A January Day in Photos
Here are a collection of my favorite winter photos from January 3rd, 2023 in Edmonton’s river valley:
Landscapes of Early Spring
In this post I share some of my favorite nature/landscape photo images from late-March into early-April of 2022.
These images were captured in the North Saskatchewan River valley near the centre of the city of Edmonton in western Canada:
The following images are from early April, after most of the winter snow had melted
Seeing Winter in Different Ways
Here are a collection of some of my recent photos, of different winter subject matter and processed in different ways:
All of these images were taken in Dawson Park in Edmonton, Canada on 2022 February 11.
Winter Beauty in Photos
Here are a variety of recently (January 2022) captured winter nature photos:
Deep Freeze
The following set of photos were taken in late December 2021 in Edmonton, when the temperatures (daytime highs) were in the -25C range. This made the photography a bit of a challenge as I didn’t want to expose the camera nor my hands to the cold for too long.
The preceding photos were taken on a cloudy afternoon and the following set, on the next day, with a mostly sun and blue skies.
More From the Icy River’s Edge
Here are another set of photos from Edmonton’s river valley. These were taken down near the North Saskatchewan River’s edge late in the afternoon on November 24th, as winter slowly, steadily settles in.
Winter’s Arrival (A Photo Gallery)
Here is my latest collection of photos, featuring the more abstract qualities of subtle textures and forms, of snow and ice in the landscape.
These images come from Edmonton’s river valley in the third week of November (2021), just after our first snowfall of the season.
Ice On the Edge
Here is a collection of photos showing the interesting and varied forms of ice that were to be found at the edge of the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton on 2021 November 10th,
January by the River
After 10 days of very cold weather (-30C plus wind chills) here in Edmonton, it was nice to return to more seasonal temperatures (just a little below freezing). It was an opportunity to take my camera and hike down beside the North Saskatchewan River and capture images of the ice and snow and sun.
My Monthly Photo Favorites from 2019
2019 has not been a very productive year for my art blogging but still I was taking photos semi-regularly and here I look back and share my favorite new photo of each month in the past year.
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:
2018 – The Best of Black and White
As much as I love color there is something about black and white images that has always appealed to me. Inevitably when I go out a shoot a bunch of photos a number of them (maybe 10%) will scream out at me to be represented monochromatically.
Here are one of my favorite black and white images, from each month in 2018:
January:
 Trail in the snow along the edge of the frozen North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton
February:
Plastic pins of a toy for capturing a 3D representation of an object
March:
An exposed and therefore snow-free, south-facing bank of the North Saskatchewan River valley in Edmonton.
April:
Large chunks of ice at spring break-up on the North Saskatchewan River.
May:
Bridge pillars on the Sturgeon River in St.Albert
June:
The bell of a trombone, at the Edmonton International Jazz Festival
July:
Trail in Edmonton’s river valley (upper Dawson Park)
August:
Bend in the road (Rowland Road) in Edmonton
September:
Pillar of the Dawson Bridge in Edmonton
October:
Squirrel sounding off.
November:
Ice starting to form and collect on the North Saskatchewan River
December:
River ice sheet breaking under pressure.
Forms on a Frozen River
It is the end of January and the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton is frozen over and covered with 15 centimeters of fresh snow. I venture to the river’s edge and am captivated by the abstract forms that I see:
River’s Edge
A look at the shapes and tones at the edge of the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton (in early April 2016). A few weeks earlier the river was covered in ice but now the river is clear with just a few big chunks of ice sit washed up on the shore. The ice decaying but reveals a captivating crystalline structure:
Moodier in Black and White
Here are some photos taken on the same outing as my hike last Sunday in Edmonton’s Mill Creek Ravine – but taking out the color the images have a much moodier feel.
Spring Slope
Stairs and a Patch of Snow
Trunk on a Diagonal
All Quiet Under the Bridge
Tangled Slope
and as a bonus, a black and white image from beside the river in Edmonton’s Louise McKinney Park:
Promenade Beside the Ice
Late Winter – Black and White
Here is a little collection of black and white photos themed around the patterns and textures of late winter (late February at my home here in Edmonton).
“Last Year’s Plume”
“Irregular Patchwork”
“Up”
“Ice and the Far Edge”
“Temporary Condition”
A few more photos from this photo shoot may be seen on another of my blogs: YEGmonton.
Winter Nature – Black and White
Here are a few of my recent black and white photos showing Edmonton’s river valley in early January.
