Mountain Bike Peru

I thought things were getting a bit mudane of late thought I’d change it up some what.So down South America way there’s this town called Ollyanta (locals), or Ollyantaytambo (touri) veritable mtb mecca …. my Guide Chet suggested we hit up some Inca ruins up high…. Olly’s at 10 grand so 14grand seemed like it might be a nice good view destination to bivy at. So it was decided open bivy up high in the southern Andes. We had to carry overnight packs while the horse led by two brothers 8 and 10 carried the bikes.Clear sky night at Minus 10C at night with lots of frost and mega stars … and the big dipper is turned around. What can I say the downhill was long and very cool. Ever Mountain bike Peru?? Just do it and bone up on yer Spanish.

Surf Vancouver BC

Well, when the light is good you gotta get out. I found myself alone, not that I found myself but I was in an interesting local area with a sunny day forecast before the sun rose, knowing that the sun also rises so I’ll take a walk with my camera. A pleasant surprise to find a tide ebbing and thinking that this would be a great place to practice some kayaking surfing before heading out to the west coast. Before long a couple surfers arrive and I wander over and crank a couple of shots. Funny this is only 10 minutes by car from downtown Vancouver. Enjoy the weekend.

Environmental Portraits

The environmental portrait. What is photography. Photography is light and how it is rendered. Photography asks questions.

Like whats the story here. Look at the people look at the terrain. This was a small Dene aboriginal girl near the arctic circle.

It’s after 11pm the light “magic hour” the photographer’s cinematographers dream light exists for hours. The weather is harsh here its alpine and trees are small. We traveled by bike on this trip part of a compilation of stories we did on the yukon and adventure.

On this iron-worker I used fill to bring up the detail in the facial shadows.

Bit of a tricky shot to light top of highrise in a breeze we were (and gear) tied in.

Watch the condensation on Camera Gear reduce the differential of hot and cold on camera will fog lenses when moving to a warmer place in extreme cold do not breath on camera gear it will ice up. And sleep with batteries on overnight trips.

Adventure Yukon

Adventure in the Yukon in Canada’s north. We Mtb -ed a portion of the Canol Road a great trip in wild tundra land with caribou and the Grizzly. Lots of river crossings most shallow. You have to resourceful and independent. Rescue is difficult. A sat phone might be nice … we did not have one. Few people in a vast tundra-ed landscape.

The Canol was put through in 1942 as an access road for an oil pipeline that was barely used. Cost millions of 1942 dollars. There are some remnant leaks and dumps of military vehicles enroute we just about made it half way and the were beset with a broken derailleur.

Ski Manatee

It seems a bit odd but in Eastern Canada today its warm on the west coast its snowing.

So I thought I’d post this contrasting shot today … Manatee echos warmth, the mammal is found in Florida, they may even be a threatened species there I can’t remember. I do remember seeing pictures of them with prop blades etched into their skin. They are slow moving and come to the surface every-once-in-a-while to get air. And get hit by boats towing water skiers
They like warm water

So the Manatee Range in BC west of Pemberton just north of Whistler got its name because a few of the peaks looked like the beasts + the first people that skied into this area named the peaks in the 1960’s had a very cold trip so it may of reminded them of warmer climes.

Coast Mountain explorer John Clarke a modern day John Muir who my friend Lisa Baile is writing a book about ….. was on that trip his first expedition … he went on the trip with one of those old fibre fill/cotton sleeping bags you know the ones with the duck hunters on the flannel interior… and froze his butt off. He said it took him a week to warm up after he came home from the trip.

This photo was from a climbing trip into the area, we used skis to get around notw the suncups. A tarn is a small alpine pond. Note also in the photo where some of the cornices have melted off probably causing avalanches earlier in the season. This area is used by heli-skiers in the winter.

Beach Graphic

I like the layered feel in this photo. It doesn’t hit right away. The sand has texture, the sky has texture and the water has a mottled texture.

First Light

Nothing like a tropic morns first light to work the angles. What drew me to this was the line of potted cactus around the rim of the pool.

Really like the ochre cast as it reflected the warm light. Everything is juxtaposed by the angularity of the structure. The frame of the cactus and the structure of the building itself.
The sky’s blue gives a nice edge contrast.

