Light Pillars

We had a beautiful display of light pillars this evening. It was about -21C and virtually clear out when these crystals formed. They only lasted maybe 45 minutes or so and I managed to get an image with the crescent moon along with both Jupiter(the brightest "star") and Venus(down from Jupiter). The two planets and our moon were best viewed on December 1st as they were then closest together. Unfortunately that night Red Deer was clouded over.
[Canon 5DmkII, 24-105mmL]

Christmas Lights

We spent Christmas day at my in-laws near Spruce Grove this year and they had lit up a few trees along their driveway.
[Canon 5DmkII, 24-105mmL]

Bower Woods

After getting my new 5D MkII camera I have had precious little time to be out shooting. Monday I forced the issue and played quite a bit with the HD video capabilities, which I am very impressed with. Of course I have no idea if I'll ever figure out how to post a sample video to my blog(maybe somebody can help me with that!) and so far, and I doubt ever, Adobe is not supporting this camera for RAW conversions in CS3 and so have used the medium size jpegs to process these images. They were both made in the Bower Woods along Piper Creek here in Red Deer. We have only had a very tiny amount of snow so far this winter, just enough that the coyote tracks are visible in the snow covered ice.
[Canon 5d MkII, Nikkor 55mm f1.2]

Liquid Silver

Water has a special place in my heart. I just can't get enough time to sit and admire the infinite possibilities that reflections of light play on the tiny waves of a creek!! The smallest change in your viewing angle can make for a completely different mood and feel to the water. How often we zoom past these tiny marvels of creation without a second thought as to the processes and unbelievable beauty that surrounds us!
[Canon G9]

Summerland Ornamental Garden

Each year in fall we try to visit the beautiful garden at the Agriculture Canada Research Center in Summerland B.C. A slow leisurely walk among the towering ponderosa pines and along the edge of the canyon makes for a wonderful time and I always come away wishing I had more time to spend there. [Canon G9]

Precarious

It would only take a tiny bit of a breeze to topple this tree! Beavers have been working feverishly to knock it down, and maybe were scared away by our approach as there was frost on most of the leaves surrounding the tree but not on the wood chips. I was out for a walk with my sister and brother-in-law a week ago and found the tree along the edge of the Red Deer River downstream from Red Deer.
[Canon 5D, 16-35mmL ]

Fringe of Winter

You shall ask
What good are dead leaves
And I will tell you
they nourish the sore earth
You shall ask
What reason is there for winter
And I will tell you
To bring about new leaves
You shall ask
Why are the leaves so green
And I will tell you
Because they are rich with life
You shall ask
Why must summer end
And I will tell you
So that the leaves can die

Nancy Wood
from Many Waters


[Canon 5D, 24-105mmL]

Icyness

My sister Marlene and her husband Dave were up from Lethbridge this past weekend and we managed to get out for a few walks, on one of which we found a great little stream that hasn't frozen over completely yet. I could spend hours following along streams like this listening to the sound of the bubbling water and photographing the wonderful shapes and textures! These images felt better as square images and as black and whites.
[Canon 5D, 24-105mmL]

Pilot Mountain

Pilot Mountain is a mountain in the Bow River valley of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located southeast of Redearth Creek and directly west of the Trans-Canada Highway. The mountain was named in 1884 by George M. Dawson, for its location is where the Bow Valley changes direction, thus affording distant views of the mountain all along the valley. Pilot Mountain can be scrambled on the northwest face by someone with good routefinding skills.(Wikipedia) This image was made looking south from Moose Meadows along Highway 1A.
[Canon 5D, 16-35mmL]

Storm Remnants

I made this image in August at Dinosaur Provincial Park in southern Alberta. A very large, and threatening looking, thunderstorm sprung up on the western horizon early in the afternoon, but by the time it got to us it gave us some light rain for about an hour and moved on to the east. I rushed back out into the badlands, careful not to fall on the now very slippery bentonite clays, to catch the sunset as it illuminated the last remnants of the storm.
[Canon G9]

