13 for 2013

As 2013 comes to a close I went back and looked through all my images for the year, there weren’t as many as I thought but never the less, it was a great year of photography for me. I spent most of the year not worrying about posting or blogging but just focused more on things I wanted to see and do. I can honestly say I really enjoyed 2013. I decided I would pick 13 of my favourite images and do a post with those images. The images would need to span the entire year and they would need to show different subject matter not just landscapes (although most of them will be).  It was actually much easier then I expected it to be and in a few hours I was down to around 25 images or so. I continued to reduce the number down, 19, 17, 15 and finally the 13 images shown below. Remembering taking each image was as rewarding as seeing my final choices. Again it was a great year. Out of the thousands of images I had taken in 2013 here are the ones I decided I enjoyed most (in no particular order). I hope you enjoy them as well. Thanks for following along this past year and stay tuned for images from 2014. As always Happy Shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Resolution, what I saw.

During the workshop in Fort Resolution I didn’t actually take many photos. I captured a few while the class was on but nothing of my usual fair. The Remembrance Day holiday was the day I had chosen to travel between Fort Resolution and Fort Smith (I actually did another workshop at PWK High School in Fort Smith on the Tuesday and Wednesday and headed back to Yellowknife early thursday morning). For now, back to November 11, knowing I had lots of time to make it to Fort Smith, I wasn’t concerned about getting out of Fort Resolution to early and I wasn’t concerned about the number of stops I would make. I should have a good day to capture a few images. I was up pretty early and decided to drive around Fort Resolution and scout out some photo locations. Once I saw some interesting things I waited for the sun to rise and once it was up I started to capture a few images. After a couple of hours I hit the road to Fort Smith. I saw no big wildlife during the drive, no Bison, no Wolves, nothing. I only saw a few Spruce Grouse along the way. I did stop to photography some of those but, continued on at a good pace to Fort Smith. It was a great day and I really enjoyed my time in Fort Resolution. In the few days that followed I had another great time with the students in Fort Smith. It was a great week to be me. Here is a sample of what I saw. Enjoy, thanks for stopping and as always Happy Shooting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I captured a few image of the beach in Fort Resolution and had some trouble deciding which one I liked best. I have narrowed it down to my final two. Let me know which one you prefer.

 

Beach Image 1 – my current favourite

 

Beach Image 2

 

Sunday Morning Shooting

This morning, a few of us Photographers from here in Yellowknife, met at Tim Horton’s for coffee and then went out for a photo shoot. Only three of us actually got up before sunrise and made it out for coffee. From Tim’s we headed out to the cliffs near the Dettah Road to create some images. The position of the rising sun was different from where I expected at that location but, that was fine, I would shoot anyway. Including coffee time I was out for about three hours. It was a fun, short shoot. Funny, I actually felt a little chilly and it was only minus eleven degrees. Wait until the minus forty weather arrives. It is always nice to have some company when shooting. I kept a few images from this morning and below are four samples of what we saw. Look for Trudy and Sherry in the last image, they really add some scale to the photo. So here are the images, enjoy, thanks for stopping by and as always Happy Shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellowknife River Morning.

I will start by saying that if Adam Hill ever moves from Hay River to Yellowknife I will get some much more shooting time in. Having Adam visit gets me very motivated to go out and photograph, like yesterday. Adam and I were out shooting together again this morning. I had to get Megan to the Orthodontist at 8:00 am and when leaving the Dental Clinic I sent Adam a text so Megan and I could pick him up. The plan was to head to the Yellowknife River and shoot sunrise. Yesterday, when we drove by the river we noticed the mist from the open water and we wanted to try to shoot the rising sun through the mist (it was really Adam’s idea). We headed out and arrived at the time the sun was scheduled to break the horizon. There were two minor issues; The first was that today it was five degrees warmer than yesterday so, the mist wasn’t as noticeable. The second was that there was some cloud cover on the horizon where the sun would come up. We decided to shoot regardless of the conditions being exactly what we wanted. Adam has some kind of sixth sense about this stuff. Before we left I was thinking of shooting film. If I was going to, I would need to grab some batteries for my Minolta Maxxum 7. Adam said that he didn’t think it would be a spectacular sunrise and if I was going to shoot film it should be spectacular (I think he just didn’t want to take the time to stop for batteries, lol). He was right once again, no spectacular sunrise (I did get batteries later in the day however). When we arrived at the Yellowknife River, we parked where the snowmobiles cross the highway and walked to where the open water was. I will say I was a little more cautious than Adam to start and at one point Adam called out and asked about my swimming skills (if something happened he was screwed if I had to swim to get him). Yesterday, at the Cameron River he requested that if he fell in I should save his camera gear (but it is Canon gear so again, screwed, lol). We were at the river for about an hour and from there headed out on the Ingraham Trail to Madeline Lake. We turned back there and returned to Yellowknife. I was home by noon. It was a great morning. Adam and I had some more great conversation. We discussed some planning for the NWT Photography Group and started to discuss the Skills Canada NWT work we now share (you’re welcome Adam, lol). There was even some discussion of a couple of workshop/classes that Adam and I could do together (stay tuned for that). Again, if Adam lived in Yellowknife or I guess if I lived in Hay River, we would do an awful lot of photography projects together. For today however, it was just about shooting the Yellowknife River. Here is a sample of what I saw today. Enjoy the images, thanks for reading and as always, Happy Shooting.

