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“If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.”
– Henry David Thoreau
This lone tree was possibly being protected by the farmer due to it’s beautiful shape or perhaps this used to be the site of an old homestead and he wanted to preserve something of the heritage of his farm. Of course there were other trees around, but in Kneehill County there are not near as many as in the parkland biome of Alberta. Mostly the tree are planted as windbreaks around farmyards, but every now and again you’ll find nice pockets of protected trees especially in the northern parts of the county. The further south you travel, the more sparse the trees become. I quite liked how the cloud patterns resemble the snow patterns on the stubble field and the vehicle tracks on the right are mirrored in the clouds as well.
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Leaning to the east, this small granary in Kneehill County near Trochu, has been buffeted by strong chinook winds from the west for many years and on this day it was about to get hit again. All the dark brooding clouds were just behind the leading edge of this new chinook which warmed the air to a balmy 17ºC. The warm wind made fairly quick work of the last remaining snow and all the small creeks were running strong with meltwater for the next few days as the water, following the law of gravity, rushed on the quickest route downhill towards the Red Deer River.
“Snow Eater” the Blackfoot call you.
Born of the sea,
Flowing inland
To warm the land,
Climb a mountain
And bestow
A benediction of rain
On the forest below.
Chill and dry
At the top.
Nearly touching the sky.
Warmed by the speed
Of your descent,
You blow through
The Clouds,
Carving an arch
High in the sky.
Your signature.
Then march
Across the foothills
Raising the temperature,
Melting ice and snow
As you go.
It feels like springtime in Alberta and the sloughs are filling up with meltwater again, even though it technically is still winter for a couple more weeks. The only sound here was that of water running in the ditch and the wind blowing through the fence wires and the grass. I was travelling with my friend Michael Chesworth on our way towards Drumheller when we came across this beautiful scene in Kneehill County. We travel with no agenda and no major goals in mind, simply enjoying our time together and the scenery along as many gravel backroads as we can find. Of course gravel roads allow us to travel slowly if we want to, and we do, and stop often without the worry of traffic, so it generally takes us a long time to get anywhere! But that is exactly how I like it!
there’s something rather strange and still
about a warm winter afternoon
when the sun has dipped until
there is only a subtle peach haze on the
clouds
and a silver sparkle on the trees
the snow is soft
with endless rills and rolls
and tracks
birds hush
for a change, and listen
animals smile with their gentle eyes
and people
people
look and look
and take off their mitts
and adjust their hats
and breathe deeply
trying to grasp it
I wonder if warm winter afternoons
mean this much everywhere
or just here
Marilyn Cay – “Strange and Still”
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“Visual pollution is an aesthetic issue and refers to the impacts of pollution that impair one’s ability to enjoy a vista or view.” Wikipedia
During my lunch breaks at work, I like to go for a walk around downtown Red Deer to get some fresh air and feel the sun and wind on my face. It refreshes me, but not comparing even remotely to the kind of refreshment I get when I first breath in clean, fresh, cool mountain air when I travel into the Rocky Mountains, but it is certainly refreshing compared to the air in my office! The visual stimuli leave a lot to be desired in the downtown core. Visual pollution runs rampant and can almost be called embarrassing to think that after a hundred plus years of being incorporated as a town and city, that this is all the City of Red Deer could accomplish! It is, however, an interesting challenge to myself to find “beauty” amongst it all, a composition that exhibits balance and harmony or a complete lack of it. Maybe it’s the lighting and atmospheric conditions that help the situation. Whatever it is, I like to try and find it.
These two photographs were taken only a day or two apart from each other from virtually the same spot just down the back alley from work. You can see the same post on the left of the first photo and again on the far right of the second photo.
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autumn light ablaze
upon these soon barren trees
the embers slowly die
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– Collin J Örthner
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Bower Woods – Red Deer, Alberta
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10″ x 8″ – Open Edition Printed on Ilford Galerie Prestige 310gsm, signed, numbered, and shipped http://www.paypal.me/collinorthner/45
24″ x 19.2″ – Edition of 9 + 1 AP Printed on Ilford Galerie Prestige 310gsm, signed, numbered, and shipped http://www.paypal.me/collinorthner/350
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In the reflection of a moment’s light,
the voice within cries,
“There is God!”
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Waskasoo Creek, Red Deer, Alberta
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10″ x 6.25″ – Open Edition Printed on Ilford Galerie Prestige 310gsm, signed, numbered, and shipped http://www.paypal.me/collinorthner/45
30″ x 18.75″ – Edition of 9 + 1 AP Printed on Ilford Galerie Prestige 310gsm, signed, numbered, and shipped http://www.paypal.me/collinorthner/350
40″ x 25″ – Edition of 4 +1 AP Printed on Ilford Galerie Prestige 310gsm, signed, numbered, and shipped http://www.paypal.me/collinorthner/750
Soft dusk lighting illuminates this iconic fibreglass sculpture by well-known local sculptor Robert Dow Reid which has become a symbol for the city of Kelowna and is prominently featured in many tourism publications. It was installed at the foot of Bernard Ave on Waterfront Street in 1978.
[ Sony RX100 II ]
Collin J Örthner - Photographer 