Peter Carroll’s photography blog

Yesterday I posted an image of the Prince of Whales hotel in Waterton Lakes National Park. Well, if you travel a short distance down the road back to the main gate, at the visitor’s centre parking lot, you’ll find the trailhead to the Bear’s Hump. This trail is a very popular hike but it’s no gimme. It’s a steep one – you climb 240m in just over 1 km. The effort is worth it, however. The view from the Bear’s Hump is spectacular!

© Peter Carroll

In figuring out what comp I wanted for the shot, I quite liked how the foreground rocks kind of mimicked the far range. On my way down the mountain I ran into a group of about 50 girls, all under the age of 10 I would say, who were part of a summer camp. They were working hard and doing well but there were a few complaints and requests for a break. I gave them encouragement but I did joke with one of the 20 something camp counselors – “What kind of sadistic camp are you ladies running?”. I hope they balanced the day out with songs and smores around the campfire later.

The railway companies sure picked some beauty spots to construct hotels in the Canadian Rockies. The Prince of Whales hotel occupies some prime real estate in Waterton Lakes National Park. It stands isolated on a bluff overlooking spectacular mountain, lake and prairie scenery. The hotel has the distinction of being the sole establishment, of Canada’s grand railway hotels, of being built by an American railway company. It was constructed between 1926-27 and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada by the Canadian government in 1995.

© Peter Carroll

I found a youtube video put together by a travel company that gives you an idea of what’s in store for you if you stay at the Prince of Whales hotel. My own accommodation while staying in Waterton wasn’t a room at the Prince of Whales but a tent for one up at Crandell campground – a deal at $21.50 a night but you should note they don’t serve afternoon tea up at Crandell! They do, however, offer a free bear experience with every three night stay!!

Dinosaur Provincial Park – Alberta, Canada

One of the richest dinosaur fossil locales in the world. Forty dinosaur species and counting have been discovered in the park.

© Peter Carroll

Happy Friday everyone!

School starts on Monday around here. While not officially recognized on the calendar, it’s marked by kids as the end of summer. Remember what that felt like? New pencils and books, feelings of a fresh start, nervous anticipation and saddness over the end of carefree hot lazy days that started late and ended later.

Like many of you, I’ve got a backlog of images from the summer of 2010. Much of my processing and stock submissions get put on hold until the kids go back to school. Next week the ol’ processin’ machine will get cranked up to full power. I’ve got hours in front of the computer ahead of me followed most likely by an appointment with the optometrist the week after.

The image below is another from a summer trip I took through southern Alberta. The diversity of this province never ceases to amaze me.

Here’s to the summer of 2010. Enjoy the weekend kids. Monday I’ll be getting you up bright and early and then it’s off to school!

© Peter Carroll

Isn’t Nature wonderful?

© Peter Carroll

On a recent trip through southern Alberta, this sod farm caught my eye. I’m a sucker for blocks of colour and a bit of geometry.

© Peter Carroll

When we photograph subjects we know well, we can bring insight that aids how we capture and present an image. For the landscape photographer, knowledge of the land and how light plays across it throughout the year facilitates being at the right place at the right time. For the travel photographer, knowledge of a culture yields a deeper appreciation of customs and rituals. For the sports photographer, knowledge of the dynamics of the game fine tunes preparedness for the highlight moments.

Experience, for sure, can be an asset. The other side of the coin, however, has its advantages too. Inexperience can infuse photography with wide eyed fascination. When subjects are fresh to our eyes we tend to approach them with energy. We aren’t jaded attempting to frame the same old once again. If we haven’t already been influenced by other photographers and their takes on a subject we can bring new perspective. I don’t think wide eyed fascination is a disadvantage. It’s a short lived phase full of potential and experiment. 

Photography, like life, is not all black and white. It’s the range of shades in between that makes it interesting. We create our best work, I believe, when we are able to capture lightning in a bottle and photograph subjects we know well with wide eyed fascination.

I thought the image below, from a trip I took to Oregon back in 2008, showed nicely how Nature likes to mix it up. We photographers should do the same.

© Peter Carroll

This shot was actually taken outside Waterton NP but it’s Monday so that’s the best I could do for a blog title. There are three old wagons near the road leading into the park and they are quite frankly a “low hanging fruit” type of shot. Nothing wrong at all, in my opinion, with those types of shots. I’m just saying that some shots in Waterton are a three day hike and some are at the side of the road.

I’ve sung the praises of Photomatix before here on the blog but here’s another example of how the right tool for the job allows me to express my vision for an image. Actually, that reminds me of a funny thing the father of a friend of mine said one time when he was working with his son in the garage and the project wasn’t going so well. The father asked for a screwdriver. The son asked,”What kind?” The father answered,”Doesn’t matter, I’m going to use it as a hammer!” We all find ways around the conventional. Processing images is no different. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to reach for a hammer when you need a hammer.

Anyway, I saw the wagons on my drive into the park and let the idea of how to capture them percolate for a while. I decided a 5 exposure sunset shot processed with Photomatix would be a fun way to go. Photomatix has two options on how you can process multiple exposures. You can try HDR or Exposure Fusion. I say try because that’s really the way to go about it. Try one and then try the other. See which way works best for the particular image. In this case Exposure Fusion gave a much nicer look. I generally find Exposure Fusion gives me a more natural look but there are exceptions. It all depends on what I want to say with an image. Capture and processing should always work in harmony to express the vision. It all starts with vision.

© Peter Carroll

Happy Friday everyone!

A little silliness to get your weekend started…

Daisies of the world unite… you’ve got nothing to lose but your chains!

© Peter Carroll

Red Rock Canyon in Waterton Lakes National Park is a natural wonder, a feast for the eyes and a playground for a photographer.