Path Through the Riverside Brush
Snow Covered Tangle
Patterns In and On (and the Edmonton Queen)
Up a Snowy Trail
Downtown Edmonton Over the Frozen North Saskatchewan River
Snow and Shadows
A New Year’s Eve afternoon walk in Edmonton’s river valley revealed interesting patterns made by snow and ice, trees and the sun.
Blue Diagonals
Alien Icescape
Foot Paths
Tangled
Crystalline Edge
Trampled
Like Flakes
Icy River
Images of ice and water from the Bow River in Calgary in early March.
Jagged Edge
Spots
Ice Sheet
Stone Cache in the Elbow
Verticals
Broken Ice
Far Shore
Abstracts in the Winter Landscape
Two months into winter and my photographer’s eye is starting to adjust to the winter landscape. With the general absence of color I find that I need to see differently to find interesting photo subject matter. Here are a few recent (December 2012) photos:
Between Water and Ice
Bridge Rail I
Rusty Blue Drum
Bridge Rail II
Nature’s Magic
test
Trees, Snow and Ice – Mid-February Black and White
This past week (middle of February 2012) I have been drawn back to black and white nature photos as I wandered the ravines and river valley in Edmonton. Here are five of my favorite images:
Tall and Bare
Fallen Logs Across the Creek
Black and White Trunks
Shadows Across Frozen Creek
Against the Sun
Do you have a favorite amongst these image? If so, which one and why?
Northern Winter (Black and White, part 1)
Winter, in Edmonton, Canada typically means a fair bit of snow and temperatures in the minus 15 to 30 Celsius range. The 2011/12 winter has been atypical. Except for a week in mid-January where temperatures fell to below normal, most of the winter has featured daily highs around freezing. Nonetheless, there has been snow on the ground since November.
This series of photos are some that I took during the last week of January and the first week of February 2012 the the North Saskatchewan River valley in central Edmonton (in fact most are in Dawson Park). Dawson Park lies on the north side of the river valley meaning it gets a lot of sun and the snow can melt (or blow away) relatively quickly on the exposed ridges.
The Ridge
The Steep Path Up
Dawson Park seen from the south side of the river:
The North Bank
One of the fascinating things about Dawson Park is a section of “hoodoos” a geological formation more famously associated with the badlands of southern Alberta near Drumheller.
River Valley Landscape
While the exposed areas have just a touch of visible snow, the sheltered trails are well covered with snow and very wintery in appearance.
Birch and Snowy Path
Winter – Naturally Black and White
Of course there can be color in the winter landscape, you just might have to look a little harder for it. In this post though don’t strain yourself looking for color as I am featuring 5 black and white photos. Although there has not been a lot of snow in Edmonton in this winter of 2011/12 there has still been enough to keep the ground basically white. On the day I took these images the sun was out and the sky was deep blue – which with a color filter in the black and white conversion, yielded a deep dark sky on some images.
Packed Snow Field
Two and the Forest
Lichen
Reach to the Sky
Frozen Bend in the River
Technical Notes: The photos in this group were all taken in the early afternoon on January 7th, 2012, near Laurier Park in Edmonton. I used a Nikon D80 with a 18-55 lens and a polarizing filter. Post processing including conversion to black and white was done with the Capture NX2 software.
November Ice
Three abstract images from photos taken this morning in Edmonton’s river valley but first the natural look of the river:
The North Saskatchewan River in central Edmonton on Nov. 25
This long exposure photo was taken from near the same viewpoint but also included some brush from the near bank:
November River Abstract
This next image captured the river at an angle with a snowy foreground:
River and Snow
and finally another composition featuring bands of color from the open river, frozen river, river bank etc.:
River Bands
Ice in the Morning (Undersea Dreams)
At this time of year (early spring in Edmonton) there is a daily thaw-freeze cycle – by noon snow and ice are melting, running and sometimes collecting in puddles. With the below freezing temperatures overnight, that water refreezes so that in the morning there are some delightful patterns to be found in the thin layers of new ice. This photo set is all about the ice.
Abstract 110405-2752 (Ice Shards)
Abstract 110405-2769
Abstract 110405-2767
That previous photo reminds me of oceanside waves and I am amazed at how many others of these photos somehow remind of something I’d expect to see underwater.
Abstract 110405-2756
Does this last image look familiar? It is the color version of the first photo in this set.
All of these photos were taken and processed using an iPhone 3GS. PhotoShop Mobile and CameraBag were the two main apps I used for manipulating the images.
Do you have any favorites from these images? Is so, please leave a comment to let me know.
More of my photos can be seen on my Flickr Photostream.
Randall Talbot - Artist 