Urban landscapes: the river and the skyline
BOW RIVER AND SKYSCRAPERS, CALGARY, ALBERTA
I visited this spot the evening before (you can see the results here: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1JK) and was blown away by the creative possibilities, so I returned to experience it in morning light. I’m always grateful at opportunities to photograph nature and urban landscapes together.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Natural landscapes: finding a way through winter
SINCLAIR CREEK, KOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Hemmed in by forest on one side and a cliff wall on the other, this section of Rocky Mountain creek was the perfect place for a long exposure to highlight the ice formations and turn the flowing water into a gentle silky lines.
I photographed a larger view that’s quite compelling (you can see it here: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1Iq), but even as I made that picture, I knew there would be good close-ups, too. In both these photos, I went with black-and-white because the colours were pretty muted and monotone heightens the drama.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Urban landscapes: the frigid winter sunset
SKYLINE AT DUSK, CALGARY, ALBERTA
During a recent cold spell, I knew compelling images could be made of this western Canadian city’s skyline after sunset. I had the day off from work, so I had lots of time to find a spot to do close-ups of the office and condo towers, but also have a decent foreground for wider-angle pictures. That’s the frozen Elbow River running diagonally through the bottom half.
The temperature, as I made these pictures, was -23 celsius. I was wearing gloves, but they had to be thin enough to manipulate the camera buttons. After 15 minutes, some fingers were going numb and that’s when I knew I had enough.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: merging with the landscape
OLD TRUCK ON A PRAIRIE LANDSCAPE, DRUMHELLER, ALBERTA
This colourful beauty is near one of the main highways into this town. The back end has a huge sign promoting downtown art galleries. I was careful to keep that — and nearby chain-link fencing — out of all compositions so you could concentrate on the artistry of the front end, the remarkable hues and the delicate prairie grass.
Nikon D7100, tripod, fill-flash.
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Natural landscapes: the artistry of winter shadows
SNOW-COVERED BOULDERS AND DRY STREAM BED, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
I love how snow can transform messy scenes into things of artistic beauty. In this case, the mix of light and shadow, caused by the sun shining through trees, created a miniature landscape of lighting and shapes that fascinated me.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Urban landscapes: the place of silence
HOLY ROSARY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, TORONTO, ONTARIO
I’d walked past this church many times while visiting my parents and figured it likely had an impressive interior. When I finally got inside, I was proven right.
The first version of Holy Rosary parish was completed in in 1892. By 1924, the church was too small for the growing congregation, so construction began on what you see here. Modeled after the 15th century British church St. Mary The Virgin, it opened in 1927.
I often go with monotone for church photography (such as this: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1fN), but there’s enough colour in this scene to justify showing you the colour version.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Natural landscapes: where the bubbles grow
METHANE ICE BUBBLES IN ABRAHAM LAKE, ALBERTA
I went back to 2013 to find this beauty in the archives. The ice on this man-made Canadian Rocky Mountain lake is awash in stacked bubbles caused by methane coming out of the ground.
When conditions are right (little or no snow, consistent frigid temperatures), this is a photographer’s playground. But make sure to wear crampons; the ice is incredibly slippery.
Here’s another take on these remarkable bubbles: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-tY.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Rural landscapes: the glory of a frosty landscape
WINTER FOOTHILLS NEAR BLACK DIAMOND, ALBERTA
When conditions are right, stunning landscapes like this are everywhere south of Calgary, where I live. In this case, I used a big telephoto lens to isolate one section of scenery. As is common when I photograph winter in this western Canadian province, I created colour and monotone versions. I like the latter because black-and-white creates instant drama. But the colour version is cool, too. You can see it here: http://bit.ly/3qEZ19m.
It’s funny; this telephoto composition still includes a LOT of acreage, but I had a secondary goal: make the snowy Rocky Mountain peaks as big as possible into the photo. That would not have been possible with a “standard” lens. This lens also helps you see the cattle grazing in one of the fields.
Nikon D7100, tripod, 70-300 mm. lens, polarizing filter.
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Urban landscapes: the colourful way over the river
THE PEACE BRIDGE AND BOW RIVER, CALGARY, ALBERTA
This remarkable pedestrian and cyclist bridge, completed in 2012 at a cost of $25 million, is still controversial to some residents because of its astronomical cost.
That said, the Santiago Calatrava creation is one of the most heavily used pedestrian bridges in the city. Here’s another view that highlights the fantastical design: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-5J.
