It's that time of year again... the time to take a look back at the work that I've done in the past 12 months and to select my favourites. I've chosen my #top10 favourite photos of the year, and here they are, in no particular order.
Wintery Bog
This was taken while I went out snow-hiking on the Caribou Plain trail in #Fundy National Park. The sky was overcast for most of the day, but I got lucky and the sky cleared up as the sun was setting, creating these amazing colours in the sky. For a few minutes, the snow appeared to be purple because of the reflection from the purple-ish sky. Talk about being at the right place at the right time!
How U Doin'?
While visiting Kootenay National Park, I stopped by the town of Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia for what was meant to be a 10 minute stop to eat a sandwich. I ended up at a lookout stop on the side of the highway, admiring the view. Just as I was about to leave, a group of bighorn sheep showed up at the top of the hill. I ended up staying there for over two hours, and shooting thousands of images. This one is the most unique, because this particular individual got curious and wanted to see me up close. I had the Sigma 60-600mm Sport with me, so I zoomed all the way out to 60mm and got this cool perspective of the animal.
Wentworth Falls
On the way back home from a short trip to Cape Breton, I made a short detour to visit this waterfall. It's a very short hike (calling it a "hike" is actually a bit of a stretch... I've walked longer distances in a Costco parking lot). As soon as I saw how beautiful this scene looked like, I went back to the car, picked up my gear and returned to the waterfall. I put on my Crocs (don't judge) so that I could walk in the water, and went directly in the stream to get this perspective. I took a bunch of shots from different angles, and kept my feet in the cold water for over an hour... but it was all worth it! I'm really happy with how the colours and the contrast turned out on this one.
This Frog Needs a Hug
I was out by the lake, hoping to find a moose to photograph, and came across this green frog at the edge of the lake. I love to shoot at eye level, so I put on the wide angle lens and went down low, as slow as I could so that I wouldn't spook the frog. Thankfully, the frog did not budge, and I got to take a few shots up close. As a bonus, there was a dead fly right next to the frog... could not have planned this better! For more info on how I got this shot, check out the blog post I wrote about it.
Coon Mamma
One time last summer, I went out to get the BBQ grill going and noticed this cute little face underneath the deck, by the basement window. Turns out this mother raccoon had stopped at my house with her four babies (which I could not get a good photo of, unfortunately... but they were super cute!) I got back in the house to grab my camera and 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and was able to get this one shot of her, looking at me shyly. I just love the expression on her face! I thought perhaps this little family would stay around my house for a longer period and that I'd have another chance to take photos, but she and her babies left the next day and did not return.
Fist Clenching
I spotted this bald eagle while on the highway, so I pulled over to take a few shots. I waited for over half an hour, hoping the eagle would take off, but he stayed put. I noticed he took his foot off the branch and showed how tight his grip can get. Not sure if he was just stretching or if he was showing off, but it looked kind of cool, so I took the shot!
Golden Fog
The fog had really gotten thick as I was out for a drive in the Memramcook Valley. The day was very grey and visibility wasn't great, but it was the end of the day, and at some point, the sun just hit the perfect spot and its golden light was able to shine through the fog, creating this awesome look. This lasted only a few minutes, but when it happened, I pulled over and took a shot of the scenery that was unfolding in front of me. I love driving around with my camera near me, and this time, it really paid off to be ready!
Ice Fire
I was out shooting the beautiful scenery with the mountains and clouds reflecting on Vermillion Lakes in #Banff National Park when for only a quick moment, the golden light from the rising sun gently glazed the iconic and recognizable top of Mount Rundle, in a way that almost made it seem like it was on fire. I knew I only had a few seconds to capture this amazing light, and with my main camera set up on a tripod with drop-in filters on my wide angle lens, I opted to leave that equipment as is and pick up my secondary camera and attach my telephoto lens on it. I took a few frames and before you knew it, the magical light was already gone. I'm very happy I was able to capture this moment before it was gone!
Yellow Forest
This location is just off a highway I happen to drive on every couple of months. I've always thought that section of birch trees would look amazing in the fall, so I waited until the colours were at their peak and went to that location. I had thought about going on the other side of the highway and shooting with a telephoto, but I started out by trying walking right up to the edge of the tree line with a wide angle lens, and I absolutely loved the results, so I didn't bother trying my original idea... maybe next year!
Fishing Boats at Low Tide
This was shot early in the morning with a client of mine on a private workshop near Fundy National Park. We had planned to get up early to capture a sunrise, but as you can see in the image, there were lots of clouds and we didn't get to see the epic sunrise we had hoped to see. So I suggested that we find colourful things to incorporate in our composition to make up for the lack of colour in the sky. We went straight for the wharf, knowing the lobster fishing boats would definitely add the colour we were looking for. On the Bay of Fundy, at low tide, the ocean floor gets completely exposed and the boats just lay there in the mud. I knew the tide was rising, so I waited until the water came up just high enough to cover the mud. I decided to use the boats that were near me to frame the boats that were further away, and I went for a wider crop than my usual 3:2 ratio.
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