I am just getting to grips with a new program to make my timelapse videos. It is a little ruff but it will be a project in the making. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve done any bloging, and I’ve been saying that I’m going to catch up and go over my issues over the last couple of years.  And post a blog identifying those issues.  And of course by lazy mind and my physical limitations.  But I will now proceed and I will try to keep it as brief as possible.

In November of 2021 and I slipped on some ice while I was working in a my other job, because photography does not provide enough funds you know, to live.  I do like to tell people it is an artistic endeavor, and I truly believe it is so poverty is a common feature.  But back to the story, it’s slipping on ice at work.  I was compensated rather quickly but for some strange unknown reason (I was some to find out) I was unable to walk at all with out crutches within months.  I was totally incapacitated what I thought was from my waist down.  I was soon to find out it was far more serious!  Long story short time so I actually broke my back as well and in the process of the surgery to repair my broken back they found a tumor.  And this tumor was actually doing some damage to my spinal cord and inhibiting my ability to walk or controlled those functions that dignity will not allow me to point out.  Fun times at Drewmayphotography.

This wasn’t fun as you can imagine but I did find myself realizing is that I have mortality and I’d better do some things and I like to do it for this cancer takes my life.  This process helped me made the decision to switch camer Brands.  I went from my beloved Canon 5DSR and all the excellent lenses that I had collected.  To the Fujifilm GFX system.  I’ve always wanted to go medium format as a landscape photographer since digital started.  I had medium format in the early digital days and I always wanted to return but funds always where not their.

So with if the injuries and the repeated cancer treatments I find myself very weak and I have some serious back issues that affect my ability to capture images.  I am slowly getting stronger and I’m doing my best to improve my vision with this new camera.  I will say it has been a slight learning curve but I would say it’s not been tremendously different except for the quality of the digital image.  And there it has been a massive change!  The big problem that I find is that encourages me to look at other types of camera.  I have been eyeing 4X5 with great interest and this can only be dangerous as film is only increasing in price.

I will completey admit that the first two years of this camera have been really difficult for me to find enthusiasm and to not fall in the ditch, or stumble on the rocks in a stream.  I will say it’s affected my composition and I’ve tried my best to correct that.  I honestly say that I’m starting to feel comfort with the camera and I’m starting to find locations that make me a little more enthusiastic.  I decided that this year I wouldn’t go to the mountains at all.  I needed to explore my local area to see if I could find things and compositions that would interest me.  It’s taken me a little while, mostly because I have felt that the area that I have lived in for the last 50 some odd years, is not that photographically exciting.  Five years ago I would make that a challenge and do everything in my power to prove myself wrong.  But with my sickness and my physical limitations on top of my enthusiasm gap I have found it very difficult to push myself.

This is very common feature for all creative’s we have moments of trials and tribulations and mental distention I like to call it.  That make it difficult for us to find anything that we consider attractive enough for a photograph.  In the days of film this was a very common thing because you just didn’t want to spend the money, but this is digital and I just didn’t want to spend time editing.  That comes from the reality that th I find it very difficult to sit and a computer chair in front of my computer, without suffering substantive pain and an extreme difficulty to stand.  I am doing my best to extend my stays in front of my computer and consuming morphine to deal with the pain.

Now I think that’s sufficient complaining about my medical issues, they will (the medical issues) remain a common feature affecting my photography and I will be suffering some consequences.  So beyond that factor I will do my utmost to add a few images from here to there and try to improve by physical body so however many more years I am allowed to remain on this planet I can hopefully leave something that somebody finds attractive.  So it’s all about the art I will do my best to create it and I hope that you as my audience find pleasure in viewing it.

Fairydell - Drew May 30-08-24 _DSF1531-Edit-2© www.drewmayphotography.com

So in the spirit of a new image theI post this photograph dawn of the field and a lovely storm approaching across that field.  I am going to do my very best to try the see in black and white again because that is the place that I always find the greatest pleasure in photography.  I like black and white because it removes all the extra “stuff” that confuse an image.  It is truly about light and shadow and to me that’s what photography is all about.

Stormy - Drew May 18-05-24 _DSF9476-Edit© www.drewmayphotography.com

Have a most wonderful week enjoy what’s left of the fine weather and we hope the best for our Florida friends!  

Unknown Pond - Drew May Photo 20241007 _DSF2720_© www.drewmayphotography.com

This image or just shot a couple days ago, and I thought well…  Let’s post it!  Is very little editing done to it and I have to say I kinda like it.  I’m really liking my Fuji GSX System, lenses are outstanding but I do need something lighter or those days when I decide to go for a walk.  I will be sooner or later posting a much larger post but until then the short ones will do.

The location of this photograph is a nonamed pond I drove past and thought that would be a good spot for a sunset.  So after a little drive I found my way back to this location and spent a couple of hours sitting in a ditch.  Landscape photography is all about the Glamour!!!

Fire© www.drewmayphotography.com

HellO All; 

Just a quick Image from my editing adventures of late. I call the image "Fire" and it was captured not far from a small town in Alberta, Canada called Tofield. It was just after a small storm that had passed over me. I always seem to get the very best skys just after storms. 

Drew May 20-10-23 _DSF2255Landscape

Hi Guys;

Just a short quick message, I’m starting to rebuild my website after I’ve been away for awhile all do a blog and explain the whole thing.  But there’s been major changes in the equipment that I use ends of physical abilities have been curtailed to a certain degree.  To the debt and will chat and catch up to what happened in the last couple years.

Cheers,

Talk to you soon!

So just in case some of you that follow me, need to know, I fell on the ice and broke my foot. I broke my ankle and I find myself sitting in front of my computer far more than I usually do. This could be a very productive time for me! But I've got the artistic mentality.

So, I'm spending a little bit of time editing a few photographs. Going through my old archive and cleaning it up. It is an aberration, and it is in desperate need for revamping. I'm finding some old images that I have for the most part ignored and using the new tools that Lightroom has provided. I'm going to say I'm impressed, very much so.

Today's image I took this fall as I was wandering on the eastern slopes trying to find inspiration. At first I wasn't very impressed by the photograph that seemed flat and unappealing. But then I put it through the processing engine once again and spent a few hours fiddling with the file. And I get this! It was photographed with my Canon 5DSR and my EF 50mm F1.2L [I love this Lens!!!]. And it is comprised of 14 separate images shot in a portrait fashion, then stitched together in Lightroom.

The moral of this story is unfortunately, the photographs that you took back then can be re edited and maybe improved. But the question comes should you spend the time? Or should you be happy with what you did learn from those realities and carry on? You also could be suffering from the reality that nothing is ever good enough and can always be improved, this can be a rabbit hole that you do not want to go down. The worst reality of our modern society is continuous change, and this is also a blessing. It is all how you look at it.

