Posts Tagged: jasper

Abstract / Water / Winter — No Comments
5
Mar 13

Icicles Forming – Low Key Nature Photography

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A couple weeks ago I posted a shot of icicles forming against the sky – it was a pretty high key shot (composed mostly of light tones). This last week I went back to the same place and caught the same scene from a different angle with very different lighting. Instead of the icicles being backlit by a bright sky, they were front-lit with a dark overhang behind them. With this contrast in lighting it was fairly easy to get lots of detail in the ice while completely getting rid of the small amount of ambient light behind the waterfall.

300mm, f5.6, 1/800 of a second

Landscape / Mountain / Photo Gear / Winter — No Comments
4
Feb 13

Shaped By a Glacier

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The ridge around those spruce trees is called a “lateral moraine” and was left behind by the Athabasca Glacier as it receded. I took this photo at the Columbia Ice Fields on a dark and cloudy day. I get the sense that this moraine is protecting the trees — like they’re sitting safe in their own fortress. And then I notice the mountain behind, which, by it’s comparative mass, renders the trees and moraine almost insignificant.

If you’re not interested in lenses, feel free to ignore the next bit. The photo is taken with the Panasonic 100-300 lens on my Olympus OM-D. When I got this lens, I was worried about it not being very sharp. I have looked up many reviews, but a lot of the photos in the reviews had shutter speeds under 1/1000 of a second with image stabilization turned on. It seems to me that this comments on the effectiveness of the IS, but says nothing about how sharp the lens is. Even using the lens on a tripod I find to be questionable because the center of balance is far infront of the tripod. So I ordered a lens collar with a tripod foot from Rudolf Rösch Feinmechanik. It didn’t get here in time for my trip to the mountains, so I don’t have a definitive review on the sharpness of the lens, but my initial impressions are that, while not being razor sharp, it is fairly good. The lens collar itself is beautiful — I’m thoroughly impressed. I will be using it a lot in the next while, and I’ll report back on its effectiveness.

1/4000 of a second, f7.1, 140mm

Abstract / Macro / Photo of the Day / Water / Winter — 1 Comment
31
Jan 13

Amazing Ice

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A very small ice formation I found along the Sunwapta River.

f8, 1/1000 of a second, 90mm

Business / Mountain / Photo of the Day / Winter — No Comments
16
Jan 12

After a Long and Barren Break

I’m finally back! With pictures! Happy New Year!

December was (as always) too busy, with far too little time for hiking and shooting. Thankfully I’m starting to recover, and last week I was able to go out to Jasper for a couple days, camp in the freezing weather, and completely enjoy it.

I also have some pendants back in stock after almost completely selling out at Christmas. I have many plans of updating websites and galleries, of taking lots of photos, of enabling online stores, and far too many more ideas to list here or ever complete. But I’ll work on stuff, and try to keep everyone updated.

Here’s a photo of a dry and dusty Jasper Lake from last week just after sunrise. I was getting blasted with a super cold wind, and even bundled up I had to run back to the shelter of the van after a few minutes.

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Canon 5d with 17-40 lens.
Taken at 24mm, f8, 1/200 of a second

I’m planning to start adding these technical details below my photos. I know people are interested, and I’ve resisted for a long time because I believe they’re not really important. I think people place way too much emphasis on what the right settings are and way too little on getting a good composition. But to do photography well, you do have to at least know what all the settings do, and which are important in any particular instance. So for those learning, I hope this extra information helps, but know that the photo is the important part — the settings just help you get there. For example, I took this photo at f8. Would f5.6 have worked? Pretty well. Would f11 have worked. Yup, even a little better than f8. Did it ruin the photo that the aperture wasn’t as high as ideal to get everything perfectly in focus? Not at all, this will print beautifully at 20×30, and I’m really happy with it. Photography is about creating a feeling, not about an aperture. It would have mattered far more if I had angled my camera up or down a degree or two, or if I’d taken the photo from a foot lower or higher — those things could have easily turned it into something I wouldn’t look at twice.

At this point I think I’m rambling, and I’m impressed if anyone actually read this far. Cheers.

Landscape / Mountain / Photo of the Day / Water — No Comments
14
Feb 11

The Mixing of the Waters

This is where glacial melt-water was flowing into a spring-fed pond in Jasper National Park.

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Forest / Photo of the Day — No Comments
14
Dec 10

Fall Poplars Against a Spruce Forest

Taken in Jasper this fall.

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Forest / Macro / Photo of the Day — No Comments
12
Dec 10

Magical Mushrooms

Mushrooms are one of those subjects that help photos feel just a little bit magical. Maybe it’s the books I grew up reading, but I end up wondering when a little gnome will step into the scene. In fact, a lot of my favorite photos I’ve taken have this fantastical feel. Not necessarily on the small scale, but something that hints at otherworldly creatures and epic adventures.

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Forest / Photo of the Day / Wildlife — No Comments
20
Nov 10

The Elk and the Scratching Tree

An elk having a good scratch in Jasper.

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Business / Galleries and Shows — No Comments
20
Sep 10

Liars, Cheats and Thieves

I have a few photos in a photo exhibit at the Artery (9535 Jasper Ave) entitled “Liars, Cheats and Thieves”. It should be a fantastic exhibit with many extremely talented photographers submitting pieces. It opens on Friday September 24, 5pm to 10pm, and I’m very excited to see it all.

Edit: This has now ended.

Landscape / Mountain / Rural Decay / Travel — 1 Comment
14
May 10

Quick Pics Between Trips

Editing photos right after a trip has always been a challenge for me. I find it hard to judge whether my photos are good or not because I’m usually judging my memory of the place rather than the photo. After a few months I find I can be more objective. But a few months is a long time to wait for photos. Sometimes whole trips get forgotten.

So here’s me trying to do quick edits. I still gave myself a few days, but I wanted to get these up before I leave on my next trip (actually in a few hours) and this last one is forgotten. These are from just east of Jasper National Park.

Anna in Ogre Canyon near Brule
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Icicles hanging from a cutaway
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Spruce trees near Cadomin
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Evening light on the river
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An old abandoned railway
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