Part #2 of my Alberta Adventure

After our arrival it was soon time to head off to Jasper National Park and our 2 day stay at The Maligne Resort . Our fair weather presented beautiful views of the Mountains and Athabasca River. Wildlife abounds along Highway #16 and the need for adding salt to their diets will cause for some pretty insistent Sheep. This Ewe was oblivious to the large transport trucks who blew their powerful horns repeatedly, in hopes of making them move off the highway. She finally did and to my relief we soon moved on. Sadly just a few kilometers ahead there were remnants of an animal that was not so lucky.

We stopped at the Bridge that crosses the Athabasca to capture the river in the remaining low light, but we soon discovered the sun at that time of year always stays low in the sky. So after check-in we headed for Patricia Lake in hopes of capturing the sunset light as it hits the peaks of the mountains. What a treat to be able to walk on the entire lake, giving us perspectives that only hard water would provide. Soon the light was too weak to get decent captures and by then we were ready for our dinner.

Early next morning after a quick breakfast we headed down the ice field parkway in hopes of getting to The Athabasca Falls, but heavy clouds and snow soon fell upon us and we decided to turn back at the Edith Cavell lookout. We captured a few colourful moments as the sun rose behind this front but heavy snows soon made our return a slow process. We had decided to return to the Maligne Lake access Rd. and came across a herd of Elk grazing. As we turned around to head back into town I spotted a Mule Deer up on a hill and I requested we stop. Highway traffic was heavy so we noticed a driveway that would give us a safe pull over area. It was a parking area of a cemetery and it was surrounded by a high fence, so with my 500 zoom in hand, I worked my way around the fence to the clearing and the Mule Deer under a tree. I soon hear a grunting noise and noticed to my right a very large set of antlers and a pair of eyes and black nose peeking over the snow bank. My heart just stopped and after a few shots knew I had to make a move to my right to clear the obstructions that hampered my shots. Would he bolt? or would he keep his curiosity and stay? I was lucky he kept his stand and allowed me to place myself in a better location. After a dozen shots I heard the cars below blowing their horns and behold another huge Buck, standing at the edge in hopes of crossing. Wow 2 of them. The second Buck decided against crossing so he turned and came up the hill just as the first Buck headed down to check out the traffic situation. He as well made the right decision and returned up the hill, which gave me more shooting possibilities....What a "Gift" never thought I would get 2 mature Bucks together and in such a pretty snow falling setting.

The snow fall soon ended so we decided to take advantage of the good light and headed to Patricia and Pyramid Lakes. How exciting again to access both lakes for amazing perspectives of the surrounding Mountains and the setting sun. It was soon time to return and prepared for our special celebration meal at the Athabasca Inn.  By 8:00 pm we grabbed my gear in hopes of capturing some Christmas light displays. Sadly the town was not dressed up as I had hoped, but the snows became lighter and we enjoyed our walk anyway. We both looked forward on returning to Pyramid early the next morning.

After a nice breakfast we headed back to Pyramid Lake with high hopes of capturing that magical morning light, The light was ever changing and there were scenes all around us that gave us great shooting opportunities, but the clouds would drift in and out and we were afraid the moment we anticipated was futile. Just too many clouds moving in so we decided to head back to town. Just as we approached Patricia Lake the sunlight appeared and started to light up the mountain peaks . What a thrill to slowly watch the mountain being painted with that glorious golden light. Exactly what we were hoping for. Soon the light became too harsh so on our return to town we came across a few Elk grazing along the winding road. Thrilled to capture such intimate close-up shots we were soon on our way back toward the Park boundary and our return to our Daughter's ranch.

Another wonderful day of light for capturing the scenes of mountains and rivers, as well as a small heard of Big Horn Sheep with mixed Rams, Ewes and this year's Lambs. Again their obsession for salt made for a bit of a traffic jam, and opportunities for capturing close images.

Was an amazing fun getaway, our special Gift to ourselves, but we both looked forward to our return and preparing for our Christmas feast that was our special Gift to all who attended The Ekdahl  Family Christmas Gathering.

Thank You for reading and soon Part #3 will feature the special Horse interaction shots, Northern Lights and other fun experiments with blowing frozen bubbles, nighttime ghost horses and mornings of thick hoar frost.

Remember our workshops offer you the knowledge & skills we both have developed over many years of shooting . So come join us in an intimate class-room setting for a fun filled 5 hours of instruction on technical skills as well as on how to develop " the eye" for photography.

Since there are so many images I wish to share...there will be several posts.  They will be titled under the three different dates...starting with Dec. 17th.

        

Many thanks to my business partner Bob Winter for his remarks on my recent win, was a fun contest to enter and a total surprise in taking first place. It will be a special experience for me, for the next contest hosted by Algonquin Outfitters, I will become one of the judges.

