There are many slide areas in these hills and the one in this shot looks like it has been around for a while as the trees have been reclaiming the slope.  You can see the gray rock slopes of the previous few shots to the left.

From a distance mountains seem like such serene static places but in reality these environments are constantly moving and eroding with rocks falling and then slowly building pressures release in cataclysmic slides or avalanches.   The weather comes and goes by the minute with wild winds and haunting stillnesses, from pounding rain and snow to the baking heat of the sun.

When I look at these hills, I feel as if I’m looking at a science fiction fantasy land.  They’re so dramatic.

The mountains around the Fraser canyon are stunning in their rugged beauty.  They look as if they’ve been sheared in half by something rather large…

The final shot in the train / purple rocks set.

The rocks are so interesting in their forms, textures and patterns…

I think there’s a strange but interesting layering of intrusivness in this shot.  The setting is in the wilderness but that is intruded on by the engineering and shapin of the land required to build the tracks.  Without a train the landscape sits relatively quietly and undisturbed.  Then a train passes intruding further.  But the train itself also was intruded upon at some point by paint can weilding graffiti artist wannabes.

The next four shots are a series at this point as a train passes.  The rail cars and tracks are significant but small in this vast rugged wild place.

The railroad snakes along the Fraser Canyon in a stunning feat of engineering for its day.  The rocks provide beautfiul texture and colour.  I regret the tree in the foreground.

Another train thunders by; they are mobile fixtures of the landscape.

The hills around here rise rapidly and crumble exposing rock underneath with all sort sof interesting textures.  The trees tend to dot the hills sparsley in pleasing patterns.

You cannot travel down the Fraser Canyon without noticing the trains at some point.  It is hard to believe that these massive trains snake their way through terrain like this and that this railroad was built in the 1880s.  The railroad is definitely a small but somehow dominant feature in this dramatic landscape.

The light was bright and harsh but I couldn’t resist the contrast between the green trees below and the dry burnerd (or beetle eaten, I’m not sure) trees above combined with the texture of the ground.   It makes for some interesting colour combinations.

Here is a sister shot to the previous with just a slightly different composition.

The next set of shots are a bit more traditional landscapes.  They are a quick summary of the landscape coming down the Thompson River near Cache Creek in British Columbia to where the Thompson meets the Fraser river and they both boil down the Fraser Canyon.  The drive from Cache Creek down the Fraser Canyon to Hope and on to Vancouver is an amazing drive with quite a range of terrain.  You start out in the dessert and follow the river as the coastal mountains grow around you and the canyon gets deeper.  Pretty soon the trees turn from pines to fir and other varieties of Coastal tree.  After Hope you drive along the expansive agrarian Fraser Valley into the metropolis (and traffic) of Greater Vancouver.   If you go far enough you end up at the BC Ferries ferry terminal where the mountain drops into the Pacific Ocean.  It is certainly a trip worth taking.

Uncharacteristic of most of the previous shot, I think this one really presents the object as the subject in this shot.  It is centered and featured and the background is composed in such a way as to emphasize the subjects form rather than fight for dominance as in some of the previous shots.

In some aspects this shot is a bit bland, but I really enjoy the meandering background shape which sits puzzle like  on the shot.

Here is the same class of object as the previous post but this one is aged and worn and presents a new set of textures.

I like how the top space fits snugly into the object.  The symmetry  is broken in the bottom half of the frame with its asymmetrical shapes.

Another variation on the theme, playing with the spaces and the curved form of the object.

Another tight composition highlighting the form and shape of the background element as much as the “subject”

In this shot the object itself at times fights to become the ground but the small piece of background I think remains a background element despite its placement suggesting itself as an object.  I think the perspective and curved tubing pushes that space back instead of forward which you might expect.

This shot is a bit more complex than the previous shot introducing a series of triangles at the extremeties.  The curved space in the centre is interesting and fights to become a foreground object.

The next series of photos takes this simple subject and plays with different permutations exploring the compositional possibilities and ground spaces.

This is the final shot in the Grand Coulee Dam concrete series. I like the simplified elements and spaces.

This shot seems to have an uncomfortable, unbalanced feel with its contrasting light and shadow.

