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After such a long gap between entries, I feel I must apologize for the delay. I have been across the country and back to a wedding in Toronto, among other things. Art Walk was a wonderful experience. I learned lots, and enjoyed the company of many other artists in the Okanagan Valley. This was one of the first public showings of my work and it was a real joy to watch the expression on people's faces when they saw my work. I'm looking forward to participating again next year. Last week I delivered three large art prints to "State of the Art" gallery on Bayview Ave in Toronto. The images I selected were seasonal - Osoyoos in Winter (Winter Wonderland), Change of Season and Red Embrace from the galleries at www.lauratucker.com. They look great enlarged to 30x45 and printed on canvas!
The image I chose for this blog entry is one of my favourites. The colours have not reached their peak across the country just yet. In fact, I'll be in Utah around the time they peak this year, photographing autumn in Zion, Bryce Canyon and other US national parks. I couldn't help but celebrate when I heard how strong the Canadian dollar is. Although it's bad for the BC economy, I'm selfishly hoping it holds on for a few weeks.
Anyways, this photograph reminds me of a poster of a watercolour painting I bought as a second year university student, many moons ago. I never loved its colours (it was in tones of pinks and greys), but I did love its texture. A couple of years ago I was in Sundridge, Ontario for a wedding over Thanksgiving. I spent a half day photographing the autumn colours. Although we have mountains and water here in British Columbia, there is nothing like the autumn colours in Eastern Canada. That year was particularly brilliant.
The colour and texture epitomize my style of photography, but there is something else I like - is it an image of a forest, or is the main subject less obvious - the railway running through the forest? There are no perfectly straight horizontal lines in nature. I am shooting across a rail bed. Thank goodness the wind was perfectly still. To get that depth of field using a telephoto lens would have required the shutter to be open for quite some time. The combination of things that have to go right to get an image like this is exactly what I love about outdoor photography, and what so many people fail to appreciate. There are no accidents.
First, you have to get there. Second, you have to know what tools to use to capture what is in you mind's eye. Next, the conditions have to be right. Then, you compose and deliberately create. I'm looking forward to an autumn full of creating this year.
Labour Day Weekend - who can believe it! I can attest to the fact that this is a chorus heard across the nation this weekend as students (and teachers) prepare for the new school year and family holidays draw to a close. Maybe it is because I used to be a teacher that September 1st functions like a New Year's Day for me. Time to get back to work, so to speak - I worked pretty hard this summer. One of the luxuries of being single is being able to plan vacation time outside peak season. And who wants to go anywhere when you live in the Okanagan Valley, anyways? I'm looking forward to a trip to Utah's National Parks later this autumn - ten glorious days of shooting red rock canyons with my photographer friend, Beth, the most Canadian American you could ever hope to have as a friend. (Hi Beth!)
One of the events I have been looking forward to this year is Art Walk in Lake Country, just north of Kelowna. I'll be exhibiting eight prints for show and sale next weekend. Art Walk is an annual arts festival featuring artists from the Okanagan Valley. I'm looking forward to it. Last year I checked it out and was pleasantly surprised. I hope I don't spend more money than I make!
Before I head back out with my camera, I'll say a word or two about the image above. This image of Okanagan Lake was taken at the end of an easy hike at the base of Knox Mountain near Paul's Tomb, at the beach. Lately I have been going up and over Knox Mountain without a camera, but this image is a good reminder of a great location close to home. Maybe next time I'll forego the exercise in favour of a photo opportunity. But then again, didn't I just say that September 1st is my New Years??
The Stawamus Chief is a massive granite rock formation located in Squamish. As you drive up the Sea to Sky Highway, it is a very imposing sight - a shear rock cliff that seems to go up forever as you drive by.
Early in the summer, my friend Darlene and I discovered that we both had a common goal - to hike "The Chief". I had hiked to the first peak five years ago, while visiting Whistler on business. I remembered it was much more difficult than I anticipated, and being an inexperienced hiker, there were some pretty challenging moments on the way up and particularly on the way down. I had always wanted to go back a little better prepared than the last time. Part of being better prepared meant not doing the hike on my own, so it was great to have a friend who wanted to tackle it.
And so, the training began. We would hike Knox Mountain here in Kelowna a couple of times a week. As it turned out, this was pretty good training for the 700 metre ascent up the back of The Chief. At dinner the night before, I was feeling pretty confident and said, "Maybe it's not as hard as I remember..."
Yeah, right - it was much harder than I remembered, but well worth the effort. I'm wishing I had pictures from the top that day, but I resolved to carry only the water I could drink and the food I would eat. One of these days I'll get a small camera, just for fun! For now, you'll have to imagine the view after the climb. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with puffy clouds dotting the sky. We hiked to the second peak, so had a panoramic view of mountains, lakes, Squamish, even a glacier off in the distance. It took us just under 2 hours of stairs, rocks, ladders and ropes to reach the top. The half hour or so we spent basking in the sun at the top was heavenly.
After we returned to sea level, I grabbed my camera and made these images. The Chief is difficult to photograph because of its size and location. I used a wide angle lens to get as much of it in the frame as possible, positioning my camera just so to avoid the power lines running just above the frame. I'd like to try to photograph The Chief from across the valley using a telephoto lens the next time I make the trip, and of course the hike! Yes, I'd do it again in a heartbeat and maybe one of these days I'll be able to keep a bounce in my step and a song on my lips like the guy we nick-named "Skippy". Skippy and his friends passed us not once, but two or three times. The last time we saw him, even his friends were cursing - "don't you ever stop singing?!?@#@!?"
Other memorable moments included helping Mimi, a rather large dog, from behind. She was frightened and her owner could not reach down to lift her up. I guess you never know where your hand is going to end up on a day like that! We passed Mimi and her owner, thinking they would never make it to the top. After we'd been there about 15 minutes, there was Mimi, running around, trying to find her way out of the nightmare she didn't sign up for.
All in all, it was a great day, a great hike, with many rewards over the course of the weekend. My only regret is that we didn't have someone take our grimy picture at the base of The Chief, covered head to toe in dirt with big smiles on our faces. Next time, for sure! I seem to be developing a fondness for hiking up things. Next up is The Grouse Grind in September, which means I'd better start hauling my butt up Knox Mountain again.....
