Monday, October 08, 2007

Life Is Like That









Some days I'll know exactly the images that I will capture as I wander the back roads of Southern Alberta. Other days such as on this day, I had no idea where the road will take me. Makes no never mind I told myself as I backed off of my driveway with the waning moon and Venus shinning brilliantly in the southeastern sky and dawn breaking on the eastern horizon. For the moment I was more interested as to where I would grab a coffee on my way out of town. I was lost in my thoughts as the sun broke over the horizon and off to the west the mountains awoke as the light cascaded over them and allowed for their new coats of freshly fallen snow to shine on a new day.


As I came up on the turn off to the Springbank airport I took the exit off of Highway #1 and slowed to a nice leisurely pace of 60 kph. I learnt a long time ago to stay off of main roads if you are serious about capturing any photos. At speed you see nothing so slow down and really look around as to what you see. You will not go far until you come up on a scene such as this barn that was made to be photographed in the early morning light. What do you think of the composure? I think the fence makes the photo.


I had barely got under way once again when I noticed the V formations of Canada Geese in the sky above me. I pulled over and got out to see where they planned on setting down to feed. Now I have to tell you that I grew up in southern Saskatchewan amongst the grain fields, that in the fall teemed with feeding geese that gorged themselves morning and night after winging in from nearby reservoirs where they were safe from the shotguns of goose hunters. So digging down deep into my bag of experiences , I came up with my file on the Canada Goose. In no time flat I had the field nailed as to where they would be feeding. I grabbed my long lens and with it in place on my camera, I managed to get a few decent captures as their calls to other geese still winging in carried through the stillness in the early morning light. The sight of geese feeding in the golden fields of fall is definitely more interesting than seeing them in your local park.









From where I left the geese feeding on newly thrashed grain, it was but a short distance to where this old house was waiting patiently in the early morning light for my arrival, as I had observed it before but on a day when the light was being unkind to this forlorn looking house so I had promised myself to return.




I parked my truck at the end of the drive where a gate blocked access to the over grown weed infested trail leading up to the house. When I see old houses such as this one, thoughts fill my head of the families who lived there making meals in the antique stove still residing within its walls, looking out the windows that now starred vacantly at me. There seemed to be something magical-no not that but energetically powerful about this old house. I approached the house and looking through its broken windows, I could feel the spirit of what for some reason made me feel that a old man had lived here at one time, and as I moved around to the back of the house to where a window allowed me to look in to what was once the kitchen, and for a brief moment I observed what appeared to be a apparition of a grieving woman who... Ah-I'm funning with you as the house proved to be interesting but alas, no ghosts on this day.
Next stop... Big Springs Provincial Park

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