I like how the tower seems to be growing out of the sloping concrete below.  Also, the shadow kind of extends the space in the sky or suggests at but doesn’t quite accomplish a kind of blending of the space in the sky and the area in shadow.

Another shot, similar to previous in the set but with its own arrangement of elements.

I like how this bridge, instead of spanning some massive gulf, instead sits on top of this huge wall of concreate giving a kind of strange effect to the image and our expectation of what we normally under spanning arches.

Title fatigued?  well, sometimes a pictures says more than the words anyways… or is that a cop out?

Imagine the pressure against this concrete with hundreds of feet of water pressing against the other side of the wall…

Here the diagonals are more muted and appear in the top of the frame but with less forceful appearance.   Texture, lines and spaces throughout…

The diagonal lines at the bottom of this image give it its greatest impact, energy and interest.  The series of grids along the top seem to relax the image a bit creating an interesting dynamic between the top and bottom of the frame.

It is difficult to understand the scale of this landscape from these somewhat decontextualized semi-abstracts.  What at first blush appears somewhat small has its scale revealed upon further inspection of the tiny details.

I wonder what those birds are thinking as they stare at this scene.  They must think we’re insane, and they’re the ones sitting on top what I am sure is hundreds of thousands of volts!

The three “tubes” anchor this simple shot with weight and a pleasing place for the eye amidst a slightly uncomfortable backdrop.

It is the diverse collection of forms which I find interesting in this shot and in the landscape.  The curved tubes and varying textures and shades.  Amidst all the grey this bright yellow contraption suggests a robot like intelligence…

The abstract expressionist top of the frame presses upon the hard edges below.  An elevator moves men up the mountain of concrete which holds back a deluge.

With a blend of dark browns and lighter greys the man made construction with its hard edge lines dominates the landscape with the smallest touches of more organic natural forms.

Large scale and volumes of concrete present a wide variety of textures and patterns in greys and muted colours revealing in a kind of decontextualized sense aspects and abstracts of the nature of the landscape.

Similar to the previous shot but with a different aspect and therefore a different arrangment of spaces.  I am fascinated by how a visual palette in the real world provides opportunities to create interesting visual imagery which is not necessarily exactly connected to what is being photographed.  While there is always some degree of connection to the object by default in photography, I like it when the image takes on a kind of relevance of its own independent of what is being shot.  But there’s always this pull in photography back to the subject in question and my favorite “effect” in these kind of shots is when there is a dynamic pulling you between those two worlds.  One moment you see the subject and are pulled into the real world, but then you are back in a kind of fantasy land of imagery where it’s the spaces, forms and colours that are relevant.

The next series of photographs are a set taken at Grand Coulee Dam in Eastern Washington.  Large dams are such impressive displays of engineering and construction.  They also provide a wealth of  somewhat uncommon visual imagery.  Here is the spillway at Grand Coulee.  The shot is mostly the vertical lines and spaces with some subtler horizontal lines.  The falling water creates interesting patterns and texture.

This last post in the medicine circles series has a little post in one of the pools as a kind of resting spot for the eye.  For the most part though it is inconsequential to the entire shot.  I think this series is fun in that these pools are seen as  a series of abstract circles on the frame but in actual fact there are almost no actual circles.  All the shapes are some poor approximations of roundness really, either in being cut off in the frame or just the irregular shape of the pools themeselves.   The shot is perhaps the least circular of them all…

Coming to the end of the series, in some ways I like this shot the most.  I like the way the elements balance in the frame and there seems to be something interesting happeneing in the foreground as well.

This shot brings out more of a sense of neverending vastness to this odd landscape.  The little salt pools seem to stretch out forever .

This one is a bit less contrasty with more white in the shot giving it a lighter feel.  The yellow pools are curious anomolies.  As a kind of medium I think most of my experimentation with this shots while shooting was how to create variety by composing these yellow pools particularly.

These shots are quite abstract and intentionally so, but as a kind of landscape as well this subject seems more something out of science fiction than the natural world.  I image some distant lunar surface bublbling some kind of noxious gas to the peril of all who explore here.

This shot presents two yellow pools in the bottom of the frame with an echoed yellow one at the extreme top.  I think these shots are as interesting as a collection in their variety within a common theme as much as they are interesting as any given single shot.

