October 2009 - Page 2 of 2 - Sean Phillips Photography

Panoramic image of Mount Lorette at Sunrise

I waited for a long time after the sun rose so that I could make this image of Mount Lorette reflected in the Lorette Ponds in Kananaskis Provincial Park. And I almost didn’t get the shot!

I really wanted to catch the Alpenglow on the peak of Mount Lorette, and in the reflection in the water, but it didn’t happen with the initial sunrise. The morning glow on the face of the mountain came as sun rose over the horizon on the prairies, but then faded as the sun climbed. It wasn’t until the sun actually rose up above the mountain peaks immediately to the east of me that the Alpenglow began! I love how the mountains light up in a magnificent red glow at times like these!

Fortunately I made a series of images very quickly because it was only a minute or so after this that a large flock of ducks flew in and landed on the pond in front of me, destroying the glassy smooth finish on the surface. The Alpenglow was over before the pond was calm again. But I got the image I wanted!!

Sunflowers from my Garden

I planted quite a few sunflowers in my flowerbed this year and have been waiting for just the right time to photograph them. It started snowing here this week so I decided that the time had definitely come. I love how sunflowers brighten up the entire yard and how they bring a smile to the face of anyone who sees them. Somehow they just make everyone feel better!

Dark Morph Rough-legged Hawk

According to Sibley, dark morphs make up less than 10% of the population of Rough-legged Hawks found in the west. I don’t recall ever having seen one before, and I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking at when I found this one. I was very happy that it posed for me for so long before launching.

This is the first roughie I’ve seen this fall. They pass through the Calgary area every fall and spring during the migration, and in milder years they are even known to overwinter here. Last year was such a nasty, cold winter that we hardly saw any at all. The spring was also very late this year, so when they did finally arrive they they didn’t stick around for long. We’ve been having a very nice (and late) fall so far and I’m very hopeful that we’ll have them here all winter this year!