I visited this viewpoint on a sunny afternoon and appreciated the colour mix and the reflection in the river. My timing was perfect; I visited again a week later and found the river entirely frozen over.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: the winter waterfall wonderland
WEBSTER FALLS, NEAR HAMILTON, ONTARIO
I dug around in the archives and came up with this photograph, made way back in 2008 when it was still possible to access the bottom of the falls. I was blown away by the fantastical ice and snow formations (here they are from above: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-An) and spent a lot of time exploring them.
There was little colour in this scene except an underwhelming shade of brown-yellow, so it was a no-brainer to go black-and-white.
Nikon D50, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: the yard, all to himself
HORSE AND BARN, NEAR PARSON, BRITISH COLUMBIA
While driving between the Rocky Mountain towns of Golden and Radium, I’ve come across this scene before and, in fact, photographed it. However, the photo never seemed compelling enough to publish.
On a recent trip, I passed this scene once more. But the addition of a horse in such a perfect position made me stop and pull out the camera again. Thankfully, he (she? I’m no expert in these things) stayed still long enough to make several compositions. This is one of the best.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Urban landscapes: the photographer’s viewpoint
PHOTOGRAPHING THE RIVER AND SKYLINE, CALGARY, ALBERTA
By January, the Bow River is usually almost totally frozen over, but this western Canadian province has yet to experience a deep freeze. That meant it was possible to photograph the fully lit downtown skyline reflected in the open water.
I have, of course, the original full-colour version (made on my iPhone), but transforming everything into monotone except the ‘live view’ on the camera back makes for a cool picture.
PS: can anyone guess what that strange filter is sticking up on the front of the camera?
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Natural landscapes: the flow of winter water
KICKING HORSE RIVER, YOHO NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Ice and flowing water usually makes for a photogenic combination and as you can see, this spot in the Canadian Rocky Mountains was no exception. I went for a long exposure to turn the river silky and help guide your eyes through what would have otherwise been a chaotic scene.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, neutral density (darkening) filter.
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Urban landscapes: bright lights in the gathering dusk
CITY SKYLINE REFLECTED IN THE BOW RIVER, CALGARY, ALBERTA
The Bow River is often frozen over in winter, but this year has so far been an exception. That made it possible to find locations like this, where I could capture the downtown skyscrapers, fully lit at dusk and beautifully reflected in the water. Finding an interesting foreground was a nice bonus.
Nikon D7100, tripod, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Natural landscapes: the mountain puffball of snow
ROCKY SHORELINE ALONG THE BOW RIVER, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
After many hours of making pictures in overcast conditions, the last hour of my photo trip was blessed with strong afternoon sunshine. That made pictures like this possible as I scrambled to find as many scenes as possible before the short winter day ended.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the peaks and sky
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Check out my coffeetable book “BLUE SYMPHONY: Winter in the Canadian Rockies”: http://bit.ly/kFb3Xw
Natural landscapes: encased in the snows of winter
ICE FORMATION ON THE OTTAWA RIVER, DEEP RIVER, ONTARIO
While visiting family in eastern Ontario, I ventured onto the thick ice of this river, which serves as the border between two Canadian provinces, to find interesting formations like this.
Using a very shallow depth of field put the distant shoreline out of focus so it wouldn’t compete with the ice formation, yet still enable you to comprehend what you’re seeing.
Winter light, coming from so far south, is very good all of the short days of winter and that’s what made this compelling scene so photogenic.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: racing through mountain glory
FREIGHT TRAIN IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES, YOHO NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Construction of a cross-country railway is woven into the historic fabric of Canada, so I’m always stirred by the sight of a train racing through an iconic landscape like this.
The train you sort-of see here was so long that when I saw it coming, I had time to set up my equipment and exposure time and make as many long exposures as I wanted before the last car roared off into the distance. You can see the colour version here: https://bit.ly/dztbefbvaf.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the peaks and sky
Click on the picture for a larger view (you’ll be able to see the moon!).
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Rural landscapes: the road to winter heaven
COUNTRY LANEWAY NEAR CALGARY, ALBERTA
I was blessed to be able to venture out with my photography equipment shortly after a glorious winter frost covered everything around this western Canadian city.
It really was hard to make a bad picture in conditions like this. And finding a solitary fir tree right at the point where the lane makes a hard left? In the words of a Seinfeld character, “that’s GOLD, Jerry. GOLD!” 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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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
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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.)
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