I also got away with my hubby to Alberta over the Christmas holidays but for a much longer duration. We stayed on my daughter's ranch for 3 weeks, which gave me the ultimate experience of shooting horses in winter, Northern Lights, experimenting with frozen bubbles and a few amazing days of a getaway to Jasper National Park. I was one Happy Shutterbug so I will post several Parts to this experience to break it all up.

Part#1 Arrival and getting to know the 12 different horses and one special Donkey called Hank.

Days were short, so not many hours to accomplish all I had in mind for shots. Sunrise was not till around 9:30 am and sunsets starting around 3:30 pm. The angle of the sun to the layout of her ranch was not conducive to the sunrises I had in mine, but the property tree line was attractive as the sun rose and cast her magical light. Especially on those frosty mornings. I had pictured her horses running towards me, kicking up the deep snow and the frost glimmering from their breath in the cold air. Also with my obsession with Light I also wanted that golden light to paint them in beautiful rim lighting...and my wish came true! I also captured some surprising abstracts of the horses, and to my delight they hardly needed any type of post processing. Love it when those mistakes actually turn out as "Gifts" to myself.

The next day we were leaving for Jasper so that will be in another post as Part #2

Congatulations to my business partner, Susan, for winning the Algonquin Outfitters Photo contest!
Her amazing shot of her husband kayaking the Tim River in Algonquin was the overall winner over some 500 entries. (the shot can be seen in one of her earlier blogs)
2015 was a good year for us as we started up our enterprise and won a few other photo contests along the way.

I was recently out in the Rockies and, although it was a short family trip I had the opportunity to do some early morning photography and a bit of wildlife photography as well.

We still have a few openings for our January 16 seminar on photo basics. This will be a great seminar for those of you who want to learn more about taking good pictures or your camera's basics. In the meantime, we wish you a happy and prosperous 2016.

Dynamic Natural Light

As a photographer who strives  to compose  a well balanced image, one that draws you into the story I am creating, I seek that exceptional light. It gives such life, depth and emotion but must follow my compositional concepts so there is no conflict which causes the viewer to lose interest.....but to capture them, to hold them and to draw them into my scene.

Our Workshops will help you to understand how to see that light, how to learn how to manipulate it in your composition, to benefit and increase your emotional impact.....and how to control your settings, to make your camera work for you.  Also so very important is to learn how beneficial it is to shoot raw. To give you total control on the results of that file, and not what the camera has decided for you according to your settings. Take command, it really is not that complicated and be thrilled with your results.

Winter is an exciting time to be out shooting, dynamic light can be exceptional when dealing with shadows, patterns and golden hour lighting....

Algonquin Park, what a constantly ever changing palllet for the photographer.

It's always good as a photographer to go back to places with which you are familiar. The more you know a place, particularly a wild one, the more you will learn its moods but it will continue to surprise you. As much as you may think that things never change, that it's the same old swamp or beaver dam or lake, nature has a way of constantly mixing things up. Rain, high water, low water, snow, ice, wind, sun, and the lovable beavers  all change the landscape constantly. Adding ever changing light conditions and cloud formations and the chance to see and photograph wildlife to the mix  guarantee that you wont be taking the same picture two times in a row.

The most recent trips into the park provided  excellent photo opportunities, both vastly different, yet, it is impossible for me to say which one was better.

We will be conducting  photo workshops  in the Park this winter, depending on demand. Contact either Susan or myself if you're interested in joining us in capturing memorable images.

 

Christmas will soon be upon us, the forever challenge of what to buy certain members of your family or even friends.  We all want to become more proficient with our camera gear. To capture images that represents us as Artists and not just a snapshot guru.

So come and check-out our workshops or purchase a Gift Certificate for those who already have their cameras or are receiving a new one.

Composition is critical in an image, and with photography since we cannot arrange the components as we wish, it is that much more challenging. Then the "Light" factor comes into play. We all want that "Pow" in our image, to draw in the viewer's eye and to hold them there. In Nature we are at her mercy, we cannot control the elements we strive to capture, or that magical equation in an outstanding photo. So what to do?

 Get out there, in the wee hours before that magic light happens, keep a diligent eye out for shots in advance. Pre-visit the area to try and determine how the light will affect the scene, and then Hope! for the conditions that will give you the results you seek. For they may come only once in your lifetime, the magical way that golden hour light paints the scene, how the mist hangs in suspension at the exact level you want and how all the components of your scene, just fall into place. I will forever be grateful for that moment when it happened for us.

 But one of the most important factor is to have that special relationship with your gear, know how it reacts at those critical moments. Know how to manipulate it to respond and give you the image of your dreams. For this may never pass by you again! So Join us, on one of our very informative workshops, to feel in-tuned with your gear. Then seek out your dream shot!