I love Carburn Park and I’m always amazed by the things you can see there. Grebes are actually quite common there at certain times of year, but it’s surprisingly difficult to get one to pose for a picture while the light is good enough to make something decent out of it. I went back several times after I found this one as it was quite obliging!
This is another image I made way back in the spring when the Blackbirds had first returned to the prairies near Calgary. I was very excited to have them back in the area because they are very curious and even more fun to watch. They sing all the time and are never too shy to pose for the camera! I watched this one for a long time before we were both ready to move on.
Although Nuthatches are very common in Calgary I really haven’t encountered very many of them. They are very interesting birds that are known for their unique ability to face head-down while climbing. Most other birds use their tails to assist with balance while climbing, but nuthatches use only their legs and claws. They can often be seen walking straight down the trunk of a tree. This behavior seems very odd when you first recognize what they are doing, and only becomes more odd as you realize that very few birds do it.
The entire region surrounding Calgary has been blanketed by a heavy ice fog for a couple of weeks now and I really wanted to make some images to capture the look and feel. It has been very surreal and haunting, and downright scary at times with the fog being so thick. I had visions in my head of images that show off the thick snow and ice that was coating everything. I’m not entirely sure I succeeded in that goal with these images, but I am really happy about them anyway.
These are Long Exposure night shots from Centenary Park, which is just East of Downtown Calgary. This is the GC King Pedestrian Bridge that connects St. Patrick’s Island to Fort Calgary and downtown. I’ve wanted to shoot the bridge for a long time, but I never quite got around to doing it. It’s a beautiful old bridge and the glow of the city lights against the clouds and the frosty trees really made it pop. This bridge is due to be replaced by a new and fancy designer bridge at some point in the next couple of years, so I’m really glad that I was able to make these images.
Sometimes you get the shot you want, and sometimes you get the butt.
I was out for a walk at Carburn Park with my son when a herd of about a dozen deer charged out of the woods. I could hear a dog barking off in the distance (in the No Dogs Allowed part of the park) so I can only assume that they were spooked out. When they saw us they froze and obviously couldn’t decide where to go. I tried to make a some portraits but they were still pretty scared and they took off running down the trail. We followed them for awhile in case they stopped, but they slipped off into the woods instead of hanging around for a chat.