Curves and Levels

Back In Magog

My work in Alberta is done for a while. Between bouts of shovelling, I sit at home enjoying some domestic bliss, awaiting the next call. The amount of snow hereabouts is incredible. Any photos from around town these days would be dominated by the stuff and I've posted enough of those already this winter. Instead, I'll put up something from a foggy morning last summer trekking the local river pathway. Enjoy.

I've been looking through my old camping pics. Expect a post or two featuring southeastern British Columbia soon. I'm also working on a new travelogue series. Costa Rica, anyone?

On The Andaman Sea

Working elephants.

SOUTHEAST ASIA, Chapter 2: Krabi and Ao Nang

More photos from our rough itinerary in early 2003. After travelling south from Bangkok by train and bus, we spent some relaxation time at a rustic seaside resort on Noppharat Thara beach. (Map: asia-discovery.com) Google Map

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A limestone peninsula stands guard at the easternmost end of this rather lonely beach. Our cabins were situated about 200 metres to the west. The ocean was so shallow here that one needed to walk out a long way before swimming was possible. The more populated Ao Nang beach a few miles southeast offers deeper waters and a little surf.

Hit the link for more photos. Next: Satun, Georgetown and the fast boat to Sumatra.

If you are new here, please read my recent Blog Notes post. Thanks.

A Warm Day In January

Out on the quad doing quality control today. The deep woods, always in shadow, were still cold, just like winter, but riding out into sparsely treed areas meant gentle blasts of warm air on the face. A little disconcerting in January - double-digit temperatures above 0 - but pleasant just the same.

I saw this cow moose (now cropped and doctored with Lightroom) and a few ice crystals.

Muskeg

Where you find gnarled and stunted tamarack and black spruce, you are likely standing on a patch of muskeg. (The Canadian Encyclopedia) As the linked website explains, muskeg is not singularly defined. In the bottom picture we see a thicker, more robust forest growing on muskeg ground. Picture two below shows the spongecake-like quality of a frozen piece broken loose by the tractor's blade.

Muskeg is a boggy wetland in summer months and even on very cold winter days water can seep to the surface when the top layer of snow and frost is removed. This can be seen in picture three below. The temperature was below -30C that day.

Missing Lynx

Share with me, O Reader, the photographic frustration of tracking elusive woodland creatures. This Lynx canadensis kept his back to me as I struggled to catch up on my quad. Then it hopped the snowbank and disappeared into the forest. Quelle surprise!

The picture above is a small crop of a long telephoto image (200mm on a fourthirds sensor). The one below is an even tinier detail. Thought you might like to see one of this cat's oversized paws.

Moonset

The Opportunist

The Great Grey Owl (strix nebulosa). When we plow the snow off an old cutline to make an access trail, the small rodents who live and travel underneath are disturbed. Our friend here has figured this out and will sit up above watching for activity, waiting to swoop down on the next meal.

I like how the feathers are arranged to cover its claws. Is this for warmth or for camouflage?

And to give an idea of its habitat: a shot of the Rocky Mountain foothills with a pipeline running down the middle.

Wolves!

As close as I could get. Every day, all over these woods, we find wolf tracks in the snow, but one rarely gets to see the mysterious canines. These four were wandering along the old cutline in front of me briefly before disappearing into the bush.

The images below are heavily cropped details.

Back On The Job

The year is new. Bright blue Alberta skies and wickedly low temperatures - threatening exposed skin and machined steel both.

Update. I had some doubts about this photo (that bare tree in the middle of the frame is annoying) but it was the best of the day, so I'm leaving it. The rest were rather generic 'nice' scenery shots - this one at least has some tension. What good is a photoblog if you can't post an occasional flawed image? Please discuss.

As I'm working a real job during daylight hours, I will rarely have time to do the scouting, testing, composing and re-composing that proper photography requires. These pictures are taken on the fly - let's hope for the best.