The snow is mostly gone, here on the prairies, but it will be some weeks before we see greenery and flowers blooming. I can’t wait! It has been a long winter and I sure could use a bit of color. Late spring or early summer images are great for it because all is fresh and green is bright and not dimmed by dust of late summer days.
We are lucky here in Alberta, because some nights are full of light show. We had a couple of gorgeous Aurora showing last fall and I have managed to capture some shots without leaving the city.
I know, I know it is winter and everybody posts winter photography, but I am not ready for it yet. I see it outside my window every day, so I want to see something warm, colorful and pretty. Hope you are in need of this as well.
It has been a while since I’ve posted anything about Elk Island National Park. So, I think, it is time for some lovely sunset from the beginning of summer, when all was green, flowers were blooming and days were warm and long.
I can't believe summer vacations are almost over! Cruel time waits for no one... Fall will be here soon and I haven't enjoyed summer as much as I wanted to... It's a good thing that I have managed to take some pictures of the summery world to go back to later in the year, when it isn't sunny and warm and colorful any more, when it's more difficult to go out of the city and enjoy nature..
Jericho Park with its beach were for us the first place to visit in Vancouver, BC. We have been very lucky to bring with us sunny weather and we were definitely enjoying our evening stroll in the park and the beach. As I have mentioned in my previous post - Beautiful British Columbia - Part 1 - Travel Photography travel photography allows us to practice shooting in all sorts of environments and this was a pleasure to do so with shiny water, reflecting the sun and in dark shade of park trees.. Here is some of what I saw and captured during our visit.. Kasia
To be continued...
It's been a while since my last posts, but I do have a very good excuse. We went for a road trip to Tofino and back. It's been only my 3rd ever venture to BC, my first to Vancouver Island and I was really looking forward to seeing the land and venture to places I have not had a chance to visit before as well as re-visit the few I have. Travel photography is wonderful because it gives one opportunity to practice all sorts of things. From landscapes to architecture, nature, macros, night shots... It is so much fun, though it does require bringing a lot of different lenses and a bit of gear. Today I would like to share some pictures I have taken on our way to Vancouver. It's quite a long way from Edmonton so we took a break from driving to visit our friends in Kamloops, BC. While enjoying their company and a wonderfully hot evening I took a few shots of their world. We did have a view of quite a lovely sunset as well from their patio...
The next day we resumed out drive through the Rockies. Our first stop was at Kamloops Lake where I took a few shots of a lovely view:
While driving I couldn't help but to notice a great contrast between very dry mountains, covered with sage and bluish grass with level ground that is quite often used for agricultural purposes. It does require lots of watering, as we were able to notice, and the lush greens of the meadows are so very different in colour than surrounding mountains..
Travelling through canyons and summits, on our way, along rivers and mountain slopes gives you an opportunity to see very many interesting things. Too bad one cannot always stop when one wishes... The landscape changes often on the way and at least one is not bored, stuck in a vehicle for hours on end..
I've always wanted to visit Hell's Gate again. The first time I went there (over a decade ago..) I was awed by the incredible power of water flowing at this particular spot in Fraser Canyon.. You can see it churning under your feet while crossing a bridge. It does give you a bit of a weird feeling.. Here is a few shots I have taken while there:
Our long journey that day ended finally in Vancouver where we met one of our friends who, very kindly, took us for a tour around the city. What we saw there I will share in my next post. For now, just one more shot taken while driving, just before we reached our destination. There is not always a chance to stop on a highway to properly take photos, so I do try to shot some things from a moving vehicle. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but one must try, right? Especially, when I am in the very lucky position of a passenger and I can devote my full attention to surrounding views (which Mac is always bemoaning, having to always be the driver.;D).
To be continued..
