In this post I am sharing some of my favorite photographic images captured at the Sun Peaks ski area in British Columbia, Canada in the first week of January, 2024.
The natural beauty of trees and snow:
Some photo images that are particularly interesting because of the processing or perspective:
Photos of the ski resort in action:
Finally, a photo from the day of fresh snow, processed for an antique-look:
I recently visited the Sunshine Village ski area in the Rocky Mountains near Banff (Canada). I was struck by the beauty and here are some of the photos of the mountains, the infrastructure and activity, that I captured:
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.
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.
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,
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.
At first glance the winter landscape looks so desolate, monotonous and colorless. However, I find that once my eyes/mind get tuned into the trees, their trunks and bark, I see abundant subjects of interest. Here are photos of the great variety that caught my eye one day in early January in Edmonton.
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:
While not unheard of, foggy days in Edmonton are also not very common. This last weekend in Edmonton was however one of those times – a fog just heavy enough to hide the far side of the river valley and flatten out depth. The high humidly and sub-zero temperature resulted in a delightful, frosty coating on the trees.
Combining the fog, frost and late afternoon/early-evening light lead to these moody, black and white images:
In the early 1990’s I did a series of paintings of the Riverdale community, in Edmonton’s river valley.
“Tree Frog Press”, acrylic on hardboard, 30 by 41 cm, 1991
“Bird Bath”, acrylic on canvas, 61 by 51 cm, 1992
One of the most distinguishing features of the community at the time was the large, undeveloped tract of land that belonged to the historic Little Brick factory, By the end of the decade those fields would be redeveloped to look like suburbia, but at the time it lent a rural charm to this area, just a kilometer from downtown.
“Old Brickyard Field”, acrylic on canvas, 51 by 61 cm, 1992
“Old Brickyard Road” acrylic on canvas, 51 by 61 cm, 1992
“The Little Brick House”, acrylic on hardboard, 28 by 36 cm, 1991
“The Rink Shack”, acrylic on canvas, 51 by 61 cm, 1992
“Sun on 92nd Street”, acrylic on hardboard, 36 by 38 cm, c. 1992
A decade and half later I would revisit this series with a few more paintings of the community:
“Summer Morning on 91st Street”, oil on hardboard, 51 by 61 cm, 2008
“Riverdale Garage (winter sunlight)”, oil on canvas, 41 by 51 cm, 2008
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:
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).
The Kate Bush song “December Will be Magic Again” comes to my mind every year around this time. While the darkness in the northern hemisphere in December would seem to be a major deterent to photography it does open a door to a magical world.
I am torn between shooting at 1600 ISO and a wide aperture for low light handheld photography or giving in to the darkness and shooting at 100 ISO with an exposure of a couple of seconds, completely abandoning any attempt to stabilize the camera for a “clear” image. In fact when I go to such slow shutter speeds I will deliberately move the camera during the exposure to create magic!
Here is part 2 of my photos from a cold (and a bit foggy) January evening walk around the town of Olds, Alberta. Part 1 featured color photos (subdues as they were); this set is all black and white: