Tag: Canada

Mountain optics…

We love to travel around sunset or sunrise, and moonrise or moonset. The chance for optics, many which are fleeting, seem greater. Although the sun had risen a couple of hours earlier, it hadn’t yet cleared the Rocky Mountains of this image and particles in the air were sufficient enough to scatter sunlight, creating this wide crepuscular ray. It was a gorgeous day in the Rockies. The windswept snow sparkled with crystals. Wonderful things happen in March—spring battles winter and one day can bring snow, rain, graupel, and sunshine. I have a feeling this month will be extra special and I’m going to enjoy every day of it. Optics…they make every day better!

Fall colors…

I wasn’t the only one enjoying the fall colors! This is bear #10 for the season. As always, shot with a telephoto from the safety of the vehicle then cropped. This guy was stuffing himself with snowberries and though he was well aware of our presence, he seemed satisfied that we meant him no harm. I feel privileged every time I get to see one of these in the wild.

Home…

Monday will mark a day of Thanksgiving in Canada. It’s been on my mind this week as I contemplate what it means to me, and the word that keeps coming to mind is home.

This word symbolizes different things to different people. For some it’s geographical, sometimes an object itself. For others it’s fluid and changes through the years. For a handful of people it will forever bring to mind one specific place.

The last idea makes the least sense to me—the house does not make a home—if it did, I would never have had the courage to move on. And we all have to move on, whether we want to or not. Life throws curveballs.

For me, what makes a home is that feeling of comfort I get when I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than right there, surrounded by people that love me unconditionally. And their presence need not always be physical. I’m blessed to have family and friends scattered near and far and every time I speak to one of those people I collectively call family, I feel grateful.

This Thanksgiving comes with some loss but I’m going to reframe it not as a loss, but as an opening for something new. I’ll be spending the day with my husband, and an extended family that I’ve grown even closer to. An unexpected gift, and one that I’ll treasure.

For those celebrating Thanksgiving, I wish you a happy one spent in the company of friends and family. And for those that aren’t, have an extra special day filled with whatever brings you joy.

The image above is of a beaver lodge, photographed during the golden hour of the morning, in a place that oddly enough feels a lot like home.

Across Canada…

Happy Thanksgiving!

road leading to a mountain shrouded in mist

thankful [ˈTHaNGkfəl]

a feeling of gratitude

Today, people across Canada are celebrating Thanksgiving. In a year that has brought extreme changes to how we do everything, I’m grateful for where I am at this moment. There will always be challenges, but those challenges viewed from within the context of a life lived, hold different weights. When I was in a particularly difficult time of my life I remember saying to the woman who was sharing it with me, “Enjoy this time because when it’s gone, you will miss even this.”

Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating today. None of us know where the road will lead but we can enjoy the journey!

Bear…

number 3.

blacj bear brown wildflowers trees

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

Albert Einstein

On a recent trip to the mountains we had the great pleasure of seeing this guy munching away amongst the wildflowers that infused the meadow with color. The bear’s sense of smell is incredible so although I was a good distance away and using a long lens, he knew I was there.

I love that I have the opportunity to be in the presence of these large apex predators. When steps are taken such as proper food storage while camping in their backyard, everyone is safer, bear included.

For me it’s a thrill to have wildlife appear in a setting that is already filled with beauty. I’ve been at this very place throughout all of the seasons and I’ve never failed to be rapt in awe.

Nature…it’s a beautiful thing.

A little bad weather…

wasn’t enough to keep me away from this jagged peak..

Proton Arc and Aurora Borealis-“To the complaint, ‘There are no people in these photographs,’ I respond, There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.”

Ansel Adams

There’s something about the mountains that puts things into perspective and I don’t think that I will ever grow tired of looking at them.

There is such magic in capturing a moment that is only fleetingly visible.

This was one of those times on a recent trip to the Rocky Mountains in Canada. Rain, clouds, and fog can be a little more challenging to work around but they also provide opportunities like this one where a crack in the clouds revealed this peak still frosted with winter snow.

I like to find the unusual in a landscape. That might take a change of lens, direction, perspective, settings or all of the above.

If you’re not afraid of getting wet the rain seems to add a vibrancy to foliage and a simple trash bag with your lens poked through a hole in the bottom can keep your gear dry if it isn’t weather sealed.

Great photo opportunities can happen anytime under any conditions so don’t let a little weather or less than perfect light keep your camera in its bag…