Natural landscapes: the steps of falling water
CRESCENT FALLS PROVINCIAL RECREATION AREA, ALBERTA
There are lots of excellent photos of this two-stage waterfall, but I found the early evening lighting conditions so difficult (the sun is behind this scene) that I did a rarity for me: I made an HDR photo.
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and is achieved by combining several exposures of the exact same scene, in order to capture the entire range of light.
In my case, the goal was to keep some kind of colour and detail in the sky without saturating the scene with so much colour that it looks fake (that’s a common problem with HDR pictures).
It worked, but I spent more than an hour using Photoshop to process the resulting jpeg in order to bring out the best in this scene. Phew.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Natural landscapes: where the light caresses
BADLANDS FORMATION, DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
Amidst the stunning landscapes of this park in western Canada (where the bones of more than 300 dinosaurs have been found), this little scene might be easy to miss. But I liked the saucer shape of the rock and how the deeply crevassed soil seemed to prop it up. All of this was captured in stunning morning light, which was the key element in making this photo work.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter
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Natural landscapes: down in the damp
FIR TREE, SIFFLEUR CANYON, KOOTENAY PLAINS ECOLOGICAL RESERVE, ALBERTA
After photographing a glorious waterfall in this canyon, I was starting on the four-kilometre walk back to the van when I looked down and saw this wonderful natural symmetry. After some careful manoeuvring to get everything just right, I made a loooong exposure to make the thrashing water silky so it wouldn’t distract you from enjoying the balanced relationship between tree, rock and water.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Natural landscapes: showered in summer light
GREAT BLANKET FLOWERS, NEAR EXSHAW, ALBERTA
After spending time photographing a glorious lake right on the edge of the Rockies west of Calgary, I was walking back to the van when I came upon this pair of great blanket flowers in mid-bloom. A telephoto lens and a very shallow depth of field were important to keep the background firmly out focus so it could gently complement the brilliant yellow, rather than compete with it.
According to Wikipedia, the proper name for this flower (which is part of the sunflower family) is Gaillardia, named for an 18th-century French magistrate who was a patron of botany.
Nikon D7100, 70-300 mm. zoom lens, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Natural landscapes: summer at the lake
ENJOYING BOW LAKE, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
When this lake, high up in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, is still when I’m driving past, I just have to stop and see what’s possible creatively. The full-colour version is pleasing (you can see it here: http://bit.ly/BowLakeSummer), but to my eyes this approach is far more dramatic. Love how computer software like Photoshop makes it easy to convert a photo to black-and-white, while keeping part of the scene in colour.
NikonD7100, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Urban landscapes: the city and the sky
THE CASTLE VIEW, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
Edinburgh Castle, which is really more of a fortress, dominates the city’s skyline and provides impressive views like this. Because of the dull, lighting, I had to do a fair bit of Photoshop processing to bring out the best of this scene, which includes the Parish Church of St. Cuthbert. Using a graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky was also important; without it, the sky would have been a bland, distracting white.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Urban landscapes: the approaching day
DAWN IN DUBLIN PORT, IRELAND
Among the benefits of going on a cruise is seeing working ports in action. I made this picture from the top of the Caribbean Princess as daybreak approached in Dublin, the capital of the Irish Republic. The hour or so before dawn is a great time to make long exposure pictures like this; artificial illumination still has a visual impact, but there’s enough natural light to see the entire scene.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Urban landscapes: welcome to the old quarter
THE CHARMING STREETS OF ST. PETER PORT, CHANNEL ISLANDS
During a day-long stop in Guernsey Island, I was able to wander through parts of St. Peter Port and capture street scenes like this. The Channel Islands (including Guernsey and Jersey) are UK dependencies, but have their own governments and currencies. They are just off the coast of France and were occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Urban landscapes: Lighting the lighthouse
LIGHTHOUSE AND PARKING LOT SHADOW, PORT DALHOUSIE, ONTARIO
There are several lighthouses in this charming community, which is part of the larger city of St. Catharines on the south side of Lake Ontario. I’d finished photographing the sunrise and was checking out this lighthouse before leaving when I spotted the shadow. It makes an interesting counterpoint to the lighthouse, yes?
