Archive for December, 2008

Day 4 – Trip out West (Lake Louise to Jasper)

Published on December 25, 2008 in On the Road and photography. 0 Comments

Another overcast day out West that started in Lake Louise, one of the most photographed place in Canada, with Victoria Glacier for backdrop and its stunning blue-green water it makes a wonderful scene. Once there, I took the trail on the right side of the Lake and walked a few km and a little patch of tree captured my attention, then I noticed a fallen tree not far from where I was standing. There was three different element I wanted to capture, the color, the leading line created by the fallen tree and the little patch of tree at the base of Victoria Glacier.


Fallen Tree over Lake Louise, Banff National Park

On day 3 (in Banff) I had checked out the road conditions for Hwy 93 going to Jasper, conditions were bad and I was hoping that by next morning things would’ve been better. That’s exactly what I thought when I was about to leave Lake Louise, the sun came out for the first time and it was starting to clear out.

Lake Louise
Lake Louise, Banff National Park

After grabbing organic bars, water, juice and fuel for the 205km drive I was ready for the trip, the cashier told me to be really careful because the roads were bad + the forecast wasn’t that great. It was funny, he was listening to “Tricot Machine”, a band I enjoy a lot. After driving about 30min it started to snow, the road was icy but still a few patches of pavement. After 35min it started getting really bad, it wasn’t a blizzard but close enough, visibility was null and was only doing 30km/h. Everyone should know that you have to pay more attention when you’re driving a rental car, here’s a shot taken while driving to show how bad it was. A couple from France learned it the hard way, they drove straight in the ditch, they stopped me and wanted me to push the car to get it out, I just laughed out loud, I mean, the car was STUCK. It took a big 1 ton truck to get it out.

Snowstorm
Hwy 93 to Jasper during a snowstorm in November, Banff National Park

This was my first time in the mountains, people had told me that weather changes quickly but you can only see for yourself once you’re there. After driving about 100km, the sun came out, snow had stop and the road conditions back to normal. For those who haven’t had a chance to travel up Hwy 93, it’s a must! There are so many mountains I had a hard time finding their name even with the map, it’s the case for this one. Hopefully someone will be able to help me out.


Moutain off Hwy 93, Banff National Park


The road gives you a sense of scale. Hwy 93 to Jasper, Jasper National Park

Finally made it to Jasper without any injury, it was a long 5h drive but worth it.

Season’s Greetings / Joyeuses fêtes

Published on December 21, 2008 in Misc. 1 Comment

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all of those who take the time to read/view my blog.  More post coming up shortly but I’ll be “disconnected” for a short period during holidays, I’ll be traveling and haven’t decided on the purchase of a laptop yet but… I can smell it, I’ll get one soon enough :0).

May joy and comfort be with you and yours during this Holiday Season!

Christmas Card

Here’s the original file – Season’s Greetings

Day 3 – Trip out West (Banff)

Published on December 18, 2008 in On the Road and photography. 1 Comment

After Yoho, I had made the trip to Banff at dawn so I would be ready to shoot during the morning in Banff.  I was all mixed up with the time and I learned it by waking up and hour earlier, I had to wait about an hour in the car for the restaurant to open its door at 6am.  That being said, I had a good breakfast at Coyotes Deli & Grill on Caribou St. to start off the day.


Downtown Banff, Alberta

The weather wasn’t cooperating and it was impossible to see the mountain top in Banff,  Vermillion Lakes were kept on my to do list anyway.   The reason why I sometime went to places even though I knew the weather wasn’t the greatest is because I plan on heading back West shortly, I was mostly scouting for locations for different perspective.


Vermillion Lake with Mount Rundle, Banff Alberta

After spending a few hours around Lake Vermillion I left for Minnewanka loop northeast of Banff townsite, that’s the road on which I saw the most wildlife, Elk, Deers and Red Fox. This is definitely a must in summer time when snow is still on top of those mountains during summer time.


Lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park

After lunch I headed up on Hwy1 and took the Bow Valley Parkway toward Johnston Canyon.   Got there, took out all my gear, tripod and left for the 5km hike this time I didn’t forgot to bring water, in Yoho when I did the 5km trail around Emerald Lake I had forgot my water in the car, not a good thing.  Johnston Canyon is a great spot, especially at this time of the year because there isn’t much tourist, I’ve seen around 10 people during the hike and 3 Chinese people who took pictures of me while I was shooting.  They seemed all happy to see me!  There were lots of great textures and colors in the canyon, one texture I enjoyed a lot was a rock covered with yellow/orange moss that captured my attention, you can see a face in the rock.


Johnston Canyon, Banff National Park

There are a few neat waterfalls at Johnston Canyon, a slow shutter speed was used in most images to create a smoother feel for waterfalls shots.