So I will continue to spend a little bit of time editing a few things here and there, doing some posts in hopes of increasing my visual acceptance in this photographic world. Because the reality of today is your nothing if you are not seen on one of the social media programs.

This brings up the reality, I have suffered the consequences of Facebook deciding to restrict one of my photographs for some unknown, and inane reason. I'm struggling to try to find some way to contact Facebook to get an answer. In the meantime, everything is held back and I get very little exposure on most of the social media programs, because of course Facebook owns most of them. I shall continue to bang my head in the attempt to become the famous photographer, he says laughingly.

It is what it is!

I wish I could say get out there, shut up and shoot, but because I am convalescing with a plastic boot on my leg I will say the same as I always do! You thought I was going to say something differently, didn't you? :)

Shut up and shoot!

Don't forget to print it!

Cheers to you all and have a Merry Christmas!

Today's selection is from almost three years back. I spent a little time in Pincher Creek, I was drawn to the amazing transition between mountains and prairies. always found it amazing how quickly it happens in the southern part of this province, at one point you have flat perfect grasslands and then suddenly you're in the mountains.

Dare to be Different Drew May Photo20190419_MAY5517-Pano© www.drewmayphotography.com

This image is comprised of 18 separate photographs all combined to make this rather long panoramic. The image was photographed with my Canon 5d Mkiii, sporting the EF 70-200mm F4L {70MM} This is just a little while before I got my 5 DSR. There are times when I miss living in southern Alberta this is one of them.

If you wonder about the title if you were to look to the extreme right you will notice that one windmill is pointed in the opposite direction of the wind. Thus the name dare to be different! The best thing about photography for me, is the ability to explore. What I haven't been saying in the last little while is I broke my foot, and I'm now trapped in my home for the next four to six weeks this makes for an exciting photographic experiment. Giving me time to catch up on photographs that I have ignored for an awfully long time.

I'm keeping this one short, get out there take your cameras, shut up and shoot, don't forget to print it!

Standing on a bluff overlooking the National Park that is called Waterton Lakes. I shot this one in colour and thought Gee I think this one would look absolutely stunning in black and white. So off I went I spent a fair amount of time changing it to black and white. And what I mean by that is, I don't just turn it into grayscale and call it done. I spend a fair amount of time dealing with grey levels, dodging and burning and getting everything just so. That is to my vision at the very least.

As I said a while back, I am trying to make little, short blogs about images that I have created so you can get a better idea of what I do. This image is an example of one of the many images that I put aside and mulled over for many weeks or months. To be quite honest with you I photographed this image in March of 2019 and I have visited this image repeatedly about 8 or 10 times to finally get it to where it is right now. There is a colour version, but I'm not as impressed with it as I am with the black and white.

Waterton Black and White No.10 Drew May Photo www.drewmayphotography.com

So here's the information, the image is shot with a Canon 5DSr with a EF70-200mm F4L [176mm} at F11 and 1/160 sec, it is comprised of four images shot at portrait. the image was edited in Lightroom for its most basic steps, then brought into nick silver effects for its black and white conversion. I'm not quite convinced that it's worthy of a print but that's still up for debate.

So, I'll be doing one of these photograph explanations at least every week and I might do the occasional blog for a larger generic issue. I'm always up for anybody who's got questions on how I achieve something or how do I photograph this or how do I photograph that I'm more than happy to help you. Always can send messages and you can always make a comment I will do my best to respond to these comments but understand that every single one is screened. For some reason some oriental companies decide that my website is the perfect location to hawk their wares. I think this has something to do with the extremely large number of images that I have stolen in that region. This is the reality of a modern landscape photographer, I guess.

Signing off in the typical method that I have chosen to choose,

Shut up and shoot and remember to print it!

Cheers

I thought he'd do a short little blog on my panoramic work!

If you don't know because you don't see it very often, I don't post panoramas on Instagram and rarely do I post them on Facebook. That's because they just don't work there! Instagram is such a small image it's almost not worth looking at. So to that end I thought “heck” let's do a blog and post a link to my website.

I'll be quite honest with you right up front a panoramic should really be seen on paper in front of you on the wall! But next best thing is right in front of you on digital media. So I'm just going to put a couple up here do a short little explanation how they were captured where they were captured and roughly how many images it took to create the image. Understand also that some of these files are absolutely huge! Downloading one would take minutes sometimes longer but because it's through my website you can see them quickly.

The Fence Drew May PhotoNo modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

First image I call it “The Fence” I captured on Hwy 22 South of Calgary; it was cold, it was a little windy, but my trusty 5D mark 3 soldiers on without an issue. There are 31 images in total making a very large image. This image is well into 96 meg, on printed paper it would be a total of 96 inches wide. But of course, it can always be printed smaller.

A Little Bit of Colour Drew May Photo© www.drewmayphotography.com

The next image is called “a little bit of colour”. this image was shot near central Alberta on a lake called Brazeau. The lake is man-made just up front and be honest. It is very dark when the image was shot, each shot is 1/3 of a second in length and there are six shots, photographed by my mighty Canon 5DSR. It is believe this or not, still 77 inches wide and represents 85 meg, the pleasures of a 50 megapixel camera.

Natures Looking Glass Drew May PhotoEvenings in the Summer in north Central Alberta should always be spent beside a lake as the sunsets. With luck you will enjoy absolute calm and the day surrenders to night. The sky will relinquish the day only have one last gasp of light and slip away.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Now we come to one of my absolute favourites “nature's looking glass”. This image was photographed in a location that is of no consequence whatsoever, it's just a lake near my home. The light was gorgeous and the reflection was astounding, that made this image sing! There's a dreamy quality to it I truly love it and it is one of my more popular photographs! Now here comes the specs, it is a mere 47 inches in length it isn't very big and it's only 36 Meg in size. It only took 4 images to create, this one's all about timing!

Reflected RaysDrew May Photography Now we come to second from last this image "Reflected Rays", was created truly by technical reality. This image was created without panning the camera but "shifting" the lens. It was shot with a tilt shift lens, a Canon TSE 24mm F3.5L Mkii To be exact. When I create with this lens there is almost no cropping needed, as well there is little to no distortion at all. The image isn't very large, this time it is all the camera, the trusty Canon 5D mkiii with it's 22meg lens. Again it was another calm day with beautiful light. To create this image I took only three pictures one shifted extreme left, one extreme right, and then with the lens centred. It comes out to almost the same size as the image above but because there's no distortion the cropping is far less!

