Rising up, drying off
I photographed this loon near Bragg Creek at the end of April. It dove for fish most of the morning – stopping now and then to preen and smooth his feathers. This was my favorite image of him spreading his wings to shake the water off. He was relaxed and serene here. An immature bald eagle swooped low over him a little while later which ended his tranquility. He dove quickly each time the eagle came by so he was not caught. I will share some images of that encounter soon.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Winter forest abstract
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
A red fox backlit in Bragg Creek
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Forest panoramas in a storm
(Please click on any image to open a separate window to see these panoramas in a larger version)
I have been enjoying creating panoramas by merging a number of shots into one wide image. The workshop that I went to on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington recently brought that approach back in to my plans. It’s been a while since I shot them with any regularity. The rainforests there are well into spring and were amazing to photograph for panoramic concepts. Forests have incredible depth, details and patterns and that was a focus while I was in the Pacific Northwest.
When I returned home, a cold weather pattern was knocking around Alberta. When a snowstorm blew in, I headed out to photograph the forest and see if any pano opportunities jumped out. The storm grew into a blizzard. It was cool to have the increasing density of snow as a variable to the images. We’ve had a few really good days in the week afterwards. Before the next one comes in this weekend.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
A snowstorm’s abstract
Greedily, Old Man Winter has snuck past Spring once more and released another day-long blizzard across southern Alberta. The snow fell in thick flakes, speckling the sky then blurring the forest as it neared the ground. I’m looking forward to greenery, especially given how lovely Seattle was when I was there last week, but this was a storm which cast a beautiful spell over the landscape west of Bragg Creek.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
A wintry landscape in West Bragg
The cold which the east has been laboring under reached us this weekend. Yesterday I was out photographing and this scene illustrated the frigid turn winter has now taken once more.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
A meeting in Bragg Creek
I went to the Bragg Creek Provincial Park just before the latest snowfall. Wandering along the Elbow River, exasperated chirping voiced several nearby squirrel alerts accompanied me.
Curiosity took over one’s hesitations and he climbed down from a treetop to watch me from a branch a couple of meters off the ground. I crouched low and stayed still and soon he was digging out a pine cone from the sticks and snow.
With the right one gathered, he raced back to the tree and had breakfast from the low perch. It was interesting to watch how he whittled down the cone. Clever, efficient and dextrous work.
Once done, he let out a few chirps. Conveying either the all clear or the threat’s still here – or something else altogether – before leaping away. A couple more jumps along with some branch runs and he was out of sight. His and a few other chirps spun through the woods now and again as I continued wandering.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Bald eagle in Bragg
Found a bald eagle in a branch above a couple of ravens that were on the ground. There must have been something that they were fighting over with the eagle for breakfast. When the raptor launched it angled away from me but I had a good side shot for a second.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
A faint light from the north
2 seconds at f/1.8 on ISO 4000
We are in the solar minimum and the Aurora Borealis displays at this latitude have been at a minimum as well. On a night walk last night I noticed a bit of color in the sky. Longer exposures showed a diffused haze of the Northern Lights. Subtle but still beautiful.
5 seconds at f/2.0 on ISO 3200
The quiet show ended quickly. It was very nice to see them once again. As the aurora faded out I needed my headlamp to bring a bit of color to the last photograph.
2 seconds at f/1.8 on ISO 3200
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Happy New Year!
I spent New Year’s Eve at home with my children and one of their close friends. We all had fun and enjoyed the evening. The Redwood Meadows community once more put on a fireworks show.
They always do a great job and this year was outstanding. Kian found friends to watch and hang out with. The other two enjoyed the show from the picture window of a neighbor’s home which provided a good, and warm, view. It wasn’t frigid cold but it was -12ºC and the windchill made it feel like several degrees cooler again.
Some people watched with their kids from their vehicles, some people bundled up and were happy to stand outside. No matter how people watched them, everyone seemed to enjoy the performance. I certainly did.
I set up across the road from the field where the fireworks were set up. I wanted to have the option to silhouette people against the explosions. I used two cameras to have some options. I set one up with a remote control and kept those all at a 10 second shutter speed, lens at f/10 and an ISO of 800. The other one I shot with directly during the show and played with the settings and the composition.
As we have just left 2018 here in Alberta, I wanted to wish you the very best in 2019. Happy New Year!
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Happy holidays!
I hope you are enjoying time doing what you enjoy with those you love. We had an energetic start to the day with a dog’s temporary escape to visit the neighborhood, cleaning up from Santa’s whirlwind visit and enjoying the general madness. That’s given way to a relaxed afternoon with a gentle snowfall helping to set a calmer tone.
This white-winged crossbill was one of a mixed flock of finches, chickadees and nuthatches that I found hunting for seeds in a stretch of forest west of Bragg Creek yesterday. It was another energetic group and, looking back, seemed to be a little foreshadowing for this morning’s chaos. Looking forward, their community, cooperation and tolerance are some positive things to bring forward.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Springbank electrics
The thunder and lightning rolled over the prairies several times over the past couple of weeks. On August 1st, I went out to photograph dusk as the smoke from the wildfires has helped create some beautiful evening scenes. The haze thinned after sunset and a large cloud took shape from it as the sky cooled into night.
While the color slipped away, the cloud grew and I caught a flicker of lightning on the northern edge. Rain didn’t fall and the wind never really picked up. However a fork crackled through the air every few minutes for the next couple of hours.
The storm slowly churned east towards Calgary and the open prairie beyond. The trailing edge left behind a clear sky dotted with stars. This last photograph caught the moon illuminating the cloud as it rose.
Christopher Martin Photography 