Kasia
Couple of weeks ago we have driven to a spot we've found about a year ago to see how is the spring progressing out in the country. The distant silos on the horizon reminded me very much of castles in Europe and if you don't look too close you can actually pretend that that's what they are. Works for me ;D. It was a bit of a chilly evening, and mosquitos were out in quite a force, but being armed with a big old can of bug spray we were not afraid of them at all (one must be quite brave to venture out this year, for there is literally millions of them, considering how wet everywhere is..). The world was full of frog and bird calls and it was so wonderfully relaxing to just sit and watch the spectacle unfold. What can I say, I'm a complete sucker for a nice sunset.. And if you can witness such, pretending you are traveling in Europe, with a wonderful accompaniment of natural music of nature... Let just say, it doesn't get much better than that.. I hope you will enjoy a few shots from that trip, considering how gloomy it is outside today. It is such a pleasure to ignore the wet, cold, cloudy outdoors and concentrate on the sunlight, sunset colors and a beauty of surrounding world.. With a touch of imagination, the magic is on! Kasia
The last time we've ventured to Elk Island National Park the world was covered in deep snow.. (Hunting for Bison at Elk Island). Now all this snow has melted and turned the land into one almost everlasting wetland.. There was no silence when we arrived there about a week ago in the evening. The music of frogs and mosquito buzzing, interrupted on occasion by a bird call or two was everywhere.. Thank Goodness for bug spray!!! If it wasn't for a heavy layer of it we would have been eaten alive!! But, we were rather well prepared, having a tube of the heavy stuff stashed inside our vehicle at all times :D. And it was great because if we weren't prepared we would have missed all the sights we've seen: beavers going about their supper, lots of birds and a surprisingly beautiful sunset - which we didn't really expect due to the clouds gathering on the western horizon. All in all, it was another wonderful trip, made better by the fact that when we started our drive we never planned to arrive at Elk Island.. It just happened ;D.. And, since today, the sky is rather heavy with dark clouds a little bit of colorful sunset and vibrant spring world will do us good, I think.. So enjoy! Kasia
Sick of winter, yet? I know, I am!! That's why I have decided to postpone my post with winter Rockies in black and white (the continuation of Rockies in Colour..) and share some of the colorful images I've been working on recently. I am so very happy to have a huge amount of pictures from summer saved for such an occasion! With recent weather, turning my world yet again into vast whiteness, those flowery shots keep me sane!! I hope they will work for you as well. Enjoy! Kasia
It's winter out there!! The snow keeps on falling (we've got well over 10cm of it already!!) and the world is turning white.. I thought, for today, a little bit of color would cheer us up and brighten our day. This series of images was shot during our recent trip to the Rockies. Hope you enjoy! Kasia
Several weeks ago, in his post Lake Louise, Mac has shared some wonderful images taken during our short stop over at that beautiful place. Today, I would like to show you my pictures from that visit. Such a gorgeous place! Every time we visit it I am amazed at it's beauty. Every time I see it differently and enjoy being there even with tons of tourists walking around. We have been fortunate this time having the sun low on the sky. Not yet sunset, but still it made the surroundings so much more interesting. I have taken some shots from the area around the lake, as well, including a few macros. Such a treat seeing it all in the middle of summer with lush greenery and abundance of wild flowers growing everywhere!! Enjoy! Kasia
We were very lucky this summer to be able to travel through the Rockies twice - so far :D. The first time we have visited only Jasper National Park in Alberta visiting some of the places we have not seen yet. The weather, again, was on our side and in spite of the very strong wind the temperature as well as the sky cooperated and allowed us to stop by and take lots of pictures... It was a very wet beginning of the summer and the lakes and rivers were full of water (as you can see on pictures of both Jasper and Talbot Lakes below). We have made a little detour before we entered the park to visit another site in the mountains, but the roads were closed due to flooding... There was still quite a lot of snow high in the mountains and we have been granted wonderful views of glaciers and snow covered peaks (Mount Edith Cavell with her glaciers, below). Here is a few shots from the first trip:
It was a wonderful trip, filled with great views and animal sitings that are always a pleasure...
Our second trip took place just a week ago and it took us a very long way through the mountains to British Columbia and back home to Alberta. We were a bit short on time and could not stop too often to take pictures but we have still managed to take a few stops here and there admiring the views and the abundant flora. It's amazing how of the wild flowers full the mountain meadows were this time of year!! It was simply gorgeous and since I did take my macro lens with me I took advantage of it and here are some of the results:
On the way there we could not resist a short stop at the beautiful Moose Lake, B.C. It was a gorgeous day, the clouds providing a lovely background to the mountains surrounding this lake and the wild flowers bloomed with abandonment making the views even more appealing...
As before we have decided to take a different way home and could not resist stopping at Lake Louise (since we were travelling through Banff National Park this time). After we left there, the views became even more beautiful... We rarely have a chance to travel through the mountains with setting sun and moon accompanying us. This time we were granted both of these and it was such a gorgeous set of views that, regardless of a long travel ahead, we have decided to stop a few more time to capture the wonderful scenes. I hope you like them as much as we did :D
Kasia
Summer is in full swing and it is my great pleasure to walk around my yard every day with my camera and see what new happened over night. There is always something interesting to find and take a picture of and I thought it would be neat to follow one weed from bloom to seeds and share this transformation with you. So here it is, a weed from it's bloom to the seed..
Neat weed, isn't it?! I just could not resist taking pictures of it, whether in sun or right after a rain. It seems to always be quite lovely. I hope you like it, too :D
Kasia
Holiday is a wonderful thing! You are free to do whatever you want, whenever you want. One morning we have decided to go for a ride in the mountains. We have chosen a road that would lead us toward Enix and Felix - two municipalities in province of Almeria in Andalusia. We encountered a series of beautiful views from the road. Hills cultivated as much as possible, where almond trees grow on man-made terraces right next to small fields and villages are settled either in the valleys or are plastered to the sides of the hills. Lovely, picturesque drive. The weather was great, the sky marvelous. Just what we needed to enjoy ourselves a lot!
We have stopped at a village called Felix for a little tour. It's a charming little town in Andalusia with narrow streets, passages going up and down and houses built very close together just to utilize the limited space.
On the way back we have made a few stops here and there just to capture some more of our surroundings...
It was a marvellous trip and we have enjoyed both the vista and the weather immensely! Sierra Nevada is simply beautiful!
Kasia