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Natural landscapes: A cave amidst the rocks
ICE CAVE AND ANGEL GLACIER, JASPER NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
A drive to Mount Edith Cavell, in this Canadian Rockies park, is a truly unforgettable experience. Glaciers, lakes, icebergs, waterfalls and epic peaks. All in one little area. Truly astounding. I went inside this cave; it’s cool and wet because lots of water drips from the ice. (Here’s a different view of Angel Glacier and, if you look carefully, the ice cave: http://wp.me/p2ccTX-jU.) This photo was made in 2011; since then, access to the area has been prohibited because pieces of the glacier can break off and kill people.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter
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Rural landscapes: along the canola road
TRAIL THROUGH THE FIELD, NEAR CALGARY, ALBERTA
Canola makes for amazing photos, but I was looking for something extra and found it when I discovered this field, complete with a winding trail to somewhere. After making a few pictures, I decided to add a human element. Me. Just a few exposures later, I badly twisted my foot running to a spot and stepping on a rock just before the timer on my camera went off. Look carefully along the horizon at the left border and you’ll see the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Nikon D7100, tripod, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky
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Natural landscapes: the light of evening
SUMMER EVENING IN THE BADLANDS, DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
It’s been more than four years since I published a photo of this glorious environment in western Canada (here’s the last one: http://wp.me/p2ccTX-7p), so I dug around in the archives and landed this beauty from way, way back in 1993.
The squarish format comes from using a Pentax 6×7 medium format film camera – a heavy, awkward piece of equipment that I’ve long since abandoned but, as you can see, it produced stunningly crispy slides.
I had this slide put on a CD so I could Photoshop it, bring out the best of the scene, then show it to you.
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Natural landscapes: the angle of the canyon
SIFFLEUR RIVER CANYON, KOOTENAY PLAINS ECOLOGICAL RESERVE, ALBERTA
During my annual
sleep-in-the-van overnight photo trip, I was awake before 4 a.m. and started on the six-kilometre return trip to Siffleur Falls. This impressive view along the way highlights the angled wall of the river’s canyon.
Using a graduated density (darkening) filter on the mountains and sky was a key decision; without the filter, the sky would have been a bland, distracting white.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Rural landscape: A castle in its setting
MALAHIDE CASTLE AND GROUNDS, COUNTY DUBLIN, IRELAND
During our tour of the spectacular castle and 260 acres of lawns and gardens, I had just enough time to race off on my own to find some interesting perspectives. This scene appealed to me because the shadow on the grass and the silhouetted leaves served to frame the castle and clouds. Notice how the castle seems to lean against the upward tilt of the lawn? I like how that lends balance to the scene.
Malahide belonged to the Talbot family for more than 800 years. It was sold to the Irish Republic in 1975.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Rural landscapes: where the fences meet
FENCES AND PRAIRIE SLOUGH, WEST OF CALGARY, ALBERTA
Sweet morning light and still water made this photograph possible. I really like how the fenceposts and wires stand out against the darker water.
NikonD7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Natural landscapes: the clouds of morning
COMING INTO ST. PETER PORT, CHANNEL ISLANDS
As we arrived at this town in Guernsey Island (a British protectorate off the coast of France), I was on the deck of our cruise ship room and saw this dramatic scene of the sun trying to break the through clouds above some nearby islands. One of those rare photos made without a tripod. Nikon D7100.
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Rural landscapes: road to the mountains?
RURAL ROAD, KILLARNEY, IRELAND
Dug back into the archives to resurrect this picture from my 1993 trip to Ireland. Photographed on a Pentax 6×7 medium-format film camera. It was a bulky, heavy piece of equipment that required a tripod, but was still a joy to use simply to appreciate the large, high-quality slides.
Deciding it was too expensive to keep, I traded the camera in for used lenses that fit on my 35-mm. camera. Turned out to be a fortuitous move, since the advent of digital made film cameras mostly obsolete and those used lenses served me very well, on digital cameras, for a decade.
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Urban landscapes: morning in the port
INVERGORDON HARBOUR, SCOTLAND
Invergordon is a small coastal town, but because it services North Sea oil platforms, it has a deep port capable of docking the cruise ship my wife and I were on. The strong morning light and eye-popping colours on this ship caused me grab my tripod and telephoto lens and make this photo.
Nikon D7100, tripod, polarizing filter, graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Wildlife: nesting under the leaves
NESTING COOT, ST. JAMES PARK, LONDON, ENGLAND
The dipping tree branches presented a problem because initially, I didn’t want them in the photo. But a fence blocked me from getting any closer to the nest and I’d extended my 70-300-mm. zoom lens as far as possible.
Then a solution presented itself: make the photo vertical and include the branches. I used the built-in flash to help illuminate the coot and add a highlight to its eye.
Nikon D7100, tripod.
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Urban landscapes: a convention of bridges
HUNGERFORD BRIDGE AND GOLDEN JUBILEE BRIDGES, LONDON, ENGLAND
It was a smoggy day when my wife and I went on the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel along the banks of the Thames River. This was one of the views we saw and I did a lot of work in Photoshop to bring out the best in this scene. The bridges run into Charing Cross Railway Station, which was featured in the James Bond movie Skyfall.
Nikon D7100, polarizing filter.
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