The unmistakable shape of the Calgary Tower stands out against the golden sky during the magic hour shortly after sunset. I’m a bit of a sucker for skyline pictures anyway, but the light was really dramatic, so of course I had to pull over to make this image.
The clouds have settled in over the foothills at sunset pretty well every day for the last week. The resulting glow of the sunset over the Rockies lighting up the haze has been incredible. I’ve stopped a couple of times to try to capture the its essence in an image. Sometimes that’s a lot harder than it seems like it should be. In this case I really wanted to capture the expanse of the Rockies silhouetted on the horizon. I love how the layers are so distinct and the colors are almost magical.
The winter landscape on the prairies can be so beautful that sometimes I find it hard to decide what image to make next. This was one of those examples where I was torn between wanting to make images of the grain bins that I knew would be glowing a beautiful red as the sun rose, or to try to create the starburst effect you see here just as the sun peeked over the horizon. In the end I managed to do both, but I really only got to try one composition for the starburst shot, and then I ran back over to the bins to make a few more images there. Fortunately this old fence was close enough to the bins that I was able to use it to give the starburst shot some foreground interest.
I went out for a sunrise photoshoot with my Dad the other day while he was visiting for the holidays. It was really nice to be able to head out at a very civilized time (8:00 AM) and still be there in plenty of time to fully enjoy the Magic Hour. This is very different from the other seasons where the sunrise is much earlier in the day, and is one of the few advantages that winter photography has over the summer.
I’ve shot these grain bins before but because of their position relative to the sunrise I knew they would be a good photogenic subject to share with my Dad.
I love the time right after sunset on the prairies when the deep blue night sky slowly descends. It squishes the glowing magenta light of the magic hour into the horizon below it. I pass this railway crossing all the time, and I always think about stopping to have a better look at it. But I rarely do. I’m glad I did this time because the light was stunning.
