After the rain…
The water drops following an afternoon downpour intensified the colors in this intimate scene.
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La Grande roue de Montréal
I had an extended layover in Montréal a couple of weeks ago and spent the night photographing in the old port area. The ferris wheel on the harbour front opened last year and is eye-catching addition to the city’s skyline. I wandered down to the waterfront close to 11 with a warm rain starting to fall which found me thinking about puddles and reflections.
The wheel closed at 11 so I was lucky to arrive in time to watch a couple of the different colors they project onto it while it is open. Afterwards it is lit in simple white but I liked photographing that too. I will share some photos from around the old part of the harbour but for this one, it’s all about La Grande roue de Montréal. There may have been controversy behind this installation and I am a sucker for Ferris wheels but I think it works as part of the waterfront.
This last one was taken quite a bit later in the night. I went into the frame to fill the narrow slot with my silhouette. I didn’t intend for that to add a slightly foreboding tone to the image.
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Spring with Robins in Fernie
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Although Fernie is in the heart of the Rockies, it is deeper into spring than Calgary so the visit there over the Easter weekend was great. Robins have always been a sure sign of spring for me and I found a few hunting in a field during the rain. This one was particularly beautiful as it chirped away from its perch in a tree by the Elk River.
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Under heavy rain with a Grizzly
I am traveling back from Prince Rupert right now after my trip into the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary. We were in there for four nights and had an amazing time. My high hopes were exceeded in every respect and I will have a lot more to share once I’m back home and can work through the images. This beautiful bear is called Blondie due to her colouring as a cub and the stray tufts that remain behind her ears now that she’s an adult. She mated for this first time this year so cubs are expected next year. We were able to watch her on a few separate occasions and she was a favourite amongst us. She’s a bit of a wild one but on this day she was cowed by the weather, as were we. The rain fell hard early, kept going strong all day and stayed late. We spied her walking along the exposed rock during low tide. She headed towards the estuary and our guide, Dan, who has been taking people into the Khutzeymateen for the last 35 years, got us into the zodiac boat and we paralleled her travels for over a mile. This was one of two times where she elected to swim past a steep section of rock. With the raindrops bouncing off the water, the image gives a feeling of the inlet on that wet day.
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Prairie Storm: Dark Clouds, Heavy Rain and a Lightning Strike
This location, just west of Calgary, is one of my favourite places to photograph during the winter months when the sun sets behind the southern edge of the Canadian Rockies. Last night, a massive storm broke free of the mountains and stretched across the prairie. There were some great holes in the clouds that allowed sunlight to streak through here and there. A very dramatic scene to work with and create images of.
Behind the ominous forerunning clouds came the heavy rain. Here the rain is hammering Bragg Creek and moving quickly onto the fields.
As the storm’s intensity built, lightning seemed inevitable and I was lucky to catch this strike hitting along the Elbow River behind a hill in Redwood Meadows.
When the rain did arrive where I was photographing, cover in the car was the prudent option. It was no exaggeration to say this was a torrential downpour.
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A July of Storms, So Far…
Storm over Springbank as it heads to Calgary
When the Prairies get wet it is usually due to some pretty impressive storms. The first couple of weeks of July have been heavy with rain which seems to be about a month later than the last couple of years. The weather may not lend itself to days on the beach, it makes for some great photographic possibilities. With the wet comes saturated colors and, using a polarizer to cut the glare, you can create images that almost glow. The dark skies reveal the texture within the clouds and make beautiful backgrounds to landscape photographs.
I felt a bit bad watching these cows inside my car as the window and their backs took the brunt of the wind and rain.
So, I ventured out to get a couple of portraits and was rewarded with stern glares from the models and raindrops on the lens.
I liked this fellow’s optimism with the shorts. Prudence must have taken hold as he walked out the door with the toque and the long sleeve shirt.
A view of the Trans-Canada Highway looking westward as it disappears into the storm. Photograph made from the Springbank overpass just outside of Calgary.
Christopher Martin Photography 