It was difficult to find a day this week with any kind of promise on the weather front. Cecil and I opted for Thursday, meeting up in the car park at the upper lake. We had hoped that cold temperatures and vey little snow would provide a few methane bubble shots on the frozen lake.
It was clear on arrival that we would not be so lucky. Fresh snowfall had covered much of the ice and howling winds almost took us off our feet as we made our way along the frozen shore heading southwest. You could be forgiven for thinking that I had made all the images today in black and white, but that is not the case, the absence of light in the winter scene leaves the monochrome finish without my intervention. The main image is only one of two shots today with any kind of colour in them, this one was made by lowering the camera and directing it at the sun to make the most of what little light was available. The chilly gallery below has captions as usual.
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Keeping with my prairie road trip theme, I set out today heading north on highway 22. This time I had a specific target in mind, the small hamlet of Rowley about 2 hours north east of my home.
In the 1920's Rowley was a bustling little town with over 500 inhabitants, enjoying the agriculture boom in the area; less than 50 years later it was almost empty. This unusual little hamlet without water or sewer services now clings to life as a tourist hotspot and/or ghost town. In the late 1970's, the few locals still remaining began restoring some of the old derelict buildings, by the 1980's Rowley was back on the map as a film location and heritage stop on the railroad that passed through the town. Unfortunately, in 1999 the railroad closed and a steady stream of 'leg stretchers' who might part with a few dollars was taken from the community again. Still, here we are 100 years since it's heyday, Rowley and its 12 remaining inhabitants remain defiant, this tiny, stubborn little hamlet clings to life as a ghost town just 2 hours north east of a 21st century city that shares the same wide open prairie. The main image shows the setting sun lighting the old livery which has now stood empty for a greater period of time than it served. The captioned gallery below shows more of the town and the route I took to get there. With chinook winds sweeping away the snow yesterday, I decided to take a short prairie road trip seeking new images for the blog. It was so nice to be roaming the wide open spaces, on clear dry roads, with my music as an ever present soundtrack to the epic, slowly changing scenes outside the window.
My only plan was to travel south for an hour or so, then east for the same, north for a little longer then west again bringing me home. I had no targets, no pressure to be anywhere at any particular time, and just enjoyed the empty roads and beautiful surroundings. With Covid 19 still rampant I passed through most of the small towns I encountered along the way, and stayed out of public areas. So, no need for a mask, no radio or TV talking about Covid 19 and no other people around me with 6 foot long measuring sticks. In short it was a wonderful escape. I didn't see much wildlife, which was a surprise, but there were plenty of other photographic targets along the prairies. If nothing else it is a nice reminder of the other side of Alberta, east of the Rockies, equally as beautiful as the mountains to the west, the open spaces and arrow straight highways of the east bring a wonderful juxtaposition to the province. My main shot today is an abandoned prairie house, abandoned by humans at least. Still home to owls, hawks, bats, mice, voles, foxes, coyotes and so much more, they are a blessing for the thousands of critters who call the prairies home. The gallery has captions as usual. I returned to Kananaskis yesterday to shoot the sunset for the second time this week. The sky was predicted to be clear enough for a milky way shot, so I intended to hang around and do just that. The moon was going to be an issue, early in the waning gibbus phase it was still at over 90%.
Timing was going to be critical, the moon was to begin its ascent an hour after sunset and would need some time to rise fully before it bleached the night sky. I hoped astronomical twilight would arrive before that time. After shooting sunset I did some sparkler spinning by the lower lake, just to pass the time, then drove round to the upper lake for a milky way shot. With nobody around as usual and the sound of the lower lake pumphouse now blocked entirely, it was wonderfully quiet at the upper lake. I sat watching the night sky in anticipation as the stars began to fill the void between light and dark. After making a few images with the wide angle lens I switched to my 24 mm F/1.2 to make the most of its light gathering capabilities, as I changed the lens I fired off the remote trigger in my pocket by accident making a 'late Monet' style image which I've posted in the gallery below. Ultimately I managed to make a milky way image with moonrise just tipping the mountains, soon after that it washed out the sky and I packed away reluctantly and made the long drive home. The main image today is a scattered reflection of the sunset on the mountains across the ice of the lower lake. The gallery below is captioned where required. It has been some time since the skies were clear enough to allow a revisit to my favourite sunset location, Lower Kananaskis Lake. today threated to be just such a day (as does tomorrow). I intend to make the trip with Cecil tomorrow but thought I would take a recon mission today.
As it transpires, it's a good job I did. The lakeshores are not conducive to photography right now, warm temperatures have seen off the early ice and water levels are much higher than usual in the main lakes. At Barrier Lake the water is very low ,but this is the first lake available from the highway so it is where all the families go. As a result it is heavily trodden, with tons of sticks and stones scattered all over the ice leaving little for the photographer. I did see a Bald Eagle guarding a road kill deer carcass and he was in no mood for moving as I stopped and got out of the truck to grab a shot of him. I also got the usual sunset and wonderful it was too, I had the place to myself and the anticipated light hit at the anticipated time. I liked the main shot below as this snake of light ascended the summits opposite. The gallery has captions as usual. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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January 2024
The Shaman, West Texas
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