Homecoming_Copy 1__20160906-_7D_3793-PanoWhat is so common or I should say, what was so common, in all little rural places out west in rural Canada we're images like this. For all the years that I've lived in the rural world, That vision of those elevators, or any elevators, in the distance where the final revelation that you're finally home. It fills your heart with confidence and warmth, i am sure city folk will never understand.

This little place is called Meeting Creek one could say it's very small, one could say teetering I'm ghost town status, with only 20 remaining residents. The town sits in the valley of the river of the same name in Camrose County. Just one more of the many small little towns that just hang on with their existence. This town is spent a lot of effort preserving their heritage and My hat is off to them for continuing to do so.

http://www.meetingcreek.ca

Little on the technical side: damages comprised approximately 20 separate images with a Canon 7D, Sporting the 70-200 F4 IS [shot a 70 mm]. The exposure selected it's 1/800 sec, F 8.0, ISO of 100 no added filters but loads and loads of time in front of a computer.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

And now for the truly massive one! Its title is “Homecoming”. I photographed this one when I had an Canon 7D APS C camera, I wasn't overly impressed by the camera, but it was a good camera. You could say I've become somewhat of a snob when it comes to full frame cameras, but you wouldn't be completely correct, but you wouldn't be completely wrong either. The image is comprised of 36 separate images, there's three banks of 12 images, 12 to the top 12 to the middle and 12 to the bottom. All photographed with a 200-millimeter lens from a fair amount of distance. It created an extremely detailed image that is excruciatingly large. Final size of this image is 108 inches in length and a mind bendingly large 145 megapixels. Imagine if I where to photograph the same image with my Canon 5DSr at 50 meg each image as opposed to the 7D's 18 meg, it would almost three times the size. Ummmm a project in the works...

What can be said for panoramic images is that they can get incredibly large, and it will tax your computer to edit them. I have had images as large as 8 to 10 gigabytes in size which slows the computer down no matter what. But I'm a landscape photographer and I have patience. What also can be said, is I truly enjoy taking panoramas! I haven't printed very many, I would like to print very many more but that is truly up to you as the simple cost is prohibitive for my simple pleasure. If you find one that you like please don't hesitate to ask I can always resize it to your requirements and I would be more than pleased to print it.

So with that being said the little lesson that I've given you in the size of some panoramas, I hope you enjoy the blog I'm going to do my utter best to continue posting on a regular basis at least once every other week because I do have other things to do in life. Beyond that I will end in the same way as I have always ended well actually since the last one…LOL

Shut up and shoot! And don't forget to print it!

Cheers all

I'm back! I've decided to explain what's been going on with me in the last little while. As you well know I have been struggling with my inspiration, not as much lately as I had expected though. I have decided to muscle through it no matter what, I wouldn't say that it's been completely successful. But I've continued to go out no matter what.

So, you can understand my “new” direction, in the day, along time ago, I used to be an Olympus SLR shooter. I also shot many other different brands of cameras as well but, I'm not going to go through and explain each and every one of them. This is my way to prevent the elitism that has become an element of photography {just say what ever you have shot I have shot better so there 😊 }. They use a fancy name called “fanboy’ISM” now, and some of those people are infuriating, I will attempt to avoid this reality. I have other names for them, but I want to keep this blog somewhat polite.

When I was an Olympus shooter, I did not possess of their zoom lenses, because it was the 80s and they sucked. So, I did a thing they called “zoom with my feet”. I've always thought of that statement as inane because you're not really changing anything other than your compositional vision. So, you're not really “zooming with anything”. I had a lot of fixed focal lenses [they call them primes now] Because we're sharper, and substantively lighter. What I did lately, which might find some people thinking I'm strange and odd, is get rid of my zooms! Not all, yet, I still have my EF 70-200mm F4L IS,  just because it is light, sharp, and cheap. I kind of love the lens so it isn’t going anywhere right now.

The first lens that I got rid of which would shock many people, was Canons’ excellent EF 24-70mm F2.8 Mkii. I mean this lens was super sharp, excellent all-around fantastic lens. But I wasn't satisfied, I found it boring, heavy, and totally uninspiring. I sold it for a decent price as it is a high-quality lens and replaced it with, [the dramatic pause shall be taking place here] Canon EF 50 mm F 1.2 L. I am in love!

Mt. Peskitt Drew May Photo© www.drewmayphotography.com

I know there are people out there that are going, why would you get that old ancient lens, so and so makes something so much better, I respond….whatever! The lens has character. I'm a landscape photographer, and it's fully weather sealed at Canons level. Short of a hurricane this lens should be able to take the abuse and it's fully compatible with every camera body that I put in front of it. I find it so pleasant to shoot with the fixed 50 millimeter, which is what we used to call “the prime lens”, because it was the lens we used most often. And it's Uber sharp at F8!

Medicine Lake Drew May Photo© www.drewmayphotography.com

I find myself having so much more fun photographing a scene as I see it! The lens that's on my camera mimics my vision, there is no replacement! This lens almost lives entirely on my camera now! With the beauty of Photoshop and the ability to shoot panoramas I can stitch together multiple images taken with the Uber sharp 50 millimeter and create fantastic images without having to zoom or suffer the consequences of any form of optical distortion. I've put a couple of pictures in here just to show you what it looks like just using one lens and what you can do with it it's truly astounding, freeing for another word.

Horse Thief Canyon Drew May Photo© www.drewmayphotography.com

Then came the next lens! In perusing through the sales on Facebook and Kijiji, I noticed a truly spectacular deal on the lens that I have dreamed about for a long time. At that moment, I didn't have the funds, but I have friends and this one particular friend helped me beyond measure. I was able to obtain the gold standard in lens manufacture. It is a Zeiss 15MM F 2.8 Distagon t*. This thing has unbelievable micro contrast, astounding sharpness, and a build second to none! I mean if you hold it in your hand and turn the focusing ring and realize just how buttery smooth it is you realize why the price is so high! Suffice to say I'm not telling you how much I got it for because that's not really fair and you'd be jealous if you found out.

Sunset Number 50 Drew May Photo© www.drewmayphotography.com

After almost two months, I decided the other zoom had to go and it was another excellent Canon zoom! It was the EF 16-35mm F4L, the lens was beautifully sharp and wonderfully weather sealed but I found myself not pulling it out of my bag and only dragging it around. Now the Zeiss is not weather sealed, but I'll learn to deal with that.

So now I'll be looking for only one more lens to fill the only gap that I have in my system. Presently everything below my EF 70-200 F4L [which I don't think I'm going to replace] is all manual focus. And as the reality of being a landscape photographer I can shoot slow, and put my camera on a tripod so focusing isn't that important beyond the reality that it needs to be correct. I will be looking for a decent 28-35 millimeter to fill that one gap. It's going to take time because I'm thinking it might be nice to get something that is truly good because I will tell you my lowly 5DSR is a lens killer. If there are any defects in a lens, this camera heightens the reality and makes it glaringly obvious, but when everything is perfect man does it sing!

