My mind is whirling with weird scientific names and terms for animal-related phenomena. Who thought Haliaeetus leucocephalus would roll off the tongue nicely? And since when is plastron the bottom of a turtle and not a superhero name? So I’m going to take a quiet moment and post a couple photos.
Both photos are peaceful reflections in Horseshoe Lake, taken a few minutes apart.
Oh cracked ice, will I ever get tired of you? (I’ll post something NOT Abraham Lake or ice related tomorrow—promise)
The ice at Preacher’s Point was full of small cracks – I’m guessing because it was melting – and these caught the light wonderfully. This is a top-down view of similar cracks to the ones you saw in an edge view a few days ago.
Today’s an abstract day: Ice near Preacher’s Point on Abraham Lake.
Sunset reflected in the Bow River.
Water, frost and ice in Johnston Canyon. What? No, I didn’t say anything about Georgia O’Keefe.
Ice and frost near the Bow River in Banff.
For this trip I tried out an interesting new (well, actually almost 2 years old) camera. Panasonic’s GH1 is actually a very capable camera. In good light the image quality is very close to my Canon 5D (mark I – more than 5 years old, but with a larger sensor). The battery lasts a very long time (I lost 1 tick on the battery meter on a 5 hour hike in -25 weather while taking 332 photos). I had problems with my 5d battery dying, although, to be fair I have an old third party battery for my Canon. The 100-300 lens for the GH1 is a very sharp lens with good image stabilization. For a small light telephoto setup, it is great.
The one area where is fails completely is at night. The previous night photo I took with my 5d turned out pretty well, while it was impossible to get anything with the panasonic. I might have been able to get something if I had a lens for it with a focus distance indicator, but with the 14-140 lens there is no way to focus a night shot. The screen was completely black, and of course autofocus would not work on any camera. The photos are also much more grainy than my 5d when long exposures are used.
Here’s one area where the GH1 does better than anything else around – telephoto (at a reasonable cost and weight). Flowing water and ice in Johnston Canyon. Taken with a 600mm equivalent lens.
I’ve often seen the alphabet photo people spelling out “love” or “joy” at craft fairs, and always thought the letters are kind of interesting and a little cheesy at the same time. But our minds often see random shapes and interpret them as symbols we recognize.
Anyway, I’m sure this photo says something, not quite sure what.
Taken in Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park.
Grass texture near Hasse Lake.
