Morning at Gibbons Creek

I've been too busy working on the Imagery newsletter and prepping shots for the Images Alberta Camera Club competitions to do a decent job staying  current here. Let's see if I can fix that with a few shots I submitted at the club competitions..

This images was shot last fall in a small creek that flows under the west hiway bridge into Gibbons. I deliberately left early in hopes of finding some fog in the low lying areas and finally found some in this little valley. Once I hiked down into the valley, my eye was caught by these ferns and the ripples of water as the creek crosses a small weir.

I guess I came for mist and stayed for the light.

Look into your future

Look into your future with this crystal ball. Is that "Tall, Dark and Handsome" in your future or something sinister lurking just beyond the light?   Really, it is one of 3 polished ice balls on top of the Ice Fountain at the entrance to the castle.

Ice On Whyte, Early Morning Visitors

I think this year's ice castle far exceeds last year's.  The walls have been more intricately carved and it has been left open on the 4th wall avoiding the congestion of the traditional 4 wall box.  The furniture has a higher level of finishing - complete to a 4 place table setting, king size bed, fireplace and benches.

The open wall also for far better photos.  This was taken on Saturday morning against the sunrise and using a double warming filter.

More photos to come I hope!

Ice On Whyte

January is such a brutal weather month for winter festival activities.  We are subject to nose tingling cold then fickle melts, sometimes only days apart.  I always watch in anticipation as events such as Ice On Whyte prepare their ice sculptures.  The sculptors tell us that -5C is the perfect temperature to work their special clear ice blocks.  This is when the ice is stable, the small amounts of water and friction used between  the blocks freezes clear and the air temperature doesn't create melts.

This year, the artist have battle temperatures from +3 to +6 and have protected their works with tarps for shade,  insulated mats, and the smaller pieces are covered with boxes. Last year they fought similar conditions in the week that they created the castle and sculptures, then within a day of opening, we dropped right back into the -20's making it less appealing to go and play.

Here are some shots from the 2009 Ice on Whyte.  The 2010 festival has just opened and Images camera club has an outing there tomorrow.  Go early and catch the morning light playing in the ice or go at dusk and see everything lit.  Enjoy and stay warm.

Playing in the Snow.

There have been lots of opportunities over the last few weeks to get out and shoot in the snow.  Here are a few favourites.

From another trek through Elk Island National Park.  This one begs for some serious editing - perhaps inserting a fall image into the mirror to play in the work "Heated"

 Winter Wonderland - WE got a great little snow flurry during our outing at the Legislature grounds that just begged for some flash to light up the flakes!

The Ice Sculptures From the Legislature Grounds in Edmonton.

Tobogan Ride

Elk Island Sunset

I slipped back through Elk Island earlier this week with winter shooting in mind.  We had just come out of a minus 30 deep freeze and minus 10 felt pretty good.  Obviously, a group of snowshoers had felt the same way as I found these tracks leading out onto Astotin Lake, around the island and back.  I wandered around shooting snow drifts, snowshow hare tracks and waited for the sunset while listening to the coyotes howling back and forth across the lake.  A beautiful end to what had been a busy day on the road.

Snowy Owls coming back south

  
The snowy owls have made their return to the south.   I spotted 5 last week from the Yellowhead highway between Vermillion and Lloydminster.  This top one looks like a juvenile as it still has it's flocked vest on.  The adults are just a fluffy white.

Evening flight....

  

Magpie's Disgust

This clearly looks like a case of avian discrimination!  Waterfowl! What about us Magpies? Feed me here!  Feed me now!

Christmas On The Square

Christmas On The Square
Downtown Edmonton at Churchill Square. Shop at the vendors from the 104 Street City Market and then photograph the lighting of the giant Christmas tree and fireworks.

Cyclocross - Mud, Sweat and Gears, Upcoming Event Oct 10 / 11, 2009

Anybody looking to shoot some photos for this season's themes of "Motion" or "Wheels" should make a trip down to Argyll Park in Edmonton , Alberta for the cyclocross races October 10 and October 11 2009. Races begin Saturday and Sunday at 9am.

Here are some of my shots from the UCI Jim Horner Grand Prix races on the Sunday in 2008. These were shot on my Canon XTI using my 18-55 IS lens. I was practicing my panning, trying varying effects of motion blur and generally shooting for a "Motion" theme challenge for the online camera club/learning group at the website therealdotin.com

I chose shutter speeds between 1/30 and 1/60 and panned(tracked the cyclist in my viewfinder) with the cyclist to get background blurring.

Panning is easier when the object is in a parallel path to you camera and moving at a predicable speed and path. The cyclists approaching directly toward you are harder to track and may be more suited to a different motion effect where the background is crisp and the cyclist has motion blur. Both techniques require a lot of patience and luck but can create pleasing images.

Remember to consider your background. If it is too bright or has too much clutter it may distract from your subject. You will see that many of my early shots from last year's event had poorly chosen backgrounds. I was happier with the results from the later pictures in the Mill Creek trails and the natural backdrop.

These shots are a mix of tripod mounted and hand held. Some of the motion shots were tripod mounted with the vertical axis locked for stability but horizontal axis free to allow the camera to swing and follow the cyclists' motion. I could also have used a monopod or collapsed my tripod legs together like a monopod for greater flexibility. Some reference sites that I checked suggested only hand holding the camera to avoid twisting yourself around the tripod as you pan.

These shots are not competition quality but I present them here to show you what you can expect from this upcoming cyclocross event. This year's course does not go down into the Mill Creek trails but stays mainly in the field and south valley. There appear to be stairs or more obstacles on the course this year requiring cyclists to dismount and carry their bikes in areas near the end of the course. I remember that the riders made 3 to 5 laps to complete the race so there are lots of photographic opportunities. As for mud - let's see what the weather brings.




Maps, course routes and race times are available at the website http://cyclocrossedmonton.com It would be worth checking their website for course map and practice times to get a feeling for the course, locations and lighting and chose your shooting locations before the races start. There is fairly free access to most locations but please watch that you don't interfere with the racers or become a safety concern.

Races begin Saturday and Sunday at 9am.