Desirée along the Inner Harbour
We spent a couple of days in Victoria recently and walked along the water more days than not. Here we were walking between the waterfront downtown and Fisherman’s Wharf. A beautiful red bridge that connected a wonderfully green garden drew our eyes. I had a great time photographing this beautiful lady over the water before we went out for dinner.
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Tobogganing in Kananaskis (again)
A couple of weeks after sledding on our tiny hill across the street, we went to the best toboggan location in our neck of the woods last weekend. The slope is somewhat dramatically called Suicide Hill by locals. We have gone there since all of the kids were really young and it is always a lot of fun. I titled a post in 2017 the same and it was fun to compare then and now.
We went late in the day which meant fewer people but came at the expense of the sun falling behind the trees shortly after we got started. It was still a beautiful day and we had a great time.
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Christmas sledding in Redwood
I hope you have enjoyed a nice holiday and are able to close out a hard year on a good note. We have had a lot of time with our children which has been great. We had a massive snowstorm just before Christmas and we went out tobogganing as it was building.
Five kids makes for an instant party and we had a blast slipping and sliding around the little hill across the road from our house. We stayed out into the night before going back inside for hot chocolate. I came back out to photograph the falling snow for a while. It was too beautiful to pass up taking the opportunity to capture the wintry landscape in the dark.
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A walk under the Trans-Canada
After taking back to school photographs of our kids in the countryside, we went to an underpass along the Trans-Canada Highway west of Calgary. It is covered in graffiti and offers an interesting juxtaposition with the rolling prairie. This picture of the three oldest children walking out of the shadows was a favorite from this scene.
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Curves at the Central Public Library
Calgary’s new Central Public Library is an amazing space for many reasons. Last night I enjoyed circling the exterior for the first time, photographing interesting features at interesting moments as I went.
Above a patron standing at the stairs near the main entrance is silhouetted against the beautifully designed curving wall that leads to the doors. A minute later, and a few steps to the north, a fellow photographer captured the curve in his own way while sitting outside.
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Halloween!
Redwood Meadows was a madhouse on Halloween night! Packs of ghouls, Fortnite characters, Minions, animals and even a puffer fish roamed the community and many houses greeted them with wonderfully elaborate decorations.
My kids are growing up and this was the first time I didn’t go out with both of them. My son and two of his friends preferred to strike out on their own which is great fun of course (and a little – tiny – bit sad for me).
Kezia, playing Ginny Weasley from the Potter-verse, canvassed the neighborhood with three friends. Luckily for me they are a little younger and were happy to let me tag along. We had a blast!
I managed to catch up with Kian at the end and grabbed a couple of shots with him dancing to the spooky scary skeleton song (an absolute favorite of ours!) before he separated from his steampunk skeleton alter ego.
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Winter is coming…
Thanks to Game of Thrones, this phrase is often heard. Yesterday Mother Nature provided her own reminder that far too soon winter will be here. I still hope we have a couple of months before it does but the snow is still on the trees this morning and does not yet look interested in melting away. I can’t say that I’m a fan of snow in September.
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Snowshoeing on the Elbow River
Last weekend there was a break in the storms where blue sky appeared for an hour or two in the afternoon. It was cold but the sunshine was inviting so I strapped on snowshoes and headed outside. The Elbow River is still largely frozen over so a walk along the plain at the north end of Redwood Meadows seemed a good call. The clouds left with snow trailing just behind their departure.
I ended up playing around more than covering any real distance. The slope from the berm to the river was a fun distraction as I jumped down into the snow and clambered up again a few times.
I ended with a short trek onto the plain and then back along the forest. A few photographs of some wintering berries close to the berm coincided with the clouds closing in again. The snow began to fly and I made my way home.
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Kezia’s dance season begins…
Kezia had a blast at her first dance competition of the year this weekend in Jasper. She was invited to this competition’s nationals in July for four of her dances and had an absolute blast performing, hanging out with her teammates and swimming in the heated outdoor pool! I’m excited to see her soon but wanted to share my admiration for her dedication, attitude and enjoying every minute of it.
These two photographs are from her musical theatre solo performance, “Sayonara” that she performed at the Springbank Dancers Competitors Spring Showcase on March 11th. You will continue to open this world up my little, not so little, sweet.
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Happy Birthday Kezia!
To my sweet girl…
You are a magical and wonderful young lady who delights in life. And everyday you live that life with love, kindness and wonder. Always I will be completely enthralled with you and everything you do. It is my privilege, and an absolute joy, to be your daddy. I am deeply grateful for each day I have watched you being and becoming the amazing person you are. I am excited for many more with you my dear.
Happy 9th birthday Kezia!
With all of my love,
Me
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Snowbursts
Just before the holidays, and the cold snap that came along at the same time, my daughter and I played in the snow the day after a blizzard had blown through.
Kezia was brushing branches to watch the snow fall. She called them snowbursts and with the bright sunshine lighting them, it felt like a bit of magic.
We had a lot of fun playing and taking pictures, as you can probably tell. And so did our hound Lacey who chased snowballs and dove her head into the snow constantly!
We had been snow-free up to that point in December (the 20th) so the excitement to be returned to a proper winter wonderland was palpable. I love hanging out with this sweet girl and this was a great day doing just that.
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Tobogganing in Kananaskis Country
My children, one of their good friends and I went to a hill along Highway 66 west of Bragg Creek in Kananaskis last week. It was at the front end of the latest warm spell in southern Alberta so it was great to be outside and there was still a lot of snow. In between runs we all made together, the kids made a few runs where I photographed them flying down, catching air and spraying snow with little regard for its well-being. A fantastic afternoon with my two very favorite people in the world.
Kian went full punk off of one jump. Later Kezia plowed through it!
Christopher Martin Photography 