A little bit of the excitement has come back because I have chosen a different direction, I've decided to go back to my roots use manual focus single focal length lenses, and compose an image using those limiting factors that allows me to be creative. One could say that what this does is it makes it possible for me to see the world again the way I saw it when I was a younger man, uncomplicated by having the best zoom lens so that I could be like the “Joneses”. I have decided to follow my own path ignore mirrorless cameras, retain my old DSLR and make it work because what really matters in the end is the print that sits in front of you for the rest of your life. It doesn't suffer from the vagrancies of the blue screen of death.

I'm going to add something to my ending statement, instead of just being shut up and shoot it's going to be shut up and shoot and print, because it's the print that really matters!

So...

Shut up and shoot and then print it!

Till next time, Cheers!!

I thought I would post a couple of photographs that I have taken in the last couple of weeks. I've been a wee bit busy as I've been trying to capture as much of the colour as they possibly can find. The second photograph that you will see in this little blog, will be of no colour whatsoever beyond the grayscale. Yes, drew is shooting black and white again and he truly loves it!

Mt. Peskitt Drew May Photo© www.drewmayphotography.com

As I was traveling in David Thompson country, I saw it in the corner of my eye the glint of a pond that I missed for many years. To some of you who don't realize I have been going to David Thompson for almost 40 years. There are plenty of places I haven't been in the area, but greater exploration is always needed. You will notice that I have this affinity for black and white and I will always have that affinity for black and white. Therefore, the second image is a copy of the first one but in black and white. I am drawn to black and white landscapes because it removes the clutter, and it just shows the landscape. I hope you enjoy and remember I do have a print sale presently  it is 40% off all prints, all you have to do is add “drewmayphoto21” at checkout.

Just so you know I'm also in the process of creating a new blog about my change of direction with the kit that I am using. I have found that shifting to my old ways have given me greater inspiration and a greater desire to get out and shoot. I also have a couple of new lenses that are making my life that much more interesting. I will probably put a little bit of a short moment of interest about these lenses that I've picked up. As you well know I don't like doing a lot of gear reviews because that's not my thing. Also let it be only known right up front I'm not in the business of replacing my filters or supporting any particular brand at this moment. I have this desire to go back to circular filters for some reason I'll explain in the next blog.

Cheers remember to shut up and shoot!

So, I decided it's time that I spend some time in Jasper, especially before the snow flies or the crowds get too large. So, I took a day off work, yes that job that drags me out and makes me not what I want to be. Today's little lesson is even if it is not perfect lighting conditions, you can get a beautiful image, because we always spend time as landscape photographers, listening to individuals tell us that afternoon light is useless. We can only photograph first thing in the morning, or just before the sun sets. This is crap!

So as I'm wandering down to Maligne Lake I always find greater vision at Medicine lake. I never do understand why there must be something about the transient nature of the lake. At this moment it is full higher than I've ever seen it at this time of the year. I'm sure global warming has something to do to contribute to the amount of water that is in the lake, and I can only hope that man corrects his ills.

Medicine Lake Drew May Photo© www.drewmayphotography.com

So the image you see in front of you is a compilation of seven separate images shot vertically, and combined in Photoshop. It makes for an exceedingly large image considering that I am using a Canon 5Dsr with its lovely 50 mega pixel sensor. Yes, gang I'm embracing the old camera I haven't rushed off and bought a mirrorless camera. And to top it all off it was shot with a 50mm F1.2, that's right Canon’s Uber fast 50!

I am at this present time changing how I use my equipment, there will be a blog in the future about this change, suffice to say I'm getting rid of my zooms. I find zoom lenses making me lazy and affecting my composition and vision. I am truly falling in love with my 50mm and my new addition, that is Zeiss!

Till next time, cheers

Just shut up and shoot!

And back again doing a little bit of a Blogging about a photograph I captured yesterday.  You know, it was one of those days where he had some bright and clear blue skies, without a cloud in the sky.  The day is coming to an end and you feel you have not captured the real photograph that you could hang your day on.  But as it is always for me and Jasper National Park, it is the very last few moments that my day is made.  I have photographed this mountain many times but today a storm was rolling in and the light was truly awesome.

So, the moral of this story is never think your day is finished in your favorite place until the light is truly gone.

A Light Painting Drew May Photo© www.drewmayphotography.com Keep Shooting  see you next time!

Cascades of Light in Waterton Drew May PhotoStanding on a bluff gazing into the beauty that is Waterton National Park. I was graced with the coming storm the doubling of the light that made this so much more pleasant to view.
© www.drewmayphotography.com

I am spending some time looking for my old photographs, ones I have taken yet not finish the edits of.  And I am spending one day a week and finishing an edit.  And to that end this image is one of them.  I have fought long and hard with this image and decided that it had to be black and white because the colour image was so very flat.  It was photographed flat so I would have the greatest latitude in editing.  I did forget at the time we were under an exceptionally large amount of smoke in the environment, from surrounding forest fires, and that flattened flat the image further and expected.  This image is a compilation of 24 separate images to create the panoramic image.  The image was taken with my old canon 5D mark III, a camera which is still very much in my bag.

I have been spending the last little while looking at the qualities of the new version of Silver Effects II, now owned by DXO, and to be quite honest with you and still happy with my version that I bought from Nic some 5 years ago.  The moral of this story is you do not have to have the latest of everything.  I think I shall do a blog on that one day, maybe more of our rant.

I am not totally enthused about You-tube influencers doing everything in their power to get you to spend your money buying the latest and greatest cameras. They must have the money to do it, and they feel the jealousy of gear will make your even more enthusiastic to spend your money and something frivolous well that DSLR and you own is perfectly capable for your photography to the next 10 years.  But I am sure, more likely, the camera companies are giving away cameras for free.  More on that later!

Today’s image I took in June of 2019, on a trip to Waterton lakes national park.  I must admit of the time that I spent in Calgary I found the greatest pleasure going south more than going anywhere near Banff.  In the beginning I was so enthusiastic about going to Calgary because I would be so close the mountains and I would be able to experience mountain photography on a more regular basis.  I will admit I do miss that reality to a certain degree.  Perhaps someday I shall move too by true nirvana of Jasper national park and make a living as a landscape photographer once again.  But for the time being I will carry on.

Cheers

Same old adage shut up and shoot!

Till next time….

Just a quick announcement; I am changing my locations again. I am heading back to my home of Edmonton this coming week so I maybe not posting for a little while.

