cowtownscribe

Thanks for all the kind words. Truly I was lucky to be at a place where I could get these shots. Well, that and having my 300mm with a 2x converter in my bag also helped Frank.

Great post Seve! I like all the pictures, but all the 'eye variations are just killer! That's one species I used to target many moons ago when I first moved to Alberta - but had dropped off my radar as I spent more time frolicking in the foothills for trout and char. *Sigh* Maybe next year Frank.

DOH! Of course, I wouldn't be able to build up tension and curiosity if it was all on one post Duly noted. Frank.

Thanks for the kind words. Yup - that is indeed a shooting star. There was a bunch of them that night. Rob put together a time-lapse on his website that shows more: http://www.canadiannaturephotographer.com/ Rob's aurora shots are even more spectacular, as he was better able to pick up the mauve colours with his f1.4 lens! Frank.

Do not fret dear readers - the end is near...... In spite of going to bed late, I was up at 4:30AM to get a shot of the sun coming up. After that I headed over to the lodge for to get a coffee. It was shortly after that our guide mentioned that sometime during the night, a grizzly and some wolves had walked along the beach in front of the lodge. I couldn’t help but shiver a little bit, as I was taking pictures most of the night right above where they ambled past. All I had noticed was the Aurora, stars, planets and meteors. But all too soon, we were flying back to Yellowknife. I snoozed most of the way, as quite frankly there didn’t seem to be any reason to take more pictures through an aircraft window. I’m sure the fact that I had a late night/early morning didn’t help either. I know that definitely I need to go back soon! Enjoy (and thanks for your patience). Frank.

On the way back to the lodge, we saw this caribou standing atop a ridge on an island. When we tried to get closer for some pictures, he ran away. We thought that he seemed rather spooky – but left it at that. When we rounded the island, he was just getting into the water to swim toward the mainland. Although frustrating trying to focus in a rocking boat, we ended up taking a ton of pictures. All I can say is thank god for high capacity storage cards and great burst rates. When the caribou reached the shore and climbed up on the rocks, we discovered why he was behaving the way he was. He had a big wound in his left rear flank, and to us it looked like a griz had taken a swipe at him. Getting back to camp, we took some time to chillax on the picnic table in front of the lodge. There were a lot of these immature Harris’s Sparrows around, and I couldn’t resist some shots. For the record, the guides call these LBB’s, or LBJ’s which stands for Little Brown Birds or Little Brown Jobs. On our last day we headed out by boat again – but this time in the opposite direction to a place called Caribou Bay. On our way there, we stopped to get some fish for the shore lunch. So here is the obligatory hero shot of me holding a 12lb Lake Trout I caught on an Al’s Ciscoe pattern. Scenery-wise the day was a carbon copy of the one before. The only picture I took that is a bit different from the hundred’s of others, is this view from the bay at Shore Lunch peninsula looking back out into the main lake. It was what happened after supper that was most memorable. It was 10:00pm, and we had just finished watching a slide show of our favourite shots from the trip. Our leader, Dr. Robert Berdan asked if anyone had checked to see if the Aurora was out. I went outside and looked up to see an amazingly clear sky with millions of stars and a band of Northern Lights just starting to form. We all scrambled to get our gear set up, but there really was no rush – it just got better and better as the night wore on. Rob and I ended up called it quits at 1:30 in the AM, as the Aurora was staring to wane, and the cooling temperatures were causing condensation on our lenses. It really didn’t matter anyway – between the two of us I’m sure we had close to 1000 pictures!

