Winter Gifts

When the early winter ice first forms across the lakes of Kananaskis, it has to fight against Chinook winds that raise the temperature and break open larger areas repeatedly. During these first few weeks of change calm pools form in the space between ice sheets and provide perfect mirror surfaces. 

Whilst instructing yesterday I came across two beautiful examples of these pools close to the isthmus dam on Upper Kananaskis Lake. The first (shown below) had a strong leading line sweeping across the frame and pulling us out toward Mt Indefatigable. The 14 mm lens ensured I was able to capture the foreground and still leave enough open space above the mountain to make the image you see below. I also shot a portrait image of the same scene which came out very well.  

After making this image we moved on around the lakeshore until reaching another pool where a change of lens to the 16 - 35 mm allowed me to reach out over the cluttered foreground to capture a much cleaner, symmetrical shot of the same mountain which I have added to my portfolio. 

It's always nice to find a portfolio addition, I've also deleted a couple of shots just to keep things fresh and to force myself to maintain a good standard of image in the portfolio.