CP Rail - Red Deer Sub

I waited a good half hour to catch this train which travels right beside the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (Hi-way 2) as it travels to the west of Red Deer. I had a one in two chance of getting it coming towards me and wouldn't you know he came from the north instead!! The light was really nice just before the train showed up at sunset (second image), but unfortunately the sun had dipped just below the horizon as the train passed by during this long exposure, which blurred the train as it went by. [Canon 5D, 80-400mm OS Sigma]

Medicine River

I made this image a couple of evenings ago looking north along the Medicine River in Red Deer County. It is composed of three separate images stitched together for an incredibly wide-angle view.
[Canon 5D, 24-105mmL]

Dim your Headlights

I've already dimmed mine, but how often does it happen that the oncoming vehicle has to blast you with their high beams just as they top the rise before they decide it's time to dim them. It's usually rather obvious that there is an oncoming vehicle especially if it's foggy or dusty. Just my little rant - sorry.
[Canon 5D, Tamron 300mm f2.8+2x]

John Deere 568 Round Baler

Another image from the other night in Red Deer County. I'm not sure which model of tractor it is.
[Canon 5D, 70-200mm f2.8L]

Alberta Gold

This image was made last evening while touring around Red Deer County. It looks like a small rig, but I have no idea if it is a service rig or one going for the gold.
[Canon 5d, Tamron 300mm f2.8]

Nightfall - Red Deer County

Another image from last night. This time a bit on the interpretive side. I simply pointed the headlights of my car across the field and made a two minute exposure. Simple as that. I really like the way the cloud shapes echo the swaths. A little bit of fog moved in as well.
[Canon 5D, 24-105mm f/4L]

Autumn - Red Deer County

Autumn is definitely upon us, as the warm hues of the harvested field attests to. I was out photographing in Red Deer County tonight and captured a murmuration of starlings(I think) passing near this farm. No joke, that is what a group of starlings is called!
[Canon 5D, 70-200mm f2.8L]

Harvest time

Yes, it has been too long of a break between posts. I've been real busy shooting stock images again for Lacombe County and of course harvest is going in full swing. Then, of course, there is all the editing work to be done and some more city images as well. Oh yeah, I am still working full time and putting in a few hours of volunteer time too. Whew!! Can't wait for indoor soccer season to kick off then I can add in some chauffeur time as well.

Enough complaining already - it's all good!!!

Doesn't this image just make you start feeling itchy. The amount of dust is just amazing. I turned the fan in our car on today on the way back from work and all the dust that got into the car last night came flying out the vents. Laura was none too pleased with me!!
[Canon 5D, 70-200mm/2.8L]

Canadian Pacific Railway

When I was a kid of ten my family moved to Rosedale, in the Drumheller valley, and for quite a few years literally lived across the street from the main CN line running from Calgary to Saskatoon. The trains coming from Calgary used to sit and wait on a sidetrack right in front of our house for the oncoming trains from Saskatoon before proceeding, sometimes for hours. They would idle quietly and every now and again drop a car off on the siding by shuffling back and forth. Eventually a big freight train would come thundering through town shaking our house, with their horns blaring, pulling heavily laden cars full of prairie grain heading for the coast. Once it had passed, the big diesel engine of the train that had been waiting, would grumble to life with a low growl as the engines strained to pull the massive weight stretched out behind them. On some summer nights with my bedroom window open and with just the right wind and weather conditions, you could here the train rumbling slowly along for at least half an hour as it climbed out of the 400 foot deep Red Deer river valley.

This image is neither the Drumheller valley or a CN train, but I like it. This is one of CP's AC4400CW engines made by GE and was delivered to CP in 1998. This guy has a massive 4400hp engine, weighs in at 415000 pounds, and can hit almost 113 km/h. It has just arrived in Field, B.C. after coming down the BIG hill from Lake Louise and passing through the spiral tunnels.
[Nikon S3]

Lorette Ponds

Another image from Lorette Ponds. This time a colour image showing off the rich and vibrant green tones of the algae growing in the ponds. The texture in the stones really contrasts nicely with the ambiguity of the green algae. I stitched together 7 images to make the panorama.
[Canon 5D, 70-200mm/2.8L]

