Taken in the Red Deer River valley.
Patterns Created by Erosion
Category: Landscape
Fall Birch Trees by a Small Lake
Paper birch trees (Betula papyrifera).
Yes, these are getting shorter and shorter. But at least I’m mostly keeping up. In January I should have a bit more time to expound on all things photographical. Till then, enjoy the photos.
Split Rock at Red Rock Coulee
Today’s pic is a little late. I might even miss a few days over the weekend while I’m at the Camrose Spirits of Christmas craft sale. I’ll have a bunch of prints, cards, and tags for sale there. Also, if you want to see a few new products I’m working on, I’ll have a few of those there too.
And in case you can’t make it to Camrose, I also have prints and cards for sale through this website. I’ve updated the way I do things, so shipping is much less expensive and every print and card you get will be signed (and prints mounted or matted). On the downside, it will take a little longer to fulfill orders. I’m guessing around 1 month, unless I happen to have that print or card already in stock, in which case you should be able to get them in a week or so.
Finally, today’s photo – a cold and snowy early spring evening at Red Rock Coulee in southern Alberta.
Athabasca Glacier from Wilcox Pass
The Athabasca Glacier from Wilcox Pass.
Dinosaur Provincial Park Covered in Snow
Dinosaur Provincial Park is a great place to check out, especially in winter. I went there in the middle of December a couple years ago. After a cold night sleeping in my car, a friendly snowplow driver cleared the way for me. I got there before sunrise and the whole area had just been covered in a fresh dusting of snow the night before. I was the only person there, although there were new cat tracks everywhere. It was a great day! Then on the way home my transmission blew. There’s always something…
Normally I’m not a fan of weird crops and panos. Too often the composition becomes more about the crop than the contents interacting with the frame. Sometimes it’s just that too wide of a lens was used and a boring foreground and sky have to be cropped out. But every once in a while an image benefits from a different crop.
Yeah, this is supposed to be pic of the day, but sometimes I just can’t resist the allure of multiple pictures.
My Camera History as a Function of Dust
As I mentioned the other day, I got an easy introduction to digital SLRs with my Olympus. For years I heard of the dust-spot problem, but I didn’t worry about it – I didn’t need to.
One fateful day, in search of improved image quality, I upgraded my camera. I got a beautiful, used Nikon D200 and was in love – for a while. I started seeing spots in my images, but they didn’t bother me too much. I could clone them out in Lightroom quite easily. As the months wore on more and more spots appeared. Okay. Time for the dreaded sensor cleaning. I made a few half-hearted attempts with sensor-cleaning kits, but they didn’t seem to do much. It got to the point where my photos were unusable. I was missing my Olympus. So I switched back.
With the new Olympus, all was well for a while. My dust problems were a faint memory. I was content. And then, I started talking with a stock agency. They liked my photos, but the image quality was a problem. Olympus didn’t make anything with better image quality. Time for an upgrade. But (for all you thinking of making a living off it), nature photography doesn’t pay very well. So I went in search of cheap image quality, and ended up with a used Canon 5D. Yup, an old camera with no dust shaker and more sensor to get dirty. But this time I was determined. When dust became an issue, I swabbed, I wiped, I brushed, and I did it all very well. I used any and every commercial solution available to me. And they all failed horribly. Dust was driving me mad. It was time for the crazy. I tried a vacuum (with some distance – static electricity is dangerous to sensors) and I tried some homemade swabs. No luck.
It turns out my solution was Scotch Tape. I have read numerous times how tape will ruin sensors – this may be true. I tested it out on other glass surfaces to make sure no residue remained (I’ve read that’s the main concern with tape). I tried it when all hope was lost and I was thinking of giving up on the Canon but short on funds for another camera switch.
Now I’m gloriously dust free, and enjoying my 5D more than ever (besides still being nervous in the rain).
(I do not recommend that you try this on your sensor. In fact anyone with half a legal mind will tell you not to come within 10 feet of your sensor because you might ruin it.)
My 5D after many attempts at sensor cleaning. No, those are not birds or bugs.
My 5D after scotch tape. Exactly the same develop settings in Lightroom. Similar aperture.
The Light You Can’t See
I’ve been super busy lately with everything from web design work to McBain work to photography and product design work. Which is good, but makes it hard to get out shooting. A couple days ago, I was planning on going out for the day, but got so wrapped up in other things that I didn’t make it out until it was dark. Which was interesting.
I walked out into the darkness of the Beaverhill Lake plains. And it was really dark. New moon again (I seem to time those just right), but interesting for photography anyway. I really need to get a fast prime for night shooting. These are with my 17-40 f4.
Yes, those bright, out-of-focus dots are indeed stars. It was really hard to see to compose for this picture – I had a flashlight to help out which ruined my nightvision for the next ten minutes.
Limited Light
It’s one of those fall days where you look outside and shudder. Winter’s coming. It’s dark, grey, and just below freezing in the middle of the day. It’s not the kind of day that inspires one to get outside, but once I feel the crisp bite of cold air on my face and hear the silence magnified by the foggy air, I am reminded that almost any conditions can be magical if you embrace them.
All photos taken in Elk Island National Park.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Lately there’s been a lot of filling out forms, delivering prints, setting up and taking down displays, and just way too much business stuff in general. I was starting to get tired of it all and questioning this whole photography thing. Then on Wednesday I got the chance to take the day and drive out to Cadomin. Spending the day alone in a beautiful and fascinating place, for me, cures a multitude of ills. This is what I signed up for, and what I love.
This coyote was fun to watch. I first saw him tearing around throwing something in the air and snapping at it. I assumed he’d caught some supper, but it turned out to be a scrap of paper he was playing with. In the middle of his racing around, he stopped for a few seconds, looked at me, smelled the bush next to him, and then took off as fast as he could go. My favorite capture was this one – a peaceful moment in the middle of an energetic playtime.
Getting Lucky
“You got lucky and have a couple good photos. I imagine everyone has a few great pictures on their computer.” These were the words spoken to me today by a “photographer” who saw me selling prints at Folk Fest. It was interesting to hear, and I agreed with him. After all, it is true that many people have a few great photos; it is also true that I occasionally get lucky while taking photos. But I think he was implying that photographers (maybe nature photographers specifically) don’t have control over the quality of their photos. And that is completely false.
I don’t control the weather, the sun, the way the trees grow, or the layout of the mountains. This is the challenge of nature photography – adapting to the environment, finding strong compositions, waiting for or creating the right light. It’s about working with what is there to create a mood, a story, a little world within a frame. This takes a great deal of practice and skill, along with some experimenting. But there’s always a little luck involved.
These are from the Moss Lake trail in Elk Island National Park last night between 10 and midnight. It was overcast and a new moon so – pretty dark. (For what it’s worth, I was trying to create my own luck and time my visit right to catch the perseid meteor shower. As it turns out I had to work with an overcast sky, so I got these instead)
