Rural landscapes: still life in a wintery spring
SNOW ON THE WAGON WHEEL, NEAR COCHRANE, ALBERTA
This scene does seem like a still-life painting, doesn’t it? The touch of April snow (quite common on the Canadian prairies) added just what I needed to make a good subject even better.
I went for a very shallow depth of field to ensure the background would be a nice, vague wash of gentle colours.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Natural landscapes: the beckoning spring
APRIL SUNRISE ON THE OTTAWA RIVER, PETAWAWA, ONTARIO
The mix of a breathtaking sky and the artistic curves of disappearing ice/snow made for a truly incredible morning in this military town on the Ontario/Quebec border. I have at least 10 photos from a one-kilometre section of shoreline that are absolute “keepers”. I always walk away from this kind of photographic experience praising the Maker of all. 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Rural landscapes: under the epic spring sky
ANCIENT PRAIRIE HOMESTEAD NEAR CARBON, ALBERTA
Early spring in much of Canada is mostly brown as the last of winter snow very reluctantly departs and summer growth is still weeks away. But there’s a charm in rustic and subtle scenes like this, especially when capped by a dramatic dark blue dome.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: the fairytale roadside view
SNOWY CANYON NEAR BOW VALLEY PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
I was starting home after a very satisfying photo trip when I approached a bridge over a canyon. I’d driven over this bridge before without stopping but this time, as I inched across the bridge, I gazed in wonder at the gobsmacking view of snowy trees and shadows far below.
So I stopped the car, hauled out the photography equipment and made several photos, including this one. Often I’ll avoid capturing scenes like this in sunny weather because of the harsh shadows (especially in late winter-early spring, when the sun is so much higher in the sky), but those shadows helped make the canyon so photogenic.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: walk this way to mountain glory
MOUNT YAMNUSKA, BOW VALLEY PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
It was a strange day. I drove deep into the Canadian Rockies to find good pictures, but no snow for several weeks meant lots of bland, grey-green forests that absolutely don’t make for good pictures. But coming into the mountains, I encountered the picturesque remains of an overnight snowfall. So I drove back to that area and was blessed to find incredible scenes like this.
As I made this picture, I knew I’d process a version with the fence and entry in colour, while the rest of the photo is turned into black-and-white. The result is striking, isn’t it? 🙂 Here’s the full colour version: http://bit.ly/RockiesView.
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Urban landscape: the lights of early morning
VIVO RECREATION CENTRE, CALGARY, ALBERTA
I go to the gym in this facility – which includes a library, ice rink, basketball courts and swimming pool – twice a week and every time I go, I see again how photogenic it is. Finally, I got up before dawn one weekend and spent over an hour finding sweet architectural spots like this to photograph.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Urban landscapes: take a winter walk on this bridge
ELBOW RIVER PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE, CALGARY, ALBERTA
Even this late in winter, snowy and cold conditions can make it seem like a January deep freeze. Nevertheless, I ventured out before sunrise to find this beautifully lit walkway over the frozen river just before it flows into the Bow River east of the downtown skyline.
Two things:
1. Given the dim illumination, a long exposure was needed to gather enough light into the camera.
2. I intentionally twisted the camera to tilt the horizon, because diagonal lines are often more visually dynamic.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: the green coastline
ROCKY BEACH AND ANCIENT FARMLAND, DINGLE, IRELAND
This compelling scene dates back to 1993 during my second trip to Ireland and when I was still photographing on slide film. I was blessed to spend time in the nation’s southwest, where incredible scenes like this are common.
One thing about Ireland: upon arriving, I somehow felt the weight of so many centuries of often heartbreaking history. It comes back to me now as I look at these ageless strings of stone fences.
Pentax 6×7 film camera, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: where the ocean pounds the shore
ATLANTIC OCEAN SURF, CAPE SPEAR, NEWFOUNDLAND
Dark, cold and windy? Yes. But as you can see, that didn’t lessen the stark and stunning beauty of the easternmost point in North America. This is the first place on the continent to encounter sunrise and the first place to witness sunset.
There are two very picturesque lighthouses within walking distance of this spot. Here’s one of them: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-150.
Nikon D7100, tripod
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Natural landscapes: the arrival of spring?
LATE WINTER MELT, CASTLE WILDLAND PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
Spring is a fitful mistress in this western Canadian province. One day it’s 10c, the next day can easily be -10 with snow. In fact, the snowiest “winter” month in this part of Canada is March.
So all that said, this scene from late February certainly looks like the departure of winter. What you can’t see is the wind; Castle Wildland Provincial Park is in the deep southwest and that’s one of the windiest places in Canada.
