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.
It's been a while since I have shared some of my shots taken during our summer travel on Vancouver Island ( you can check the last installment from that trip - record of our visit at Victoria’s Craigdarroch Castle in Beautiful British Columbia - Part 7). During our stay on the Island we have been lucky to spend an evening at Qualicum Beach, being guided by one of our photographic friends, who was kind enough to take us to his favorite part of the coast and, though, the tide was high and most of the beach was covered with water, we still had a chance to take a wonderful walk, admire the views and, of course, snap a few shots ;D. It is such a pleasure to watch the sun disappear behind the horizon, making the sky burn! Landscape photography can be so much fun!!! I miss those summer days.. I hope sharing these pictures will take your minds away from this long and cold winter. I took mine off, for sure. Enjoy! :D Kasia
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
Long Beach, one of the most known places in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on Vancouver Island. Quite a beautiful place, full of sand and driftwood. We have visited it one misty morning (with one short stop in the evening), taking a long walk, enjoying a breeze and the sound of waves. Lot's of cool stuff to find and take pictures of! As beautiful in the morning as it is in the evening sun.. We were lucky to get a very good light both times (which is not always the case with travel photography) and here is a few pictures I have taken while visiting. To check our previous post, just click on the following link: Beautiful British Columbia - Part 5 - Travel Photography. Kasia
When we were leaving the beach the second time, I could not resist taking picture of these shoes hanging on the wires. It's funny, but I think I have seen such things everywhere I have visited.. What is it with people's need to leave them like that?!
To be continued..
After a day of hiking around Vancouver (see Beautiful British Columbia - Part 3 - Travel Photography - our visit to Lynn Valley) we've decided to do a bit less walking and took a drive to the Horseshoe Bay to explore it a bit and search for a location for a sunset. We've stopped at a few places along the way and ended up staying for a few hours on a little rocky beach. Don't ask me where these shots were taken, because after a while I completely lost any idea of where we were.. The tide was still pretty low, when we've arrived and it allowed me to take my macro lens and take a closer look at some barnacles and seaweed as well as the surrounding views. The unfortunate thing about travel photography is that we can't always wait for a better light, having limited time at a certain location. But even with that in mind, using a bit of a different angle one can manage to get a few lovely shots. Here is a few of those from that outing.. Kasia
To be continued..
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...
Our recent chat about macros on a podcast Shuttertime with Sid and Mac has given me an idea for this post. We were talking about the fact that it is easy to shoot macros all year round, for it doesn't requite taking any long trips to exotic places or getting up at a crack of dawn. All you need is a decent macro lens or extension tubes, a few plants in your backyard or a trip to the park with your family and you can always find something interesting to shoot. Whether it is a cool plant, a bug or a spider web there really always is something out there to take pictures of. As long as you find an interesting angle or a colourful background you can came back home with tons of gorgeous shots. I start the year with a trip to one of the neighbourhood nurseries in early May, before our outdoor planters can be filled safely with growing things. It is always a great pleasure to look at all the beautifully colourful flowers just waiting for the weather to warm up enough for safe planting and the bugs are usually there as well. A couple of hours of being lost in such surroundings and I come back home with a memory card full of shots. Here is a few of such spring shots that kept me happy over the recent years before the outside world turned green:
Then, things are starting to bloom outside and I start taking my camera out and about to see what new things are showing up out there. I have shared some spring images I took close by in my post Spring 2013 so I'm going to just include a couple of more recent shots today:
During the podcast we have mentioned the fact that having an interestingly coloured background makes a difference. Here is an example - a couple of shots of the same spider web covered in dew and how the angle of the shot, utilizing different colours of the background, makes a difference:
Summer! Ah.. This is a macro photographer's paradise.. Over the last couple of years I have gathered so many wonderful shots and they've kept me very happy during long winter months..
There is always something magical in catching reflections in water droplets.. You can see the whole world inside a drop if you find a proper angle. It's always so much fun!!! And if you don't want to bother with these there is always the occasional trip into the country. I try always to take my macro lens with me. You never know what you'll find on such an outing..
And if you are tired of all that colour, you can always play a bit with an image and come up with something like that:
Fall has it's own pleasurable moments with it's fogs turning into frost and covering all and a wonderful soft, warm light. There is always something that catches my eye..
During winter months I try to find something at home that can be photographed. Whether it is my son's guitar or a flower that was given to me, it makes not very big difference except it is not always easy to get good, strong light inside. I still go out and explore if I can. It may be cold, but if the weather conditions are right one can find little treasures outside, such as a couple of snowflakes (I've shared a few of those in my post Beauty of a Snowflake - Part 3) or frost covered foliage:
So keep on shooting guys. There is really no need for long trips to exotic locations and you don't need too much time . Just a few minutes here and there. Cool stuff can be found everywhere!!