The Aurora was something that eluded us for a good chunk of our workshop. We spent the first two nights out at Prelude Lake, waiting for the show to start – but the cloud cover kept it hidden from sight. On our first night at the lodge, we did get a bit of a teaser, but we still had a fair amount of high broken cloud – and the light show never fully developed. The next day started out cloudy and windy – so we decided to have a macro day around the lodge. There is an incredible variety of lichens up in the high sub-arctic taiga, and I took many shots – although I still don’t know exactly what species they all are. I do know this is Reindeer Lichen with some stray Bearberry leaves to give contrast to the picture. Not 100% certain, but I think it may be Saucer Lichen. Boo rack in laying in the ground cover behind the lodge. I took the shot, as I liked the contrasts. More mushrooms. Not sure what type, but there is also Bearberry, Crowberry, and even some Cranberry plants in the shot. Believe it or not, we actually had a lady at the lodge that was there only to pick the cranberries. Now that’s dedication! One more shot of a lichen. I believe this belongs to the camouflage family. This is not my usual style of photo – but I like the different textures in the shot. The next day, we decided to go further afield and headed south of the lodge by boat to a place called Esker Bay. As the name implies, there were endless eskers leading back into the bay and beyond. We walked along the crest of one for several miles and took in the drop dead gorgeous landscape. Although I tried, pictures really do not do it justice. It is one of those things you just need to see for yourself. I included this picture only because of the story it tells – not because it’s a great shot. On the opposite side of the bay from where we were, a heard of caribou came down the hill and swam across the narrows toward our shore. Five minutes later, we saw these two wolves – hot on their trail. They went back and forth on the far shore, as if deciding what to do. Eventually they swam across the water in pursuit of the herd. It really was a privilege to view this behaviour (even though it was at a distance)! Hang in there - 1 more part........

Hi everyone. I decided to post in this forum, as the primary focus of this latest trip was a Photography Workshop - not fly-fishing. Although I did get a chance to do a little – it was only for 3 hours – and I was under orders to get some fish for the group shore lunch. The biggest Lake Trout I caught was a 12 pound specimen, so it looks like I’ll have to go back up next year to try and break my standing 20 lb record Anyhoo, the first two days of the workshop were spent in and around Yellowknife. On day two we headed up the Ingraham Trail (Hwy 4) to hike up to Cameron River Falls. Along the way, we came upon a pair of Willow Ptarmigan, and I managed to get this shot before one over-zealous member of our group, spooked them into the bush. Although I took some obligatory shots of the falls, it is this side flow to the Cameron River that caught my attention. To me, it looks less staged, and is more intimate. Heading back up towards the main trail, I slipped on the mud and grabbed onto a tree for support. Looking down I saw these mushrooms, and decided it would be a good time to take out the macro lens. Day three found us flying up to the lodge at Point Lake. We weren’t very far north of Yellowknife, when I noticed a huge colour difference in the taiga. For comparison, I have included a shot from my August trip. While on final to land at Point Lake, we passed over a herd of caribou, just north of the lodge. The decision was made to stow our gear as quickly as possible, and see how close we could sneak up on them. As luck would have it, an esker was between us and the herd – so we were able to get pretty darn close to them before we started taking pictures. I am surprised that the focus beeps and shutter clicks coming from our cameras didn’t spook the caribou, as it was pretty noisy from where I was crouched. When it was all over, I had taken 450 shots – and felt like a kid in a candy shop. They knew we were there, but they didn’t run off until we stood up and walked back to the lodge along the top of the esker. To be continued.......

Ya-hoo! Bring it on. I am happy now.

Thanks BigBow. I'm still going through all the shots I took, as I ended up filling a 4G card. This was the first one that caught my eye - so I thought I'd throw it up now ~Scribe

Try this guy on for size. Saw him on Sunday happily munching on grass and dandelions near Spillway lake. He mostly ignored the other vehicles on the road - including two people on Mountain bikes. Even had some park staff trying to move him on by banging their doors and honking their horns. It wasn't that effective, as we saw him again an hour and a half later 50 yards west from this area. ~Scribe Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Hey Colin. Get any cutties while you were there? I know they've only stalked rainbows for the past 3+ years, and I'm not sure where the brookies came from - but the cutties were why I used to hit it at ice-out Thanks. Frank.

This just in - ALTA is still in business. They moved to a temporary location - but are trying to find a more permananet home. Here's the info: 1228 - 9 Ave SE Calgary , AB T2G 0T1 Tel: 403-234-0400 Cheers! ~Scribe

Sorry about that - I haven't been there for almost a year and a half - but was a regular before then (especially for sensor cleanings) ;( Good Luck!

I always take my (out of warranty) DSLR's to ALTA Camera Services here in Calgary. In all of my dealings with them, they have been nothing short of excellent. The addy is: Bromley Square 107 - 10th Avenue SW Calgary, Ab Calgary Ab T2R 0A1 (403) 234-0400 Give them a try. Regards, ~scribe