Day 60 / 365

Marina in Comox Harbour.

The Royston ship wrecks in the Comox Valley were intentionally sunk in the late 1930s to create breakwater to protect the log booming grounds of Comox Harbour. CLICK ON IMAGE for a larger view.

There are several wrecks, and the one above is the only one you can come close to from the shoreline. The other ones you can only get to by boat. When we went kayaking the other day, however, we paddled by the wrecks as well, which is where the shot of the Bald Eagle sitting on the rocks was taken (day 58). The eagles also seem to enjoy hanging out on the wrecks. This photo was taken a few days ago, you can see a Bald Eagle sitting at the very top of the wreck.

Day 59 / 365

There is a country market in Coombs, BC, called Goats on Roof. Well, there are in fact, goats ON THE ROOF of the market, it's quite a bizzare sight.

In this photo, you can see the goat grazing on the roof immediately to the right of the red umbrella tip. The rooftop is overgrown with grass and the goats really do live on there. And the best thing about this market: they have German deserts! mmm mmm mmmmmm :)

We went crayfishing in the Qualicum River in the late afternoon. The only crayfish we found were too small to eat or in water that was too deep, so we went home empty handed. Wading through the crystal clear warm water and turning rocks over in search of cray fish was still a lot of fun. Some of the trees around here remind of the start of a rain forest.

Day 58 / 365

Another day in Comox :) This place is so beautiful and versatile, it's incredible. Today we spent the day kayaking. CLICK ON ANY IMAGE for a larger view.

Seal emerging through the water surface.

We were able to get really close to a baby seal, as it was just floating in the water without moving around much. At first we thought it might be injured, but then it started to move around just fine. Looks like it was sleeping, perhaps.

Golden Eagle soaring above our heads. Their wingspan reaches between 150 and 280cm (60 - 110 inches)!

This is where we stopped for lunch.

My brother chillin' at lunch.

Bald Eagle sitting atop a cliff of rocks. Their wingspan reaches between 183 - 234cm (72 - 96 inches).

Day 57 / 365

A branch full of spider webs in the BC forest. The strings of the web were shimmering in rainbow colours, it unfortunately does not show that too well in this photo.

Day 56 / 365

Campbell River Marina.

View from Patti's, the cute rustic little restaurant where we had lunch.

Day 55 / 365

Antique Rolls Royce at an antique car show in Comox.

Day 54 / 365

The C Cirque Trail in upper Bankhead in Banff National Park has stunning vistas. About 1/3 of the way up, there is a coal mound which you can walk out on. From there, you have a beautiful view of Lake Minnewanka and the chain of the Rockies to the east. CLICK ON THE IMAGE for a larger view.

Day 52 / 365

I was honoured when M. asked me to photograph her beautiful flower garden, since she will be leaving it behind when she moves in the fall. Here is a sample shot. CLICK ON IMAGE for a larger version.

Day 51 / 365

The waxing gibbous moon over Calgary tonight.

Day 50 / 365

Not sure what is inside of this white globe, but it made a nice contrast agains the stormy sky and yellow canola fields. *Apparently there is a satellite dish inside this globe*

Day 49 / 365

Now it's official :)

Day 48 / 365

Day 47 / 365

Photo to follow, didn't have enough time tonight to go through my photos and choose the best one.

Day 46 / 365

Day 44 / 365

The first time my Mom gave me this doll, I was so little I don't even remember receiving it. This weekend, she gave it to me again. There is a special story behind it that I don't want to share on here, but that is why it made it on here.

shot @ ISO 1250

Day 42 / 365

Beautiful flower bouquet my brothers gave me for my birthday :)

Creative editing applied in Photoshop CS5

Day 40 / 365

Day 39 / 365

Honey I shrunk the marching band! Ok, a rather lame photo not only for project 365, but also for the Calgary Stampede Parade. I had to work during the parade, but the office I was in is right on 9th Ave, so the parade went by downstairs. I took this photo looking down from the 13th floor.

Day 37 / 365

Calgary has some of the most beautiful sunsets.

Day 35 / 365

This blog doesn't bite! So feel free to leave comments :)

Apparently I should not be handling my camera when I am overtired from all the driving and lack of sleep during the past week. Genius as I am, I deleted the photos off my camera today, before getting the chance to download them. Bummer too, because I found this ultra photogenic antique car. Oh well, I will have to go back for it another time.

So for today I leave you with a photo I took while my sister was visiting. I figure this is a nice change too, since some of you might be tired of looking at nature photo after nature photo without any people in it.

