Communing with Nature

Communing with Nature

Winter is long here on the prairies. Being stuck at home is always hard for me, so whenever we have a chance I drag Mac with me for an outing or two. Since Elk Island National Park is so close to us we, quite often, end up visiting there. A little bit of fresh air, a pretty peaceful view or two, an encounter with wildlife, if we are lucky and, what’s even more important, a passion shared with a loved one – these are just a few of the benefits of those outings. And, if we come back witha pretty picture or two as a result, that’s just a bonus ;D.  This set of pictures were taken over a few visits beginning early spring, before the snow melted, ending when we’ve finally gotten rid of all the white stuff. Enjoy!

Kasia

Longing for color – Alberta Landscape Photography

Longing for color – Alberta Landscape Photography

Some say that Elk Island National Park is one of the most boring parks in Canada and, to some extend, they have a point. We don’t have dramatic mountains or oceans, we don’t have desert, cool rock formations, hot springs or geysers. What we do have, however, is peace, quiet beauty, a bit of wildlife and a lake that can reflect sunset colors and often does an awesome job of it. One might argue, that, from photographic point of view, such “boring” place would not be a good place to visit. I, on the other hand, disagree.  It is simply a challenge. It is easy to take a good photo of a dramatic landscape. With lots of points of interest it is easy to find a good composition and take 20 shots that will be eye catching. Here, you have to work for it. Make sure you have a good light, interesting sky and appreciation for the subject. When you are lucky, you will be treated to a gorgeous sunset and if you are smart, you will take advantage of it, which, I often do ;DAnd, since it is March and it doesn’t look like we are going to get any color around for another several weeks, I am extremely happy to have pictures that have plenty of it and share it with you…

From summer’s past, a little bit of everything from Elk Island. Hope you enjoy!

Kasia

Abraham Lake with Fuji and Film

Abraham Lake with Fuji and Film

After a few times of waking up at 3 am, to be able to arrive at the famous Abraham Lake for sunrise, we got smart.  We decided to find a hotel as close to the lake as possible and stay overnight.  That’s what we did.  The plus of this was that we were able to go to Abraham lake at night.  Now that was an experience of it’s own.  The sky was clear, no moon at all, and the amount of stars visible, was just staggering.  Time for tripods, wide angle lenses and flash lights… oh right we forgot those.  I have never been in a situation where the darkness was so complete.  Taking a step or two away from the tripod, created a danger of walking right back into it, and toppling it over.  Adding to the darkness were ominous sounds coming from the lake.  Creaks, groans, gurgles where enough to get the imagination going wild.  We did not stay very long.  Managing 2 – 3 images each.

The next morning we joined the droves of photographers at the lake.  This lake, because of unique methane bubble frozen in ice, is almost a pilgrimage for any landscape photographer.  This is the reason why I wanted a little different look.  Create at least a few photographs that were a little different.  Still you cannot escape the beauty of frozen bubbles in clear ice, and a spectacular sunrise over the mountains.   Choosing the images for this blog wasn’t easy either. They might look similar, but everyone is different.  I know it flies in the face of convention, where seasoned landscape photographer, advice on posting 1 or 2 of the best.  Problem is, both Kasia and me, really love all of them. We both have different way of shooting, and different editing style.  This reflects in the images.

Enjoy!

Winter adventures on film

Winter adventures on film

End of December last year, I had a few days to myself, to think about what I want to do with my photography.  Watching videos of Thomas Heaton and his adventures really inspires me, to focus more and really take care what is in the frame of the camera.  To look at the world in a different way, and find the beauty everywhere, even in simple compositions that don’t involve glorious sunrise or sunset skies.  This is the reason that on this little short sunrise trip I only took a 35mm film camera, and a roll of film.  Kasia is happy with her Fuji digital cameras, and she can always find something interesting.  She has a keen eye to see the big vistas, and the little intimate details. I still struggle with that.  So I forced myself to look around more carefully on this trip, and loaded with 18 (because I already shot a few during Christmas celebrations) frames and armed only with 2 lenses (35 and 50) I began my adventure.  

We have been to this old abandoned house, a few times.  Yet there is always something new to photograph.  With fresh snow, there were a lot of animal tracks all around.  Kasia and me separated, so we’re not in each others way, and end up with very similar images.  Surprisingly I did manage to finish off the roll of film.  I’m actually quite happy with the results, even though the images are very grainy for ASA400 film.  I hope I can translate the experiences of shooting old film camera to the new digital, and take images with more care and purpose.  

Nature Awakening – Spring at Elk Island

Nature Awakening – Spring at Elk Island

I seem to have a huge backlog of pictures from last year as well as more current ones from Elk Island National Park here in Alberta.  And, since I am done with my trip to Europe, I think, it’s time to start sharing ;D. 

From the beginning of calendar spring, when the land is still in deep freeze to the time when beavers are finally awake and cause mischief all over the place, Elk Island is a pleasure to visit.  Here is a collection of shots I took over several months, last year. As they say, a little bit of nature is good for the soul… Enjoy!

Kasia

Day and Night on Long Island

Day and Night on Long Island

After a tiring yet wonderful walk around Manhattan and Central Park, and a beautiful sunrise on the beach, our host, Dominick Chiuchiolo, took us for a little drive on Long Island.  It’s a beautiful place, full of history, and charm.  Colors of autumn did not disappear yet, even though it was already November.  It was a stark contrast to Edmonton, when autumn ends practically in the middle of October, with Halloween seeing snow more often then not.  The weather was pleasant, warm and having beautiful big trees around was a reminder to the days of childhood.  We simply loved it. 

Our goal for the day was a sunset at Montauk Point.  There a beautiful light house there.  Kasia and me were finally able to capture what we always wanted.  A long exposure landscape scene with ocean waves appearing as smoke on the rocky shore.  Even though the skies did not offer anything more interesting than just blue, we both were successful in capturing those images. 

It really is not difficult to do.  All you need is an ocean with some waves, a tripod and a very dark filter (if the images are to be done during day time).  The filters we used were neutral density 10.  Some call them the Big Stopper.  Adding a small aperture of f16 gives perfect time to blur the waves and create that effect.  The images took close to 2 min of exposure. 

Since the skies were clear, we finished the day with a little of star shooting.  Not a lot of light pollution, allowed for Milky Way to be visible in the sky.

It was a perfect day, spent in great company.  Thank you Dominick!

Remember to click on the images to see them full size 🙂