This scene reminded me of Dave Brosha’s “The Journey” and I had to capture it.

Adam’s Gitzo 1540 with his Canon 100-400 mounted and his Lowepro 350aw at the River.

Big frozen water drops on a fallen birch.

I really liked this scene as I walked by. I wanted it to appear as if the grass stock was on fire.

The Sun Also Rises!

 

After several evenings of sunset shooting it was time to turn on the clock. I post on Facebook asking if anyone wants to shoot sunrise and maybe do a brisk morning hike. I get a quick response from my friend, Trace. Sunrise was scheduled to happen at 5:52 am according to the world-wide web (or 5:51 am according to Trace’s watch, lol). I sent my alarm for 4:30 am and confirm with Trace that he is in for an early morning shoot. Everything is set. After the alarms sound Trace and I head out to the Yellowknife Golf Club. Holes 11 and 12 are on Long Lake and should be great locations for a sunrise shoot. We park near the golf club entrance and walk behind hole 13 and down the 12th fairway to the tee boxes for hole 12. From there we walk between the green for hole 11 and the tee boxes for 12 and end up on a rock outcrop above Long Lake. The sun should rise almost directly across the lake from us. Over night we had some thunder showers and there is still some cloud cover on the horizon. I am hoping that once the sun rises it will burn off any remaining clouds. If not we may just be in for a much longer shoot with the low cloud provide us with a greater amount of time to capture what we are looking for. The wind is strong and the clouds are moving quickly through the sky. The wind actually allows for us to capture the clouds moving. Using long exposure times (with the help of some solid nd and nd grad filters) we can create great skies with great textures. I try to capture some silhouettes of trees and rocks against the sky and as the sun rises higher I try to get some nice reflections on the water. As the morning hits I notice the trees just behind us (and just to the side) are being beautifully lit and I grab some images of the bright colours under the morning sky. I turn back only to see Trace standing directly in front of the rising sun. I quickly set up and ask Trace not to move. The bright sun is just above his head and to try to block it out just a little. I ask Trace to lift his ball cap just over his head. That gets me the shot I want. A silhouette surrounded by nice golden light. After about an hour and a half we decide to go grab a coffee and breakfast. We continue to consider the weather and decide that, between the wind and the wet slippery rock, the five or six kilometre hike to Fox Lake may be better left for another. It was a great morning. Here is a sample of what I saw. Thanks for following and as always, Happy Shooting.

The Emergency Road Trip!

