From a recent trip to Jasper.
300mm, 1/2000 of a second, f5.6
Split
Category: Mountain
Shaped By a Glacier
The ridge around those spruce trees is called a “lateral moraine” and was left behind by the Athabasca Glacier as it receded. I took this photo at the Columbia Ice Fields on a dark and cloudy day. I get the sense that this moraine is protecting the trees — like they’re sitting safe in their own fortress. And then I notice the mountain behind, which, by it’s comparative mass, renders the trees and moraine almost insignificant.
If you’re not interested in lenses, feel free to ignore the next bit. The photo is taken with the Panasonic 100-300 lens on my Olympus OM-D. When I got this lens, I was worried about it not being very sharp. I have looked up many reviews, but a lot of the photos in the reviews had shutter speeds under 1/1000 of a second with image stabilization turned on. It seems to me that this comments on the effectiveness of the IS, but says nothing about how sharp the lens is. Even using the lens on a tripod I find to be questionable because the center of balance is far infront of the tripod. So I ordered a lens collar with a tripod foot from Rudolf Rösch Feinmechanik. It didn’t get here in time for my trip to the mountains, so I don’t have a definitive review on the sharpness of the lens, but my initial impressions are that, while not being razor sharp, it is fairly good. The lens collar itself is beautiful — I’m thoroughly impressed. I will be using it a lot in the next while, and I’ll report back on its effectiveness.
1/4000 of a second, f7.1, 140mm
After a Long and Barren Break
I’m finally back! With pictures! Happy New Year!
December was (as always) too busy, with far too little time for hiking and shooting. Thankfully I’m starting to recover, and last week I was able to go out to Jasper for a couple days, camp in the freezing weather, and completely enjoy it.
I also have some pendants back in stock after almost completely selling out at Christmas. I have many plans of updating websites and galleries, of taking lots of photos, of enabling online stores, and far too many more ideas to list here or ever complete. But I’ll work on stuff, and try to keep everyone updated.
Here’s a photo of a dry and dusty Jasper Lake from last week just after sunrise. I was getting blasted with a super cold wind, and even bundled up I had to run back to the shelter of the van after a few minutes.
Canon 5d with 17-40 lens.
Taken at 24mm, f8, 1/200 of a second
I’m planning to start adding these technical details below my photos. I know people are interested, and I’ve resisted for a long time because I believe they’re not really important. I think people place way too much emphasis on what the right settings are and way too little on getting a good composition. But to do photography well, you do have to at least know what all the settings do, and which are important in any particular instance. So for those learning, I hope this extra information helps, but know that the photo is the important part — the settings just help you get there. For example, I took this photo at f8. Would f5.6 have worked? Pretty well. Would f11 have worked. Yup, even a little better than f8. Did it ruin the photo that the aperture wasn’t as high as ideal to get everything perfectly in focus? Not at all, this will print beautifully at 20×30, and I’m really happy with it. Photography is about creating a feeling, not about an aperture. It would have mattered far more if I had angled my camera up or down a degree or two, or if I’d taken the photo from a foot lower or higher — those things could have easily turned it into something I wouldn’t look at twice.
At this point I think I’m rambling, and I’m impressed if anyone actually read this far. Cheers.
Inside an Ice Cave
There are some places on this earth that seem a little surreal. Ice caves are one of those places. And in these strange and beautiful places, I find it really hard to take photos. I’m often overwhelmed with the experience, and focusing on composition becomes impossible. Everywhere I look there is something new. I have to slow down, let the surroundings soak into me, and then I can start to express my response to a place.
Although I would have loved to spend more time here (it’s kind of scary with the falling rocks and ice), I’m pretty happy with how the photos turned out. The lines of the photo lead into a dangerous unknown.
Floating On a Bank of Clouds
I suspect every kid dreams of being able to ride on clouds. Photography just lets me dream a little more vividly.
Conquering BC’s Freezing Lakes
My trip to BC was a glorious success — I survived, the car mostly survived, and I had a blast. It started out with a four day road trip, riddled with stops and hikes at random places. Then I got to go camping for a couple days with a good friend, and I ended it off with a couple days driving to get back. I mostly slept in the car, which was pretty comfortable until my sleeping mat decided to deflate.
I have a bunch photos to post over the next couple weeks, but I thought this was an appropriate start.
My friend Will swimming in a cold lake in the mountains in BC.
Normally I don’t take photos of people. I make two exceptions: when I take photos at weddings (only as a second photographer, talk to Curtis if you want a wedding photographer), and this.
Kananaskis Landscape – Elpoca Mountain
The area around Elpoca Mountain looks fascinating to me, and I never got a chance to explore it. It was a forbidden land — closed because of grizzly sightings. But the vertical slabs of rock jutting from the warm grassy slopes was a magical contrast that caught my attention, and something I have not seen often in the rocky mountains.
Sunny Flowers for a Rainy Day
Crocuses and Yellow Avalanche Lilies in Waterton National Park.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the gallery opening on Thursday night and today! It was great to talk with all of you. If you missed it, the show will continue into July.
The Daffodil Gallery is at 10412 124 Street. Gallery hours are 10:30am to 5:00pm Tuesday – Saturday.
Folding Water
In the mountains (especially in spring) the scale and violence of the flowing water is incredible. The power of the water is hard to communicate without the thundering you can feel down to your bones, but the acrobatics it performs while tumbling down are fun to capture. The blue-green color of the water comes from rock flour — small particles of rock suspended in the water from glaciers.
Taken at Mistaya Canyon in Banff National Park.
The Mixing of the Waters
This is where glacial melt-water was flowing into a spring-fed pond in Jasper National Park.
