The Photographer's Notebook

Winter infuses hidden magic within a landscape scene. The visual drama of the summer and fall has been hushed under winter's soft blanket of snow. Quiet and stillness unfold before our eyes, and it's captivating in so many ways. The winter months offer incredible frozen beauty and often soft diffuse light. It's truly a spectacular season in which to venture out into your favourite landscapes. Below are a few tips on how you can embrace the winter season and capture its essence in the coming months.  

1. Embrace the weather

I love stunning light and colour, and I know you do too. Photographers crave pretty light that bursts into colour and takes your breath away, but the reality is those days can be few and far between during the winter months. Don't let a snowstorm or lack of colour disappoint you. Showcase other wintery elements, like diffuse light on a mountain peak or winter's artwork at your feet. There's beauty in all types of weather, so don't be afraid to...

If there's one thing I know a lot about, it is snow! Living in Canada, we can see snow twelve months of the year. Usually, though, we're snow-free for about four or five. Photographing in the snow isn't always easy. You're dressed up in bulky winter clothing, trying to manage your equipment and change your settings with cold fingers while getting pelted in the face with swirling snowflakes...this supposed to be fun, right? Well, indeed, it is! Snow is absolutely magical, and you can capture beautiful images in the snow! Below are a few technical tips to help you make the most out of your snowy photographs this winter. Get ready to bundle up and enjoy the fresh, crisp, beautiful air and snow-filled scenes that winter brings. 

1. Thoughtfully set your exposure

Snow is often very bright, which is actually a great feature because it can act as a natural reflector and bounce pretty light up and onto your subject. However, because it's so bright, it can be easy to...

Light is a powerful element in photography. In fact, photography would not exist without light. However, the short days and long nights that accompany winter are fast approaching. So the question is, "How do we capture our beautiful everyday moments in the absence of light?" This week, I'm sharing tips on how you can embrace the darkness inherent in the upcoming winter months. Here are a few tips on how you can capture beautiful images in low light. 

1. Find available light

Low light is an incredibly beautiful type of light to work with, and it's plentiful during the winter months. Look for east windows in the afternoon, west window in the morning and north windows at any time of the day. The light will be soft and diffused due to the sun's lower angle along the horizon line throughout this time of year. Once you find this soft and diffused light place your subject close to the light source. Your subject will become illuminated, and light fall-off...

The chilly days of late fall are here. Quite frankly, though, it's feeling a lot like winter. We've lost an hour of daylight and the dark days associated with the winter months are here. I rarely lack inspiration during the summer when light is plentiful, and I’m usually immersed outdoors in nature. However, the move indoors can sometimes leave me feeling uninspired with shorter days and colder weather. To keep from falling into a rut, I make an effort to look for opportunities to capture creative light inside my home. Today, I want to share some tips about places to look for creative light inside your home so that you can remain inspired to pick up your camera even in the darkest and coldest of days. 

1. Window coverings

Slat blinds and lacy drapery can provide beautiful patterned light when it filters from the outdoors inside your home. Lines and repetition of shape as light is diffused through window coverings can infuse creativity into...

Winter has come to the Canadian Rockies. I love winter in the mountains! Although it's cold, the visual beauty inherent in winter is an absolute dream to photograph. Stormy days are plentiful during the winter months. Conditions filled with snow flurries, pockets of wintery light, and overcast cloud drama become the norm for the landscape photographer. I used to be filled with disappointment when I'd make the trip out into the mountains for a day of landscape photography only to be greeted by stormy skies. Now, I embrace these days, as they are, in fact, some of my favoured conditions for photographing landscape scenes during the winter months. Here are a few ideas on how you can embrace stormy days and still capture beautiful landscape images.    

1. Embrace the snow

Snow squalls are common in the Canadian Rockies, and I think they are magical. Snowy scenes can be challenging to photograph, especially when the snow is swirling down and melting...

Halloween is fast approaching! There are a ton of fun activities and traditions around my home that we like to participate in. Witches brew, spooky cookies dripping with icing, pumpkin carving, and more are all on our list of must enjoy Halloween moments. Halloween will look different this year living amidst a health pandemic, but we still have many fun family activities planned. I always make sure my camera is close at hand to capture all the spooky seasonal fun. Here are some of my must capture Halloween images:

1. Halloween traditions

It's time for pumpkin carving, which is one of our Halloween must-do traditions. This year I picked up mini pumpkins, and they are the absolute perfect size for a project my children can tackle on their own! My children are at an age where they dive into that ooey-gooey pumpkin mess and carve up their own jack o’ lantern. At the same time, I can stand back with my camera photographing their expressions from different angles and...

Although short, the fall season is undeniably one of the most beautiful outdoor seasons of them all. The colours and show nature puts on infuses warm beauty into frames. There are several ways photographers can capture the best of the best during fall, capturing our children's moments while photographing precious memories. Below are a few ideas on how you can set yourself up to capture stunning images of your children this fall season.   

1. Shoot during peak colour

The shift from golden trees to fallen leaves happens in a blink of an eye. A simple gust of wind can blow away leaves within minutes, leaving branches bare, or an early snowstorm can freeze fall in her tracks. Once the colour begins, keep a very close watch on nature.  Be on the lookout for peak colours, then run outdoors and devour nature's stunning display before fall comes to an end. Images during the peak of fall colour can result in stunning fall captures.  

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Canadian Thanksgiving is just around the corner. To all my fellow Canadians, I wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings.  For my friends worldwide not celebrating Thanksgiving this upcoming weekend, you can tuck away the information below for when your celebrations arrive. 

I know you'll agree with me that this year has been unusual in many ways. Change and stressors have been great in many homes around the world. However, amidst the COVID-19 heath pandemic, I have observed more family time, stronger relationships, an improved appreciation of others, and resiliency like I've never seen before. Despite the challenges this year has brought, I have much to be thankful for. I plan on enjoying a quiet Thanksgiving with my family, focusing on what is most important to us and the little people growing up before my eyes.

Whether you are celebrating this weekend or another time, I think you should take the time to photograph your important...

Typically, fall in the Canadian Rocky Mountains lasts only a few short weeks. Mixed in with all that beautiful colour is a variety of lighting and weather conditions. Sometimes you're fortunate enough to get the conditions you had been dreaming about photographing in, but other times conditions are not ideal. Since the fall season is so short, I know that I want to make the very most out of capturing this stunning season before winter blows in and covers everything in a blanket of white. Below are some ways in which you can ensure you capture stunning fall landscapes this year. 

1. Consider your Location

When it comes to landscape photography, most of you will agree that location matters. It’s well worth the effort to research and scout locations you intend to photograph, especially if you seek a specific element, like fall colour, within your images. Not all locations will offer fall colours in abundance. It is also a good idea to consider the elevation you'll be...

It’s no secret that I adore summer, but those beautiful days filled with light and warmth are quickly coming to a close. Replacing t-shirts, shorts, and flip flops are all the warm nuances of fall. Fall doesn’t last long around my neck of the woods. Last year we skipped autumn and moved straight into winter. A vicious snowstorm rolled in before the leaves turned their beautiful golden colours, and nature froze instantly. All those leaves fell to the ground in a mess of brown yuck. I’m hoping for more this year when it comes to the autumn season. As nature turns golden, there are five images that I'm aiming to capture. 

1. Outdoor adventure

I’ll admit that I do love the crisp fresh air of fall. Something is refreshing about the scent of dewy grasses, and frost kissed leaves. I find myself breathing a little deeper on my morning walks, enjoying that chill as it expands my lungs. Even with falls' chill, it isn’t too...