Wolf

Louis Pasteur is quoted as saying, "luck favours the prepared". Once again I was lucky enough to come cross wolves few weeks back, four of them going through the deep snow. It has been a great winter for photography and coming across wolves second time in a short period time, just made it that much better. I was not sure where they were headed, but I was prepared with the camera in hand and was able to grab few images of one of the wolf that was taking its time heading into the forest.

Until next moment,

Amar

Bark, Lichen and Snow

Just before I was pulled away by the sounds being made by birds, I was taking pictures of the pattern created on a balsam poplar tree. Just liked the way the bark, lichen and snow worked together to create interesting patterns. It was a old tree, with well defined bark and lichen built up over time. Old trees have lot of character and this was part of it.

Until next moment,

Amar

Elk

I have seen my share of elk in the mountains, so I'm not happy with just a picture of an elk. I spend fair amount of time watching them and trying to come up with images that capture the elk and the surrounding their found in. For the attached picture, I came across these two elk who had to work through cold and deep snow to locate food. If the physical environment was not enough of a challenge, they were also sharing the valley with a wolf pack. When I came across them on a snowing afternoon about sixty meters away from them. They stopped eating and started to figure out what I was up to, with their ears turned toward me. I grabbed few quick images before trying to walk around them to get where I was going. They were very uncomfortable with me, before I got far, they ran across front of me toward the other elk that were in the area. Safety in numbers.

Until next moment,

Amar

Sunlight and Steam

The other day the cold temperature was helping create steam of the running hot water at the Cave and Basin NHS. On February the 1st, the sunlight was no longer being blocked by the Sulphur Mtn, as the sun is getting higher up in the sky. I was going by when I looked back and saw the ray of sunlight streaking through the rising steam. Had to grab few pictures.

Until next moment,

Amar

Near Helen Lake Trail

Most of my landscape pictures are taken with the light of a sunset or a sunrise. This low light produces a better contrast between shadow and light. Sunset and sunrise light is horizontal, parallel to the horizon, giving the landscape a three dimensional feel. The horizontal light also has to go through various layers of dust, haze and in some cases pollution. This reduces the intensity of the light, producing a softer look when it comes in contact with the landscape. The filtering of light going through various layers, removing much of the green and blue part of the visible light, leaving mainly the red part of the light, thereby producing light with warm look and feel. 

But with that said, the camera should not be put away between sunrise and sunset for landscape photography. In the winter the sunlight is hitting the northern hemisphere at a much lower angle then it would in the summer, producing a longer window for landscape photography. As well snow and rocks produce nice contrast between each other, contrast magnified when the colours are removed.

Until next moment,

Amar

Mount Ishbel

It was the morning after a big snow storm, I was out looking for area where the sunlight was peaking through the clouds. Every where I went the area looked like winter wonderland,  just wanted some light to create a contrast effect on the landscape. For a short time I got my wish, quickly jumping into the thigh high snow to get the picture I wanted.

Until next moment,

Amar

American Dipper

I had few days off and was determined to find birds to take pictures of. The first day I was out, light snow was falling and was not hearing lot of birds. Those that I heard were far or did not stay for me to take pictures of. Then I came across a small open pool of water with an American Dipper on the far side, going in and out of the water looking for food. It was comfortable with me across the water and went about it business. The light was not the best, but this also kept the birds surrounding simple under the overcast sky. I decided to lie on the snow to keep the lens stable, give the water a smooth look and help pop the dipper even more from the background.

Until next moment,

Amar

Local Chickadees

I still have some work to do identifying these birds by their sound, they are fun to watch and even more fun to take pictures of. They are the chickadees often found in the mountains out here. They are always on the move, so it helps to have fast lens and try to follow them through the viewfinder to get their picture. Have to go through lot of misses to get some keepers, its fun getting there. Got a Boreal Chickadee at the top, followed by the Mountain Chickadee and Black capped Chickadee at the end.

Until next moment,

Amar

Middle of the Night

It was middle of the night, under four hours before the sun would be showing its face. I was on the Icefields Parkway, taking pictures of landscapes all lit up by the moonlight, the night after the full moon had crossed the sky. For the attached image, I was standing in the middle of the road keeping a watch for any vehicle front and behind me. I was taking 20 second exposures, even though my eyes were seeing everything as if it was daylight, the sensor in the camera needed more time to capture the landscape and the stars. As I waited for the camera to take the shot, it hit me, I was surrounded by absolute quite. There was no breeze and no animals were heard or seen, just me and the well lit up night landscape underneath the stars.

Until next time,

Amar

Castle Mtn

Start of a new year had me go over the images I captured the previous years. Even though I have been taking pictures for some 15 plus years, it was when I decided to continue taking pictures through the winter in 2008, it went from a hobby to a passion. Everyday, no matter the season, there is always something new to see, always something new to explore.  The last few weeks I've been getting out there taking pictures of Castle Mountain as sun sets. Exploring the Bow River during day the annual winter jam was starting to break up, a first for me. Another day checking out the nearby streams for future photo opportunities, and ended up finding Dippers passing their winter days in the mountains. Photography in the winter is not only about taking pictures of the same places I visit in the summer, its also about learning the whole story the mountains have to tell us.