On Tuesday morning I made an emergency trip to Valleyview, Alberta. Some friends of mine were in a motor vehicle accident, they had a run in with a deer. A four point buck to be exact. The SUV was totaled and we learned that the rental car companies have no drop off policy for vehicles leaving Alberta and being dropped off in Yellowknife, NT. So, although insurance will cover some car rental fees the rental companies wouldn’t allow for the vehicles to be return to a rental depot in Yellowknife. Even it they did the cost would be huge! Someone had rented a car from National Car Rental in Valleyview and were going to take it to Vancouver. In addition to the car rental fee, the fee to drop off in Van City was an additional $1,200.00 plus GST. The insurance wasn’t going to cover that cost and with no drop off policy it didn’t matter because we would have had  to return the car to the Valleyview rental office. To make matters worse, there doesn’t appear to be an adjuster in Valleyview. So, even waiting to meet with the insurance people face to face would take a few days and with only one room available at any of the local hotels (at a cost of $ 317 a night because it was a theme room!!) staying to get everything sorted out was not economical. Both of my friends were due to return to work on thursday. The accident happened about 6:30 pm and we learned of the rental problem at around 11:00 pm. It was decided that I would leave early in the morning to drive down. It is about 11 hours to get to Valleyview and the plan was to do a quick turn around and drive back with a stop. We would share driving duties on the return trip. I was surprised that no one seemed to be injured in the crash but, I found out the next morning that there were some minor bruising and stiffness for the airbags being deployed and just the abrupt stop. Still, everyone was ok. I packed some emergency stuff in the event that I had a mishaps during my drive and I did bring my camera gear. I wasn’t going to take any time for photography but, if I happened to see any wildlife, I would try to get a few snaps. For the first three hours of my drive, it was dark and I knew no images would be made, but when I got to the Ice bridge across the Mackenzie River, the sun was beginning to rise. I knew that with my cameras sitting next to me on the seat I could grab a couple of quick shots. Being ready for wildlife meant I had two lenses mounted, my 120 – 400mm and my 70 – 200mm. Not exactly landscape lenses. I wanted to capture the sunrise from the ice so, I grabbed my camera with the 70 – 200mm and fired away. I don’t think I spent more than five minutes capturing the early morning scene. Once I was across the river, it was clear roads and a beautiful sunny morning, just great for driving. I spent the next seven hours and forty-five minutes driving, only stopping for fuel, food or bathroom breaks. About five minutes from Valleyview I spot a coyote on the side of the highway. I stop quickly and slowly try to back up to a spot near where the coyote was. He or she had a completely different idea, just as I got close enough for some photos the coyote bolted through the brush. My photo-op was gone. I continued to the hotel in Valleyview, picked up my friends, loaded the truck, grabbed some coffee and was ready to start the return leg. Before we left Valleyview, we took a quick trip to the yard where the SUV was being kept. I took some photos of the damage in case they would be needed later (no one will be around when the adjuster arrives) and then it was back on the highway. By now is has been twelve hours since I left Yellowknife and thirteen hours since I got up. Knowing that my friends would be a little sore, I would continue driving until I got too tired. They had been sitting around the hotel waiting for me to arrive and make calls to the insurance and family, so I thought that might just add to the stiffness they were already feeling. The return trip was like the trip down, the only stops were for fuel, food and bathroom breaks, except for one stop in Peace River (were my Sister lives). The trip from Valleyview to High Level took about five hours (including the stop) and it was now about 10:30 pm. We still had around seven hours of driving (arriving home at an estimated 5:30 am) I thought it might be best just to stop for the night. Sure my friends could now share driving duties but, it was dark and we certainly would be at work the next morning. It was better to get some rest and continue in the morning. This morning we were up rested and ready to continue. We had the entire day to cover the last seven hours, we still made short stops as before, we just didn’t have to watch the time as closely. About two hours into the drive I stopped to get a couple of pictures of a train trestle that I noticed on the way down. The cloud cover was beautiful and the trestle appeared to be holding up the trees in the background. From there, we finished our journey without any more incidents. We did spot a lynx about one and a half hours from home but, there was no chance of getting an image, so we just slowed a little and continued on our way. Around 5:00 pm I arrived home tired from the drive but happy to be back and happy my friends were home safe as well. It was an adventure, here is a sample of the few photographs that I did capture. Thanks for reading and as always, Happy Shooting.

The future bridge across the Mackenzie River at sunrise.

Sunrise from the north side of the Mackenzie River.

Sunrise from the Mackenzie Ice Bridge.

Train Trestle near Indian Cabins - version 1

Train Trestle near Indian Cabins - version 2

The Rise and Fall of Our Closest Star!

On February 3, 2012 I was carrying two cameras with me. I started out at 8:10 am, getting the girls to school and then going to the office. Kyla is usually last to get dropped off. Her school day starts later than Megan and Jenna’s and her school is close to my office. After dropping Kyla, I took five minutes to drive down to the Dettah Ice Road. I was going there to capture the sunrise. It wasn’t as great as the day before (when I wasn’t carrying my cameras) but, it was still a beautiful morning. I took a few pics with no filters or tripod, just hand holding my camera. When I arrived at the office, I put my cameras on top of one of my filing cabinets. I didn’t move them the rest of the day (my work days are pretty busy right now). I had some errands to run and some phone calls to make late in my work day and when I was leaving for those I grabbed my cameras and off I went. I made my calls and ran my errands and my work day was finally done. Before heading home I decided to make a quick stop at a local video store. Friday is normally family movie night and I thought I would stop and pick up a couple of flicks to watch. On the way to the house, I noticed the sunset. The low-lying clouds were glowing a bright magenta colour. I drove past the house and turned onto the ball park just four doors away. I grabbed my cameras, which were still sitting on the passenger’s seat, and captured a couple of images of the early evening show. Once I was happy that I got what I wanted, I headed to the house. It was still only around 6:15 pm and we didn’t start the first movie until 9:00 pm. The family movie I rent was called “The Big Year”, it starred Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black. With those three I was sure it would be a funny show, it wasn’t as funny as I was expecting but, it was not a bad movie. Considering what I photographed on saturday (see Going Grey is not that bad) “The Big Year” now seemed more appropriate than I had first thought. If you’re into avian photography or are a bird watcher it might be a must see movie. It was another good day in my world. Here is the rise and fall of the closest star to earth. Thanks for stopping by and as always, Happy Shooting.