McDougall Memorial United Church

Another image from our trip south. This one made on the Stoney Indian Reserve at Morley, Alberta. The church, which overlooks the Bow River, was established in 1875 and named after George McDougall. This church is the second oldest building in Alberta still standing on it's original frame. Another image done in the 5:8 ratio.
[Canon 5D, 24-105mmL]

Kananaskis Country

We decided to take a spur of the moment trip into Kananaskis Country last night. We got as far as Cochrane in the evening and this morning headed into the mountains. This image was made at the Lorette Ponds immediately next to Highway 40 which surprisingly enough is immediately behind the trees. I have also tried a new format in a 5:8 ratio. I really like the dimensions and can see myself working more with it in the future. Unfortunately this image has a technical issue and can be printed to a maximum of only 20 inches across. I would love to be able to res this one up to a really big print. Just a good excuse, I suppose, to go back and visit again!!

Verdant Valley

This image was made a year ago in July. We visited the small country school, about fifteen kilometers east of Drumheller, where I grew up until I was ten. Verdant Valley School was a two room, two teacher school with maybe 35 or so children attending from the surrounding farms. After school was out us kids had the whole schoolyard to ourselves. This included all the playground equipment, skating rink, etc. Many a time I remember watching big thunderstorms roll across the farmland until at last the rain, hail, and lightning would come at us like a freight train. There was nowhere to go, so we just had to hunker down and wait them out. I recall one memorable storm when my dad and uncle were attending a class at the University of Calgary and so the rest of my family, one brother, two sisters and my mom, along with my two cousins and aunt got to watch a spectacular light show! My mom and aunt didn't want us kids to get scared and kept us busy drawing what each of the lightning strikes looked like. Once my dad and uncle returned they told us that many of the power poles near the yard had been struck and damaged during the storm. The phone would ring every now and again when the telephone lines got hit.
[Olymous E-410, 14-42mm]

Mill Creek - Triptych

We spent a short half hour visit to a great spot on Mill Creek in southwest Alberta in early July. I borrowed Laura's point and shoot digital so I could work as quick as possible. This triptych is the fruit of my labour. The possibilities in this kind of situation are really endless and searching out for just the right balance of colours and shades and textures is a complete riot.
[Fuji F40]

After the Storm

After a thunderstorm passed in Dinosaur Provincial Park, the clouds started to break up and the setting sun provided beautiful orange light.
[Canon G9]

Fractured

Ice is likely the culprit for these large cracks in the stone. Slowly creeping into the smallest crevices, water, once frozen forces the rock apart, which over many years slowly breaks the rock into tiny pieces. this image was made in Dinosaur Provincial Park a few weeks ago.
[Canon G9]

Rills

A rill is a narrow and shallow incision into soil resulting from erosion by overland flow that has been focused into a thin thread by soil surface roughness. Rilling, the process of rill formation, is common on agricultural land and unvegetated ground. Some rills will continue to grow, as they are widened and/or deepened by the runoff which flows through them. Other rills may decline in importance as sediment is deposited within them. Eventually, a hydrologically efficient rill network will be formed. The development of such a network is an example of self-organisation. In a few cases, rills may continue to grow and become gullies or rivulets then streams and so on to form a river.(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rill )
[Canon G9]

Soft Light

The beautiful soft light of evening is completely wonderful and should not be missed. It doesn't matter if you're tired or you want to eat your supper. Who cares if it'll be dark right away and the coyotes will start howling. We aren't scared of the dark are we? It's just a short walk back to the campsite. You really need to experience this light and the last few minutes before sunset, or a few minutes after sunrise for that matter, are just sublime. One of the best ways to really see this light is up close. Observe the blue shadows cast by those tiny stones and rills which on a sunny afternoon are not even evident now showing off river valleys on a scale that is hard to understand. The clay, normally gray (nice rhyming going on there),takes on an orange/red glow that is mixing ever so subtlety with the blue shadows to what looks deceivingly like magenta. I find so many things happening in images like this that I can just start to imagine how the water slowly carves it's way through the clay each and every time it rains, erasing all evidence of tiny insect tracks and human footprints at the rate of about half an inch a year.
[Canon G9]

