Morning at a bend in the Elbow River
A morning walk brought me to this scene along the Elbow River a little after sunrise. With snow falling outside as I write this, it feels like that may have been one of the last autumn landscape photographs for me for the year.
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Winter in Lake Louise: snow, ice and water
Last weekend I spent the morning looking for wildlife along the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park. I drove along, stopping several times for short hikes to get a view over the river valley or along a creek into the forest. None of the animals graced me with their presence but the land made it a good morning nonetheless. In Banff, the lakes are frozen but there was very little snow on the ground. Halfway towards Lake Louise, the snow was more prevalent and when I got to the lake, the trees were heavy with snow, the ground was well-covered and winter was firmly set. It has been a couple of years since I wandered along the lake shore in winter with camera in hand. I enjoyed the time, working to create some images while listening to the multilingual hum from the other visitors as they came and went. It was a good time to be up there to photograph. The snow was falling gently, the river that drains out of the northeastern end of the lake was yet to freeze over and the clouds were moving fast so the peaks were in and out of view. Lot’s of dynamic elements to weave together into a variety of images. This was my favourite from a relaxed morning doing what I love.
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Mother’s Day Aurora
There was an intense auroral storm that started late on May 7th and rang in Mother’s Day with vibrant ripples and sheets until just before dawn. This session of the Aurora Borealis was the most vibrant I’ve watched over the past five years. For three hours I watched the sky being canvassed with impossibly bright streams of spray paint. I enjoyed watching them on the northern edge of my community along the banks of the Elbow River. I thought it was a great start to Mother’s Day and certainly worth losing most of a good night’s sleep to watch the sky.
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A storm over Upper Kananaskis Lake
Back in October, before the snow had decided to stick around, I spent a stormy morning along the shoreline of the Upper Kananaskis Lake. The valley couldn’t decide if it was fall and should therefore rain or winter with its snow. The compromise was a heavy sleet that came across the lake in sheets. Above, the clouds stretched apart and welded back together as the wind dictated.
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An autumn morning reflected in Upper Kananaskis Lake
I started a great day in Kananaskis earlier this weekend walking along the shoreline of the Upper Kananaskis Lake in the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. At sunrise I was photographing a pair of moose, a mother and her calf, in a meadow and I ended up spending most of the morning at the Sarrail Falls. However, when I parked near the boat launch at the lake, the soft light, subtle autumn accents, calm water and brilliant reflection of the mountains in the water mesmerized me for several minutes. I had the lake to myself for a little while and enjoyed the beauty immensely.
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A Red Rock Canyon Abstract
The Red Rock Canyon is one of Waterton’s popular sites to visit. My son had a great time parkouring along the slick rock, jumping across the shallow stream that the creek becomes in the middle of summer. I photographed him mostly but the water, its ripples and the lines in this slab of rock, drew my attention for a minute.
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A different tree of life
I found this abstract tree form in the exposed bed of Medicine Lake east of Jasper. I liked how water was running down the branches that led into the dry ground.
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Dawn at Elbow Falls
The early light worked well with a few interesting clouds hanging above Elbow Falls on the day I was up there this weekend. The soft pink ahead of sunrise shared the sky with the waning full moon early. As the clouds turned to a deep peach color I moved just above the waterfall. From there the reflections of colour on the excited water were beautiful and I watched the morning open up.
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Water skimming Tree Swallow
Canon 5DIII and 500mm lens + 1.4X extender: 1/2000 second at f/6.3 on ISO 1600
I was on the edge of the lake at Wild Rose a week ago watching the three loons who were diving in and swimming on the water. A few different times a small flight of swallows deftly skimmed the water nearby while searching for low flying and water-walking insects to pick off. These Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) are swift, acrobatic fliers so trying to catch a sharp image is a fun challenge. This little one had just hit the water but missed the little creature and was just pulling up when I caught up to him.
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Wild Rose Beaver
Canon 5DIII and 500mm lens + 1.4X extender: 1/160 second at f/8 on ISO 1600
The beavers that live beside the lake at Wild Rose are back to their busy ways now that the water is ice-free. The other night I watched one swimming along the shoreline and around its lodge. It was a beautiful evening with warm sunshine and clear skies.
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Elbow Falls Dipper
Canon 5DIII + 500mm lens: 1/640 of a second at f/4 on ISO 1600
I went up to Elbow Falls last weekend for the sunrise but I stayed for the American Dippers (Cinclus mexicanus).
Canon 5DII + 70-200mm lens: 1/1000 of a second at f/8 on ISO 1000
I love watching these aquatically adept birds stalking, diving and swimming in the middle of the rapids. On the last visit to the waterfall, there were three Dippers flitting about moving between the bottom of the waterfall and the rocks at the top.
Canon 5DIII + 500mm lens: 1/640 of a second at f/4 on ISO 4000
Canon 5DIII + 500mm lens: 1/1000 of a second at f/4 on ISO 1600
Canon 5DIII + 500mm lens: 1/1250 of a second at f/4 on ISO 2500
They chased each other down river a couple of times but spent most of their time fishing alone. On a quiet morning in Kananaskis, it was nice to spend my time watching them.
Canon 5DIII + 500mm lens: 1/640 of a second at f/4 on ISO 1600
Canon 5DIII + 500mm lens: 1/640 of a second at f/4 on ISO 1600
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Great Blue Heron Reflected
I went to the small lake in Wild Rose on the weekend to see whether the cooler weather of the past week had scared off the pair of Great Blue Herons who summer there. The shoreline was empty and I thought the lake had been left by these large birds until next year. I turned my attention to the small island in the middle of the lake. Under a stand of mixed trees at the far end one heron was standing a few metres back from the water’s edge.
It stared my way for a few minutes and then resumed its previous activity – perched on one leg, standing motionless except for the occasional pull at a stray feather or similar grooming habit. When a noise drew its attention it would stare for a bit and then continue. I loved the colours in the bushes along the shoreline and their soft reflections. I hoped to see the heron fly low against this backdrop so I waited. And waited.
Somewhere close to an hour later it finally stretched out its wings, stepped close to the water and took to the air. It was worth the wait. Flying low, the feet dragged in the water a couple of times as it crossed the lake. I love watching Great Blue Herons fly, their wings are so large that it seems like they are barely putting in any effort when they fly yet they move at a good pace.
The heron checked its flight as it arrived on the other side and started walking along the shallows. I watched it stalk fish for a while and then I headed home to warm up. I think it will be heading south soon.
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