Rural landscapes: epic in the prairies
THE VIEW WEST, NEAR CALGARY, ALBERTA
Doesn’t this strike you as a quietly epic scene? There’s dirt road on a big hill about 10 kilometres from my house where I love to stop and and look west to the glorious Canadian Rocky Mountains. This scene was photographed during early summer, when there’s still snow on the peaks. I used a bit of a telephoto lens to draw closer to the cattle and make the mountains more prominent. Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Urban landscapes: dredging the harbour
MORNING AT THE LAKE, OSHAWA, ONTARIO
Sadly, this city of 150,000, just east of Toronto (Canada’s largest city) has never been known for its esthetic beauty. But there is a lot to appreciate there for anyone with a discerning eye – especially during the magical early morning hours.
I found this scene of a lone dredger and a tugboat at just the right location, with lights towering over the wharf extending out into Lake Ontario. Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Rural landscapes: summer on the prairies
MORNING SKY NEAR ROSEDALE, ALBERTA
The Canadian prairies near Drumheller, Alberta are full of unexpected moments of breathtaking glory. This was one of them, captured shortly after sunrise. A two-stop graduated density (darkening) filter was used to darken the epic sky and increase the drama. Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Natural landscapes: summer at Lake Louise
WILD DAISIES, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
Finding interesting compositions that avoid the usual cliches isn’t easy at Lake Louise, one of the most spectacular (and photographed) sites in North America (in case you’re wondering what it looks like during autumn, check out this photo: http://wp.me/p2ccTX-ck).
Lake Louise is even harder to photograph when you’re there during the harsh light of mid-day. But I spotted this slope covered in daisies and thought it might work with the background. And when I spotted those two people in the distance, I waited ’til they were between the trees before making an exposure. Nikon D90, fill-flash, polarizer.
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Natural landscapes: the light of morning
MOUNTAIN POND NEAR ABRAHAM LAKE, CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS
Among mountain photography enthusiasts in the Canadian province of Alberta, Abraham Lake is probably best known as the place to photograph amazing, weird ice bubbles every winter (here’s my example: http://wp.me/p2ccTX-gf).
I wanted to photograph there during summer, so my wife and I camped at Abraham Lake recently. Ironically, it was this nameless pond across the road from the lake that caught my attention.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter and probably a two-stop graduated density (darkening) filter on the top half.
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Natural landscapes: the tilt of land
MORNING ON THE GRAND RIVER, CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO
This 280-kilometre river flows through the southwestern part of this Canadian province, emptying into Lake Erie (one of the five Great Lakes shared by Canada and the United States). It’s a quietly picturesque river, especially in pleasing morning conditions like this with an interesting sky.
After doing a number of standard compositions, I wanted something a little different, so I twisted the Nikon D90 enough to seriously skew the horizon. Now it’s something quite beyond a postcard photo, in my opinion. Tripod, polarizing filter, two-stop hard-edge graduated density (darkening) filter on the sky.
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Urban landscapes: the clash of light and metal
INSIDE THE BOW, CALGARY, ALBERTA
I was a winner in a newspaper photo contest centred around this skyscraper which, for a few years, was the tallest building in Canada west of Toronto. (You can see that honoured photo here: http://bit.ly/10OSdqm).
One of the prizes was a VIP tour of the 58-storey, $1.4 billion structure. I wasn’t allowed to photograph inside anywhere but the lobby – but that was where all the amazing architecture is, so I was a happy camper. Wish I coulda used a tripod, but no dice there. Still, it was fun coming up with compositions like this. Nikon D90.
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Rural landscapes: a prairie sunrise
SUNRISE ON THE SLOUGH, NEAR BEISEKER, ALBERTA
On the same trip that produced this picture (http://wp.me/p2ccTX-kF), I found a pond along the country road in the glorious prairies of this western Canadian province. A two-stop, hard-edge graduated density (darkening) filter, used on the sky, was vital to darken the highlights and allow for some detail in the darker areas of the photo.
Nikon D90, tripod, enhancing filter (to emphasize the reds).
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Urban landscapes: architectural glory
ABSOLUTE CONDOS, MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO
Another photo from my euphoric hour in June photographing these amazing 40 and 50-storey award-winning towers in the Greater Toronto Area of Canada. The other condo on the right is part of the same complex, believe it or not. (Here’s another, very different take of the same buildings: http://wp.me/p2ccTX-k3). Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Natural landscapes: fishing in grandeur
MORNING AT UPPER KANANASKIS LAKE, ALBERTA
This lake, in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, is a pretty big water body, so you’d think opportunities to photograph it in relatively still conditions would be rare. And yet, at least half the time I’ve visited, I’ve found amazing reflections waiting for me.
And when I saw the fishing dude, I had time, from a hiking trail well above him, to arrange a pretty decent composition. A few branches sticking into the bottom left corner were easily cloned out.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter and, probably, a hard-edge graduated density filter on the top half.