It is funny I never thought of Edmonton as my home till I moved from it with the intention of remaining away from it. The realization I would be apart from my boy and my friends didn’t enter the thought pattern until I was away from it. That will be remedied this week so let’s crack on with the story.

We have had a few snowstorms here in southern Alberta the past few weeks and not the best light to capture anything in my interest. I was for the most part uninspired, listless, and bored. Sure, I was out and about every Saturday chasing light, but nothing has really interested me when I got it home.

Mount Blaine on Snow Drew May PhotoKananaskis after a few snow storms and a small burst of colour.
© www.drewmayphotography.com

 I was driving the highway though Kananaskis just for something to do. Trying to get my creative juices flowing, when out of the corner of my eye at 90Kms/h a saw a splash of colour in the snow, I had to stop and check it out. I turned about parked Lilly, pulled out the tripod and right there on the roadside I created this image. I captured a few more, as well as a two-meter panoramic that I am working on.  

I thought I must make capturing the image was some great adventure, or make it sound like I have some hero status going on. But no, I said to my self, truth in this process is more interesting than some hyped up struggle of creation. I do struggle to create, I even risk life and limb at times, but this time I was overwhelmed with a feeling of apathy. Any visual with colour would have raised the interest.

If you must identify me as the great adventure photographer just say to your self “it was very cold” that should placate the need to elevate my struggle to create.

So, with a fond far thee well to Calgary I say goodbye to Kananaskis for the time being and hello to an area that I am very familiar with. I see aurora nights and big skies with awesome sunsets. I also say hello to Jasper very soon, I have missed you ever so much!

Please Like, comment, join the mailing list “I will be using it in the new year for bargains of my prints and any new project I come up with”

Every camera is better than no camera,

Shut up and shoot,

Until next time;

Cheers!!

I have been working it out over the last few weeks. I can tell you in my hand it is a familiar beast. It contents me to have a camera that I don’t have to spend days getting used to. The menu is familiar, it has some nice addons. I love the shutter and It has that 50-meg sensor that will come in handy for the continued pursuit of landscape photography and the quest to print big!

Highwood Pass Drew May PhotoColours burst forward as the area prepares for the coming season.

@www.drewmayphotography.com

I am sure there will be geeky people out there that will doubt my decision.  I am sure there will be people that feel that their idea of what a camera should be is what I should get, and their opinion will prevail in their own mind.  They will harp about dynamic range, but they have never shot slide film.  They will sing about its low light capabilities, but they’ve never shot slide film.  They will identify that there is a higher mega-pixel count camera out there, with better tech stuff, but I don’t see them coming up and donating a large quantity of cash make that purchase possible.

Today we are beset by continuous attacks on the Internet, and the Youtube “experts” that continue to encourage us to spend large quantities of our own money on every new camera that comes on-stream.  There seems to be a new camera every 3 to 6 months, the incremental improvement of the camera you purchased a year ago.  Ask yourself; have you really improved to warrant a new camera? I don’t get into that and neither should you. 

I pick a camera because of comfort in my hand and familiarity of the system. Where the camera fits into my direction in my craft.  Today every camera can take a great picture in the hands of a knowledgeable person.  The most important thing is and has always been the glass!  I would rather spend more money on good lenses and be happy with the camera body I have in hand.  I could care less about the latest trend I want quality, and nobody can tell me what I have purchased is garbage. 

After seven years with my 5D Mkiii, the old girl is getting tired. I have not retired her completely and I never will!  She is far from worn out, she still going to be used for my night work. As I have found uses for my 5D classic with my time-lapse work and as the perfect carry around camera. I waited because of life and the issues I have had to endure over the last 3 years.

We spend too much time in today’s world trying to impress the “joneses”.  Photography has always had its fair number of geeks, and they always have an expert opinion and little understanding.  The funniest part about these “experts” most of them can’t take a photograph to save their life!  Usually the person whose works sucks the most, has the biggest opinion. In the many years doing this art I have never been brow beaten by a true expert, they understand the tool thing.

The moral of this story is, be happy with the tools that you have.  Learn how to use them, become an expert.  When you feel that the camera you have is getting in the way of your creative vision or limiting a part of your process or a business need, then it is time to replace your camera. If you really want one is always a good reason as well. 😊 Embrace your inner camera geek! But learn how to keep your opinions to yourself. 

Upper Kananaskis Lake Drew May Photo5 image Pano makes for a massive file!! Windy cold and long exposures make photography fun! <br/><br/>© www.drewmayphotography.com

Everyone of us could use a little bit of humility, this is an art form, and art survives in the mind of the artist.  Having to concern ourselves with the attitudes and opinions of other people is of no consequence and no benefit.  As I always say the most important thing to do is; JUST SHUT UP AND SHOOT!

Be happy keep shooting;

Take the time to be kind!

Cheers

A Spray Valley Refection Drew May PhotoStanding on the shore of the absolute calm Spillway Lake I capture a moment of blue sky before fall completely takes over. Spillway Lake is a horrible industrial name for a body of water that is so pretty, but it is next to a reservoir so I guess it is not natural.
@www.drewmayphotography.com

I was told a while back that the best reflections are always obtained in the morning, but me not being a person that is enthused by the morning sun, I prefer the afternoon search.  OK I will admit that there are times when I see only ripples in the water, but I will say, a blue sky and billowy clouds make for much more interesting composition.  So, my search will continue until I’m truly dead and gone, just like my search for that single tree.  Call it an obsession!

Gap Mountain Drew May Photo© www.drewmayphotography.com

These images recaptured in an area which turns out to be just industrial pond.  I find it hard pressed to think of it as that when you realize a location you are in, considering the shear unadulterated beauty of the location I am in.  I also decided to include a black and white version just to see if I get some comments about it. 

Refection of the Gap Drew May PhotoIt is all about the single tree that stands forward in the refection.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

And I am hoping that you’ll engage with me and I can make this website more live.  I’m thinking in the next couple of weeks I will provide a code so you can order prints directly at a reduced cost. Sort of a Christmas gift to you for following this landscape guy in his travels.  I am sure it is to late for that endlessly planned calendar, but I will see what I can do in the next week.

As always,

Be Kind

Keep shooting; Cheers happy Turkey day!

Sheep River Falls Drew May PhotoToday I thought with the first snowstorm of the season I would venture out and see if I could find some colour in amongst the snow. Well Sheep River Falls is a place I wanted to go so here is one image for your enjoyment.
@www.drewmayphotography.com

The past couple of days while in Calgary there has been a warning of a snowstorm. I unlike many other people, all I can think of, is fall colors and snow, and just how beautiful that would be.  So, we come to this Saturday, and I think it’s time to venture out and enjoy the colors of fall.