Until next moment,

Amar

On the Road

I can never get enough of seeing elks. In this case I was driving home on a cold day when came across a bull elk walking along the road. It was heading east, I trying to figure exactly where. I parked my car and watched it for few minutes before heading home.

Until next moment,

Amar

Wolf

Sun had set and it was getting dark fast, as I drove home. I came around a turn to where the road runs straight for few hundred meters, there I saw two dark images on the road, I quickly realised they were wolves. I slowed down as I got close, the one nearer got off the road and sat down while the other kept its distance on the road. The headlight from the car showed me the details of the beautiful animals, I thought not enough light was there for me to take any photos. After a minute or so I decided to move on, but quickly the wolf sitting, got up and got front of the car. I stopped and it went back off the road, but it was back front of the car when I tried to drive away again. I decided to park the car on the side of the road and see what would take place next.

The wolf kept about car length front of my car, with headlights on it, I decided to grab my camera and take few pictures. It kept the same distance while it moved around and also was comfortable enough to defecated on the road. Another vehicle came by and stopped beside mine, I talked with the two in the van as they pointed out two other wolves were behind us, saw one sitting off the road few car length away. They drove away, and the wolves started leaving one by one, I decided to drive off. As I did the fourth wolf with a collar around its neck ran across the road front of me. It was great seeing the wolves up close, just hoping they were curious the reason for hanging around the road and were not because they were fed. As one can see from the attached photo, the wolf in it and the other three were in fine health, able to defend for them self. They don't need our food, they just need us to give them space to look after themselves and stay wild.

Until next moment.

Amar

Mount Rundle

Clouds were starting to take over the sky in the early morning, there was some blue sky near the town of Bnaff, keeping my fingers crossed I headed for Vermilion Lakes. The sky started to light up and I quickly found  a place to take pictures. The sunrise did not last too long, but was able to frame few pictures. Was not happy with the original framing of the shot, so did some cropping to get something I liked.

Until next moment,

Amar

Hoar Frost

Hot Springs, even on the coldest days the water runs, producing amazing hoar frost. Longer the cold lasts more amazing it looks, layer upon layer of frost. Earth is full of wonders and this is one of them. 

Until next moment,

Amar

Mule Deer and the Magpie

Not sure what they were talking about, one thing for certain, the Magpie was doing all the talking. The deer was eating and the Magpie was searching for insects on the back of the deer. When the deer sat down the Magpie continued its search, but for few seconds it looked like the Magpie was wispering in deer's ear. The deer just sat there, with its left ear tuned toward the bird. Sometimes its best to listen.

Until next moment,

Amar

Bohemian Waxwings


When they needed a break they would fly up to a spruce tree close by. They did not mind me as they flew by me time after time, being close enough to hear the sound of their wings. Hour had passed and they were still at it, I was getting some good shots and had no plans to leave until  I was out of memory cards. The wind and the snow picked up, I kept my back to it, protecting my gear when not taking pictures. Another half hour passed and now I was under the tree they were eating from, it was getting cold but the images I was getting kept me warm. They were now all around me, few times getting hit on the head and shoulders with what
remained of the fruits after it went through them. After spending all together about three hours, I left them still going strong with my memory cards full, time well spent.

Until next moment,

Amar

Lunar Eclipse

Middle of the cool night we got out there, with hopes of watching and getting few images of the lunar eclipse. Quickly realised it was going to be a challenge getting the picture I wanted, the moon was straight overhead. So instead of having something on Earth as the foreground with the moon in the rear, I decided instead to just focus on the moon. With some effort and cold fingers achieved positive results. 

Until next moment,

Amar

Robin

I have never been much of birthday boy or one for surprise parties. I can still remember getting a party when I turned eight and feeling out of place. But when I'm out there taking pictures I relish surprises, finding or seeing something I was not expecting. Last week when I was taking pictures of the Bohemian Waxwings going after the sugar concentrated fruits of two trees in town (pictures next week), I was pleasantly surprised to see a Robin join the party. Whereas the waxwings gave very little regards to my presences, the Robin was more careful. It made me work little bit harder to get few clear images of it. Robins are one of those birds that we look forward to seeing when spring is on its way, seeing it in winter is like putting your hands in a jacket you have not worn in a while and finding chocolate, a nice surprise.

Until next moment,

Amar

Rock Pigeons

I went for a walk near the railway station in town, where I saw the Rock Pigeons flying around. Every now and then landing between the tracks and picking food,I stood nearby using the railway structure as a birdblind to take their pictures. I wanted to catch the pigeons  flying togeather, trying to perdict what they were going to do next.. After ten minutes of trails and errors I got the image I wanted. Cropped it later to just focus on the birds.

Until next moment,

Amar