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Natural landscapes: this is for real
CANOEISTS ON MORAINE LAKE,
BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
A mid-summer afternoon is usually a bland time for photography, given the harsh light of that time of day. The advantage, however, is popular areas have lots of people to include in compositions. That was the case at this astounding lake in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
I stood atop a rock pile at the end of the lake (once depicted on the Canadian 20-dollar bill) and used a big telephoto lens to isolate the canoe and trees. A polarizing filter was important to eliminate almost all the reflections and let you see the incredible colour of this lake. Nikon D90, tripod.
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Rural landscapes: my canola craze
CANOLA AND GRAIN SILOS, NEAR BEISEKER, ALBERTA
Every July, the western Canadian province of Alberta becomes dotted with vast fields of glowing yellow canola fields. And every July, I have to go for aimless drives on the glorious prairies to photograph them. In this scene (about an hour from my home in Calgary), I was also blessed with a very interesting sky. Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Natural landscapes: view from the bridge
KANANASKIS RIVER, SPRAY VALLEY PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
Kananaskis Country, which includes Spray Valley Provincial Park, is a hidden gem in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Most tourists go to the much better-known Banff, Kootnay, Yoho and Jasper national parks, leaving Kananaskis to Albertans.
This is one of my favourite viewpoints of the Kananaskis River, captured on a bridge between the main road through the park and the hotels and lodges of Kananaskis Village.
A darkening filter, used on the top 1/3 of the scene, was crucial to making this picture work. The distant peaks (that’s Mount Kidd on the far right and The Wedge on the left of centre) were so much brighter than the shadowed water that without the filter, the top of the picture would have been horribly overexposed.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Urban landscapes: a poke at the sky
SCULPTURE, VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE
I don’t know what this sculpture is called, but every time I visited this breathtaking convention centre on Canada’s west coast, I’ve been trying to figure out how to photograph it. Finally gave it a serious shot earlier this year and came up with this result, photographed in early morning light.
I would have liked to include the entire sculpture, but there was a railing and water right behind me and I couldn’t go any wider-angle with my lens. But I still really like this result. Do you agree? Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter.
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Natural landscapes: upon reflection….
UPPER CONSOLATION LAKE, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
Went back into the archives to resurrect this 1994 exposure, made on slide film using my long-departed Nikon FM2 film camera. Upper and Lower Consolation Lakes are stunning lakes in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, easily accessible by hiking from the famed Moraine Lake. The only issue: bears!
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Wildlife: something for breakfast
BLUEBIRD, WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
This bluebird was not particularly frightened by humans, so I had a good time making photographs of it in various settings. Waterton Lakes National Park is a stunning place in Western Canada where mountains (that’s what you’re seeing in the background), lakes and high winds dominate. Nikon D90, tripod, 70-300 mm. lens.
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Natural landscapes: Evening in the badlands
DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
Went back 20 years into the archives to resurrect this scene, captured on medium format slide film using my old Pentax 6×7 film camera, a tripod and polarizing filter. Dinosaur Provincial park, in western Canada, is one of the world’s prime dinosaur fossil areas. And it’s a stunning place to make photos. 🙂
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Natural landscapes: Drops of dew
DEWY GRASS, PETER LOUGHEED PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA
Sometimes it pays to simply put a long telephoto lens on the camera and start lookin’ around. That’s what led to this composition, made on a dewy morning in the spectacular Canadian Rocky Mountains. This is all about the interplay between intersecting lines, along with the interplay between soft and sharp-focus water drops. I like all the empty space in this scene; it seems to allow for unhurried contemplation. Nikon D90, tripod, 70-300 mm. zoom lens.
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Urban landscapes: voluptuous curves
ABSOLUTE WORLD TOWERS, MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO
These two condominium buildings, in this city on the western edge of Toronto, are the tallest and most spectacular of the five structures in the Absolute World project. These award-winning designs, completed in 2012, are 50 and 40 storeys tall. They were designed by Chinese architect Yansong Ma, who won an international design competition. They’ve been nicknamed the ‘Marylin Monroe’ towers, for obvious reasons. And those same reasons are what drew me to photograph them at sunrise during a recent Toronto trip.
It’s hard to make a bad picture of these stunning creations, but I wanted something different than the standard photographs I’d seen. Thus, the close-up view with a twisted perspective.
Nikon D90, tripod, polarizing filter, enhancing filter (probably).
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Natural landscapes: standing out
YELLOW TULIP, BUTCHART GARDENS, BRITISH COLUMBIA
While touring this stunning this 55-acre National Historic Site on Canada’s west coast, I spotted this yellow-green combination and figured it would make a good photograph. One key was keeping any distracting highlight out of the background. The other key was depth of field – have enough so you could make out the background without it becoming distracting. How did I do? Nikon D90, 70-300 mm. zoom lens.
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