The Photographer's Notebook

Photography is a journey of learning theory and technique sprinkled with a touch of creativity. A photographer's learning journey has moments of enormous gains and then times when learning is more plateaued. This is certainly to be expected. If you are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience, you'll want to attend a landscape photography retreat, as this experience is bound to help accelerate your development as a photographer. With the support of a teacher and surrounded by like-minded photographers, all with tips and techniques to share, you are certainly going to learn and be inspired! 

Since registration for Captivated by the Rockies: Larch, which will be held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, during the height of the fall season in September 2021, opens later this week, I thought it'd be fun to share my top five reasons you should attend a landscape photography retreat. 

5. The ability to photograph sunrise through sunset 

One of the unique experiences of a...

Winter can be uninspiring, especially this year, when many of us are under health protocols that keep us from gathering and engaging in our usual activities. Beyond that, though, days seem to fly by due to the short hours of daylight with little light left once the daily routine has been attended to. It's also chilly and outdoor adventures can be a lot of effort. Often, and this is certainly true for me, we find ourselves picking up our camera less and less. Here are a few tips on how you can stay inspired until spring arrives and new blooms rejuvenate your inspiration. 

1. Keep your camera close

Moments pop up every day that are beautiful and worthy of capturing, but it's easy to miss them when our cameras are not accessible. What's that quote? "Out of sight, out of mind." Purposefully keep your camera in a room where there is a lot of activity with typical indoor settings already dialled in. If your goal is to capture the beautiful everyday moments of your life, then...

You've likely heard this from me before. Photography is a never-ending journey of learning, practice and growth. January can be a tough time of the year. The joy in the holiday season is over, many of us are still under COVID-19 health restrictions, and up here in the northern hemisphere, winter has us in her cold and icy grasp. It's often expected that resolutions and goals should be set with a new year, but sometimes setting photography goals is a tough thing to do, especially coming out of a year like 2020. Despite the challenges you may be facing during this time of the year, I want to encourage you to adopt this tip this year as I guarantee it will help you become a better photographer. 

1. Only set goals this year that are attainable

Before you set any goals, keep this advice in mind, don't set yourself up for failure. I love to dream big. I have grand ideas and big plans. However, I also like to see the results of my daily efforts in my photography...

Wintery landscape scenes hold stunning beauty. The Canadian Rockies recently experienced heavy snowfall and currently looks like a scene out of a winter wonderland picture book. Scenes heavy with frozen details, sparkly untouched snow and trees kissed by winter's frost are always a photographer's dream. Sometimes the beauty of it all has us rushing off into nature with thoughts of only good light on our minds, but before you venture off into the great outdoors and while you are out immersed in nature, keep in mind the tips below as they will help with your winter landscape image success. 

1. Always be prepared

A fresh layer of snow has the mountains calling my name as much as it does the next landscape photographer. Winter holds so much beauty that I can hardly wait to hop in my truck and head out into the Canadian Rockies' backcountry playground. However, one thing that I know I must be and meticulously ensure is that I am prepared. The landscape environment within the...

Christmas Day is almost here! I can feel an excited energy building in my home. Holiday shopping is, for the most part, complete, presents are wrapped, Christmas traditions are in full swing, and that elf has been up to all of his shenanigans! Left to do is the baking, especially gingerbread cookies and a few other holiday favourites like marshmallow squares. With all the hustle and bustle within the preparations for Christmas Day, even during a COVID Christmas where restrictions have damped the holiday events, putting together a Christmas is never an easy task. I know that I want to photograph a few of our most precious memories this Christmas.

1. Capture one meaningful Christmas tradition

Of course, there is no better way to preserve a memory than to capture it on camera. As a family, we have many different traditions that we like to enjoy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, some of which include opening up that last advent calendar goodie and warm apple...

The holiday season is magical and wonderous. It's hard not to get excited about this time of year, especially when we see it through the delight in the eyes of our children. Even my teen and tween, whose belief in magic has mostly faded away, like to enjoy the splendour of the holiday season. Sometimes it's the simplest of moments that make the best photographs because they are filled with treasured memories. Below are a few ways you can capture your memories filled with the essence of the holiday season this December. 

1. Photograph your traditions

To this day, I can clearly remember the day my eldest daughter arrived home from kindergarten at age five and, with a perplexed expression, promptly asked me, "When is our elf arriving, Mommy? All my friend's elves have arrived already." After a couple of quick texts to my daughter's friends' moms, I had discovered more about this elf. The next day our elf arrived, and he has been a tradition in our...

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...

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...