Yellow Water Storage

Thought I’d brighten up the day with something that foretells the coming of SPRING. Found this graphic tower south of here. Water is a real commodity in the drier countries of the world. Something that is not on most peoples radar. WE turn on a tap and it comes out and clean too. We are so lucky to live in Canada in Most parts of Canada.

However you wouldn’t want to drink the downstream river water that flows north into the Arctic Ocean from the tar sands in Alberta though.You know about the tar sands right? I won’t editorialize though its tempting but we have to keep the day bright.

Spring snow this morn after a howl of a windstorm an explosive deepening low 100km speeds out in the gulf galiano, mayne saltspring got bombed.

Pano N Newfoundland

What a great wild place. The Vikings first made landfall here via Greenland. Windswept humid alpine.

Vintage Photographers Ansel and Dorothea

Ansel in 1942 working Yosemite and Dorothea Lange on the road in the depression 1936 documenting social upheavals in the FDR era.
Great shots. Notice the POV action Ansel employs with the platform he shot Moonrise over Hernandez the same way.
Both inspiring photographers

Ts’yl-os Provincial Park Chilcotin BC

This is a valley. It is glacial. Carved out eons ago. A big U-shaped valley. It’s called Tchaikazan.

Supercrack of the Desert

Super Crack of the Desert

“so singular so unique” symmetric cleaving the desert

This climb really inspired me. The art of nature aesthetics of the line and the excitement. This line was true, pure.

I had this picture, from a calender, in my room for years. The guy in the red t-shirt with the yellow Scottish lion on his back approaching the overhang it was adventure. This film is great.
Wiggins Webster Becker

Bryan Adams Autographed Record Album Found

Found this Bryan Adams signed album at a garage sale in Vancouver. Just by fluke riding by and sorted through some old records Cuts Like a Knife Signed Bryan Adams 1985. 26 years ago! It was in a darker pen so I highlighted in Pshop with grey to make it more noticeable in the photo you see. Interesting what you can find in garage sales if you spend the time to look. He used to work at the Tomahawk Restaurant in NVan near the Lions Gate bridge that bridges the gap (first narrows) between Stanley Park and the North Shore. Local boy does well, good food at the restaurant too.

Conservation Photographers Enbridge Great Bear Rainforest

This is a trailer SPOIL its about how we will not let an oil pipeline from ALBERTA TAR SANDS be constructed to the west Coast of British Columbia. You can not support this. This ecosystem is incredibly unique.

we have a real short period of time do you think we should do any thing about it?

Hike Nootka Island

Naturalist attack hiking, you want to go somewhere the crowds don’t go and see wild ocean terrain with great photo ops. Everyone has heard of BC’s West Coast trail. Hit the Nootka Trail its better in my opinion. for more adventure yet, getting there is sweet adventure in itself you fly in. Any trip that begins with a flight is fun. Want to know more lets go.

New stuff and recommended check out the gutenberg project and Librivox for audio books all free.

Recently downloaded Robert Falcon Scott’s Journals of his South Pole expedition …. great naturalist observations of sea ice, bergs, penguins etc
as audio book 500megs of mp3’s to an itouch ….. bomber stuff as in bombproof state of the art as good as it gets, take a 50m leader fall on it and the gear won’t even come close to pulling. How can you beat that?

George Clooney For President

“Clooney plays a flawed presidential candidate in his next film, The Ides of March. He’ll direct the movie he co-wrote, giving his character lines he’d like to hear from a presidential candidate. But despite occasional overtures from the California Democratic Party, Clooney has rejected the constraints of conventional politics. “I didn’t live my life in the right way for politics, you know,” he said, sitting outside the Central Pub in Juba, scarfing down pizza. A smart campaigner, he believes, “would start from the beginning by saying, ‘I did it all”

I don’t often put this stuff in my blog but since George Clooney seems like a pretty reasonable guy and has some social conscience with his involvement in Africa and (now myself having a more personal take on Africa) and doesn’t tow the normal hollywood garbage and is more independent even as a film maker. Read the Newsweek articleI put it in.

Salish Sea Georgia Strait

The Gulf it’s big. There is current. There are waves, sometimes there is swell.

You can see across the gulf on clear days. San Juans to Ballenas, Sunshine Coast to Active Pass.

Sometimes you can’t cross the gulf.