This shot is very similar to the last post but with a bit more contrast and the two yellow pools are partially in view in the top of the frame.

With this shot I begin a series of eight abstract circle shots.  The subject is from a “medicine” lake in the interior of British Columbia.  The little salty circles in the drying lake bed provide a great opportunity to capture some simple abstract geometric forms with a variety of shading and colour.

This turned out to be an odd sort of shot.  It was shot in the middle of a sunny day in very harsh light but overall the shot is kind of melodramatic and in some ways I find the thin area along the bottom as the most interesting…

Here the two logs are separated from their behavior as a single unit in the previous post.  One in shadow obscure, the other reflecting the light with more colour and detail.  There’s a contridiciton in the water with its smooth feel but observation reveals a rough surface texture.

Smoothness in the water, the texture in the foam, the light reflecting off the driftwood combine into this almost moving, certainly fluid mostly abstract composition.

In this shot, similar to the previous post, the spaces are a bit less interesting, but the foreground contains much more fascinating detail.  The rocks under the water whisp in and out, the log is like some sort of prehistoric reptile.

Here is a long exposure shot after sundown on the beach.  Long exposures of the water create fascinating smooth tonal gradations.  I feel that the water space above the log is really pushing down against the dark log.  There’s a kind of unintentional eerieness to the shot.

This one is essentially the same shot as the previous one with a slightly different aspect.

This shot and the next are really pretty non-descript, yet they do capture the reality of the coastline.  Not dramatic by any means photographically, but the landscape is still dramatic.

I guess I have a hard time resisting the urge to go abstract.  This shot isn’t that abstract but it is certainly going down that road with this limited context and an attention to a simple geometric composition with respect to the picture plane.  Not my favorite shot but I hope you like it anyways.

Well, leaving the tightly shot abstract kelp photos I’ll return to two or three more traditional landscape shots.  This is probably the best of this next group with the waves crashing on the shore and the spray flying into the air.   The landscape here is very west coast and so rugged and wild.

The depth of field helps to accentuate this winding piece of kelp which has naturally arranged itself in to a knotlike formation.

I like the hidden piece of kelp in this shot which if you look closely is more not there than it is there, yet there is enough for our mind to fill in the blanks and see it running through the whole left side of the frame.

Again, the simple composition is helped by a bold stripe of colour offered by the kelp.

Believe it or not, this is a different shot than the previous post!  It is identical in concept character, but there are subtle differences…

This one is a bit strange with its simple vertical arrangement, but because of the depth of field, the shot emerges from an very ambiguous bottom section which is both frusterating and oddly interesting at the same time.

The division in this shot is almost identical to the previous shot.  Yet, the sand is different, presenting different variations in shading and texture.  The pale yellow still stands out against the gray background.

This one runs in and out of focus and is raised slightly giving the mostly flat composition a slight three dimensional quality.  I find the sand particularly interesting in this shot.

In an ongoing tendency to present a common theme with often subtle or small variations here is the next simply frame divided kelp shot.  This tube has interesting colour and texture features and the division creates two triangles on either side makeing for a simple geometric composition.

I like the simplicity of the next few shots and the simple colour and the creation of primary shapes created on either side of the curved piece of kelp.

The close ups of these larger brown pieces of kelp are very bold and striking and the overal image is very minimalist in composition and construction.  In this the subject is in sharper focus comapred to the previous shot which is much more satisfying but interestingly it has lost a kind of tension as a result.   While still a bit odd, this image is more pleasing I think.

I have decided to embrace the tension which unfocused areas on a photo create.  They used to bother me, but since I have a nack for creating um… interesting blurry sections, why not celebrate that?!!  This one is a bit tense that way because the large tube of kelp is probably the one you want to see in focus, but it is the smaller edge piece that is sharp.   Overal an odd but interesting sort of image.

I like this shot for the upper and lower contrasts between the busyness of the top and the plainnes of the bottom, gray bottom, colour top  etc.

This shot pans back a bit more to reveal how these piles of kelp look washed up on the shore.  The sand creates the perfect neutral background with just enough variation in colour and texture to make it interesting.

The next in the set.  I like the density of the tubes and the pale colour against the gray sand.

I guess these kelp shots invoke a kind of compulsion revulsion as they are visually appealing in one sence but a bit gross too.

