Oct 012015
 

Today is Thursday October 1st.  We fly home tomorrow…..(insert sad face emoji).  Slept in a bit.   My persistence paid off this morning.  I have begged My Bride to go to the Ammonite/Ammolite factory.  The Ammonite fossils (some 70 million years old) are found world wide.  The incredibly stunning Ammolite is only found in this part of Canada.  Considered one of the rarest gems, the opportunity to see how they are mined and finished was important to me.   The visit exceeded my expectations.

This past week was very stress relieving.   To be in the wilderness and carrying my camera is always top of my fun list.   To be with Karen the whole time made it supreme!

 

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For you photographers this next shot was taken at ground level.  I actually sat my D800 with a 16-38mm lens on the moss.  Laying on my belly it was extremely difficult to focus.    The lens was about 13″ from the mushrooms.   The upright mushroom is about 3″ tall.   Not a particularly great photo.  Just will always remember the location and the actual spot.

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 Posted by at 8:18 PM
Sep 302015
 

Karen suggested we go to the second largest glacier fed lake in the world.  So we did.   35km in the wrong direction.   I am so glad we went.  BEAUTIFUL!   We took a boat cruise two thirds of the way to the opposite end of the lake.   Stopped at a place called spirit island.  Not too many places like this on the earth!   Then we drove 224km back to Canmore.   Water falls, mushrooms, pano lake shots, all kinds of fun.  In fact too much to post tonight….

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This is a close up of the ice fields using a long lens.   The the 50 person buses in the bottom.   Gives size to the ice field.

This is the ice fields with a wider lens.   Really shows the size of the ice fields.  Since 1985 the ice fields has reduced in size by 65%.

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 Posted by at 11:27 PM
Sep 292015
 

Drove about 148 miles from Canmore to Jasper.   Wow! Wow! Wow!   Took us all day.   Next time I’ll walk.  Stopped at almost every curve in the road.  The only issue today was the hotel took me for $250.00!!!!  Small price to pay for the day with my bride and the remarkable views.

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This next shot is a lake next to our hotel we are staying in in Jasper AB.  It’s not saturated.  The sky is reflecting into the water as Blue.   Where the pine trees it looks like a crazy saturated green.  That is the actual color of the lake.  The greenest lake I have ever seen.

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 Posted by at 8:05 PM
Sep 282015
 

This morning we were on the road 1 hour pre-sunrise.  Heading to Lac Moraine (french for Moraine Lake).  Upon arriving the sun was just kissing the peaks of the “Valley of Ten Peaks”.   It was difficult to get all my gear together as it was -1 degree (centigrade).  Hey I’m in Canada.  Just doing and saying as a Canadian.   To get to the perfect spot I needed to cross the outlet river of Lac Moraine.  Easy.  A bunch of huge dead trees piled across the river.  Just traverse the logs.   Easy.  Until I fell in the river!  Yep up to my knees in glacier water….freezing cold!  The task was at hand.  Crossed the river, then climbed the rock pile to the perfect spot.  Shaking and numb to my knees I waited for the shot.   The peaks with that perfect morning glow.

A fun day.

 Posted by at 9:06 PM
Sep 272015
 

A ton of windshield time today.  Wow!  It’s beautiful here.  Around every bend is a new incredible scene.  It seems this week I will be photographing a ton of the rockies!  It’s late.  Karen and I are getting up before sunrise to see sunrise at a famous lake.  The following are quick grabs from about 26GB of photo’s I took today…

Grabbed the shots right out of camera, added logo and on a couple clicked grayscale.  Ok…..the last one I played a bit.   And of course I always have to put the Artsy Fartsy ones in……

 

 Posted by at 9:30 PM
Sep 262015
 

We flew into Calgary this afternoon.  Heading for Canmore, Banff and Jasper.   A dream come true.  One of my bucket list items!   And to make it the very best trip my bride is with me.

Driving out of Calgary was normal?   A lot of agriculture.   Slight rolling hills.   Then at about 50km’s …..Yikes!   My endorphins were on fire.  I pulled over on the freeway to take this shot.   Believe me.  This is NOTHING!   We are in Canmore now.   Holy cow, it’s gorgeous!  Could wear out my cameras this week…

Black and White or Color?   Actually this particular shot right out of the camera at road side I like the B&W.

I like this one!

 Posted by at 7:45 PM
Sep 092015
 

Between Phoenix and Pinetop Arizona is a beautiful canyon.  This particular mountain is covered in sequoia cactus.  In all my travels I’ve never seen so many in a area this small…..

 Posted by at 8:34 PM
Apr 272014
 

At a fault, I look for simplicty with all my photography.  It does not matter if it’s scenic, wildlife or people.  Clutter in a photo drives me crazy.  It helps define the subject and directs the viewer to the subject in a hurry.  So when I photographed these falls at the Grotto, it was tough.  Too simple looked weird to me. The photograph ended up with some trees to one side and in the front of the photo.  To me it gives some dimension to the falls and adds contracts to the silky look of the falls.  I’m not sure if it’s my favorite.  It is kinda artsy fartsy….

 Posted by at 4:32 PM
Jan 052014
 

So far it’s been a very, very cold winter.

So much for Gobal Warning.  (My annual political statement)

Because the temps have been so low, all the open water froze very early this year.  And have stayed frozen.  The downside is the very limited Bald Eagle sightings at the refuge.  Ducks, Herons and other shore birds have been missing.  Not a lot to photograph.  On occasion the Harrier Hawks and America Kestrels made an appeareance.

Yesterday I was fascinated by the Ice patterns on the Frozen waters.  For about an hour I walked out on the snow covered ice and photographed hundreds of shapes.

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These shapes went on for as far as I could see.


There was some familiar shapes.  All created by mother nature.

 Posted by at 4:30 PM
Dec 172013
 

The last while it’s been real cold.  This past week we have had our annual fog and “yuk”!  The mornings frost is in the valley.  With my Nikon Df on the passenger seat I’m always ready to pull over and capture some winter Black and White!

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Guess who I found sitting on a two rail fence………….

 Posted by at 9:21 PM
2016