Welcome to my blog, in which I post photos from recent travels and photography ideas.
These are posted irregularly, so log in at your leisure to catch my latest ramblings.
June 14 - Vermilion Bay, Ontario
We left Brandon this morning under cloudy conditions - nothing conducive to photography weatherwise or in the landscape.
We had lunch and a nice visit with Mike Grandmaison in Winnipeg, and then headed into Ontario. We made one stop to photograph, at Rushing River Provincial Park just east of Kenora. Here are two images I made of the Rushing River's falls.
We drove a few kilometers east and chose a motel in Vermilion Bay. The evening was nice and warm, with no wind and no insects.
Ward is enjoying his rum and a few munchies outside the room while watching the traffic pass by on the Trans-Canada highway, and checking in with the boss at home. He also found a new friend.
Good night to all. We will enjoy the sounds of nature tonight - highway nature, that is!
June 13 - Brandon, Manitoba
Today's drive took us across Saskatchewan, and then into Manitoba. We've stopped for the night in Brandon. That means time for a bit of wine (Rasteau), some cheese and foie gras. A fitting end to an uneventful day. The good news is that it was sunny with nice clouds and no more gale-force winds. This was Ward's first time in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
We turned off the Trans-Canada to photograph these grain elevators in Herbert.
We found few photo opportunities along the highway, but this was an interesting one. Here is Ward photographing an old house in Parkbeg.
This is my attempt at creativity. The lady who owns a cafe opposite this house came by to speak with us. From her we learned that this house had been built in 1905. It is withstanding the elements quite well.
This was our one Manitoba stop, near Whitehead.
June 12 - Medicine Hat, Alberta
I'm glad that I drank the remainder of my bottle of Willamette Valley Pinot noir, along with some cheese, foie gras, and dark chocolate. I know you likely are not interested, but these fucking computers can be frustrating. I'd mostly finished this blog post and then I lost it all. So I'm starting over.
This first image I made in Kalispell, Montana, yesterday, as we were about to depart. Mr. hart is the owner of a 1952 Citroen that I photographed. This is him with his parakeet.
We then drove to West Glacier and the entrance to Glacier National Park, only to learn that the Going-to-the-Sun Highway was not yet open. I made this photo along the shore of Macdonald Lake in the western side of the park.
We then drove along the highway that skirted the park on the south side and on to St. Mary, the eastern entrance to the park. Ward and I made some images in this part of Glacier, but it was a battle, mostly against the fierce winds - not a lot of fun, to say the least.
Here you can see Beargrass blooming in the fire ravaged forest.
Last night these winds kept up. We could hear them howling all night long, so we passed up an early morning photo shoot. The light was bright, and the sky was a bald blue, so we decided to move on.
We paid our entry fee and entered Waterton Lakes National Park. Only after arriving in the village did we become aware that the two main roads, to Cameron Lake and into the Blakiston Valley, were closed due to the ravaging fires of last September. Is it not incumbent upon the park to inform visitors of these restrictions before they pay and enter? I think it rather arrogant of the authorities to not post this information or to inform travellers before they enter. We were restricted to the area of the village and nothing else.
The mountain sides around Waterton village were completely ravaged, as this photo illustrates.
I made this photo of Cameron Falls in the town site. There was nothing else to photograph.
This final image was made along the route to Lethbridge.
Tonight we are in Medicine Hat (The Hat), on our way home.
June 11 - St. Mary, Montana
We are in St. Mary tonight, at the eastern entrance to Glacier National Park. And the wind is howling out our room. We've just returned from the park, finally giving up because it was so difficult to photograph. In fact it was hard to stand in the gusting winds.
Last night we stayed in Kalispell, Montana. I was unable to post a blog because the internet at the hotel was out. In the morning we were informed that a large swath of that part of Montana had its internet out of service.
Sunday morning, Ward and I decided against staying another day in Palouse because the morning was overcast. The forecast was similar for the day with also the possibility of rain. So we made a morning photo run, then packed up and headed east toward Glacier National Park. I'll report on today's activities with tomorrow's blog.
Here are a few images from yesterday morning in Palouse.
These two images were made close to our hotel in Pullman.
We revisited the Weber house, thinking that the cloudy skies create more of a mood suitable for this derelict house.
Overcast day, poor photo conditions? The skies did clear for moments like this near Colfax.
This old barn we found near Hot Springs, Montana.
In tomorrow's blog, I will post some images from Glacier National Park, and perhaps Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta.
June 9 - Rainy Day in Palouse
We had thunder showers last night. When we awoke in the morning, there was a heavy cloud cover. Shortly after breakfast the rain began - too heavy for photography. Also the sky was featureless. So plan "B" into play - go get an oil change and shop for some food. Around 1:00 we decided to go for a drive - somewhere - even if there still were intermittent showers. It was also very cool - about 9C. But we did make the best of the conditions. After a rain, the colours are quite saturated. Most often we had to leave the bland sky out of the frame, except at times when it was gray. The lack of harsh shadows was good for closeup photography, especially of old vehicles, which are numerous here in the Palouse. As you will see, the sun finally broke through late in the day, giving the landscape textures.
Here is a selection of images that I created this afternoon.
This last image of me photographing at evening is courtesy of Ward Isnor. But I do retain reproductive rights, so beware.