Its easy to beat yourself up over things. Everyone does it. And feeling bad can be a strong motivation to do or change something. But feeling bad makes it less likely that you’ll stick with it. To actually do something really well and for a long period of time you want the motivation to come from the pure joy of doing it. Wise words from a wise friend.
Often I try to take pictures of the little scenes that are usually missed in favour of the big attractions. But I get distracted by the spectacular views too. Sometimes standards are worth capturing. Here’s the top section of Bighorn Falls.
Because I’m sure most people will be wondering about this, here’s the explanation. The top photo is the same as the bottom, except that the top has a cropping and shutter speed that I’m much happier with. This shows a little bit of the exploration of a subject process I go through when I see something interesting. (if it’s not clear — it’s a mini waterfall in grass, about a foot high)
Taken at the Ya Ha Tinda ranch.
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.
If you’ve ever seen bears going about their lives, you have to respect them. The ease with which they turn over massive stones to search for grubs, the speed at which they can get across a mountain valley, the length of their claws — it all inspires respect. But they are not the fearsome predators they’re often made out to be. In fact, they pretty much ignore people when possible. They’re very focused on eating, much of which turns out to be grass and leaves.
I got the privilege of watching a few bear families on this trip, and though I’m not normally a wildlife photographer, I have to admit there’s a certain thrill to observing and photographing animals. Here’s a black bear mother and cub.
You are invited to the opening of 3, where I will be one of three featured artists, along with David Shkolny and Marjorie Thomson! I’d love to see any and all of you there! Featuring landscapes in photography, pastel, and watercolour.
6pm to 8pm
Thursday, June 16th
The Daffodil Gallery
10412 – 124 Street
Details on Facebook
If you can’t make it Thursday, I will also be there on Saturday June 18 between 12 and 4pm.
When there’s a awe-inspiring waterfall in front of you, it’s easy to miss the interesting shots and instead take waterfall pic #269. It pays to explore the small, unnoticed corners around the edges of spectacular sights. This is something I often need to remind myself of when I’m out adventuring.
Rain quells crowds of tourists. It adds a little sparkle to everything it touches. It softens distant scenes, and adds vibrance to close ones. The only thing I ask is for a dry place to sleep.
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.
If you go to the Elm Cafe (on 117 Street just north of Jasper Ave) in the next couple weeks, you’ll be able to enjoy a few of my photos! And you’ll get to enjoy their awesome coffee!
And, as always, you can see my art at The Daffodil Gallery (on 124 Street at 104 Ave).
After a great camping trip in the mountains, I’m back with lots of photos to share. Turns out that with the heavy snowfall this year, we were a couple weeks too early to do a bunch of the hikes we wanted to, but it was a great trip anyway. Apparently I’m starting to become a bit of a birder, but I’m not quite sure how that mixes with my photography yet. I really enjoy being aware of what’s going on around me and knowing what all the sounds are — it makes me feel just a little more connected and less like an outsider when I’m “alone” in the woods. Maybe one of these days, if people are interested, I’ll post some of my bird photos that I took mostly for identification (being a photographer and not a real birder, I have a fairly long lens, but no binoculars). But for now I’ll be posting photos I’m happy with for their aesthetic qualities.
