Atlas Coal Mine Panorama
Photo of the Day
Scattered near the site of the Atlas Coal Mine near Drumheller, Alberta are all kinds of fun bits and bobs including these giant wheels. The entrance to the coal mine is visible on the right of this photo.
I’ve been on the grounds of the coal mine before (see my previous images here), but never done an underground visit. Next time I’m going that way, I should plan time for a stop.
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Kenrokuen Garden’s Kotoji Lantern
Photo of the Day
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a photo from Japan, so it’s time to rectify that situation.
Kanazawa’s Kenrokuen gardens make it onto one of Japan’s weird lists: “the three most beautiful landscape gardens.” I don’t know many other cultures that would feel the need to make that kind of ranking, but I consider that one of the endearing things about the Japanese.
In any case, yes, it’s a truly gorgeous place. I saw it while on a trip with my co-workers and I got a taste of the Japanese’s penchant for whirlwind visits. I had to be quick to get away from the pack and set up the tripod for a few moments.
This image is of The Kotoji Lantern which is said to look like the bridge on the Japanese traditional instrument, the koto. It’s an iconic view of the garden and a symbol of the city. I was fortunate to have some of Japan’s spectacularly-coloured autumn leaves in the background.
Click to see the image on a black background:
Ruin above Dovestones
Photo of the Day
This shot is another from a little walk I recently did on the edges above Dovestones reservoir in Lancashire. As I crested the rise, this tiny, ruined house and the accompanying lovely view greeted me at the top.
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Padley Gorge in Longshaw Estates
Photo of the Day
On the way back from our most recent trip to Lincoln, we stopped at Longshaw Estates, a beautiful National Trust property that provides extensive opportunities for walkers to have a good stroll.
I immediately headed for the confines of Padley Gorge and peaty water cascading over mossy stones while emerald branches swayed overhead. There I found a few photo ops including the scene below.
I’ll definitely have to go back and spend a longer time there and I’m guessing it’s a pretty fine place to be when autumn arrives.
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The Hoodoos near Drumheller
Photo of the Day
One of my favourite day trips from Calgary when I was growing up was a visit to the Alberta Badlands. It’s dinosaur country after all – what kid isn’t going to get excited at the idea of hunting for T-Rex bones?
And of course, one of my favourite spots there is the hoodoos. This area shaped by eons of erosion always resembled an alien landscape and captured my imagination.
When I visited a couple months ago, I was a bit disappointed to find that construction had begun on a stairway and path leading around the hoodoos. I understand the need for protecting the fragile formations from the erosion that tourists can cause, it’s just sad to see that it’s necessary.
So, a shot like today’s photo of the day is a bit special in that it captures the hoodoos before the view changes.
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Above Dovestones Reservoir
Photo of the Day
Last Saturday evening, I took a walk along the edges high above the Dovestones Reservoir and got this shot as the sun nestled up against the horizon.
This is one of those shots that I probably made more complicated than it needed to be by composing it of multiple stitched images (to get a wider field of view) and multiple bracketed exposures (to get more tonal range out of the scene). After some post process tinkering, I’m pleased with the result, so here it is!
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Landscape Photographer of the Year Shortlisted
I received an email this morning telling me that four of my photos had been shortlisted for the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. How nice of them!
Interestingly, the images selected are all outside the bounds of what you would call ‘traditional’ landscape photography. Three of them were created using the technique of lighting the subject in multiple shots then compositing the shots together. The fourth shot is of a rather unusual modern art installation. Given the contest’s previous winners, I wouldn’t have expected these images to be the ones that made it through, but I guess the judges might be looking for something a bit different this year.
I’ve had requests to see the images that made it to the next round of judging, and this blog post is here to grant that wish. Click the images to see larger versions.
Mitch Dobrowner’s Storm Photography
Just found this interview with Mitch Dobrowner at F-Stop Magazine. Mitch is a fine-art storm photographer and in this interview he discusses how he got into the field, his process, and how he has made a name for himself. It’s a good little read, but if you want a quick photo fix, skim through the little slideshow of his images for some stunning work.
And if that’s not enough for you, check out his portfolio for plenty more ominous clouds filled with darkness, evil, and tortured souls. Or maybe just darkness.
Bodmin Moor’s Cheesewring
Photo of the Day
The Cheesewring is a rock formation sitting atop the barren hill of Stowes Hill in Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. According to good-old Wikipedia, it’s named after a cheesewring, “a press-like device that was used to make cheese.”
Almost unbelievably, this is a natural formation. No ancient astronauts came down to pile these giant stones onto one another – this is all the result of weathering. The hill has a few other strange formations like this one and there’s a stone circle not too far away as well.
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Stanage Edge Millstones
Photo of the Day
These abandoned millstones sit at the base of Stanage Edge in Derbyshire near the village of Hathersage. Stanage Edge makes for a good walk with nice views of moors on one side and hills on the other, but these millstones are what captivated me.
Millstone manufacturing was a burgeoning industry in the Peak District in the 19th century and these stones are most likely a leftover from one of the factories in the area, long since shut down.
For me, there was something wonderfully mysterious about them. There was no evidence of any other structure around them – just the stones – so you naturally ask the question of how they got there.