On Mt Baker at Sunset

This is enroute to the Coleman Headwall which is on the nw side of Mt Baker. Bruce and I tried to get a start on it but it was guarded by some pretty deep crevasses and tottering serac blocks all dripping wet and slouching. We slept in big crevasse at 9000 ft to keep out of the wind. Some climbers woke us up at about 3 and we went back to sleep till 5. We passed them at 530 below the Roman Wall. They got lost? And got to the summit just as the sun rose. Baker is just under 11000 feet 10 seven I think.

Mountain Bike Golden Ears

Golden Ears Provincial Park

Rain January. The thing about the East side trail is that it follows Gold Creek till it becomes braided and meandering about 6km from the parking lot before it peters out.

The thing that’s great about it, is that no one is on the trail especially in the winter months.
In the summer the park is pretty busy ……. now no one.

Ride your bike like the shot shows. You can not ford this this tributary stream without taking off your boots if you’re hiking … with a bike you can power through…. don’t lose your balance though or you’ll get wet.

It was fetid but great with mist and rain enveloping us, mossy understory and some storybook settings deep in the trees where you expect a gnome or a hobbit to peer out. Ride it, I think its in my book mtb adventures in SWBC.

I rarely capture stills from video but I liked this one. Photos don’t have to be sharp to convey the atmosphere. I masked a couple of copies and digitally crafted the colour this what I got.

just posted this 2 months late filmed in a rainstorm camera d7000 in ziplock bag, marcus and I on a tear over rock water and trail.

Infinite Sea

I like this shot I was inspired by viv maier whose work was found in an abandoned storage container and purchased by a real estate agent in the eastern states for 400 dollars.

Historic find beautiful artful photos that document life in the 50’s and sixties. A female Fred Herzog of Chicago. A solitary French nanny with a 2.25. Check it out.

The couple shot here … I like for a bunch of different reasons, but not obviously the watermarks because it it such a good stock shot it can be easily ripped, it might be nice in Maui right now its raining here in Vancouver.

Alpine Flora

Happy New Year.

First image of the year posted here art nature original 10000 pixels square. Big print fine art paper.

This is from British Columbia in the Coast Range in the area known as Granite Country. Want to go?

False Hellibore is kind of a lush alpine plant, grows quite big, the first frost hits it pretty good as most of the plant is fleshy full of water. Like us guess the first frost would hit us pretty good too if we were naked and alpine think we’d wilt at the edges??

Found this hiding in a small granite cove surrounded by avalanche debris. I figured I was lucky.

In the Wild

This echos the ethos of adventure, creative adventure, a place in the heart of it all, its capture the very nerve of elemental soul, the embodiment of.

A friend gave this to me it’s a gift……. view in full screen.

there is no always

Catch the Light

for the h …. art of it all

don’t say you’ve got nothing to give give it to africa

New India Family Lion

Dec 2-3 marked the anniversary of the disaster that happened in 1984 A government affidavit in 2006 stated the gas leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries and over 15000 deaths.

This is a shot of my T-shirt purchased in Bhopal. Union Carbide was responsible for the disaster Dow Chemical bought the company in 2001. Some 1st world corporations in 3rd world countries take advantage of cheap labour, inadequate safety regulations, no regulations to max their profit margins. Just exploitation.
The poor people there are still coping with the results and trying to hold the corporation and its CEO responsible. Who is responsible?

Currently Dow is suing the Government of Canada for $2 million, through NAFTA’s Chapter 11 investor-state dispute process, as part of a challenge to a Quebec ban on the use of lawn pesticides.

Is DOW Chemical in the Tar Sands? Where are the Tar Sands.

“…forgive me jesting again, but the NDP is kind of proof that the Devil lives and interferes in the affairs of men.” – Stephen Harper, 1997

Fin is my man and MP The Tanker Ban on Canada’s west coast was narrowly passed yesterday LUCKY 143 for to 138 against. There is inadequate or outdated response for spills on this coast. Good to be back its worse in the 3rd world.

Lake So Blue

A remote post: was lucky to have a photo adventure in the most blue of all alpine lakes.

A hidden ridge revealed this gem of a lake, a mere dot on the topographic, there was no question that this would be the destination. No question.

Iron staining here promoted this colour unreal and un-photoshop’ed. We hiked up a series of joined undulating ridges scrambling up to around 7500 feet (2500m),
before returning.