I was very glad to have a tripod to compose this scene; I also boosted the “speed” of my exposures to ISO 400 (anyone with camera – not phone – experience will probably understand) to make sure my exposures wouldn’t be blurry from constant wind shaking the camera.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Urban landscapes: glory in the basement
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHAPEL, BASILICA OF SAINTE-ANNE-DE-BEAUPRE, NEAR QUEBEC CITY
My wife and I were blessed to experience this incredible place (which attracts almost a million visitors annually) during a 2007 vacation. The architecture is almost beyond words, putting the basilica on par with Europe’s most spectacular cathedrals.
Even the chapel in this photo (which is in the basement) is simply stunning. While at the basilica, we had the privilege of sitting in on a mass. It was a special time of reverence and prayer for the ultimate Architect and His Son. 🙂
Nikon D50, tripod.
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Natural landscapes: into the world of snow
SHADOWS AND SNOW, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
I was a long way from this small section of mountain in the Canadian Rockies. But a decent telephoto lens let me show you a close-up view of raw, spectacular winter.
As with so many winter scenes, there was little colour to be had, so I went black-and-white to highlight the epic light. This horizontal view puts what you’re seeing here in a larger context: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1gp
Nikon D7100, polarizing filter, 70-300 mm. zoom lens, tripod
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Natural landscapes: dance of the snow shadows
WINTER SHADOWS NEAR BOW LAKE, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
I was driving along the Icefields Parkway, regularly rated among the most spectacular drives in the world, when the tops of these snow-laden bushes caused me to stop.
In the end, this photo is all about the play of shadow and light. And given the lack of colour (just blue), it was a no-brainer to remove that distraction and let you enjoy nothing but the dance of the snow shadows.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Natural landscapes: the warm and rocky beach
PACIFIC OCEAN COASTLINE, EL BALSAMAR RESORT, EL SALVADOR
This was a difficult photo to make presentable. The harsh, overhead sun made for very contrasty, shadowy conditions that required two intense rounds of Photoshop processing to mitigate.
But I think the work was worth it, especially as this sweet scene presents a summery contrast to the continuing cold, wintry conditions where I live in western Canada. Here’s another sublime scene from the same El Salvador beach: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1q4.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: the rapturous winter view
FENCE, FIELDS AND FOOTHILLS NEAR BLACK DIAMOND, ALBERTA
New snow, clinging to everything it touched, and morning sunshine made for a stunning day south of Calgary. I toured nameless roads until coming to the top of a ridge and discovering this incredible vista. I prefer the drama of black-and-white, but the curious can check out the colour version here: http://bit.ly/SnowyAlbertaVista. See the grazing cattle ‘way off in the distance?
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: along the winter fence
LONG-GONE FARMLAND, UNIONVILLE, ONTARIO
I plunged deep into the archives to find this scene, photographed on negative film ‘way back in the 1980s just north of Toronto (Canada’s largest city). These fields have long been replaced by a ritzy golf course, but I’ll always have this photo to remind me of how beautiful the area was.
Nikon FM2 film camera, tripod, polarizer
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Natural landscapes: the glowing blue of winter
ICE ON ABRAHAM LAKE, ALBERTA
This lake, a man-made creation in the Canadian Rockies, is a mecca for photographers because of the amazing ice and the even more amazing methane-caused ice bubbles. I have lots of ice bubble pictures (here’s one: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-tY), but the gigantic ice chunks also made for great photo opportunities.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: the road to winter wonderland
COUNTRY ROAD OFF THE COWBOY TRAIL, ALBERTA
The view was, as you can see, magnificent and I was all set up to make a photo when a truck pulled into the lane and parked for the next 20 minutes right where I didn’t want him to be. The light was shifting as clouds rolled this way and that, so I impatiently waited and hoped a strong wind wouldn’t arrive and blow the snow off the delicate branches.
Fortunately, all was still amazing when the truck left and I ecstatically recorded this astounding view of God’s winter glory in the Rocky Mountain foothills. 🙂
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Natural landscapes: the frosty & frigid river
BOW RIVER AND WINTER FOG, COCHRANE, ALBERTA
With long underwear, my heaviest winter boots & coat, toque and two pairs of gloves, I was able to stay outside in -25c temperatures long enough to record beautiful winter sunshine on an open part of this river in western Canada. Here’s another view of the Bow, photographed just a few minutes earlier: https://wp.me/p2ccTX-1sD.
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Natural landscapes: the peaceful pond
POND AND SURROUNDING SNOW, NEAR BRAGG CREEK, ALBERTA
When snow arrives on ponds that aren’t frozen over, I go on a picture hunt to find utterly silent and peaceful scenes like this. The overcast conditions actually accentuate the introspective mood far better than sunshine.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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