I start with the intention of driving to Banff; I figure the national park in the middle of the snowstorm there will be few people and I might be able to go to spot that I normally avoid.  I get no closer to Canmore than 20 kilometres, and I am confronted by “whiteout” conditions and I decide it is wiser for me to stay in the eastern slopes closer to home. I then figured that I will head north there will be less snow, then I realize my time would probably be best spent south.  Oh, the trials of an artistic mind!

So, I travel to the waterfall that I’ve wanted to go to since I first moved to Calgary some months ago, Sheep River Falls.  I have been to these falls three or four times in the last three months, and each time they are heavily populated.  I soon realize that this spot is quite popular, and justifiably so. I truly love the area and have spent a few days just exploring the Provincial Park.

I wander up its lonely road, populated by a large number of cattle, is they’ve come out of the hills for easier pickings with snow along the roadside.  Those that don’t know it’s quite common in Alberta Provincial Parks to be used as cattle grazing areas especially on the eastern slopes.  I find myself arriving at the parking lot and realizing there’s quite a large amount of snow.  Undaunted I park my car, Hoping I don’t get stuck, grab my camera my mighty tripod and my Kase filters and wander up the semi packed trail to the waterfall overlook.

I cross a small stream quite successfully with getting my feet wet [I am suitably proud of this accomplishment] and come upon the location of a satisfactory composition.  I decided I’m going to use my neutral density filters to get the silky-smooth waterfall look and I proceed to capture the image you see here.  Sadly, there wasn’t more color in the trees, but I might return in a couple of days and see what happens.

The fun comes on the return walk up the trail.  The little stream that I crossed hasn’t changed a bit, but the coefficient of the friction of snow has been forgotten in my mind.  Two careful steps, and one poor placement and a 10-foot drop, leaves me with a sore back, because one must land on one’s butt.  A damaged knee, as one must drag a joint across exposed rocks, and a bruised pride!

But worry not folks, I remained the hero because I hugged my Canon 5DSR and prevented it from getting wet or striking any rocks.  My tripod flew and my Kase filter bag was left higher up in the stream.  Simply because it’s far more important to protect the tools, because flesh heals, and there are times when I’m not very bright.

It’s quite funny, my first concern was my camera and I was thinking if “I where to fall this is what I would do”, the second was that nobody saw me fall over.  Indignantly and got out of the water scrambled out of the little valley that was there, soaked from my waist down, a sore back and a sore knee.  Gleefully I continued my way and and met two people on the trail and I preceded to ignore that I was in pain and gave much advice about the trail ahead, then hobbled back to my car.  Sadly, my enthusiasm for a day of photographic excellence and come to an end.

The moral of the story, I still got the shot and that’s all that matters. Rocks are slippery when wet, the only thing that hurts about a fall, is the sudden stop and always pretend I am just fine. LOL

Keep shooting

Be kind!

And we will post again!

Cheers

Starting off I owned an extensive set of Lee filters when I was approached by Kase to check out their system. I was offered to be a brand ambassador, and I thought it as an honour, so I said what the hell let’s give these filters a try. So right up front so if you want to just stop reading and go get a set, the filters are fantastic!

For the past couple of months, I have been “testing” out the filters in all kinds of situations and weather. I haven't spent any time in a raging downpour, it isn’t for lack of trying trust me. I have gone out twice to storm chase and both times the weather got better, maybe there is a theme here.

This weekend I am spending some time in front of some waterfalls I will post links and such when I have images to show off.

Cat Falls Drew May PhotoI spent the day with a good friend hiking in the woods to a small waterfall in the pristine reality of Kananaskis provincial park. It truly is a wonderful site and to be quite honest with you it was a good walk as well. I will return!!

@www.drewmayphotography.com

Let start with the whole process here, I have been heavily invested in Lee Filters for about 8 years now. Before that I had stacks of filters all different sizes, I knew there had to be a better way that the stack, enter Lee. I did try out Cokin and I can say with out question they where interesting but quality in the image suffered.

Let me say right up-front image quality and sharpness is paramount to me, and it is far more important as I get even more picky with my final print. In the film days I would be happy with some softness but that is completely dead now. If it isn’t perfect, I am not printing it.

Mount Blane cr. Drew May PhotoMother nature grants me a lovely show of warm light as I travel HWY 40 in Kananaskis country.

@www.drewmayphotography.com

The circular filters where always the best I could afford at the time so there where a mixture of brands, but I did lean toward B&W because I felt they where the best choice for me. Short qualifier here I don’t care what someone recommends until I try them out. The “stack” got bigger every time I got a new lens because I would buy my equipment because of quality of glass and not weather it had the right filter tread.

Enter Lee, I really like the solution they provided me one at of filter and only adapters for each lens, it is just a better way!

Lee makes some truly awesome products and I never regretted having them in the kit. Early on I recognized two small but significant issues with the system. One was super easy to correct the other was something you dealt with and carried on.

Let’s tackle the first issue, colour cast. Lee is very blue with its Little and Big Stoppers; it is easy to correct in post as long as you have firstly shot in RAW and secondly you have a good memory of what the colours where there at the time. This issue is not sufficient to drop Lee filter it is just something to know and deal with. The second issue well that one bugs me with each lens differently, vignette!

Spreading Peak Drew May PhotoI saw this little river and thought, it cleared a path in the rock fall and it deserves a picture. <br/><br/>© www.drewmayphotography.com

Annotation 2019-08-19 200135100% closeup notice the details Annotation 2019-08-19 200238A direct screen capture again the details!!

Them damn dark corners with this lens at that focal length and it isn’t there with this lens with the same focal length. Drives me nuts but it is something you just deal with, with the new addition to the kit and the most used lens, it gets to be a bur in your side. You see I am a landscape photographer and 24mm is a focal length I love to use; with the Lee system you add the very expensive circular polarizing filter and them comers get dark at @28mm and wider. Put the same set up on your just as expensive TSE 24mm or 17mm and no dark corners. You see I don’t buy lenses to match a filter set I buy lenses for a different reason the filers are just going to have to work with in my kit or be replaced.

Paint Drew May PhotoThe very last moment of light on Storm Mountain as the cloud cover parts to enhance my vision. I truly loved this drive on the first day this road opened. I see many visits returning to the location and many others.
@www.drewmayphotography.com

The final issue is very minor and not worth mentioning except for the purpose of this blog and that is softness in the resin filters. The optical glass ones are outstanding, but the resin filters have an ever-so-slight softness.

Enter Kase and an email asking if I would be interested in trying out something different. I can say the little things where dealt with in the perfect way. Offering me an ambassadorship with the testing didn’t hurt my interest.

