It was a nice evening to take images, there wasn’t a breath of wind, a warm temperature and a beautiful sunset. In the first image I like how the boardwalk slowly curves to the right and visually draws you in, leading your eye to the gate and the stop sign. In the second photo the sun was low on the horizon and as it shone through the lantern it created an interesting green shadow on the wall behind it.
Summer will soon be here and I look forward to exploring western Canada and taking some images with my camera. The beautiful turquoise blue colour of this glacial lake in the Canadian Rockies is caused by the refraction of light off the rock flour which is deposited on a continual basis. I was fortunate to be there very early in the morning last summer.
As a photographer I’m visually drawn to silhouettes. This is an object or scene that is backlit, and appears dark against a lighter background. This time of year many of the trees don’t have leaves on them yet and I find beauty in the way the branches are reaching out towards the sun. In the second image, if you look closely, the tree branches appear to be reaching for the planet Jupiter which is visible in the western sky right after sunset.
It’s nearly April and we’re heading towards longer days and warmer temperatures. We were fortunate to have some wonderful weather during the Good Friday and Easter Monday long weekend. Everywhere you looked there were people walking their dogs, riding their bikes, eating ice cream or enjoying the sunshine on restaurant patios.
Some photographers recommend leaving your images for a few weeks before editing them. If you look at your images to soon after taking them you may not be seeing them with the right amount of objectivity. Recently, I was looking at a portfolio of images that I took last summer in the Canadian Rockies and I came across this photo of some waterfalls next to a hanging glacier. I found it much more appealing now then when I edited my images right after my trip.
This week I was able to go snowshoeing on a weekday. There wasn’t the crowd of people you experience on a weekend, I was able to find a parking spot relatively close to the trailhead and there were fewer hikers on the trail. It was cold, windy and my hands froze operating my camera. On the way down in the dark walking along through the trees, the trail illuminated a few feet in front of me by my Petzl headlamp and the sound of my snowshoes crunching on the snow, I realized how spending time in the wilderness balances and enriches my life. What a great day.
Each year in February there is the Chinese New Year Parade and it’s often raining, but this year it was just cloudy. The colours, costumes, firecrackers and lion dances make it a wonderful event for photographers. It is the year of the snake which could mean a year of changes. Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Snowshoeing on a sunny winter day. I usually don’t take images at midday because the light is so harsh. However, this snowdrift allowed me to play with its shadow and the blue sky in the background.
We experienced a unique weather phenomenon on the weekend called an inversion layer. At sea level it was foggy and cold, but as you increased your elevation the sky cleared and the temperature was warmer. Being up in the mountains and gazing down on the city and ocean it appeared like they were covered by a carpet of clouds. It also created a sunset with vibrant colours.
I just returned from a week in Death Valley National Park, which is a wonderful place for photography. In the month of July the temperature can get as high as 50 degrees Celsius and the world record highest air temperature was recorded in 1913 at Furnace Creek at 57 degrees Celsius. In the month of December the temperature is a more comfortable 18 degrees Celsius.
Despite being the hottest, lowest and driest place in North America, life finds a way in Death Valley. There is an amazing diversity of plants, amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and insects. You can also find colourful badlands, snow-covered peaks, beautiful sand dunes and rugged canyons.