Johnston Canyon Waterfalls, Banff National Park

The shot below is Lower Falls, I liked it more than the Upper Falls simply because there isn’t much space to shoot around Upper Falls, you have to set your tripod on a catwalk over the river and the vibration was too intense, I then had to use higher shutter speed to freeze the motion.  It also has a more open space and it started raining pretty bad, my best bet get back on trail.   Although, Upper Falls is way more dramatic with water cascading down more than 30m.


Johnston Canyon, Lower Falls, Banff National Park

Day 2 – Trip out West

Published on December 13, 2008 in On the Road and photography. 0 Comments

Even if I woke up around 4h30, it feel good to have a bit of sleep and take the road again.  For day 2 I only had one stop in mind and it was Yoho National Park for the day and leave at dawn for Banff.

The drive wasn’t bad until I hit Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park where I decided to wait a bit for the sun to come out, it was a pretty bad snow storm with already 1 feet on the ground.  In Golden I made a stop for breakfast and I was able to witness the gorgeous landscapes, the beautiful Kicking Horse River and Bighorn Sheep.


Bighorn Sheep around Golden area


Park Bridge near the Kicking Horse River rest area on an overcast snowy day, the bridge was made at an angle.

I still managed to get in time in Yoho, got my pass for the day and left for the Natural Bridge/Kicking Horse River which is approximately 3km west of Field. The road to Natural bridge was closed but there was still a few interesting spots around the entrance.   At some point the snow was so heavy I had to stop shooting, big snowflakes and light was pretty dim thus using slow shutter speed creating lines across images.


Pine Cone over Kicking Horse River


Kicking Horse River in Yoho National Park

After spending a few hours I headed up to Emerald Lake and did  the 5.2km trail that goes around the lake.  Unfortunately the lake wasn’t Emerald like it use to be since it was an overcast day, there was about 1/2 feet of snow in the trail and not much traffic at this time of the year.  I only started noticing the top of a few mountains halfway in the trail because of the low clouds.


The President Moutain in Yoho National Park


Emerald Lake Lodge with Mount Burgess reflection (2599 metres / 8527 feet) in Yoho National Park

Around 5pm I left to get a bite to eat, on recommendation of a couple I met in the trail I went to “Chercher la Vache Café” in Field,  http://www.chercherlavachecafe.com I had a Quiche and it was the best I’ve ever had.  It was already dark outside but I had to leave for Banff for the night.

Day 1 – Trip out West

Published on December 12, 2008 in On the Road. 0 Comments

Flying to Vancouver was a breeze, I landed, picked up the rental car, GPS and left for Revelstoke BC.  I knew it was a long drive, roughly 600km but a few stops would be done along the way, after all my main goal was to shoot shoot and enjoy it.

This was my first time out West and I was quite surprised to experience drastic climate change, I left Vancouver it was 15°, drove about an hour or so to get freezing rain, snow with -2°.  During that first day, I was limited with the time I had to shoot so I only stopped a few times, weather conditions in New-Brunswick and British Columbia is different but when the rental car only has old 4 seasons tire, you take your time.


This was one of the first image I capture of Coquihalla Hwy

Instead of gowing toward Kamloops, I went thru Kelowna,

the scenery by the time I got there was unreal, it was sunny with clouds and great light.  That’s one thing I don’t like about winter, days are short.  By 4h30 it was almost dark outside,  but I was still happy to catch the last glimpse of light in Kelowna,  it’s such a nice place.  From Merritt to Kelowna that’s probably one road I’d like to redo during summer time, lots of beautiful shapes in the mountains, ranchs, old buildings…  Below is a shot taken around Kalamalka Lake.

Stay tuned for Day 2 of my adventure.

White Birch Branches

Published on December 11, 2008 in photography. 1 Comment

Yesterday we had a snow storm that quickly turned into freezing rain.  Good thing I had cleaned up the driveway before it even started otherwise it would’ve been quite heavy.  This morning I had set up my alarm clock to be up early and capture the morning light but I was unable to get out of bed for some reason, I decided I would just go out in the yard once I wake up by myself.  Got out, took a few shots, got back in, made Egg Benedict with homemade Hollandaise sauce and processed a few shots.

White Birch Branches covered in ice, used a 17-55 lens with Polarizer.

That’s a birdhouse in my backyard hanged on the side of my shed .  I guess I could say, closed for the season eh?

Alive

Published on December 9, 2008 in Misc and photography. 0 Comments

I’m still alive, been pretty busy lately with different things.  One was my photo exhibit, which is still on at this time, I had overwhelming amount of guest at the opening, about 150 people showed up.  The musician Jimmy Abud did an amazing job playing the piano/sax and clarinet.  For those of you who didn’t had the chance to visit the gallery, here’s an overview of the exhibit showing (21) 11×17 prints.

Shortly I’ll be posting shots of my trip I did in BC and AB over the past few weeks, that’s the reason why I haven’t posted in a while, I had no internet access.  Post should be steady from now on.