Happy New Year from Scotland

Just a short post to wish everyone a happy new year. It has been a wonderful year which began with wildlife encounters and nightscapes in the city in January, and moved onto creating depth on the site with the addition of my composition tutorials and other tips.   

In march I was shooting in Santa Monica, California (where better to escape the canadian winter) and in April I had a grizzly encounter in kananaskis.  In May I added more tutorials and my lucky photography  page. 

In June it was landscapes in portrait mode and handheld macro images. July saw the forest fires provide a candy cane sunset and I began my series 5 project which showcases 5 themed images. 

In August a shoot in Medicine Hat in southern Alberta showed the value in persistence as I finally caught a sunset behind the 'Worlds biggest TeePee' after a number of unsuccessful attempts.  In September a fall photo walk provided great results, I also managed to capture a shooting star and a beautiful sunrise at the wedge pond in Kananaskis. 

October was all about sunrise and sunsets as I hit the lower lake, Mt Rundle, Vermillion Lakes and the Wedge Pond again, happily  each produced good results. In November the first snow and Ice of winter provided some beautiful images to start the season, one of which made the calendar for this year. 

I ended the year with more snow and ice, a spontaneous sunrise shoot over the city of Calgary and some spectacular methane bubbles frozen in the local lakes.  All in all 2018 was a great year, the workshops produced excellent results, tuition was enjoyable and rewarding as always and I improved my own work along the way. 

Having said all of that, my image to share for new year is one from 2011,  because I lived in Scotland then and nobody does new year celebration better than the scots.  The image shows a part of Loch Muick on the Balmoral Estate and the lodge built by Queen Victoria (Glas-alt-Shiel house) in 1868 as a 'widows house' where she could escape the world following the death of her husband Prince Albert. The house is still personally owned by Queen Elizabeth II.   

I took the shot during a hike of the White Mounth Munros, a stunning 30km hike that takes you around the loch from the summits and plateaus of 5 mountains that surround it. If you are ever in this area of Scotland I urge you to visit the loch and make the hike if time (and energy) allow. 

All that remains is for me to wish you all a wonderful, happy and prosperous new year and my genuine hope that the photography gods smile upon you in 2019.