You see Kase isn’t available in Canada just yet, we can order them though American retailers but if you are Canadian you know what it is like to be subject to exchange rates and just how much it can make your heart sink when the bill is put in front of you. So, I am here to tell you the value is there in this system and it is still cheaper than Lee.

Starting with the adapter rings, each one of them is designed to spin freely after it has been attached to the lens. This makes it possible for the magnetic CPL to just click on and be adjusted after the fact. first getting a CPL close the lens eliminates the vignette, then you add the ability to spin that filter on the adapter and you have a perfect solution to a problem that is very clearly there with the Lee system.

IMG_20190526_124703The CPL is under the holder. the little red bits are on the left is to turn the CPL, and the right is to anchor the holder.

IMG_20190526_130018Note the coatings on the ND filter!

The second issue with Lee is the colour cast. You see Kase does not have a colour cast [some people are seeing a slight warmth in colour I don’t see this] and the filters are coated for every issue. They are super easy to clean. Water droplets just wipe off with out streaking and I am told they are tough to break [if you don’t mind, I am not going to find that one out 😊].

Mt. Amery Drew May PhotoI decided it was time that I spend a little bit of time in Banff, it was a cold Saturday and the clouds or brooding, to there shouldn’t be too many people was my thought. I spent the day looking for a refection that would interest me and standing next to a little soda lake at the foot of this mountain was just the ticket.

There is an interesting back story to this mountain and Park Canada is happy to add a little sign to tell the story. I always take the time to check out the signs that the Parks put out a little bit of history is a good thing.

Tech stuff; Canon 5DSR, 24mm [EF24-70mm f2.8L II] and1/20 at f8. Kase filters CPL and a 3 stop soft edge grad. Three image focus stack.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

All in all, I am very happy with the filters and I will happily recommend them! They aren’t cheap but nothing worth having really is. Right now, you can find them on Amazon in American funds, but let’s hope some one in Canada steps up and brings them into the country and soon…there are a couple more filters I need. 😊

Oh and I will add a little more info from time to time!!

Keep shooting!! 

https://www.amazon.ca/Kase-Filter-Holder-Magnetic-Adapters/dp/B07FWQG2JT

https://www.kasecn.com

Mount Blane cr. Drew May PhotoMother nature grants me a lovely show of warm light as I travel HWY 40 in Kananaskis country.

@www.drewmayphotography.com

I have been traveling about in the eastern slopes and around Banff. I think I will spend more time in the eastern slopes, way less people {so far} and I am seeing a completely different world.  It’s been years since I’ve been up this highway and it doesn’t look like it did when I last traveled it.  I will have to spend much more time wondering and seeking light.

I am working to complete my first log on the new filter system that I am presently, I should be releasing it very soon.

Due to financial reasons I had to say good buy to my TSE 17mm F4L and my EF 16-35 F2.8l Mkii. Both of those days where bad days in my life. I loved both and used them continually they will be sorely missed. I hopefully can find the funds to replace them soon, as I am missing the ultra wide vision now. But I am sure I will make it happen regardless. Now if I could just sell more prints... 😊

Warm Start My first real foray since I moved south! The beginnings of the Oldman river in extremely cold weather but warm light.<br/><br/>© www.drewmayphotography.com

I have moved closer to the thing I really love, the mountain. I get my greatest inspiration from this area. I am not completely sure I will get a ton of excitement from Banff as I am not a great fan of crowds, but I am sure I can find the occasion to foray into the park when it is quiet.

My greatest inspiration is going to come from the proximity to other locations that I find greatly inspiring. Kooteney National Park was my first quest for light after only being here for a couple of weeks. It was a cold day and there was a great amount of snow still on the ground. It was a wonderful day in a park I haven’t been to in 40 years.

Kooteney River Drew May PhotoIt has been almost 40 years since I was in Kooteney National Park and the river of the same name was frozen in time as the wester slopes was bathed in a warm sunset. I always find it interesting the warm light and the actual freezing cold.

@www.drewmayphotography.com

Mount Ball Drew May PhotoJust as the sun sets Mt. Ball recives the last wispers of light.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I have scooted down to Waterton National Park as well; it has been far to long since I had been there either. I can see this summer is going to filled with hours of my time off seeking light in these gems. I have also taken some back roads over the past few weeks, but we will leave that adventure for further blogs.

Welcome to Waterton Lakes National Park Drew May PhotoThis is the view that greets you as you come into Waterton Lakes. It has been years since I had been to this park but that will be changing this Summer!!

@www.drewmayphotography.com

All in all, it has been exciting and nerve racking to completely rebuild my life in a new location. I had been in my last spot for almost 16 years. I will admit I was having a hard time finding inspiration, or any form of drive to create in the last year. That is not completely the fault of my location, my situation had a large part of my unhappiness and a blank camera screen.  But now I seem to be coming out of the darkness and I’m finding great pleasure and spending a day each week with a camera in my hand and Lilly as my trusty steed.

Stay tuned, I have some exciting news for an old photographer on the horizon.

This move is having a positive effect on my presence in my passion, interesting time ahead!

I am making the time to seek out light, by extension, I will be sharing more of my adventures!

Keep shooting,

Talk to you next week

Cheers!!

Warm Start Drew May PhotoThe beginings of the Oldman river in extreamly cold weather but warm light.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

With this warm light you would hope spring is almost here but alas, it is -25c and the wind will freeze you solid in a few minutes. Spring is coming trust me it might just take a little while! :) 

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Mt. Lowell and Clouds Drew May PhotoWhat to do in the mid afternoon, and the light is harsh, take blak and whites of mountains.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

What to do in the mid afternoon, and the light is harsh, take black and whites of mountains.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I am just coming back and finding my inspiration, after a long trying two years.  I will start the blogs again either at the end of this week or next.  Thank you for sticking around and stay tuned and location I move to its very inspiring!!

I am going to try a to blog again. I have been having a difficult time trying to find my inspiration this year. 

There is no way to understate how important it was for me to spend a couple of days in Jasper National Park without time constraints and have the ability just appreciate the space.  This was made possible only by the actions of a dear friend, I thank her for her invite and the company.  I did spend some of the some of these two days shooting blindly, I will admit that there were times within the day, that the enthusiasm waned.  But, there were moments when I caught myself breathing quickly and enjoying my day and the moment at hand. There is nothing that I find greater pleasure than a cool crisp morning with a camera in front of me.

