Red Deer has had freezing drizzle and sometimes very thick fog for the better part of the past week giving ample opportunity for some beautiful hoar frost.
[Sigma DP2 Merrill]
October 31, 2012
October 29, 2012
October 28, 2012
Character of Trees
I’ve seen this tree now for three years. Situated next to the campsite that two of my friends and I stay at when we go fly-fishing in September each year. It’s in the southwest corner of Alberta in the Crowsnest Pass and looks like it was likely distorted by heavy snow when it was a small sapling. Situated along a small open meadow near the base of a mountain it stands along with a few other beautiful trembling aspens, but this one stands all on it’s own when it comes to originality! From virtually every angle it oozes character and it twists and turns like a great ballet dancer. Searching out compositions that include trees can sometimes occupy hours of enjoyment for me some days – this one took about 3 minutes to accomplish! I made multiple horizontal images and stitched them together to create a very high resolution vertical image.
[Olympus E-M5, Olympus 45mm f/1.8]
October 27, 2012
Maskepetoon Park
I decided to head over to Maskepetoon Park again today now that it has cooled off substantially. I invited my friend Gary Kuiken to come along this morning and the two of us headed out just as the sun was coming up. The wind chill was -15°C so we bundled up with lots of layers. We had a great walk through the woods and emerged along the Red Deer River. We then followed it for a bit and saw quite a number of ducks, which were being harassed by a Bald Eagle, and we even saw a shorebird. Unfortunately I didn’t get a very long look at the shorebird, so I came away without an identification. I would think that this sighting would by the latest I have ever seen any shorebird sticking around in the fall.
[Sigma DP2 Merrill]
October 24, 2012
The Day Before it Snowed
It was a cool -4°C, but I really wanted to photograph and explore the late fall colours, so out I went. The colours were fabulous and now are mostly covered in snow.
[Sigma DP2 Merrill]
October 22, 2012
Winds of Change
Strong gusts of wind a couple days back brought with it snow and cold as fall turns into an early winter. I really hope the snow goes away again until December 21st or so, as that’s when winter should start, not in the first half of fall!
[Sigma DP2 Merrill]
Maskepetoon Park
I decided to visit Maskepetoon Park in Red Deer this morning. Not another soul to be seen here. The city has added a lot of upgraded trails to the park in the last while making for easy access, other than the 104 steps down(and back up again). It was cold this morning and a bit of ice had formed on some of the small ponds and rivulets.
The park is mostly covered in rather thick brush with many downed trees The forest ranges from a spruce forest almost like you are in the foothills or mountains to some very large poplars, many of which have their tops tops broken off. But, every now and again there may be a small pond or opening in the forest dominated with some small brush and grasses. One of these openings allowed me to find a wasp’s nest, now revealed with all the leaves gone.
[Sigma DP2 Merrill]
October 20, 2012
A Tree Fell In The Forest
It was a very quiet walk through Bower Woods this morning. We had a light snow flurry with the temperature hovering around 0°C. I met nobody on the trail this morning. It’s nice having the whole park to myself. I came across this large poplar tree that had been felled by a strong gust of wind. The skiff of snow seemed like it was glowing in the dim light giving a very ethereal feel to the scene.
[Sigma DP2 Merrill]
October 19, 2012
October 18, 2012
At Rest
Autumn is certainly a time of change, but it is also a time of rest. These leaves which burst forth with the first warm rays of the sun in spring, rapidly grew from tiny buds into amazing different shapes. Then they waved like mad when the big thunderstorms of summer blew through. Almost never have they sat perfectly still as the air almost always has had some small breeze creating a current. Now, however things have changed. The leaves make one last trip as they flutter to the ground and come to rest silently, gathering frost with a whole community of others. I have added below a crop from this image showing off the amazing capabilities of this little camera. The crop is a detail of a print that is 50″ across!!
[Sigma DP2 Merrill, Sigma 30mm f/2.8]
Collin J Örthner - Photographer 