April 18, 2013 – Photos of the Week: Dinosaur Provincial Park

Last summer we made a weekend trip down to Dinosaur Provincial Park. This was my first visit to this park famous for its fossils and topography. It was certainly interesting to see the arid badlands up close and personal.

What was surprising was there was this diverse ecosystem of grasslands, badlands and river surrounded by our Alberta prairies {Wiki}. We are quite lucky to have such diversity within our provincial landscape!

Other than the stunning landscape I have to say the other thing I remembered most about the Dinosaur Provincial Park was the vicious mosquitoes. I swear these annoying little beasts with wings were also descendants of the Jurassic era! Layers and reapplications of OFF! with barely a moment’s reprieve! Seriously!

It was so bad that I actually had troubles fully enjoying the ambiance of this amazing park! They were so pesistent that I even had trouble obeying the “Watch where you step signs- Beware of Rattlesnakes” because I was so busy swatting the little “raptors”!

Other than that it is a beautiful and amazing park, and I highly recommend it to anyone. Just bring OFF!, citronella candles, and wear copious amounts of clothing layers!

Below are 7 of my favourite images from this photo session.

To view all 14 high resolution images follow this link: Dinosaur Provincial Park

Valley of The Badlands

Dinosaur Provincial Park

Badland Lines

Rock Studies #3

Eroded Lines

Coulee Tower

Coulee Studies #2

April 7, 2013 – Photos of the Week: Iceland (The Album)

Well, I’m only 4 months behind schedule!

I hope it was worth the wait! There are 263 images in this album, and it features some of my favorite images to date! This album is a little different than the other ones I have made. It is part artistic, travel diary and journalistic. Quite a few different photography styles are featured in this album!

There are images of Waterfalls, Farms, Sheeps, Fjords, Glaciers, Cliffs, Horses, Roads, Northern Lights, Graffiti, and some new additions to my Doors + Windows collection. We have featured images from our iPhones and Canon SLR cameras in this album, and we even featured some cool Instagram photos.

I’m quite proud of it, and I hope you enjoy it too!

To view the entire album follow this link: Iceland: The Complete Album

Here are some highlights, until next week….

Graffiti Faces”

“Geothermal Air Vent”

“Farms of Iceland #1″

“Lights Over Iceland”

“Grundarfjord”

“Reykjavik”

December 19, 2012 – Photos of the Year – Our Top 10 Images for 2012

As another December comes to an end I am reflecting upon what has been an amazing year both personally and photographically. Some of my most favorite portfolio images of all time were photographed this year, and this year it was harder than ever to narrow all my favorites down to a “top 10″ list. I should also clarify “my” list to “our” list as Christina contributed an amazing image to this collection too!

Oddly enough, most of the top 10 images are from our most recent excursion to Iceland, but Iceland’s beauty speaks for itself; Rugged, pristine, delicate, vast, and visually stunning, Iceland is an amazing place to visit! Truthfully, If I had written a top 20 list, we would’ve seen a little more diversity of location, but Iceland was such an amazing and memorable experience for Christina and I, that these images naturally occupy much of my top 10!

So without further adieu:

#1 – Kirkjufell Falls, Iceland
September 2012

These breathtaking waterfalls are located at the base of Kirkjufell mountain in Grundarfjörður on the western peninsula of Snæfellsnes (pronounced Snay-fells-nes), Iceland.

#2 – House of Forgotten Dreams, Iceland
September 2012

There’s something mysteriously beautiful about abandoned homes….

#3 – Home By The Sea, Iceland
September 2012

What an amazing view of the ocean this home must have had!

#4 – Aurora Showers, Edmonton
October 2012

Christina photographed this amazing celestial phenomenon. Not only did she capture an image of the Northern Lights, but it looks like an apex straight out of Star Trek!

#5 – Northern Streaks, Edmonton
October 2012

There’s something breathtaking about the Northern Lights as they dance across the night and light up the heavens above!

#6 – Winding Road, Iceland
August 2012

Roads are often overlooked as pure beauty. This s-shaped road in Iceland was spellbinding!

#7 – Seljalandsfoss, Iceland
August 2012

Ah! Who can forget the beautiful waterfall that inspired us to visit Iceland in the first place!

#8 – Hraunfossar, Iceland
September 2012

We ended up getting lost when we ventured off to photograph these amazing waterfalls in Iceland. Our GPS took us off road and cross country across some spots that I find are hard to believe are called roads! We made it upon our second attempt, and were mighty glad we did! I even managed to capture some emerging fall colors in this image!

#9 – Grazing By The Icebergs, Iceland
August 2012

This image is minimally post processed because mother nature blessed me with the most perfect noise free lighting! I love this high key image of this adorable sheep who was happily grazing along the Icebergs of Jokulsarlon.

#10 – The Mountain Playground, Iceland
August 2012

What an opportunity it was to capture an image of a playground with the Icelandic highlands as the backdrop! I love these little moments of art inspiration!