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
I am sure, you remember me mentioning a few times over the winter (Missing Summer Skies.. Part 1 and Missing Summer Skies.. Part 2) the fact that I have been missing the beauty of summer skies. It's been such a long time, since we have had something interesting to look at during daytime hours as well as mornings and evening that when I saw what was happening outside yesterday I was up and about with the camera enjoying myself immensely. The warm temperatures brought with it fluffy clouds yesterday afternoon and I took our puppy for a walk in a neighborhood off leash park hoping to capture some of them. Oh, what a gorgeous walk it was!! I was hoping that the sky would cooperate during sunset as well and guess what! It did!! We didn't have much time to go in search of a location and decided to use "our" field close to the city. The melted snow left a huge puddle at the edge of this field and it happen to beautifully capture reflections of the sky, of which we took a great advantage ;D. Here is a few shots of yesterday's beauty. Hope you guys find it as enjoyable as did I! Kasia
Spring is taking its sweet time to come this year. Things are barely starting to move along and I am waiting very impatiently for the Nature to fully wake up and start working on the colors.. Good thing I was able to take quite a few shots of the blooming trees and buzzing bees (and other insects finding refuge among those blooms, as well as little droplets of water hiding among foliage - you know, I cannot resist these ;D) last year so that I can look at them now in order to help me survive till such time comes again.. I would like to share some of these with you now in hope, they will bring you as much pleasure as they bring me. Enjoy! :D Kasia
As I have mentioned before, in my post Night Skies at Elk Island - Catching a Comet, we have visited Elk Island National Park a few times recently. It is a great pleasure to be able to visit a wild place without having to drive for hours on end.. Escaping the civilization is a wonderful way to relax and if you are lucky enough, you not only see some gorgeous skies, but get a glimpse of some animals as well. We have been lucky this time to catch a few shots of bison. We have started our search for animals with Bison Loop, alas there was no bison there. We did manage to capture a couple of lovely sunset pictures, though (some of them shared by Mac in his post Two Sunsets – Alberta Landscape Photography) but we had to move a little bit deeper into the park before we saw any animals. The world looked beautiful covered in the golden glow of setting sun. The shadows were long and the light just great and it was a pleasure to spend some time in a peaceful place... Here is a few shots I was able to take. No blood was spilled during our hunt, and that's the way I like it! ;D Kasia
I've never been to Lake Louise in winter before and was looking forward to seeing this beautiful place all covered in snow. When we arrived there the sky was already clouding up, but there was still enough light and colour to make things look interesting and it gave me the opportunity to take a few pictures of some of the great ice sculptures scattered all over the place, before they were damaged by rain and snow that came the next day. Mac has shared his images from this trip in his posts: A mix of color in winter - Alberta Landscape Photography, Winter in the Rockies – Alberta Landscape Photography and People in the Mountains – Candid Photography and now it is my turn to show mine, hoping you are not too bored yet ;D Kasia
You know? There is really no escaping the fact, that no matter what my wishes are, the winter is really not ready to depart just yet.. In this case lets enjoy it!These were taken on a rare sunny morning with blue sky and mists enveloping the River Valley and Rundle Park here in Edmonton. It was rather cold that morning as well, and the snow was just so very fresh covering earth in a pristine blanket of white. So, so beautiful!!! Well, if you can't get rid of it, embrace it!! ;D
Kasia
It has been mostly a gloomy winter around here, but now and again we are treated to some wonderful skies in the morning. Even though I can't go anywhere out I can still enjoying them through my window. I can't seem to stop myself from grabbing my camera and taking pictures of them either. ;D It gives me a great pleasure to share these with you. For me, there is nothing better than to wake up to a view as gorgeous as these! Hope they make your day as well! Kasia
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
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
It was brutally cold last Sunday when we ventured, before dawn, outside the city hoping for a nice sunrise. The temperatures were steadily dropping while we were driving away from Edmonton and by the time we reached our destination it was -30 degree Celsius. It was a blessing that there was barely any wind because it felt very cold and we were very happy to be able to take a break in a warm vehicle every 5 minutes or so.. But it was well worth it! We were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise, full of colors and great clouds - a rarity this winter. What I found fascinating, though while staring at the sky, was the the industrial installations that were surrounding us looked quite amazing against such sky and the light of raising sun was making them even more interesting and, dare I say, beautiful. All that smoke highlighted by the low sun just added to already interesting and dramatic sky. It is rather strange to use term "beauty" in the same sentence as industry, smoke and pollution, but judge for yourself. I guess, in a certain light, almost everything is beautiful ;D.. Hope you are going to enjoy this set of pictures from our frozen, beautiful prairies during winter sunrise. Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!! Kasia
I know I've already shared some pictures from our visit at Lake Louise in July of last year (Lake Louise - how I saw it..), but I cannot resist posting more of them. Especially today, when the world outside is so dark and gloomy I can't help but look at these pictures and feast my eyes on summer colors... It is one of the most beautiful places in Banff National Park here in Alberta and every time I go there I am enchanted by the sight of it. I was lucky to have taken my macro lens with me as well and managed to snap a few shots of the beautiful wild flowers growing around the lake. I hope you enjoy all this color as much as I do... Kasia
