Green and Blue - Banff

Since I've had very little time for processing, I have chosen to process a few quick and easy shots. This first shot is just a simple dandelion seed head. Jay pointed this one out near Bow Lake. I shot with my 180mm macro. Notice I'm shooting in the shade - soft, even lighting works well for this subject. You can see the detail in the seeds, but the contrast isn't too extreme... which means the flower keeps its delicate softness.

This is Herbert Lake. We'd been shooting elsewhere, but high winds forced us away. I took only a few shots under this sky - and I threw all but this one away. Wide angle lens, f/11, and a long shutter speed (3.2 sec). A simple composition, a bit of texture in the clouds, and a bit of drama just for the fun of it.

This is an early morning shot from a pond near Graveyard Flats. We'd had a rough night - nearby campers partied late into the night, and loud thunderstorms kept us awake after that. The moodiness of the heavy morning fog had me smiling, though. :) This was an incredibly easy shot to process... no broad range of light to deal with, very low contrast overall, and it wanted to go blue... so I let it have its way.

What do you think?

We have an iHDR seminar in Ohio this weekend. There are just a few seats left, so if you are interested, don't put off registering any longer.

The Storm

Norris Geyser Basin provided some absolutely fantastic foreground objects - and the sky went nuts for us. We headed for Steamboat Geyser - the worlds largest - which rarely produces a large eruption. However, it's small eruptions are pretty impressive in themselves. The kids hoped to see a major eruption, and while we waited and watched, we heard rumblings in the distance. At first, we thought the rumbling came from a geyser or hot spring nearby, but it soon became apparent that a major storm was approaching. We believed that the fastest way back to the parking lot was to continue on our trail... but we were wrong. The storm was moving fast, and the kids started to get scared. Jay and I took turns running with the kids and getting a few shots in before the storm hit - this shot of Pearl Spring took just a few seconds. I put down my camera, removed the lens cap, hastily adjusted my settings, and hit the shutter release. Two seconds later, I was running to catch up with the kids - folding up the tripod as I ran.

We reached shelter moments before the storm hit, and we watched from the safety of a stone shelter at the museum. Lightening, thunder, high winds, rain, and hail... it was one heck of a storm. Luckily, it was moving so fast that the worst of it lasted just a few minutes. The little kids were scared, and the big kids helped calm them down until we could return to our car. In the end, everyone decided it was a great adventure. I love this photo - in part because of the memories it holds for me.