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.

Barn Shooting

Images Alberta Camera Club held what has become our annual Barn Shoot this past weekend in the country-side north of Bon Accord.

Over 20 club photographers covered a route of old farms buildings where we had land owner permission to shoot.

Cameron Falls Trail

 
About 70 km east of Yellowknife Northwest Territoies is a short hiking trail to the spectacular Cameron River Falls.  This shot of one of the smaller offshoot streams of the falls was captured from down in the river valley below a large rock bluff.  Only dappled light made it through and illuminated this birch trunk caught in the maelstorm. 

Scenes from Yellowknife Bay, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Daily commuters, Houseboats and kayaks in the bay.  I wonder how much the parking ticket will be?  Do they tow away?

Edith Cavell Meadows -Jasper National Park

We spent a weekend learning to photograph wild flowers with professional photographer Paul Gilbert earlier this summer at the Waterton Wildflower Festival in  Waterton National Park.  That has created an interest and new skills that have me exploring through the Rockies with a new view.  

Here are a few shots from the Mount Edith Cavell Meadows in Jasper National Park.  Don't be deceived by the term meadows, these are not flat by any means as you will see in some of this pictures. 

Marmots

We took a run out to Jasper National Park for the weekend and one of the spots we explored was Mount Edith Cavell, the Angel Glacier and the Edith Cavell Meadows. While climbing through the boulder jumble to get into the meadows, I came across this group of Marmots. They are about the size and build of a beaver and live in the higher altitudes of the mountains.

Another Early Morning

Staying on the early morning theme, I was once again out with the thermos of coffee in hand to catch this morning's fog. Taken at Hastings Lake just east of Edmonton, I waited in semi darkness with the sound of wings whistling around overhead but out of sight until I had enough light to capture these pelicans on a spit reaching out into the lake. Hastings Lake has a sizable pelican population and they are often seen in their serene glide and wave flight pattern. This group seemed content to sit out the fog.

Why I packed the alarm clock on vacation.

Why would anyone get up before 6am on their vacation? My answer lately has been "To catch the morning light".

When you're just days from the summer solstice, as we were in early June in Waterton National Park, that means getting up and rolling early. The sky just starts to show light about 5:45 and suddenly at 6 the sunlight is streaming across the prairie and straight in to the mountain valley. Luckily my wife shares my early morning obsessions some days and we were up and out chasing the first light.

Thank goodness we had prepared a thermos of coffee the night before!



Many balsamroot plants at the valley level had flowered in late May or early June and were starting to show to look pretty tattered by the time we were there in mid June. We were lucky to find this cluster in good condition and I wanted to shoot them from an angle other than our usual downward looking viewpoint. I was struck by the low angle sunlight striking these and had the advantage of both a mountain ridge and a glorious blue sky as a backdrop.