I was out again today with my friend Nigel in the hopes of getting some good images at 50 Point Pier, but it seems as though Mother Nature may have had some plans of her own and they didn’t include us getting good photos.
Pier Piles
When we got down to the pier all we saw was sand and dirty snow/ice buildup along the shore. The most photogenic thing I found was this lone feather in the sand.
Feather in the Sand
Yup, that’s it. That was the extent of what I was able to find, and it still wasn’t inspiring. Maybe Mother Nature will be nicer on our next trip out.
The weather has finally changed for the better here on Vancouver Island and I am making the most of it as I continue to explore the beaches of Pacific Rim National Park on day 5 of my trip.
Today Nigel and I were headed over the Saskatchewan/Alberta border to check out a small town called Empress. With another day of chilly temps and cloudy skies it made for some great moody photographs.
Abandoned Home
This abandoned shack was on the way to the border and I had to get a photo with the stormy skies.
As we drove into Alberta the landscape changed from flat to slightly rolling to hilly. This must be the edges of the badlands. It was a pretty stunning sight to see.
Alberta’s Hills
After enjoying a full day exploring Alberta and enjoying some wonderful local company at lunch in Empress we headed back over the border to get a little more time in with the Great Sandhill Dunes.
Great Sandhill Dunes
Most of the snow had blown off the dunes since yesterday and I had a little fun with Nigel’s infrared converted camera. The photograph above is a colour corrected infrared out of that camera. It looks like night has fallen on the hills when actually it is still daylight.
We tried our best to stay for the sunset but the cold temperatures and clouds sent us packing.
Farmstead
As we drove back to the hotel we noticed a break in the clouds so we quickly found a farm to use as the foreground and voila the photo above was created.
It was a great day exploring both Alberta and Saskatchewan but tomorrow its time to head back to Regina to catch our late afternoon flight home. Tomorrow we will be taking a more scenic route to the airport as we search out some of the old grain mills.
Since we were unable to catch a sunset at the Sandhill Dunes last night we decided to try for a sunrise today. At least that was the plan. When we awoke to cloudy skies our hopes were dashed but we thought maybe, just maybe, the clouds would move out by the time we made the one hour drive to the dunes. As we approached the town of Sceptre we knew the sunrise shoot was not going to happen. Nigel then suggested we check out the town of Empress just over the border in Alberta. So off we went on the 20 minute journey (which ended up taking two hours because we went the long way).
Abandoned Home
Before entering Alberta Nigel spotted some red grain storage sheds so we pulled over but for me the run down shack was much more interesting. I think I spent a good 20 minutes here just to get the right angle and I’m happy we did. It was one of my favourite spots. Continuing on to Alberta the transition was abrubt when all of sudden power lines popped up on both sides of the road. We weren’t in Saskatchewan anymore. Driving the main roads to town we passed the edges of what looked like the badlands.
Alberta’s Hills
Once in Empress we stopped in at the post office to see if the locals might have some tips on what to photograph nearby. We were directed to a place down the road called Empressive Cafe where we could get some lunch and some possible ideas from a local artist. The place was part local artist shop part intimate cafe and the food was homemade goodness. After a wonderful chat with the owners over soup and sandwiches we had a couple of ideas on where to photograph. Funnily enough the places happened to be back on the Saskatchewan side.
Of course during the drive we found a few places to stop and photograph but none seemed to inspire as I hoped. So back we went to the Great Sandhill Dunes. This time hoping to get some sunset light.
Great Sandhill Dunes
As you can see from the sky in the above photograph it had clouded over again just in time for the sun to go down for the day. No luck for us this time but the amazing shapes of the clouds were well worth the stop here and just look at the sand. I have realized since taking ths photo that there is no snow in this shot…where the heck did it disappear to? The shot was taken with a camera converted to infrared and then processed by swapping some channels in Photoshop. It was all blue so I used a gradient filter on the sand to push it to the neutral tones.
Farmstead
As we headed back to the hotel for the night we caught a little sliver of sunset as we passed a local farm.
Tomorrow we will be heading back to Regina and then home. We still have the drive to the airport and almost a full day to do it. The plan is all about grain elevators so stay tuned.
