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.
This weekend was a perfect time to visit my favorite park. Those of you who have been reading this blog, know that this is Elk Island National Park. I left home early, around 7am. I was hoping to get there before the sunrise. Fresh few centimeters of snow fell during the night, and the park was silent and it seemed deserted. I was slowly moving along the park road, when I spotted this owl perched on a tree. Quickly I grabbed my long 200mm +2x extender, and as quietly as I could got out of the car. The moment I did that he spread his wings and it seemed I have lost a great opportunity. Lucky for me he just got bored of one tree and decided to try another one few feet away. Slowly I started creeping after him. He just sat there spinning his head. First shots I realized to my horror that there wasn't enough light. At 1/15 shutter speed with out a tripod it is really hard to stay still. So I immediately upped my ISO. I got maybe 5-6 frames before the owl got bored, and flew away for good. At this moment I realized that I was in about 4ft of snow. I was a little cold, but happy.
After the owl incident I finally got to the largest lake in the park. The scenery was spectacular, and absolutely no people. It's a stark contrast with summer time, where this area is teaming with people. While I was admiring the silence, I noticed a little spec moving across the frozen lake. Once I trained my lens on him, it became apparent that it was a coyote. I was following him, when there was a yelp from across the lake. The coyote stopped, and seconds later he started running at full speed in the direction of the yelp.
I missed these guys crossing the road by few minutes. Once I got to a good spot, they already crossed and were running away. I managed to get a couple of shots of this hear, but they were already pretty far away. Maybe next time I'll be able to get a little closer :)