Day 34 / 365

This was my last day on the road, and so a full day driving. The I-15 north between Wolf Creek and Cascade leads through this wonderful canyon and low lands through which the Missouri flows. It is a beautiful drive, and definitely the most scenic stretch of road I encountered in Montana. Unfortunately, there was construction on the highway all through there, and it was thus impossible to pull over for photos. But if you are ever driving down this way, I would recommend checking it out.

Here just three photos for today. Starting tomorrow, it's back to the usual 1 photo per day. I reasoned it was necessary to deviate from the single photo a day when taking a photography road trip, you can't really show all of the impressions in a single photo.

Abandoned house in a farmer's field in Montana.

A valley in Montana.

Back in Alberta, the railroad bridge across the valley in Lethbridge.

Ok so this wraps up my road trip (FINALLY!). It's been challenging updating the blog, while sorting through a lot of photos and going to cello ensemble every single night the first week back. Cello ensemble was a lot of fun though, so most definitely no complaints there. And the blog can always be updated a few days behind :)

Day 33 / 365

"Far away I hear the others calling,
The voice I hear and answer is my own.
The first of winter snows will soon be falling.
I'm a long long way from the Yellowhead,
Here in Yellowstone,
Yellowstone.

We travel light,
Whatever we could smuggle through the night.
Running from the Rangers who pursued us,
Giving them another day to loose us.
Then we'd be free!
As wild as we were ever meant to be!
But they'd been closing in and when they caught us,
From the Yellowhead to Yellowstone they brought us.
And let us go.
We'd fled the only cage we'd ever known" -from the song Yellowhead to Yellowstone by Ian Tyson

Last night, I entered Yellowstone full well knowing that I would not be able to get a spot to stay overnight anywhere. Anywhere, that is, except for one of the many parking lots in the park. It is illegal to camp overnight there, but I reasoned with myself that being crammed into the back seat of a VW Rabbit in the fetal position due to severe space limitations even for a 5'4" girl did not exactly qualify as 'camping'. At least I chose my parking lot strategically - Artist Point, my chosen sunrise location. Scaredy-cat that I am, I barely closed an eye that night, even though my door was locked. The parking lot was over a km off the main road, and two pick-up trucks came, hung out for a bit, and then left that night. I was also convinced that if a Park Ranger saw me there and was to shine a light into my car or knock on the window to make me move, I'd most definitely suffer a hear attack right then and there. The upside of spending a sleepless night was being able to watch the trees and clouds being lit up by the moon - it was both ghostly and beautiful.

I didn't really awake at dawn, but rather decided to end the uncomfortable back seat origami and get my gear ready. Artist Point is the viewpoint for the Yellowstone Water Falls, which is quite popular. However, that morning, there was only one other photographer there to watch the sunrise, and he happened to be an accountant too.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is where the National Park gets its name from. The Canyon is decomposed rhyolite lava rock, its width varies from 1500 to 4000 feet, and the depth varies from 750 to 1200 feet.

CLICK ON any IMAGES to view a larger version.

Not sure why the clouds in this last one look a bit fake, but that's just how they looked. If you look carefully, you can see a very faint rainbow above the top left of the waterfall.

Next stop was the Norris Geyser Basin. Yellowstone is a very magical place, tourists aside. It is definitely one of those "50 places to visit before you die". Being here feels like having landed on another planet. Everything is steaming and bubbling. This is my second visit here, the first one was over 10 years ago. I want to return here again one day, this time in early winter, to have the contrast of snow added to all the intense colours.

A note to anyone who has not been here - the photos below might seem oversaturated in colour to you, but they are not. This is truly how it looks there! One colour more vibrant than the other. A note to photographers, do not come here without a circular polarizing filter, you will regret it.

Emerald Spring - not difficult to guess where it got its name from.

Cistern Spring

Huff 'n Puff Geyser

Norris Geyser Basin vista

Pearl Geyser

Corporal Geyser

Last stop before heading out of the park, was Mammoth Hot Springs.

White Elephant Back - that is the actual name! And standing here, it certainly does feel like sitting on an elephant's back.

Orange Spring Mound: Bacteria and algae create the streaks of color. It is noticeably different from many of the other terrace formations nearby. Its large mounded shape is the result of very slow water flow and mineral deposition. To be  honest, it puzzles me why the terraces are called Mammoth Hot Springs and not this mound. Looking at this photo, it most closely resembles a mammoth, in my opinion.

Another angle of view of the same mound - a more dramatic view. One of my favourites :)

I LOVE my wide angle lens! Most of these shots were taken with my 10 - 24mm lens. Every photography trip I have taken so far, I have been immensely lucky with regards to weather and skies. Sunshine, intensely blue skies, and just enough clouds to diffuse the light for increased contrast in landscapes as well as add an interesting element to the photos. A bright blue sky is actually quite boring, speaking in photography terms.