If you would like to purchase prints please visit My Etsy Shop
I must confess that I haven’t listed all of these images yet. If you see an image here that isn’t yet listed in my online shop, please message me in My Etsy Shop
and I will draft up a custom listing for you!

Until next time….

Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!

November 28, 2012 – Photos of the Week: A Photographic Journal and Journey of Iceland – Sheep!

This weeks blog features the hardy sheep of Iceland. Icelandic sheep are originally from Northwestern Europe and were originally brought to Iceland by the Vikings 1100 years ago. From May until Autumn you will see these fluke shaped tailed sheep all over the farmers’ mountain pastures!

We found various breeds of Icelandic Sheep throughout the entire island. There were slight variations in features between regions, but one thing they all had in common was they were completely adorable!

Farmers often breed their sheep for either meat, fibre or milk. Historically they were farmed mainly for milk, but now they are commonly farmed for their meat and fibre (sheep wool). We found Icelandic Mutton to be quite tasty and not very gamey tasting; unlike the sheep we’ve tasted in North America. Yum…I am thinking of the delicious “Traditional Icelandic Soup” that features succulent pieces of mutton…right now…yum!

Grazing By The Icebergs

Roaming By The Waterfalls

Taking A Rest

Amongst these herds of herbivores, you will find the leader sheep, who were often more slender in appearance, colored and horned. This is the sheep that will lead and watch over the flock.

I hope you enjoyed the images, as the Icelandic Sheep were a very memorable part of our visit to Iceland!

A final image:

So Cheeky

Would you like to purchase prints? Please follow this link to my online shop! My Etsy Shop

You can also visit us at our upcoming and final show for 2012, we’ll be at the City Market in the Edmonton City Hall on December 15th!

Until next week….

References:
Wikipedia
Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North America
Iceland Lamb

November 22, 2012 – Photos of the Week: A Photographic Journal and Journey of Iceland – Urban Art

This week we get a bonus blog + photo of the week entry.

I am always drawn to urban and street art. Really as long as there isn’t any profanities depicted, they are a sight to behold! I saw some of the most compelling works in Reykavik, Iceland last August. The star of these works were an assortment of bike parts. Check them out below. I thought they were pretty cool, being an avid cyclist and all!

Bike Parts

Rim Graffiti

Bike Art

Rolling Fire

Graffiti With A Smile

Want to purchase prints?

Come on down and visit us this coming weekend @ Make It! The Handmade Revolution! this weekend the new Enjoy Centre in St. Albert! Show hours are as follows: Today(Thurs) 4pm-9pm; Fri 11am-9pm; Sat 11am-7pm; Sun 11am-5pm

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November 18, 2012 – Photos of the Week: A Photographic Journal and Journey of Iceland – Cool Finds…

For this edition of the Photographic Journal and Journey of Iceland I am featuring some of my newest fine art prints that I will be showcasing at our big show next weekend.

I have been wanting to get a tricycle image for QUITE some time. But it couldn’t be just any tricycle, and it had to be in the right setting too. As luck would have it, I found the perfect tricycle some 3054 miles or 4915 km away from home in a beautiful little country called Iceland. I love the sentimental theme of the following image, and it really brings back memories of my childhood, hence its aptly name title:

My First Ride

I also stumbled across some other really great finds in my travels across this island nation.

The Little Wagon That Could

The following two prints make a nice addition to my music themed collection of fine art prints. I would love to actually own one of these someday! I wonder how they sound?

Gramophone

Parlophone

And, I loved this vintage typewriter! I just knew my day wouldn’t be complete without taking images of it!

LC Smith

Want to purchase prints?

Come on down and visit us this coming weekend @ Make It! The Handmade Revolution! at the new Enjoy Centre in St. Albert!

Print the picture below to save $1.00 off your admission!

November 14, 2012 – Photos of the Week: A Photographic Journal and Journey of Iceland #5 – The Roads…

Ok…after a month long break I am back! Gosh it’s hard to find time to blog when you’re moving, recovering from an injury, working, living, photographing events and doing shows!

This week I am sharing some unique images of Iceland. As viewers who are familiar with my style of photography and art will recall, I tend to look for beauty in less commonly photographed subjects.

This week I am featuring the roads of Iceland. Roads…whether you consider them to be simply a means of getting from destination A to B. Or, whether they are simply a surface of black concrete or asphalt or tarmac. Or finally, perhaps they are metaphorical? As often depicted in poetry, story or song, perhaps the road is an existential symbol of your life? Does it represent your journey or path through this life?

Whatever the case, I think roads are beautiful and often under appreciated element in our lives and societies!

The following 3 images are examples of some interesting and beautiful roads I came across while travelling in Iceland.

Winding Road

Two Directions

Weaving Through Iceland

Want to purchase prints?

Come on down and see us @ Make It! The Handmade Revolution!

Print the picture below to save $1.00 off your admission!