Fading Light

While I wait for some of my large format transparencies to show up I will post a few images from Dinosaur Provincial Park made with a small digital camera. These images, over the next few days, were made using this small camera as a tool to scout out possible compositions before committing to a large sheet of film. The image above was just that, except that the light was changing so fast with the sun just on the horizon, I didn't even have time to unload the large format camera before the light was gone.
[Canon G9]

Lightpainted Hoodoos

A ventured a bit further away from our campsite to make this image, compared to yesterdays post. I had a tiny flashlight with a single AAA battery which I light painted the hoodoos with for about half of the 91 sec. long exposure. A few clouds were present which is obscuring a few of the stars on this image.
[Canon 5d, Sigma 15mm Fisheye]

Milky Way Galaxy

This past weekend my family and I along with our good friends Bill and Diane Zurawell and their two boys as well as Laura's mom and dad, visited Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks Alberta. At night the skies, beautiful and clear for the most part, displayed for us the magnificent spectacle of the Milky Way Galaxy. I heard, or read somewhere that the human eye can only detect about 3000 stars on a good night. I don't know if it's true, because when you look up on a perfectly clear night with almost no source of light near you and see so many stars......it's not true because I'll bet you can see tens of thousands. I went out for a walk on my own one night for about an hour, quite a distance from our campsite, where my eyes could adjust to the darkness after about ten minutes and I'll tell you it makes you feel tinier than a grain of sand. Our Milky Way can put on quite a show! Now multiply that by a few hundred trillion or more and you come up with our universe - WOW!!

You can even see some very faint green and red aurora borealis which my eyes could not detect, but that the minute long exposure brought out. Remember to click on the image to make it larger.
[Canon 5D, 24mm f2 Nikkor]


God, brilliant Lord,

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
Your handmade sky-jewelery,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?

Psalms 8:1,3-4 (The Message)

Evening Light

My good friend Dwight was kind enough to point me in the direction of these beautiful red flowers growing alongside a slough just a few kilometers from Red Deer. I have no idea what they are and have gone through all my wildflower books with no success and suspect that maybe they aren't wildflowers at all but escapees from a nearby garden. [Update: August 18 - I found out these are really escapees from a local garden called different common names such as Star of Jerusalem or Maltese Cross. Scientifically they are known as Lychnis chalcedonica] I arrived with about ten minutes of sunlight left with the sun skimming the flowers and grasses.



As the cool of the evening took over from the heat of the day the reds of these flowers seemed to glow in the fading light.



And then the mosquitoes came out en mass which convinced me it was time to vacate the area.
[Canon 5D, 16-35mmL, 24mm Nikkor]

Lacombe County

I have been shooting stock imagery for the county over the last few months and had a chance to get some showing off the canola crops in all their glory.
[Canon 5D, 70-200mmL, 24mm Nikkor, 15mm Fisheye Sigma]

Trout Stream

I can't tell if this is a Rainbow or a Cutthroat Trout. I don't see the red on the chin so am thinking Rainbow. All that aside, it was a real treat to watch these fish jumping up Castle Falls in Castle Wilderness of southwestern Alberta in early July!
[Canon 5D, 16-35mmL]


"...the things fishermen know about trout aren't facts but articles of faith."

John Gierach
Trout Bum (1986)

Sweetgrass Hills

A closer look at the storm that descended on the Sweetgrass Hills in Montana recently.

[Canon 5D, 24-105mmL]

At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Luke 21:27 (TNIV)

Writing-on-Stone

My family drove south for a short vacation recently and visited Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park which is virtually as far south as you can get in Alberta. In fact the distant hills in this view are the Sweetgrass Hills in Montana. This park is also known as the Áísínai’pi National Historic Site of Canada. Áísínai’pi in southern Alberta is one of the most important spiritual sites for the Niitsítapi or Blackfoot People. The Niitsítapi associate spirit powers with the weathered hoodoos and cliffs of the valley and with the nearby Kátoyissiksi (Sweetgrass Hills). Áísínai’pi, known in English as Writing-on- Stone Provincial Park, contains the largest concentration of rock art images on the Great Plains. These images are an expression of the meeting of this spirit world with the physical world of the Niitsítapi.

As my youngest son Alexander says "If it doesn't rain, then it isn't a vacation". As I enjoy rain very much I would have to agree.

[Canon 5D, 16-35mm]