When Fall Met Summer - Landscape Photography And More..

I think it's time for some color, don't you? It's been so long since we've seen more than whites, blues, blacks and grays, so why not go back to late summer and beginning of fall, when all the world was covered in beautiful colors?  It's seems to me that Mother Nature gives us this opportunity, every year, to soak it all up in preparation for a monochromatic season that lasts too long.. Today, I would like to share photos from two trips of ours that took place just as the seasons were changing.. Last day of summer, first day of fall. Two sunsets in rural Alberta. A little bit of landscape photography, a bit of rural architecture and nature and, of course, a macro shot (one cannot admire the world without looking close at things, don't you think?) and all of it full of beautiful colors, complements of Mother Nature.  I am so very glad to have seen it all and have my memories recorded so that I can look at all this splendor when I'm feeling deprived of color. Hope it is as enjoyable to you as it is to me :D Kasia

Last day of summer 2013 .. 1

Last day of summer 2013 .. 3

Last day of summer 2013 .. 4

Day's end

When summer meets fall

How many layers ?

Last day of summer 2013 .. 5

Summer is leaving..

Another day, another sunset

Fall evening

Peaceful existence

On guard

Moment in time

The day has come to an end..

One Fall Evening

I don't know about you, but I miss colors during winter.  I miss it so much that I try to take as many colorful images as possible before winter comes in order to be able to have tons of colorful stuff to work with when the sky is heavy and the world is very monochromatic.  Today, in search of color, I've stumbled upon a collection of fall pictures I took while driving in the countryside one evening in fall. I have shared some images from that trip in my post: Yup! Fall is here… and today, it's time for some more.  It was a very pleasant excursion and the evening sun with warm fall foliage palette made the world look inviting and lovely.  I hope you find them as enjoyable as I do this gloomy morning! Kasia

Winter Wonderland - Alberta Landscape Part 3

The drive that we took several weeks ago in the countryside of our frozen land took us to an abandoned farm where we decided to wait for sunrise.  Some of Mac's images from that farm you were able to see in his post Winter Wonderland - Alberta Landscape Part 2.  It was quite cold that morning and we were glad we didn't have to wait too long for the sun to show it's face ;D.  We decided to drive some more that day and stopped at several places just following one of the country roads.  Pretty views were surrounding us. It was a pleasure to actually see the blue sky reflected in snow and morning sun shining and painting the land in warmer tones.  Here are some images I took on that morning (I couldn't help myself and took a few macro shots as well). Hope you enjoy! Kasia

Yup! Fall is here...

Summer is over. Not only by the calendar but you can see the colours changing almost in front of your eyes out there and turning the recently green world into a myriad of golds, yellows, oranges and reds.  Since the day was wonderfully sunny and warm yesterday we have pretty much spent it all outside on photo shoots.  First we've decided to check Elk Island for morning mists (which have never showed up, BTW), than I took a walk about the neighbourhood with my camera and then, towards the evening, we have taken off to check out the countryside again... Wherever we went the colours were there. In just a couple of weeks everything has changed... Let's start with a sunrise at Elk Island:

And here is a few shots from the city, which is also quickly changing it's colours:

The morning sun has highlighted everything beautifully bringing out the colours and shapes of fall  :).  And , as the day progressed towards the evening and we took a ride in the country, the evening sun has brought out the colours out even more..

Our luck held and we were given a beautiful sunset to enjoy as well, with a big sun on a hazy sky giving the world a beautiful glow..

As you can see, the signs of fall are everywhere. The gathering of birds that are already flying south, the colours of leaves and ripe fruit on the trees, the general feel of the world are all crying out: Fall is here!!!   I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can hoping, that the frost and winds won't come too early and cause the beautiful leaves to fall and leave the world naked and monochromatic again..

Kasia

Scotland - Exploring the Countryside

Since we were up and about in the country, after visiting Castle Menzies, we decided to do little bit more exploring. Even driving on the narrow roads with moss covered walls instead of wide shoulders, to which we are used to, did not discourage us.  There was so many things to see starting with amazingly shaped old trees and ending with sheep covered meadows..

At some point he happened upon an interesting looking structure by a lake we were passing by.  It was a place called  The Scottish Crannog on shores of Loch Tay.  It is an interesting place where you can be taken on a tour giving you an insight of the life of people from a long ago time. It is a reconstruction of the 2600 year old Oakbank Crannog, discovered in Loch Tay near the village of Fearnan in late seventies by archaeologists from the University of Edinburgh. Definitely worth checking if you are ever close by!

The nice staff at the centre there has fed us some hot chocolate and oatcakes and pointed us to the nearby Falls of Acharn and Croft Moraig stone circle, where we decided to venture next. It was a bit of a hike to get to the Falls of Acharn, but we did not mind at all. Though the sky was dark, the rain did not fall and we've managed the whole trip up and down quite dry ;).  There was a meadow full of sheep, some more lovely trees and amazing sky to keep us occupied and I took a lot of pictures there:

And, of course, I could not resist a bit of macro work..

But mostly I was just amazed at the beauty of the very green countryside, so different from our prairies..

The Falls of Acharn are quite lovely as well, but I think the road there was as interesting as the falls themselves..

After completing that hike we drove a little bit to get to one of the two stone circles that are located close by.  This particular one is called Croft Moraig. I could not get too close to it, because it was fenced in but even from the distance, with a heavy sky it was quite an experience and I am very happy to have seen one of those in person. Though, perhaps it was a good thing I was not inside it, considering the nearness of one of the Sun Feasts.. Who knows what might have happened?!! ;D

After that short stop we've decided to head back to Edinburgh through picturesque countryside with it's meadows, sheep and lochs..

All in all, it was quite a wonderful day! Buy wait till you see where we went the next morning!!

Kasia