Highway 66 - October 14, 2013

Yesterday the sky was overcast and cloudy, this morning there wasn`t a cloud in the sky which was disappointing because I was in the mountains yesterday but wasn`t today. After a late decision to go for a drive I found myself heading out of town. I wasn`t sure where I wanted to go and ended up driving down Highway 66 past Bragg Creek. The bridge is still out at Alan Bill from the floods this past spring so there was a bit of traffic as cars took turns going across the temporary bridge. It was such a nice day that there were lots and lots of people out on the road. Early on the drive I passed some trees that caught my eye but I didn't stop thinking that there would be lots of trees to look at. I drove all the way to the end of the road at Little Elbow. I was really hoping for more yellow leaves but many of the trees that I could see from the road were now naked. I was a tiny bit disappointed and on the way back stopped the car near the river to see if I could make a photo of something.

Walking along the edge of the river I noticed that there were some large rocks I could use to get a vantage point that would put the distant mountains just above some rapids. I knew going in that I should have changed my shoes but I thought I'd be careful enough that it wouldn't be a problem. The texture on the soles of my shoes wore away quite some time ago. When it rains I walk differently because there is a particular angle at which my shoes will hydroplane on things like wet tile, or plywood in construction zones, or even wet crosswalk paint. I'm not inexperienced at recovering from slipping in the streets and have only hit ground once that I can recall. So having hopped across a few rocks and noticing that one of my shoes had dipped into the river should have been a clear warning that my shoe would probably not be stable going forward. I was doing OK for a while but my attention was on getting the shot when my foot went full on into the water. I recovered but it wasn`t long before both feet had become submerged. I gave up on getting the shot when I fell backwards and found myself sitting in the river. Below is a photo that I captured from the middle of the Elbow river.

Luckily I had some extra clothes in the car and was able to get out of my wet pants, socks and shoes. I figured I should head home cause things just weren`t working out. As I drove I passed the trees that I`d seen on the way in I debated with myself about stopping and finally decided that I would. The fall colours are quickly fading and I wanted to take advantage of whatever is left. I parked the car along the side of the road and composed some shots of the trees.

I`m pleased with this photo and capturing it helped make the trip worthwhile. I love photographing trees and I love fall.

Thanks for looking
Brad.

Kananaskis - Sept 6, 2013

Highway 40 into Kananaskis was just opened up from the winter gates for another 20kms. The highway had been closed due to the June floods causing all kinds of trouble with creeks and bridge crossings. There are still problems with the lower part of Highway 40 and it remains closed. The news sites were saying that the road was extended to the Lost Lemon Lookout. I was curious to find out where this was exactly because I'd really like to go explore Elbow lake and the Elbow valley before winter sets in. Looking on the internet, there is a Lost Lemon mine, but it doesn't really indicate where the lookout is on Highway 40. Searching for the term "Lost Lemon Lookout" would only show the news articles that said that the highway was now open to the Lost Lemon Lookout.. kind of redundant I think. So, after work on Friday I drove out there to see where the highway was closed.

The good news, if your also wondering, is that the Lost Lemon Lookout is past the Highwood pass summit by about 5 or more kms which is good news if you want to go to Elbow lake, Ptarmigan cirque or climb Mt. Rae or something near the Highwood pass.

Fall is in the pass at the higher elevations, the plants are starting to turn brilliant shades of yellow and red with many hues of green still present. While I was there the clouds were low and it was raining off and on. I was one of very few cars on the highway so I felt comfortable stopping whenever something caught my eye.

Below is a photograph I took of the fall colours just beyond the pass. It was raining at the time so I took the shot out of the window of my car.

On the drive out I also spent some time with a small herd of big horn sheep. They were at the corner of Highway 40 and the turnoff to the lakes and are often seen in this location. I like this group shot.

Sitting quietly in the grass the sheep eventually wandered close to where I was sitting.

Thanks for looking.
Brad.

Station Flats - November 2, 2012

The weather has been heavily overcast and foggy for the past week or so. On Friday afternoon I was out at Bragg Creek for a walk around the Diamond T loop at Station Flats. Given the conditions, I was hoping to get some shots of trees receding into the heavy fog. As it turned out the fog wasn't thick and clinging to the trail the way that I'd hoped. The walk was still nice and it gave me a chance to try out my new boots.

Towards the end of the trail I noticed that there appeared to be some blue sky forming then some of the clouds actually parted and the sun started to break through. All of a sudden there was some beautiful light.

I liked the contrast of the bright trees standing against a darker background.

A little further on down the road the light was streaming in from the side, the colours are subdued.



Soon the sun was down and the light was gone for another day. Driving back towards Calgary the sky was still overcast and foggy. It seems I had been lucky enough to find a hole in the clouds and see some sunshine which can be a welcome sight after weeks of cloud cover.

Thanks for looking
Brad.

Fall Sunset - October 16, 2012

Driving down 26th street the sun was low on the horizon and had just peeked out below some clouds. Looking towards downtown and the western sky I couldn't help but stop and take a few photo's of the sunset. Soon the leaves will all be off the trees and the snow will be flying. Luckily I had my camera with me (If you don't know me, I always have my camera with me ;-) There wasn't much time because I was on my way to pick up Conor from Grandma's house and take him to his piano lesson.

I wasn't stopped for too long and still got Conor to his lesson on time. Phew!

Thanks for looking.
Brad.

Prairie Creek - October 7, 2011

On Friday afternoon I drove out to Powderface and walked along Prairie Creek. It has been cool and raining all week and I was hopeful that the leaves in the forest were still on the trees and hadn't all been blown off by the wind. There was a light rain when I got to the parking lot. The sky was grey and overcast with almost no wind. I love walking through the forest when it's like this. It's so calm and peaceful.

I`m intrigued when water droplets form on flowers and leaves like little spherical jewels. I really love it when the leaves have turned yellow and are edged in a nice deep red colour. I was fortunate to be standing in a forest with an infinite number of opportunities because everything was wet and yellow and red and orange.

Fall Colours - October 2nd 2011

Took a short drive on Sunday afternoon to try and capture some fall colours before they disappear. I was hoping to get back to Highway 40 because the trees all looked pretty spectacular on Saturday when Conor and I drove out to King Creek Ridge. I left Calgary and drove west on the 1A towards the mountains.

Without any real destination, I decided to stop at Mt. Yamnuska. I wanted to find a place where there were lots of deciduous trees and at Yamnuska the trail winds through a nice aspen forest before it starts to climb. I kind of thought I would spend a bit of time there then hop on over to Highway 40 and see what else I could find.

This first shot is a bit busy, but I think it works in terms of showing off the colours. I like the reds and browns in this photo.