Five minutes to shoot, 5 minutes of post!

Yesterday, between some lunch time errands, I made a quick detour onto the Dettah Ice Road . It was first venture onto the ice this year. I didn’t go that far as I still had to get back to the office and do some client work. I made a quick stop and got out of the truck. I looked around and as I always do, I looked back at Yellowknife’s old town and the house boat community. I love the view of the house boats in Yellowknife bay, winter or summer it doesn’t matter. I captured a few images and jumped back in the truck to complete my next errand. Five minutes, the entire detour got me only five minutes of time and I didn’t use my camera the rest of the day. Early this morning I loaded the images on my computer and spent no more than five minutes in post for all images combined.

I should note that each time I photograph the house boats, there is usually one that stands out to me. This time was no different. There was a house boat with some bright yellow metal siding. I really like how the yellow went with the cool winter scene. Another thing to note is that I am not a fan of a big clear blue sky. To me it just big and blue, nothing really interesting. Add some interesting cloud cover and I am a happy photographer so, yesterday morning was a good morning for capturing a big sky. I love how low the sun is on the horizon up here in the north. It is like we get sunrise for the whole day. Anyway enough of my chatter, here is a sample of my five minutes of camera holding time. Enjoy, thanks for checking in and as always Happy Shooting.

The sun is rising so I must be still above ground!

Lately I have been carrying my camera to and from the office. Not just to work in the morning and home in the evening (that would be bad because it is still dark at both those time here in Yellowknife) but, everywhere. Meetings, to the bank, company errands, and wherever I go. The plan is to try to get any amount of photography time in that I can. This time of year my office gets busier and busier so anytime time for creating images is a bonus. Yesterday started out as one of those days where you just don’t feel like doing anything. I dropped Jenna and Megan at school, picked up one of Kyla’s classmates and start off to their school. On the drive, I noticed the beautiful sunrise. I pulled up to the school and let the girls out. Then I decided to take a different route to the office. On the way I pulled over and grabbed my camera. I quickly snapped a few images. The first thing I noticed was I usually have my tripod and filters for these types of shots but, not today. Just a camera and one lens. It was still relatively dark and shooting at f11 required me to bump my ISO to 3200. Not the ideal ISO for my landscape work but, without 3200 I would never be able to handhold a sunrise shot. Anyway, if I wanted the shot I had to do whatever it took. Quite often when asked how I am doing I answer with “Well this is one more day above ground” I am joking of course but the sunrise and the fact I could capture it with my camera made me think that not all is lost and that there are surely great days ahead. Imagine, just being able to see and capture a nature show can make me feel just a little better, this photography things has its benefits. Once home I loaded the images on my computer and did some work with Aperture 3 and Neat Image and the result of that work is below. Hopefully, I get a few seconds to shoot again today. Watch tomorrow to see what happens. Remember, there is always something to capture no matter how much gear or how little gear you’re carrying. Stay tuned, thanks for following and as always, Happy Shooting.

Reliable Places

Anyone who has spent any time shooting with me would know that there is one place I go religiously. That place is the Cameron River. Understand it is not Cameron Falls but, the actual Cameron River. You would drive out on the Ingraham Trail to Cameron River Park and just across the bridge you stop. You should hear the rushing water as it goes over the ramparts. Yesterday, Dale, Megan, Jenna and I went out for the 45 minute drive to see how much of the Cameron had already thawed and how open were the ramparts. It was a great drive. Once we arrived, we unloaded my camera gear and along with Bella the Dog. We played around in the knee-deep snow for about an hour and a half. There were lots of tracks around (what looked like rabbit and fox tracks) and we seemed to interest a few Whiskey Jacks. The birds flew around us for quite a while and we snapped away at them. It was a nice visit. On our way back home we drove into Prelude East, Prelude West, Prelude Park, and Pontoon Lake Park. It took us almost two hours to get home but, it was nice to get out and it was a beautiful afternoon.

Last weekend, Jenna, Megan and I got up at 6:30 am to go capture sunrise. We went out on the Dettah Ice Road, only the find a cloud filled and overcast sky. There wouldn’t be much of a sunrise. Megan really liked the way the sun coming through the clouds looked and we were out already so, we decide that we take some photos (remember there is always something to shoot). We did drive out the Ingraham Trail to Vee lake and Jenna spotted a fox but, that fox didn’t cooperate with us so, we have no photos of it. We weren’t disappointed with our morning, we just had to change what we hoped to capture. The girls were happy with the McDonald’s breakfast so, all wasn’t lost, lol.

Here is some of what we saw on both trips to some reliable places. Thanks for reading, enjoy the photos and as always Happy Shooting.