Alpine Adventure Eden

4 griz sighted 1 sow 3 cubs of the year great coats well fed no worries see salvator at summit for cowboy coffee take spray just in case

play this music Madm Canadian from Montreal in a separate window read the text and imagine the time I had here …. fusion of art and music also her super conceptual album ooom get it vimeo http://vimeo.com/12416751

In the Alpine

The past months have been perfect for the formation of moss.

Wet and mostly damp especially here on the coast, Pre-historic and usually low to the ground moss has a good relationship with dirt and otherwise fecund matter to which upon it hosts.

Hopefully the weather will change and it’ll all dry up.

Fortunately for the last several days I have been in the rainshadow in the drier mountains of the coast in search of alpine wildflowers. East of Manning Provincial Park in an area that I wanted to visit for sometime, referred to me by an old sot miner/naturalist, I was super lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

In alpine meadows below melting snowpack hidden in copses’ of Englemann spruce profuse outcroppings of columbine were easily found. I have never seen petals with such a variety of colour… salmon, yellow, and lily white.

The thing about columbine they are so fragile, willowy and definitive of the contrasts in nature. Gone Like a Fleeting Moment, in what can be harsh terrain with extremes of weather, what they imbue upon the landscape a living thing beauteous,
if only for moment maybe a week in year, hey, that’s natures way a fragile emergence in the wildflower season.

hockey night in Canada

it was like this… Bill and I had skied the much powder of Kimberly, Whitefish, Manning after a retreat from suisseland sojourn 2000 metres metier realized

and it all echoes back to canada eh to hockey night in Canada in some bluesy motel with 1308. but quite unlike the time in Algerciras  down from Malaga/Torremolinos( where we washed underwear in the bidet) reading  michener’s opus the Drifters which post dates On the road in a different vein ….. (and by bus) . Note the birthday Christmas toque  Leysin.(by the tea kettle)

Photo Workshop Langtang Nepal

Stay with me for details for this one. Leaving October this year. Photo Trek to Langtang Himal from Kathmandu.
Digital photography of unique mountain cultures in villages rarely seen off the normal travelers track.
All logistics taken care of. Good food porters mountain lodges for digital debrief sessions. Multiple base camps for day trips to specific areas. 4 to 6 photographers accepted.

Details are below click the Photo

James Balog Photographer Ice

I’ve been following James Balog for many years, first as a climber because he has climbed in many of the areas I have,** and as a photographer, one of his most famed projects involved a series of animal portraits in studio settings that are just …inspiring. Very talented and very art nature centric.

Trained as geomorphologist, and being a mountain traveler/alpinist he has a good grasp of the alpine environment.

You might say he he has a “sense of place” and an ability to convey it.

For the past couple of years he has been involved in documenting ice and how it has been transmuting, that is to say decaying, moving, changing form and disappearing.
He is documenting through remote time lapse photography his latest project is called The Extreme Ice Survey.

Check out these 2 links which are every bit as erudite as Al Gore’s talks except with pure real-time documentation.

The video is fantastic..

The lecture informative.

In November I attended a lecture that glaciologist/climatologist Dan Smith gave on his studies of glaciers in the coast ranges of BC.

Years ago he was consulted by VANOC about holding the current winter Olympics in Vancouver Whistler. He told the truth, El Nino forecast and climate getting progressively warmer earlier winter snowpack melt sooner. Not a terribly good idea.

**… he incidently did one of the first ascents of Slipstream a beautiful line of frozen alpine ice that comes off of the northside of Snowdome very near to Mt Kitchener in the Columbia Icefields in Banff/Jasper Park in the Canadian Rockies.

New Work

Client Commissioned work from the cave. Calibrated workflow by Haris at Chromalink. Limited Ed print. This is where everything comes from.

Fall

Welcome to British Columbia. Fall is in full mode rain to day but sun tomorrow.

So get out and shoot the leaves and if you can try to isolate the light trees behind a black background to make your shots stand out.

Kill Grizzly Bears in BC

Animals hunt for survival ……. Ignorant humans do it for the trophy.

Can you? Do you support this? Our provincial Liberal Campbell government does.

Film maker Twyla Roscovich produced this excellent video on Grizzly bears and current hunting practices. Take a look……

The Grizzly Bear hunting moratorium has been off for a few years now. It is unfortunate that this hunt occurs can you stop it? Do you care? What can you do? 2000 Bears have died since it was lifted. What is interesting and sad there are no clear numbers of the bear population so who knows if hunters are forcing the population into extinction?

