 Mountain Ash berries on bright morning A good friend of mine recently asked if I had a photo of a mountain ash tree, and this one sprang to mine. I took this photo in January 2004, having just traded in my film camera for my first digital SLR camera. I still remember the walk—it was a classic sparkly, crisp, bright Edmonton winter morning. This is one of my best-selling christmas card images, so I thought I’d share it, and wish you all the best for the holidays and in the new year.
 Frost on eight dried grass leaves After a heavy frost, even the most simple details can take on an extraordinary appearance. I made this photograph with a wide open aperture, and as close as possible to give a really narrow depth of field. This removes/blurs most of the finest details of the frost and dried grass blades, and concentrates the focus (no pun intended) of the image on the form, the sweep, of the grass. But, to me, the little bit of frost detail visible just along the narrow plane of focus, gives that extra little “spark” to the image.
 Ice fog frozen on alder saplings Here’s another photo that I took last saturday during our cold snap. On really cold days I like to go make photographs at the Strathcona Science Provincial Park just east of Edmonton. Their is a warm water outflow a little upstream from the park which keeps the river partially open. The mist coming from the river coats the banks, and if the sun is out, the effect can be fantastic—and very chilly looking.
 Frozen birch leaf That’s “cold” with a capital “C”. An arctic air front descended on the prairies, sending the temperature to extreme lows and sending all reasonable people safely indoors—the landscape photographers however, grab their cameras and head out. I find that when it gets below -30° C you can actually see how cold it is. The light is exceptionally clear, the frost on the grasses and shrubs accumulates and holds on tight, and the air seems to literally freeze—there is often an ice fog lying low to the ground, providing photographers a pale frosty blue/white background. If you’re well dressed, careful, and have a spare battery for your camera in your warm pocket (for when the first one freezes), it’s a beautiful time to be out capturing the landscape in a state that not many people get to experience.
 Altocumulus sunrise and willow Here’s another photo that I’ve prepared for the Goldbar craft sale (see previous post for details). I made this exposure in the summer of 2008 while working banding birds at the Beaverhill Bird Observatory near Tofield, AB. I saw many beautiful sunrises that summer, although I didn’t always get the chance to capture them in a photograph.
 Light frost on aspen sapling Here’s another photo from my recent early morning walk at Whitemud Ravine. This photo is much more monochromatic than the one I posted yesterday, and perhaps captures the cold, frosty feel of the morning better. I made this photograph perhaps twenty minutes after the last photo, but this sapling was shaded in behind some large white spruce trees which are visible in the background. What do you think? Do you prefer this one or the previous, more colourful photo? I always appreciate the feedback, you can just click the “Leave a comment” link below–Thanks!
This morning I went out early to Whitemud ravine. It has been a long time since I’ve been there for sunrise, and I’d forgotten how long it takes after the “official” sunrise for the light to reach the bottom of the ravine. In the meantime, I enjoyed the chilly late-autumn air and the little bit of frost on the bare willows and aspen saplings (and I froze my fingertips for the first time of the season). After walking most of the morning without finding much to photograph, I found the sun finally reaching down onto this frost-covered willow and alder thicket. I had to balance on a fallen stem to get the right perspective for this shot (shooting downwards, so the bright sky wouldn’t blow out the top of the photo).
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(Click photos to enlarge)
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