Water Water Everywhere

Canon EOS with 10/22mm @ 16mm - f22 - 1/4sec - ISO100 - fill flash

After I left the old house in my last post I headed north of Cochrane on Highway #22 till I came to the road across to Airdrie. I decided to make the stop at Big Springs Provincial Park. If you have never been to BSPP then you have been missing out. The drive in to the park is along the bottom of a large coulee where I never fail to see wildlife whether in the form of deer or maybe a coyote or two.



BSPP is actually a draw that runs in to the west side of the coulee with a spring feed creek that starts near the top of the draw. BSPP is best known for a series of waterfalls that cascade over a series of rocky terraces in a lush landscape of shrubs and grasses. One of things that I like best about this park is that this spring fed creek with its waterfalls, flow year round and it is a neat place to visit in the winter with grasses still growing in the warm water of the creek with snow all around.

BSPP is also a great place to observe wildlife although on this day I got to shoot photos of kids as they played amongst the trees and shrubbery that overhang the pathway that meanders along the creek with its many waterfalls. Both Mom's were ok with my tagging along for a ways while I got more photos of this great bunch of kids. Of course what was not to like with all that color especially from those rainbow sweaters that would make any capture dazzle.

I finally had to cut myself loose from my kid models if I was going to get the captures that I had came to BSPP for in the first place. That would be the this series of photos of all that water cascading down in the form of the wonderful waterfalls that make up BSPP. At one time BSPP was the site of a fish hatchery and has some claim of historical significance as the site of Alberta's first creamery although scant evidence remains of these activities today.

In case your wondering as to why I am not showing you photos of all the great fall colors, why that would be because I was to late by a week or two. Just a quick couple of hints on shooting captures of moving water for those of you that may wish to try your hand at it for the first time. First use a tripod as you will need to use extremely slow shutter speeds of a 1/4 sec or slower to allow the water to blur. Stop the lens down to f16 (f8 for P&S's) or smaller to keep everything from near to far in focus. I used fill flash to keep the shrubbery bright as the skies were overcast, although this was a advantage as it kept the high lights of the scene from burning out.

Canon EOS with 10/22mm @ 16mm - f16 - 1/4sec - ISO 100 - fill flash