Loved to Death

I drove through one of the most beautiful places in the world and did not take one photograph. After leaving Kananaskis, We drove north through Banff to Lake Louise. It was jammed packed. They had people in the intersections directing traffic. We looked for a campsite and everything was full. I had wanted to stay and get a few new images of Moraine Lake since I have had quite a few images of this lake published in the past.

Moraine Lake, Banff

The above image is the cover of the Backcountry Maps of Southern Alberta book. We will hopefully come back this way on our way home. It should be less busy in September. Lori and I continued up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. All of the campsites were also full there so we got a cabin. I was hoping to shoot some new landscapes of Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park. Again there were just too many people.

Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper

The main campgrounds in many national parks are now “reservation only”. We don’t like to book much on our trips. That way we can stay flexible regarding weather and shooting time. We may have to rethink this for areas like the Rocky Mountains. Hopefully September will be better.

We headed to Hinton for an oil change and to do laundry and now are on our way north.

The Quest

Burleigh Falls, Ontario

The frost is melting from under my feet. You can smell the earth as it warms up after a long winter. It’s time to get outside and watch the world wake up.

Below High Falls, Ontario

Lately I’ve been busy working on a few projects and haven’t been out to shoot as often as I would like. I suspect that will change soon. With the spring bird migration and the leaves about to sprout, I will be drawn outside to the light.

The last few weeks I’ve spent “data mining”, going back through old images and finding gems hidden in the weeds. We are working on a project for a client and they wanted an image with a specific look, a “typical Canadian landscape”. We have been fortunate to travel extensively across Canada many times. I have watched the tide come and go on all 3 coasts. With all that this country is how do you say that with one image? If you were asked to pick an image that screams CANADA where would it be? The Rocky Mountains? Newfoundland? Algonquin Park? It reminds me of a time we were in France and someone said they “cook Canadian” all the time. I looked at them confused. Canada is so diverse it is hard to sum up what we are in one dish, one scene or one sentence.

Here are a few images I missed selecting the first time through.

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta

Alexandra Falls, Northwest Territories

The Palisades, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta

Male Willow Ptarmigan

The quest for a great image does not end with the click of the shutter. There is so much more to my ever-changing workflow that contributes to a finished image. Judging by the images above, I need to have a look at my selection criteria.

The quest continues.

Tooting the Horn

It's a long road. You have to navigate many tough days and mountains of self-doubt. The life of a nature photographer can be an isolating experience. The most successful people I know are the ones who didn't quit. Even after so many years it is still a thrill to get images out there. Here are a few of our latest photos that have been published:

My work is being featured in the July 2013 issue of Outdoor Photography Canada.

This is an exclusive calendar published in Germany:

Kanada 2014

A book cover for Viking/Penguin:

The Boys In The Boat

A cover for a mini-calendar:

Ontario 2014

A double page spread in the Summer 2013 issue of ON Nature magazine:

ON Nature magazine

The front cover on the Winter 2012/2013 issue of ON Nature magazine and some other images inside:

ON Nature magazine

"Action is the foundational key to all success" -- Pablo Picasso

Keep moving!

Stormy Weather

I'm sitting in a Motel in Jasper watching the rain turn to snow. A group of 10 guys on Harley Davidsons from Wyoming are waiting out the weather. They are in good spirits in spite of the snowstorm they drove through to get here. They reminded Lori of the movie “Wild Hogs” but I think these guys are the real deal, not wannabe bikers like John Travolta. I chatted with one of them at breakfast. He said the trip up the Icefields Parkway was miserable. I found it hard in a van. I can’t imagine what it would be like on a Harley. Blowing snow, sleet and rain mixed with gusts of cold wind.

Motorcycles - Click for larger

We felt a bit overcharged for the room. The restaurant’s food was well below average. Can’t win them all I guess. We stopped at a place with cabins before we stopped here. They wanted $190 for the night. I’m a photographer, not an Oil Barron. We continued on to this place that shall rename nameless. It was a bit cheaper but not cheap. Some day I think I will write a book about all the bad places we have stayed. I will probably need a lawyer though so on second thought, maybe I will just keep a list of places I will never ever stay at again. It’s not a very long list thankfully but we have stayed in some winners. (See Lori’s previous post that mentions the dead lizard.)

We drove through some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet on what must be one of the top 5 drives in the world. We couldn’t see a thing. It has been moody, glum at times and ever so often spectacular light. We are still enjoying it. It’s not always easy. The other day, I was trying to make something of the pitiful light I had. I stopped at the side of Waterfowl Lake in Banff National Park. Just as I set up, it started to rain. Lori came out with an umbrella to help keep my equipment dry. I dragged my camera bag over to get it under cover. It was open and my brand new 24-105 mm lens (the one I had just replaced because my old one just gave up the ghost) the brand new, never been used still squeaky clean right out of the $1400.00 box rolled out of the bag and was rolling toward the lake. It stopped about 2 inches from complete disaster. It gently rolled up to a rock and sat there. I dusted it off, put it on the camera and got back to work. As my friend Hal once said to me when his camera toppled over, “hey, if it can’t take it, what good is it?”

Sh-t happens.

Banff National Park - Click for larger

If you do this long enough, you will drop stuff. You will fall and scrape your knee, twist an ankle. It has taken me a long time to learn how to do this, the travelling photography/massive road trip thing. The nagging self-doubt and the inner noise in my head that is all things good and bad never stops. You learn to listen to your real voice, the creative one that never ever rests.

Mount Chephren, Banff - Click for larger

Life is good!