I was fortunate to spent a summer in Glendale Cove on Knight Inlet at Dean Wyatts operation. Gained a total appreciation for wildlife in all of nature. Was in the area from March to September and saw a pretty full cycle very interesting once in lifetime wildlife interactions. Eg. Grizzly sow piggybacking a cub across a river. Kayaking with thousands of pink Salmon, Wolves chasing a deer over a bluff, wolves forcing a group of deer into the Ahunwati bay and then running the shoreline of the bay to intercept their landfall eagles fishing between ocean swells and yes even the birthing of seal pups…. yeah these things really happen while you text message on your blackberry but maybe not for long its up to you……..

Portrait of a Mountaineer

So you know that feeling don’t you?

When that wind pack is crunching underfoot under the labour of a heavy pack laden with rope, water, layers and at …… elevation.

that crisp minus air drying out your nose and throat, the nip on your fingers

Well you can go outside right now its just after 7 am pst take a deep breath of life and get that same feeling and imagine the vista.

Sunrise is due to happen shortly

Coastal BC December 20 08 high pressure minus 10c go make use of it take your camera and keep those batteries warm.

This shot was in the high coast mountains around 200k airline nw of Vancouver Fury Gap a high pass in the Waddington Range Chris Spencer on the left Wadd on the right and Hickson in the back. You want to see mountains go there.
Sylvain Saudan once said to me the the coast range is unparalleled wilder than the alps people in Canada do not realize the resource they have here wiki him.

The guy in the shot here is one of the most solid mountaineers I know Doug Herchmer. We climbed C.Spencer that morning. I think I have have a shot of that at alpenglowpro.com

nyc Moma

Brooklyn Posters detail alpenglowpro

Trying really hard to subvert a few tropes just outside NYC with a bit of ambiguity.

Moma in NYC two modern works juxtaposed.
Recommended to visit. Loads of ART Dali to Klein etc etc a great trip. More images to come.

Take your time: Olafur Eliasson my interpretation MOMA… Pinto man talk soon

More Olafur…..I loved this Icelandic artists installations. There were more at PS1 but photos were strictly prohibited. The up flowing waterfall and the mirrored disc in the sky were outstanding transforming space and giving it outside dimensions. Where is your place in the world. Maybe we should all ask that? More coming.

This building has such great space. 100asa 4.5 @ 15thsec so sez the meta data

Warm Day Kayak BC

Just looking forward to kayaking this season with this unseasonal weather day 20C. Get ready to dip your paddles….don’t forget

To get up early for the photo ……….this was taken at 530am + dew on the yaks gentle lapping of the incoming tide the odd gull mewing….you know the routine.

Trapper Nelson

In the early 1900’s Floyd Nelson, a Washington prospector was inspired to build the Pacific Northwest’s first backpack…..probably the first one that was widely marketed in North America. He came up with the idea after a trip to Alaska where he used a First Nations pack. He modified the design and used pack cloth for breathability. Click Here More Info

When I first went to summer camp up Indian Arm near Vancouver …Camp Jubilee….my parents bought me this pack…I used it until I was about 14. I remember doing a hike in the UBC Research Forest with a Cub Scout group and cooking up hamburger patties in foil with onions over an open fire….I spilled some of the grease from that meal on the pack…I think I can still smell it today.

That was the same trip where a kid rubbed his feet raw by wearing, ankle cut rubber boots instead of hiking boots.

Photo Workshop Schedule 08

Stay Tuned for up coming schedule for 08…..I am going back to Asia this fall in November….Himalaya with side trips to Cambodia and India.

There will be 2 coast mountain workshops ( 5 day ) that will include air travel and base camps. And One 7 day Rocky Mountain Canada Workshop.

