the Bow River. Fortunately, it was before sunrise on a cloudy day, so I was able to make a long exposure that turned the water silky – and that made the reflections even better.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Rural landscapes: the astonishment of prairie minimalism
MOON OVER SPRING PRAIRIES, NEAR CROSSFIELD, ALBERTA
Wikipedia informs us that minimalist photography is distinguished by extreme, austere simplicity. It emphasizes spareness and focuses solely on the smallest number of objects in the composition process. Minimalist photographers usually focus solely on one subject, rather than an abundance of colour, patterns and information.
I think this remarkably empty spring prairie field and moon qualifies as minimalist. And I went monotone to emphasize the point, while at the same time increasing the sense of drama (colour tends to soften drama).
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Urban landscapes: the downtown lights, interpreted
LIGHT INSTALLATION, 707 FIFTH, CALGARY, ALBERTA
One of the newest architectural additions to this western Canadian city features a series of light poles that change colour. I did my best to show you the curving line of these poles (you can see it the results here: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1vU), but even as I made that photo, I knew there were abstract opportunities. So I twisted the camera to create diagonal lines, then zoomed the lens in and out during a long exposure. Kinda cool, eh? 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: reflecting the April sunrise
FENCE AND SPRING POND NEAR COCHRANE, ALBERTA
Beautiful prairie ponds, each with some ice formed during the cold overnight, flanked the road between the Trans Canada Highway and Cochrane, a charming town west of Calgary. I photographed both in the first light of day, but this might be the most compelling image because of the dramatic sky and decent reflections. Searching for photogenic ponds is my main photo mission in April and May and pictures like this make it clear what drives me. 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky
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Natural landscapes: spring’s winter reminder
APRIL SNOW AT WEASELHEAD FLATS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT PARK, CALGARY, ALBERTA
A day earlier we were wearing T-shirts and roasting marshmallows at our backyard fire pit. Now, I was back in full winter garb and excited to capture a spring snowfall. One of the nice things about spring snow in this western Canadian province is many of the ponds and rivers are ice-free and that usually makes for better photos. This is, I hope, a good example of that and I went black-and-white because there was almost no colour in this scene.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky
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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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