Sorry again for the (very) late notice–my internet connection at home has been on the fritz for a couple days, but revived itself just in time.
Just a quick note to let you know that I’ll be taking part in an art and craft sale tomorrow (the 9th of April) at the McQueen Community Hall. A portion of the proceeds from all the vendors will be donated to support relief and development work in Haiti. The event runs from 2pm to 9pm, although I will likely not be set up until a little later in the afternoon. McQueen Hall is located at: 10825 McQueen Rd.
I’ll be selling a selection of photographic prints and cards and am always happy to take custom orders (proceeds from any custom orders placed during the sale will also be donated). I would love to see you all there–it should be a great way to support local artists and crafters, while also benefiting a good cause.
 Bright morning after rain I’m slowly working my way to a major update/revision of my galleries (which, I apologize, have not been updated in a long time), and part of that process is a ruthless editing-down of my collection to best showcase my favourite images. Unfortunately, that sometimes means leaving out ones that I really like, and this image is an example of that. While it’s currently in my “Summer 2007″ gallery, and I like it at least as well as some of the ones that “made the cut”, it just didn’t fit with the other selections. So, I decided to post in the journal here instead, where hopefully it can still be enjoyed all on it’s own.
I made this photograph between Rocky Mountain House and Nordegg, Alberta in early June 2007. It had rained heavily the night before, and the branches and lichens in this dense black spruce stand were dripping wet as the sun came up. Each drop acts like a tiny prism, catching the light of the low sun. When the lens is de-focused as I did here, each specular highlight becomes a glowing circle of light, each with a slightly different colour depending on the angle. I know my blurry, out-of-focus work is not everyone’s cup of tea, but in this case I think it really made for an interesting image (I’ve included a “straight” shot of the same stand below for interest’s sake), and it’s also a great example of how the optics in a lens can create effects “in the field” that are unattainable using post-processing software (i.e. Photoshop). I’d love to hear your reactions to this image, just click below…
 Bright morning after rain–in focus
 Curves in dried fireweed I know it’s odd to call this post “Dried fireweed detail” when 95% of the photograph is out of focus. For me however, this image captures the essence of the detail—and the depth—of the dried seed pods. The title’s also a bit if a play on words—using “detail” in the sense of a close-up of a portion of a larger work, like when a small section of a painting is enlarged in a book to show a painter’s technique, for example. I really enjoy getting in close to a photographic subject to look for an angle that can capture the greater “whole” of the subject while showing only a small portion.
 Warm winter colours I took this photograph during a beautiful lunch-time walk through the Whitemud Ravine. Although it was mid-day, because of the season the light was angled low and filtered through a very light haze, giving it a warm tone. It’s unusual to see warm-toned colours much during the winter, but if you catch it just right they can add an interesting mood to an image.
 Magpie wingprint After a couple centimeters of fresh, powdery snow, I went for a walk at the Strathcona Science Park along the North Saskatchewan River. In one area there were nearly a dozen spots where a magpie had dropped into the snow, leaving these beautiful impressions of its wing tips and long tail—thrown into beautiful detail by the low angle of the sun these days. I couldn’t tell what it was after under the snow, and I didn’t see any other magpie tracks outside of this one small area. If you have ever seen something similar, I’d love to hear you think this bird might have been up to.
 Chickadee wings I  Chickadee wings II I have been settling into a new routine, having started a new work contract in the new year, and part of this routine often includes walking through Edmonton’s beautiful Whitemud Ravine during my lunch break. The chickadees in this park have become accustomed to humans, and will come in close to see if you’ve brought them anything. I couldn’t resist taking a couple photos of them, and the ones I liked best were always just before they took off. I set a high enough shutter speed to catch the details of their feathers, and hoped for the best. Whenever I tried to catch one as it took off, I got a picture of a bare branch—I was too slow. By the time I could react, the bird was gone. I had to watch through the viewfinder and wait until I thought the bird was going to jump. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I’m shooting digital…
Several of my favourite Alberta landscape photographers have been posting small galleries of their past year’s best landscape photographs, so I decided to do the same. It was fun to look back through a year’s worth of photos, and impossible to decide which were my “favourite”. I decided to pick one favourite photo from each of the locations in Alberta that I regularly make photographs including: Jasper National Park, Waterton National Park, and the Icefields Parkway in the Rocky Mountains; and Ministik Lake Game Bird Sanctuary, Whitemud Ravine, Gold Bar Park, and the Strathcona Science Park closer to my home in Edmonton.
I’ve posted all of the photos below as a group (in chronological order) but I will also create a separate entry for each photo to provide extra details about the image like I usually do—just click on the link below each photo to go to it’s detail page. (It will take me a little while to get them all up)
I hope you enjoy this small collection, and I do always appreciate it if you leave a comment with your thoughts or reaction. Happy New Year, and I wish you many fine photographs in 2010!
 Mountain Geraldine ridge Along the Icefields Parkway [ Click for more details]
 Pale winter sky through poplar canopy Ministik Lake (in the winter)
 Chickweed blooms and fern Waterton National Park
 Brooding cloud over Ministik Lake Ministik Lake (in the summer) (I know that’s cheating a little)
 Athabasca River island at dusk Jasper National Park
 Birch stems and early autumn colour Goldbar Park (North Saskatchewan River Valley)
 Late autumn willow thicket Whitemud Ravine [ Click for more details]
 Ice fog frozen on alder saplings Strathcona Science Park [ Click for more details]
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(Click photos to enlarge)
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