Landscapes

Day 15: Skaters on Okanagan Lake

It's rare to see Okanagan Lake freeze enough to allow people to skate on it. Quite a joyful sight to behold.

Day 49: Foggy Times

Acting as a perfect metaphor of our current situation, the weather has been dreary. Cold, rainy, and so foggy that you can't see further than 50 yards. Yet, if you elevate yourself enough, you'll find that the fog adds an element of beauty. That the problems you face conceal opportunities.

Foggy backroads over Okanagan Falls

Another shot from yesterday. Foggy backroads above Okanagan Falls.

Day 53: Canadian Postcard

Driving back from the East Kootenays, I ran across countless scenes that can be best described as Canadian postcards. I stopped a few kilometers south of Cranbrook to take at least one of them.

Day 56: Yellow Lake

Temperatures around here have been fairly mild. The picture I took yesterday could easily pass for an Australian landscape. Yet, driving just a few minutes shows clear evidence that it's still winter.

Day 59: Stripes

Sometimes you walk towards a scene and are visually overwhelmed by what you see. I fell in love with all the patterns. I had to capture it in that very moment, tripod, filters, and remote sitting in the car, be damned.

Day 63: Cairn at Mahoney Lake

Located just ten minutes from our new home, Mahoney Lake is pretty unique. It is a meromictic saline lake whose surrounding rocks, flora, and fauna have been made into an official ecological reserve to help preserve them. While enjoying the peaceful setting I stumbled upon this cairn made out of colorful rocks. This lake, under the right circumstances, turns completely purple. I plan to return in the future to capture that.

Day 64: Where water meets the ice

Water and ice are the same matter in a different state. I try to remember that whenever I meet new people. People who are different. People who think or act differently than I do. People that I may instinctually judge at first. They are the same matter just in a different state, like the water and ice coexisting in this shot of Skaha Lake at sunset.

Day 67: Peach Cliff

Peach Cliff is a highly photogenic cliff that rises above Okanagan Falls. I'm told it's a gorgeous hike whose trail head just happens to be located on part of our street. In fact, this mountain acts as a backdrop for our new home. She is beautiful. She stands tall. She shelters, almost looking out for us. She reminds me of the many wonderful women in my life. On International Women's Day, I thank them - and all other women - for the ability to be so beautiful and awe inspiring in countless ways.

Day 68: Fog over Skaha Lake

For the past few days, the weather has been having an identity crisis. It jumps back and forth between winter and spring. Today it was winter again, including thick fog and snow. Thankfully, I like moody shots and winter wonderlands. ❄️😊

Day 71: Sun-Oka Beach Provincial Park

On Friday I got a new license plate. It's one of those BC Parks ones whose yearly fee helps support provincial parks and other protected areas. At $40/year, it's the minimum I can do to support these slices of heaven sprinkled throughout British Columbia. Secretly, I hope my photos might help promote them as well in some way.

Day 74: Haynes Barn

What you see in this scene is the largest of three barns that used to belong to a popular Judge and cattle rancher. The nostalgic in me is sad to see buildings of historical significance quickly decay before their inevitable demise. While we still have them, they certainly add a heritage element to the breathtaking landscape in the area.

Day 75: McIntyre Bluff

Modern society is a complex game. We built it and it rewards us with many advantages. Safety, services, and products to name three. The game can become quite stressful if taken too seriously, however. Because all that complexity is hard to navigate. It is a relatively new invention and our ape-like brains are still struggling with it. More and more stressed people are finding that spending time in nature feels quiet and peaceful. You feel less stressed. You feel... at home.

Day 77: Okanagan Falls from the KVR

The temperature around here has been on the rise this week, as demonstrated by the very thin layer of ice that remains atop Skaha Lake. It is finally starting to feel like spring and in turn, I've begun to see people on the local trails once again. In this shot, taken on the KVR trail, you can see Okanagan Falls (our new town) in the center of the frame.

Day 81: Reaching out

A common misconception in the world of photography is that wide-angle lenses serve the purpose of getting everything in the frame. When used in such a fashion, you'll definitely capture it all, but most subjects in the photo will be distant, tiny, and virtually indistinguishable. Although this can work occasionally, the real advantage of such a lens is the ability to include a foreground subject and still have room to show the context in which it resides. The wide-angle nature of the lens will then further lead the eye from the subject in the foreground to the rest of the image. I shot this photo at 16mm to capture both these interesting branches and the dramatic sky.

Day 82: SS Sicamous in the wind

I shot the SS Sicamous, a decked sternwheeler in Penticton, early on in the project. Today, I wanted to revisit it with a more creative composition. It is such an iconic and photogenic ship, that it's worth photographing more than once.

Day 84: Haynes Cabin

On day 74 and 78 I photographed two of the old wooden buildings which are part of the heritage Haynes Ranch in Osoyoos. Today, I came back to close the series by capturing the smallest of the three buildings. In its simplicity, it's quite possibly my favorite of the three shots.

Day 88: Cherries

One of the most rewarding aspects of living in a rural community is the more direct connection with food. Cherries, or anything else, doesn't magically appear in a grocery store. You can see it grow, buy it from the farmer, or even pick it yourself if you wish. Of course, we still have grocery stores but, unlike the city, you are constantly reminded of that connection. Of the fact that, if you will, we are more than just our minds at work. We are animals with bodies that need clean food and water to thrive. We are part of an ecosystem that needs to be protected.

Day 105: All quiet over the lake

I love the sense of calm that falls upon us in the evening.

Day 113: Lions Park

I took this shot of the Lions Park's pond in Okanagan Falls just before the rain made me reconsider my life choices. 😂

Day 115: McIntyre Bluff's Reflection

Vaseux Lake becomes so serene in the evening. It's a must see for those traveling in the South Okanagan.

Day 119: A bridge in Unionville

I'm in Markham, Ontario for work and I got the chance to see the beautiful Unionville once again. Such a charming location deserves more than one photo. To get the ball rolling, however, I took this shot of one of its bridges over the creek.

Day 120: Toogood Pond

Not far from Main Street Unionville lies beautiful Toogood Pond. The name, as you can see, is quite apt.

Day 112: Stiver Mill

Unionville's charm is off the charts. Everywhere I look I see photographic opportunities. A true gem within the Greater Toronto Area.