And weekend workshops will continue this year lower mainland GVRD and Gabriola Island based.

and……..alpenglowpro was placed on The Tyee’s  BC Blog List today  check the link out……

Mountain Bike Traverse Gabriola

So after an enjoyable afternoon we found ourselves in Silva Bay quaffing back a few brew and decided to go for a ride. We headed out and decided to huff up the height of land above Berry Point Road and down the Yogi Trail and headed over to the Surf for a sunset brew before climbing the height of the land again and descending to Sandwell where we pushed along the beach and back to the south.
The next morning, we headed out to traverse all the island highpoints. We peddled from sea level xing the new 700 acre park in the centre of the island and then headed out to near Fern road and the Legends area and ripped over to Coats Road and connected with South Road and had breakfast at Suzy’s then peddled up the Yogi Trail and back down to Sandwell and home. We were out for 4 hours and it was great, total sunshine and super scenics

Ancient BC Chart

I found this old chart at a garage sale on the island. This edition was last published in 1937, original information on the map dates from late 1800’s.
It covers terrain from Saltspring Island to Vancouver all the way up Howe Sound into the Elaho and all the way up to Queens Reach and Princess Louisa Inlet and north to Texada Island.

The detail shown is of Queens Reach note the little published fact that Indians travel from the head of the sound to Desolation Sound in 2 days. I looked on the the newer topographic and the route climbs to a pass and drops into the Little Toba River drainage which then leads to the head of Toba Inlet which leads to Desolation Sound.

The map 1 metre x 3/4metre is really neat in that it shows a lot of aboriginal place names and other paths less traveled.

I was fortunate to have some time in the alpine near Mt Alfred this summer. See the reflections shot in Sept posting.

Click this map to get an even bigger shot. Pretty cool eh……love the hatch marks that denote steepness of the terrain.

Comox 1st nations

Catlo´ltx, own name.

Connections. The Comox constituted a dialetic group of the coastal division of the Salishan linguistic family.
Location. On the east coast of Vancouver Island including both sides of Discovery Passage, between the Puntlatch and Kwakiutl.

Subdivisions
Clahoose, on Toba Inlet.
Comox, on both sides of Discovery Passage between Chancellor Channel and Cape Mudge.
Eëksen, about Oyster Bay.
Homalko, on the east side of Bute Inlet.
Kaäke, on the southeast coast of Valdes Island.
Kakekt, at Cape Lazo.
Sliammon, on Malaspina Inlet.
Tatpoös, on the eastern part of Valdes Island.

History. The Comox were visited by Europeans somewhat later than the Cowichan (q. v.), otherwise their history has been the same.
Population. Mooney (1927) estimated that in 1780 there were 400 Comox on Vancouver Island and 1,400 on the mainland. In 1906 he gives 59 and 265 respectively.

Notice how smallpox decimated populations of this population.

Clarke Country

Just got back from photographic adventure in the coast mountains of BC. Covered some steep ground……the famed mountain explorer John Clarke traveled here years ago on a traverse from the north. Here is one shot taken from a portion of that high mountain ramble. As luck would have it I was in a transitional weather period in the mountains where we had ambient transitory and some diffuse light. I favour these conditions as they make for interesting shots. Often the light can be washed out in the afternoon not really my favorite time to shoot but big cumulus were drifting past, some quite dark and dense with moisture. This area has alpine scenery that is just amazing, storybook tarns, granite cliffs, heather and grass and flower meadows abound. I plan workshops here in the future, another secret location away from the masses. Ready to discover. There is a possibility we can arrange a trip here before mid-October via float plane let me know ASAP. Lots of photo ops lots of rambling.

Storm Light Coastal BC

Breaking heavy weather in spire country British Columbia Coast Range.

doug coupland could have used this product shot

Doug Coupland could have used this in his recent Canadian memorabilia book. I am not sure he may have something similar but it comes from an era certainly different from now. I found this on a hiking trip way away from everything behind a rock in the moss.

Dalai Lama Bad For Biz

So how do you market and sell the Dalai Lama to make a profit?

How do you market compassion, forgiveness and tolerance to make a profit. Is there economy in it?

Business leaders in CANADA and CHINA think the Dalai Lama is bad for business. China thinks he is a terrorist and a threat to their nationalism. What do you think? China does not want CANADA to acknowledge what the Dalai Lama represents otherwise CHINA threatens  the loss of economic partnership with CANADA. Do we need China?

Can you change this?

“Queen’s University is selling its investments in two Chinese oil companies that are doing business in the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan.Principal Karen Hitchcock said yesterday the university has directed its fund managers to divest its investment, endowment and pension funds of PetroChina and China Petroleum.” I am proud to see Canadian Students at Queen’s University be the catalyst for this change. They took a stand.

Someone told me a while ago that they were only interested in living an opulent lifestyle at what ever the cost. Is your lifestyle at the cost of the Sudanese, the environment, or…….

