Canon EF f4-5.6 70-300mm USM IS

A Weekend at Abraham Lake

An opportunity presented itself to go with a few photographers to one of my favourite places in Central Alberta, Abraham Lake. I have not been here in the winter before. The weather was warm but with a chilling wind at times. The company of twelve of us shared warm spirits and basked in the hospitality of our hosts, Allen and Madeleine Ernst and their lovely dog, Aura. Aurum Lodge is an eco lodge and geared for people who want to make this their destination and stay a while. The food is delicious and healthy.

These photos are of sunrise at Windy Point and the bubbles are a distance further south.I tried bracketing three shots then merged them in HDR in Corel Paint Shop

Photo Pro. I have a flimsy tripod and hung my backpack from the hook and it stabilised everything well. The first photo is the rise behind me and the second in front of me.

Last, here is a photo of the bubbles which are formed in this man-made lake in turbulent waters. I did add blue to the water , which in summer is a vibrant turquoise.It was wonderful to be in the mountains and I was up at 6:45 every morning which is almost unheard of for me. We walked on the lake at different points along it’s shores, took photos of the sunrise and sunset and saw the bubbles that this lake is known for. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot of photographic tips. I have been home for a day but am ready for a good sleep now.

I will write more about this area in future blogs.

February 4, 2013 | Categories: Photo Blog | Tags: Abraham Lake, Alberta, Aurum Lodge, Canon EF f4-5.6 70-300mm USM IS, Canon Rebel XS | 10 Comments

Three Days of Snow

©Jane Chesebrough

©Jane Chesebrough

Joined a friend for lunch today then we went for a walk in the snow, bringing our cameras with us. It is treacherous driving with a lot of fender-benders but if I drive slow I can manage it. It helps that other people are being careful, too. It took me an hour to brush off my car on Wednesday night but I am glad I did it before Thursday morning or I may have been late for my appointment. I am trying to get on track with time management but I was late for lunch. There is some improvement because I called ahead to say that I was on my way.I am learning to say and think, “I will do better next time” rather than “I will try.”

We had a tasty lunch and I have to add I used her wash room and told her that I liked her kleenex box (see “A Cheap way to Decorate”) and she told me that she liked the colours and built the theme of the bathroom around the colours on the kleenex box! I told her that she must read my blog from a couple of days ago.

Outside it is a winter wonderland with heavy snow weighing down the branches and very grey with low light.When we got to the top of the river valley we saw two raptors which I thought were hawks but then was delighted to see that they were eagles, flying high and hard to see because the snow was falling. One was a full adult and one in its second or third year.This delighted us because we have done ceremony together in the native tradition and with the conversation we were having found this to be significant. So here are some snow scenes, winter has definitely arrived.