Leaving the beach landscapes for a while I’m now going to post a series of kelp shots which are for the most part pretty abstract.  This shot I named spghetti of the sea, which I thought was pretty appropriate considering how it looks.  There’s always these washed up piles of kelp sprawled across the beach and they often look like entrails, but always pretty interesting.  I hope you enjoy this next series!

The constant but always slightly changing rythm of the surf  is a strangely calming and peacful noise.  If you’ve ever just sat there and watched the waves roll in you’ll know how hypnotic and compelling it is.  It is amazing to think about all the energy of motion contained in the billions upon billions of gallons of ocean as it rolls from one side of the earth to another.

Here’s another typical view off Vancouver Island’s West Coast.  I like this shot for its soft yet cleanly divided grays… or is it greys I never know which one to use…

Here’s a close up of the typical coastal rain forest in the fog…

The treed coastline of BC’s west coast bears a signature wind blown look.  These wind swept trees create a wild and timeless atmosphere as the Pacific waves crash the shore and the ever present blowing bends everything towards the east.

It looks as if this surfer is heading out alone into the wide Pacific.

This is one of my favorites from this set.  I really like how the water seems like mecury or captured in time and them chromed.  The outline of the island and trees really captures that signature west coast look too.

The next in the series.  There seems to be a bit of a reddish cast on the right of the frame, I’m not sure what that is from…

Another very similar shot but this time with a bit of colour.  With the yellow outline, somehow the sun is a bit more imposing and the greyish blue in the sky is such a great colour.  I like how the fog in this shot is not a monotonous texture with whisps and motion in it.

This shot is very similar to previous shots and yet there are small differences.  Here, the fog is a bit less imposing, revealing more of the coast going into the frame.  The figures on the beach are less ghostly and more material.

I think this one is fun for the silhouette of the surfer agains the lighter water.  It really is both a peaceful and exhilerating place to be.  There’s a lot of healthy activity, surfing and hiking the beach and the water is constantly moving, but somehow within all that movement there’s a real calming atmosphere.  It’s such a refreshing place to go!

Here’s another colour shot that may as well be a black and white.  Yet, the barest hints of blue and yellow enhance the shot.  I like the layering created by the waves and the tiny images of the surfers.

A slightly different perspective, I like how the light subtly is pushing down from the top of the frame and the faint outline of the trees in the background.

This one is lighter in tone and a bit less contrasty, but I find the middle range grey to be an interesting rest from the typical black blacks and white whites.  It is a very simple kind of meditative shot with a few footprints and some suggestions of details behind the fog.

I liked the subtlety of the colour in this shot so I kept it in colour.  It’s almost a black and white due to fog

This shot really hilights the s-curve where the beach meats the water which helps to draw your eye into the frame.

Here is the next shot in the series.

It is always fun to shoot into the sun putting contrast through the roof.  The sun in the frame in this shot really attractst the eye even though pictorially it isn’t that interesting.  Maybe its because we’re not supposed to ever look into the sun and in a photograph we can… safely.  I like grey and black tones in this image and also all the little details.

This series of shots are essentially a riff on a theme where there is much similarity.  I find the variety within a common theme interesting.  This shot has a very silver sheen to it on yet another foggy west coast morning.

Kelp, fog and surf pretty well sums up a morning on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Last fall we were near Tofino for a wonderful late fall weekend with my parents.  There’s always wonderful photo opportunities at the beaches on the west coast and this morning was no exception.  The fog  was coming and going and the sun shone through every now and then presenting some amazing lighting situations.   Here’s one for the range of tonal values.

On another note, if you’ve visited before you will have noticed that I have revamped the blog.  I converted everything over to a Wordpress blog and am using a slightly modified Reflection theme by xyloid

I like the texture of this shot and the psychology it invokes as we peek through the port hole.  The colour is rich and the shot suggest as much about what we don’t see as what we do.

The final shot in this short series. I hope you liked them.

I like how this shot pulls you down to the very bottom of the frame almost squeezing you there.

Time and nature are interesting phenomenon, some events happen quickly apparent to the eye, others spread over decades are longer. Often however the character of quick events and slow ones are similar.

Another black hole shot. In this one even more than the last you get the feeling that everyting is pushing into the black.