Calgary Stampede Fireworks Panorama
Photo of the Day
The view of Calgary and its skyline from Scotsman’s Hill is classic, but when you throw in the fireworks of the Calgary Stampede grandstand show, the sight is even more stellar.
Watching the fireworks from Scotsman’s Hill was a mandatory part of growing up in Calgary, so I had been to this exact spot plenty of times before and I knew roughly what I wanted to try to capture. I got there early, since I know the prime spots fill up fast. After all, you can watch the chuckwagon races from up there for free – crowds start forming hours before the fireworks begin.
So, that leaves plenty of time to watch the chucks, dodge mosquitoes, check out the sunset, set up the tripod and chat with fellow fireworks aficionados.
On this particular night, the threat of rain hung in the air the whole evening. We were mostly spared the drizzle until the fireworks began and the rain made taking photos a bit awkward. Water on the lens wasn’t really the effect I was going for here, so my umbrella was open above my camera and I had a cloth handy to clean my lens when errant drops got through. The result is that I didn’t get quite as many shots to choose from since I spent half my time keeping my gear dry, but I managed to get enough to piece together the panorama below.
Click to see a larger image:
Calgary Skyline Panorama
Photo of the Day
Here’s another HDR panorama, this time from my hometown of Calgary. On a recent visit, I made a point of getting a few shots of the skyline. Since moving to Manchester, I hadn’t shot Calgary’s skyline and my catalogue of images was in need of a bit of updating. That Encana building changes the view in a big way.
Click to see a larger image:
Photos of the Calgary Zombie Walk 2006
I’ve gone through a bunch of my photos from the Calgary Zombie Walk this year and They are now available here. Limp, don’t run to check out the photos!
This year’s turnout was equal to or possibly greater than last year’s and a number of people were intent on outdoing their costumes from the previous year. That meant more gore, more blood, more guts and more fun. Some personal favourites included the zombie whose face was wrapped in barbed wire, the biohazard zombie who carried four litres of fake blood in a pack beneath his clothes to spurt on command, and the golfer zombies pinned back to back having been impaled by a stick.
The Elvis Zombies entertained and the doctor zombie carrying an animatronic baby (with slightly too realistic movements) disturbed. A zombie slayer dressed as Ash from the Evil Dead series (he only needed Bruce Campbell’s chin to complete the look) and a Shaun of the Dead zombie added some star power to the event as well.
It made for a great, early Halloween treat. Here are some samples of the horror awaiting you in the gallery:
New Photos of Calgary
In celebration of my return home, I have just posted some images of Calgary, my hometown. Included in these photos are updates to the following galleries: Calgary Skyline, Downtown Calgary, and the Centre Street Bridge.
In addition to the new photos posted in those galleries, I have also posted a couple of new sets of images: photos of the Calgary Tower and photos of the Board of Education Family of Man Sculpture.
Darby Sawchuk is a Canadian-born photographer who currently resides in Manchester, England. He has travelled to over 40 countries and is always adding more to the list. He creates stock for multiple agencies and is available for assignments.
+44 0790 992 8932