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Dades Gorge in Morocco
Photo of the Day
Looking down onto this winding course full of hairpin turns, I can almost see Jeremy Clarkson and friends getting giddy at the prospect of charging some high-powered supercar down through these roads in the Dades Gorge in Morocco.
This shot ended up being more difficult to take than it should have been. The battery that powers my little remote-trigger camera attachment failed and without it, I couldn’t do an exposure of longer than 30 seconds without keeping my finger on the shutter. Fortunately, my hand was steady enough for five minutes that everything in the photo was sharp. It was a pleasant surprise considering I don’t consider myself to have the steadiest hand in the business.
Click to see the image on a dark background:
St. Michael’s Mount Sunset Panorama
Photo of the Day
The fairy tale island of St. Michael’s Mount is awash with colour on a gorgeous evening in Cornwall.
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Peace Above the Plitvice Lakes
Photo of the Day
Okay, I know, I know. There’s some waterfalls visible in this shot of a happy couple enjoying the sun and sights of the Plitvice Lakes. I forgot those little cascades were visible down there. I didn’t lie, I just kind of messed up the truth. I hope you can forgive me.
Let’s just forget it ever happened and imagine we are sitting on that perch up there and feeling as content and blissful as that couple must have been feeling at that moment.
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Wall of Waterfalls
Photo of the Day
As promised, here’s the last of the waterfall shots from the Plitvice Lakes.
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Wispy Waterfalls
Photo of the Day
I hope you’re not sick of Plitvice’s waterfalls yet. I have one more after this to post and then, no more for a while. I promise.
Kozjak Lake in Plitvice
Photo of the Day
The azure waters of the Plitvice Lakes vary their colour depending on the time of day and the weather, but you don’t have to try too hard to see a brilliant blue like this one on Kozjak, the largest of the lakes.
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Another Plitvice Stream
Photo of the Day
This was one of the first shots I took in Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park. It was a good indication of all the magnificent sights to be seen in this area.
Located at the upper lakes, this little cascade went directly underneath the walkway I was standing on to get this shot.
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Plitvice Panorama
Photo of the Day
Happy 2011 everyone!
We finished 2010 with plenty of shots from Croatia’s wondrous Plitvice National Park and I have another batch of lovely waterfalls to share, so let’s get on with it.
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Another Plitvice Waterfall
Photo of the Day
As a last little photo of the day before Christmas, we’ll continue our walk through the magnificent Plitvice lakes and stop briefly and this babbling brook to admire the scenery and breathe in the fresh forest air. Breathe in deeply. Relax…
And now that you’re feeling nice and chilled out, I hope that feeling carries on for you through the holiday season. Merry Christmas and happy new year everyone!
Veliki Slap – The Big Waterfall (part II)
Photo of the Day
As I mentioned in the previous post, here’s a pulled-back shot of Veliki Slap, the big waterfall in the Plitvice Lakes, Croatia.
In this one, you can see the tiny little people on the left-hand side of the image and that should let you know just how huge the waterfall is.
Veliki Slap – The Big Waterfall
Photo of the Day
Veliki Slap is is not just the largest in the Plitvice Lakes, it’s the largest in Croatia – 78 metres of frothing fun. I did have to stitch together a number of images to get this vista thanks to its height.
I’ll admit that this photo suffers a little from a lack of scale. It needs a tiny little human at the bottom to show just how big it really is, but one is allowed any closer than the point at which I was standing. That’s for the best really. The park has done a great job of keeping the area pristine and I would hate to have to make exceptions just for little ol’ me.
Wait for the next photo of the day to see what I mean. In it, I’ve pulled back (a lot!) to show just how huge the waterfall really is.
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Plitvice Stream
Photo of the Day
One of the challenges of photographing the waterfalls of Plitvice is that you have to take most of your shots from the wooden walkways throughout the park. Unfortunately, they weren’t designed with photographers in mind. How rude!
The problem is just that the walkways are rather shaky. It doesn’t matter how stable your tripod is, when anyone moves, your camera moves. Even when someone is a good 50 feet away, you may feel their vibrations disturbing your camera’s equilibrium. That just means that patience is the order of the day.
The only problem with that, however, is that these walkways are sometimes a bit narrow and you might have a few impatient tourists queueing up behind you if you’re not paying attention to your personal space. So, you have to be both patient and considerate. You should be anyways, but consider this a reminder to everyone out there. It is Christmas after all and you don’t want to end up on the naughty list.
This shot was a good example of the above. Narrow walkway? Check. Busy area? Check (two paths converged nearby). Also this one also has a path in the shot, (upper right), so I had to wait for the path to clear in the shot as well as for the vibrations to cease. But like I said, a little patience and we’re done.
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Plitvice Walk in the Woods
Photo of the Day
Ever so often, while walking around Plitvice, you’ll come to one of those rare patches where a lake or waterfall isn’t visible…
Plitvice Waterfalls from Above
Photo of the Day
This shot of some of the lower falls in Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park gives a sense of place and scale to the walkways and paths a visitor gets to walk.
How I wish I was one of those little people down there right now.
When checking into the hotel there, the lovely clerk who helped us, told us to come back after we had explored a little bit of the lakes and then tell us for how long we would like to extend our stay. Her confidence was not misplaced – we booked an extra night as soon as we got back. She knew very well just how seductive the park could be.
Click for a larger view:
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