Student Photo and April07 Workshop Schedule

One of my students recently sent me this photo. Kudos on your award Frank. Note the perspective at play which leads your eye to background, the element of perspective is good leading to the far background, the uniqueness of the terrain and light is good…but what really makes me take notice are the blue pools of light that highlight the unique geology….the photograph really succeeds on many levels….
Contact info@alpenglowpro.com for more information… I’ll be emailing meeting times.location etc…

UPDATE: Alpenglowpro will be teaching 2 Photo courses at UCFV in Fall of 07  The Art of Seeing and Pre-visualization and Developing a Personal Photographic  Style

Rethink Adventure

Just go do it. Bring a camera and picture the reality. Get in as close as you dare.

Spring Mountain Design

Windblown ridge top perched evening light minus 15 full moon about to rise. That was the moment. Exit by headlamp back to 1500 metres for a hoar-frosted goodsleep night.

Nepal

Nepalese soldier on patrol Lali Kharka NE Nepal. Early morning.

A group of soldiers were moving fast through this little village to protect the area in case of a Maoist insurgency.
Because of the angle of the morning sun I had an opportunity to create a graphic representation of the mountain environment,the soldier,and introduce the idea of political conflict into the image. The reign and sub-standard rule of the monarchy has since been downgraded and battles with the Maoists have stopped, there is now peace in Nepal.
No Nintendo here at 2000 metres in the cloud peaceful and content with the mantra of the mountains.

Travel and Photography

Have got some photos coming from Asia this one echoes the decisive moment. A travel photo workshop is being planned for India in Oct/Nov08.

Kangchenjunga the 3rd highest in the world sunset from the Sikkim India

Secret Locations

Taking advantage of the recent high pressure I was lucky to find a couple of natural nuggets just waiting to be found.
One of my favorite locations within the GVRD…which is the Greater Vancouver Regional District in SW British Columbia. I frequently take students here as the area lends multiple opportunity for at least three different adventures, all with great photos. This years workshop schedule will be up shortly.

Great Winter Weather

Been out shooting some pixels, you sure do not need to be the conservator like with film. Its fast maybe too fast sometimes, you have to challenge yourself to slow down compose and think, still….. use a tripod.

Spent a couple of hours on Indian Arm checking out the ice and some of the winter storm damage, lots of debris in water, a few docks nuked. A chilly day but didn’t really need gloves….. bit of breeze on the way back pretty excellent day.

Winter white-out Alpine Traverse

This photo was over-exposed to get beyond 18% grey that the meter reads. You want white snow not grey snow. So it is OE 1.5-2 stops. This was a raging blizzard but a must travel day with sleds on a 2 week + trip we were late on this one. Storms came off the pacific one after another. The Monarch area is up near Bella Coola. We topo ed and GPS ed luckily avoiding cracks that would swallow you whole and not spit you out until the finality of global warming brightens some anthropologist’s day.

Winter High Pressure Activities

Storms this week have dumped mega snow all of it powder so go out and enjoy it. Kayak in the morning and go for a ski in the aft or evening. I was skiing the Powdercap a couple of years ago, of course carrying an inordinate amount of weight… the shot here is taken witha 5lb lens that I woofed for 4 days and god knows how much elevation gain…but it was all worth it….the composition here a sliver of light crested a ridge and gave this fleeting view for less than 5 minutes… then it was gone. My friend Mark and I were winter yaking in I Arm when the snow was down…and we’ll be doing the same this weekend…..get out and enjoy if you are on the coast of British Columbia…..and see some light.

Ski-Mountaineering

This photo was taken in the Adamant Range in the N. Selkirks Mountains of British Columbia
With the highest peak of that range in the background Sir Sandford Smith
In Keeping with the winter theme here for a couple of days yet.

Winter Ski

More Ski Photos off-piste

Coast Mountains

Nothing like touring in the coast ranges of BC with camera in the pack.

My Personal/Physical Gallery Space

Gabriola Island gallery space. The Alpenglow Gallery Framed prints and cards. Opened on the Thanksgiving weekend.

This is my base camp for gulf island explorations….a two day discovery mission of composition and the art of photography starts here and travels the scenic coast of Gabriola Island. Optional modes of discovery, exploring new angles can also include sea kayaking. Gabriola Island is a unique and special place to discover.