Frost and fire - March 20, 2020

When I first got up in the morning I peeked outside and it looked like the sky was cloud covered and that there wasn't going to be an interesting sunrise. I had thought that if it looked like the light was forming that I'd head out for some photos. A while later, as I drank my morning coffee, I noticed that the sun was indeed out and brightening the neighbors house. After deliberating back and forth for a few minutes I decided yes, I'll go.

Being that it was later I wasn't going to head towards downtown because all the great light would be gone. So I soon found myself driving east on McKnight towards Conrich behind a big truck that wasn't going very fast.

Usually when I finally decide to do something like this and I feel like I'm late to the game, I notice ALL the little delays.. like all the lights turning red as I reach the intersections, being trapped behind another car that doesn't care that I'm chasing light and so on. It's a test in patience.. Soon enough though, the truck pulled off and I had nothing but open road before me.

otherside

Frost - January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!

Stepping out onto the deck this morning I saw frost on the trees and a bit of fog in the air. I was excited and thought that the fields east of the city might be covered in frost. So I grabbed my bag, ran out of the house and started driving. It seemed that the fog was just skirting the east side of the city and the further out I went the thicker it became. There is a stand of trees in a field not far from the house that I've shot before I thought this would be a good place to start.

I parked near the field and walked in towards the small stand of trees looking for an angle to shoot from. Facing north the sky was quite flat and I was hoping to include the sun and get some nice light. Circling the trees to look from the other side there wasn't much frost on the trees. I guess the frost had come in with the wind and only collected on the south facing side. So, with the direction set I started shooting. The first set of photos were from further out and had a lot of field and sky in them. I kept moving in closer to the trees taking shots as I went. I like this view because it's close enough to see details in the branches and I really like how the circles on the ground surround the trees.

Frosted - March 26th, 2011

We've had a lot of foggy, frosty days here the last while. I`m surprised at how long it`s been hanging around. I was driving out past Cochrane looking for bald eagles as they've been migrating through the area. I'd seen lots and lots of opportunities to photograph the fog and the frost but it's hard to pick a spot when you're driving down the highway. Oftentimes I`ve seen a scene that moves me but I`ve already passed it and the decision to stop and turn around gnaws at me. Almost always - I don`t stop.

I have a catalog of potential shots that I missed because I didn`t stop. Next time, I think. Next time I`ll stop. Next time the light and the fog and the frosted trees look like that I`ll stop and make that photo. Until then, they`ll just be my private memories. In reality, the moments are fleeting, there most likely isn`t going to be a next time. I drive myself crazy thinking I need to capture everything I see because I`m just overwhelmed with the beauty of it all.

Here, I did stop - walked across the highway and tried to compose a shot of the frost and the fog. I like how the curves of the hills rest against the sky and the curve of the fence cuts across the frame.

Not much later, I was driving down another road in the area and came across this guy in the top of the tree. I stopped just past him and got out of the car and took a few shots before he decided that he`d had enough of me and flew off into the distance. I was able to get a couple of shots of him in flight. When he was lower to the ground I was impressed at how big he was.

Later, looking on the internet to find out if it was a juvenile bald eagle or something else, I discovered that he might have been a golden eagle because of the light brown patch on the back of his head. I don`t know about you, but I`m impressed.

Thanks for looking.
brad.