If you know me well, you know that I love adventure. Canada was no different. Each night I would search on Google Maps and find a spot I thought would be interesting for sunset. The problem was that I had no method of transportation, meaning bike or car, but I did have two legs. For this and the next image, I walked two miles to the Vermillion Lakes to capture the sunset. Should I have stayed out that late? Probably not, but thank you, mom, for picking me up and driving me home after it got dark!
Another reason I enjoyed our trip to Canada so much was the weather. The highest high was eighty degrees, and the temperature dropped to around fifty at night. Additionally, during most of the days, there was significant cloud cover, which allowed me to take images like this. While editing, I made sure to increase the contrast and sharpness to make the sky even moodier and show off the mountains' details.
During one of our daily adventures, we took the gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain. The views from the boardwalk were incredible, but me being me, I had to explore on some random hiking path. I followed the trail for about half a mile to this spot, where I could see the Trans-Canada Highway turning to the northwest. I used my telephoto lens once again and captured this image. I added a few blue and green filters on top of the piece to produce this final version.
Another piece of equipment I am glad I brought on this trip was a variable neutral density filter and a tripod. These two items allowed me to control the shutter speed and create images like these. I adjusted the filter to its darkest setting, set the camera on a tripod, and let it run for twenty-five seconds. I captured the waves crashing in the lower part of the image, clouds cast with sunset colors moving in the upper half, and a cool breeze from the water telling me I should have worn pants.
I have recently focused on aerial photography, and when I use my camera, it is with my wide-angle lens. This trip was a nice reset as most images came from my camera, and I was rotating between my wide-angle and telephoto lenses. For this piece, I was scanning the ground to see if I could spot any bears or other wildlife, then looked up and found this person hiking along the ridge. I utilized the 300mm zoom on my telephoto lens to enlarge the hiker as best I could, then took this photo.
Later that night, I took flight with the drone to see the landscape from a new perspective. I found what I believe is a hiking path and centered it in the image. It creates a nice separation for the picture and contrasts the rows of trees. Then while editing, I changed the color of the trees from a lush green to more of an orange tone to increase the sunset effect.
As the sun set on our first night, I wanted to find somewhere to capture it. I took a quick walk to Bow Falls, where I was delighted with views of the fall and Mt Peechee. The majority of people were looking at the falls, but I found this view more interesting since the sun was cast against the mountain.
Welcome to Canada! Over the next 24 images, I will highlight the adventures we took across Alberta. This first picture comes from the top of Mount Norquay around Banff. After a simple switch-back road, we made it to an outlook point where we could see the town of Banff and all the surrounding mountains. To create this piece, I used four images stiched together, allowing me to show a greater perspective of the scenery.
As I close out this series, I saved my favorite image for last. After receiving the low battery warning, I slowly lowered the drone in for a landing. I stopped to take this image, which is now a favorite, but hovering to take this image cost me too much battery time. I was at 2%, the drone was losing power, and a moderate wind prevented me from landing where I took off. I quickly scrambled to look for a new landing zone, but the closest one I could find was across a highway. With fifteen seconds left to fly, I quickly located an open parking spot, marked the location, landed, and hoped it was there after I drove over. After a tense car ride and a short fence I hopped over, I found the now out-of-battery drone and safely recovered these images.
One of my favorite experiences while flying the drone is when clouds are at the same level I am taking pictures. It feels unreal to have a camera up that high. I took this image at 1000 feet, with clouds at 1250 feet. There has only been one instance when I have taken an image completely above some clouds (during last Thankgiving's trip to Florida) but seeing landscapes from this angle is always incredible.
This image is a perfect example of why I add grain. During a humid and warm sunrise, a thick layer of clouds rolled in and blocked my view of the sun. The mood quickly turned gray and gloomy. To increase this feeling, I added grain. The buildings became less clear, the sky bluer, and the overall image darker.
During one of my sunset excursions, I flew the drone over Freeway 366, or Woodall Rogers Freeway. Fortunately, I put on my neutral density filter, which allowed me to blur the motion of the cars on the freeway. The cars ended up moving enough that they were blurred, but not too much that the cars didn't look like cars. Additionally, the neutral density filter adds vibrancy to the colors, which helps the main building, called The Fountain Place, stand out.
After going downtown during a moderately interesting sunset, I chose to go down two more times, another sunset and one sunrise. In the past, I have been looking at weather apps to determine what I thought would be a good sunset or not. Recently, I downloaded this app called MySunset. Based on the clouds at the horizon and above it, it rates how good the color will be for the sunset and displays it as a percent. This sunrise was rated as a 80%, but the colors were better than expected. It is a good app and certainly one I will use again.
For my last image of this series, I went to where the Dallas North Tollway and Bordeaux Avenue intersect. My goal was to capture cars moving on the tollway with the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in the background. The challenge with it was the shaking bridge. Every time someone drove over it or a big truck underneath it, it would shake, ruining my image. After 155 tries, this is the result.
After taking Wednesday's image, I was nearing the first warning telling me to land the drone before the battery died, and this was my last battery. I looked down and found myself over the intersection of Interstate 35 and Freeway 366. I knew I didn't have much time left, and unfortunately, there wasn't much traffic. Regardless, I took the image, and after editing it, I like how desolate the piece looks. There isn't too much action, and the lone stopped car, I believe, is the highlight of the image. Without seeing that still object, I think there wouldn't be anything that catches your eye.
As I continued on battery number three, the sun set, and the city lights started to turn on. I flew to where I took the first photo of this series and took a long-exposure image of downtown. I liked the picture but felt it was flat and didn't give off much emotion. Utilizing a preset in Lightroom, I added a vintage filter, increased the grain, and increased the brightness of the buildings to make them stand out. Now, this image has become one of my favorites.
As I continued my flight around the buildings, the sun was constantly in my way. I hoped it would have set enough for me to take images with ease, but I started photographing too early for that. To compensate, I flew behind the Comerica Bank Tower, but even then, the sun kept peaking around and almost ruined my shot. Another reason why I like this angle is because there is a direct line to the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. When I first look at this image, the buildings in the foreground stand out, but after looking around, it is a fun surprise to see the bridge.
When I first arrived in downtown, I had hopes to fly through the buildings and make some videos. I soon realized that the radiowaves from Wifi, TVs, and radios created a much weaker connection to the drone than I thought. This meant that the drone lost signal as soon as I was behind one building. The first time this happened, there was quite a bit of panic and fear of losing the drone, but after four times, I felt like a seasoned veteran. Unfortunately, the signal was too weak to weave in and out of buildings, but I captured this image of the places I hoped to fly.
