Spring officially arrived about two weeks ago. Although the weather has been a bit unsettled lately, it looks like winter is gradually coming to an end in the Crowsnest Pass. The ice is receding on some of the local lakes and rivers. Anglers are making their way out onto open water once again.
It’s been a cold winter in the Crowsnest Pass. Between mid-December and mid-January, the temperatures were brutal. We also received a fair amount of snow. I have spent a lot of time digging out this winter. It seemed like as soon as I cleared the driveway, sidewalk, front steps, and patio of snow, it would snow another foot.
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This summer I visited Emerald Lake on several occasions to try and duplicate a photo taken in the 1930s by Thomas Gushul, a well-known Crowsnest Pass photographer. Emerald Lake is located along Highway 3, west of Coleman, near the Alberta-British Columbia border. The picturesque lake is connected to Crowsnest Lake via a shallow channel, 50 metres in length. Most travelers are unaware the two lakes are connected, as the highway bridge passes directly above the interconnecting channel, blocking it from view. When Thomas Gushul took his photo, these bodies of water were considered an extension of each other and regarded as one lake – Crowsnest Lake.
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The picture above is of Lundbreck Falls, located on the Crowsnest River in southwest Alberta. It’s a vintage, hand-tinted photograph produced by the Gowen Sutton Company of Vancouver. The photograph was taken circa 1903 by the photography team of Marks and Buchanan, who operated a photo studio in the town of Frank, some 18 kilometers (12 miles) away. The title of the print is “Lundbreck Falls, Alberta – The Niagara of the Foothills.”
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In keeping with the theme of my previous post, I have a few more Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) images I’d like to share. These are architectural in nature and were taken near my home in Crowsnest Pass. I enjoy photographing old buildings and it gave me an opportunity to try something different. Continue reading
Recently, I’ve been trying my hand at creating blurred, impressionistic-style images using Intentional Camera Movement, or ICM for short. Like all forms of photography, there’s been a learning curve involved but I’ve been getting some interesting results of late.
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The limber pine is one of the longest-lived trees in Alberta and can have a lifespan of more than 1,000 years. They can be found on rocky, wind-swept ridges throughout the Crowsnest Pass and surrounding area. Limber pines often become scraggly and stunted in appearance, particularly when exposed to the hurricane-strength winds this corner of the province is famous for. In some places, the relentless winds have caused these trees to grow at crazy angles, almost to the point where it looks like they will surely topple over the next time it blows really hard. Sometimes, they do.
The limber pine in the photograph above is located near Passburg in Crowsnest Pass. It’s growing in a spot that’s sheltered from the wind, near the crest of a hill. The tree is healthy and doing well; it’s growing straight and is full of strong branches and limbs. I can’t say how long it has been standing here, but suspect it has hundreds of years left to live before the tenacious, ever-persistent Crowsnest winds topple it to the ground.
I took this photo last week, after a snowfall. It seemed to lend itself best to a grayscale conversion, as the only color in the scene was a small amount of blue in the sky, near the top of the image, and above the tree-covered ridge in the distance. I liked the way the tree and its shadow contrasted against the snow-covered hillside, and the clouds rolling across the sky.
For the past couple of weeks, much of western Canada, including southern Alberta and Crowsnest Pass, has been under the influence of an Arctic air mass. It’s been bitterly cold, with temperatures well below normal. In some areas, the mercury has dropped to more than -30°C. With wind chills reaching -45°C, the weather has not been fit for man or beast. Continue reading
Robert Appleby photographing Crowsnest Mountain & the Seven Sisters,
with his buddy, Tucker, at his side
Last weekend I had the opportunity to get out with a friend, and local photographer, Robert Appleby. We’ve known each other for quite a few years, but it was the first time we’ve been out shooting photos together. Continue reading
Crowsnest River Panorama
(click image for larger view)
Crowsnest Pass is a great place for photography. There are countless areas and spaces around here to explore with a camera. I always enjoy seeking out new and different vantage points, and angles, from which to photograph our local landscape. Occasionally, I’ll come across photo opportunities where I least expect them. Continue reading