I have always been drawn to the mountains and strangely I am rarely there are for the colour.  I find myself seeking out drama, hoping for cloudy moody skies.  This suits black and white photograph far more than it does colour, but I will never shy away from black and white imagery.  Black and white photography has and always will be my soul.  For a while I was only presenting colour photography in a vain attempt at maintaining popularity.  I must admit I do love colour photography and I will never shy away from it, but I will always find something special about black and white.  Soon I will be relocating to a location that is far more conducive to mountain photography, I am thoroughly excited to explore a new area and capture new visions.

Mt. Lowell Drew May PhotoDriving the Parkway between Jasper and Banff has always be a great pleasure of mine. I could spen the rest of my life wandering this road and never see everything. This day i paused before Mt. Lowell along the road and saw in Black and White.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

So, I present to you two images both in black and white and of mountains with sufficient amount of drama to entice my spirit.  I hope you enjoy what is coming from me in the near future, there will be many changes to this website, its pricing, and print fulfilment.  I hope to find an image that you wish to have on your wall, after all that is what I do, and is what I need a to survive.

Patricia's Refelection Drew May PhotoEarly Morning reflections on Patricia Lake in Jasper National Park

© www.drewmayphotography.com

As always,

Cheers

Prairie LightShooting a wedding on this day and in the drive to the next venue the skys gave me a little light show. Yes it is the beginning of a tornado. the clouds had begun to spin but luckly for all it did not touch down.

Prairie light

I have spent the last few months barely involved in photography, I take my camera out but to no avail. I thought, what I should do is go back and look at my old work and see if that inspires me. I have this issue of looking back at my work, I know I shouldn’t do it, but I do anyway.  Some of my most popular work, and most published work has been because of storms.

I think it’s about time I start getting involved and start posting those photographs that bring me the most emotional high at the very time the shutter clicks.  I know I have been lax in posting on this site, I am sure it is some form of feeling that I am not worthy.  It’s all an emotional fight within our own heads, the bane of a creatives mind.

Summer is coming and I’m starting to get excited.

This photograph is called “Prairie Light” it was captured well I was shooting a wedding.  It was an epiphany for me.  As we’re racing from one venue to the next I found a gathering storm far more exciting than the wedding that I were shooting.  I decided it was OK to be late just a little.  It reminded me just how much I love landscape photography!  Over the next six years every summer my heart beats much quicker with the drumbeat of the strong storm.

Glorious Drew May PhotoIn the words of John Muir:
How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!

Sums this image up pretty well, enjoy!

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

So here are the 15 best images that I captured this year.  Some of you know this was a tough year for me, in a few short days this year has come to an end.  I can't say that I'll be sorry to see it go.  So with a new computer, the same old camera, but a new outlook I will push to make myself something to be remembered. 

Layers Drew May PhotoStanding on a ridgeline above the mighty Athabasca River, I was drawn to the light and clouds. I could only see this in Black and White, so I mille dover this image for days and spent the common multitude of hours creating a black and white that is my vision, and that is always a time consumer.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

This year, I will be continuing started projects of previous years, I am working on creating a new project specifically for this year. I also decided it's time that I take my work and see if I can put it in venues that will present my work in a better light.  I can see it's going to be a year but I will suffer a certain amount of derision and I'm sure that my ego will be crushed from time to time. 

Fractured Drew May PhotoAbraham Lake David Thompson County Alberta Canada, the day before water was all over the lake, today frozen solid. As the “lake” [Abraham is a reservoir] water level drops though the winter, large thick layers of ice is laid down down on the shore.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

That is the arts! 

Glowing Drew May PhotoRoche Miette and Capitol mountain grab the last moments of light, as the last glimmers of Summer give way to the colours of autumn.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I've also decided that it is time one for me to express my opinion to a certain degree.  I am truly getting tired of a few things in our industry and it is time that I Express my opinion.  But fear not the majority of my blogging will be directed at the work that I am doing.  I think it's time for me to get a little more expressive about where I am and what I've done to get the shot.  Some people have told the that I should do some more of vlogging, but I don't know how I would do with that.

Final Refections Drew May PhotoAs the sun slips behind the mountains I am am with a group from my photo club, standing well inside Jasper Lake. After a very pleasant day spent with friends enjoying what I truly love, I am refreshed once again and hopefully my inspiration has returned. Jasper will always be my favourite place and all the world.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Oh well, things are on the way to change and this year is going to be major for Drew May Photography!

Fragmented Drew May PhotoOn the shores of Abraham Lake and David Thompson County Alberta, The early morning sun crests, the horizon is mirrored in the ice before me. As Abraham Lake is a reservoir created by the power company for the creation of power, the level of the lake, through the winter drops precipitously until the spring. The ice here takes on the colour of the water a greenish blue. I will always be drawn to this area simply because of the many faces that is David Thompson country.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Rushing Drew May PhotoI am playing about with a few images to get the insperation back. This day I wandered into BC with a friend with the intention to walk the trail to Burg Lake, not going to happen to late a start and not really prepaired so we spent time next to the river.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

A Path Drew May PhotoI was sitting in my chair one day, with no ambition. Suddenly I felt a need to drive to Jasper. So I drove the 3 hours to my place of heaven and assended the road to Miette Hot Springs. I was greeted to piles of snow in June. A pleasant path was created between the trees. Green and white just go together so well.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

It's a secret Drew May PhotoPeople of my photo club we're wandering further up Jasper Lake, I saw this little depression in the trees just off the highway. And I thought to myself "I wonder what's down there" so off I walked. Through the trees and down into this valley I walked. Jasper national Park has so many little gems in so many little places it is always, and always will be, wondrous!

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Skylights Drew May PhotoIt has been a wile for me to get back in the grove after some personal issues and changes. I decided it was time to go out with my local club members and spend some time watching the sky.

The storm of the evening of the the 27-28 was particularly interesting. this is the first of some 100+ images i took that evening.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Writing on the Sky Drew May PhotoPlease take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Past Drew May PhotoBack in time this place resounded with happy sounds. Joyous children bolting up these stairs going for a swim. Elderly persons seaking relief from the aches and pains of age. Can you hear the past?

The main entrence to the old Pool at Miette Hot Springs loses to the elements as mother nature clames back her space.

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© www.drewmayphotography.com

Standing Drew May PhotoIt always amazes me just how life can survive in just about any place.

Walking the old path to the "Old Pool" at Miette Hotsprings I saw this little tree holding on to the most precarious spot I could think of.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com could think of.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Waves Drew May PhotoPlease take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I save the best for last in my view!

Violet Drew May PhotoThe very last moments of an evening light as the colour shifts to an iridescent Violet hue, I am drawn to this scene by the patterns in the silt left as Jasper lake sir comes to winters grip. For some unknown reason I have been drawn near the entry point of Jasper National Park’s east gate. It is more likely than not, the very large number of visitors to the National Park.




Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

So the year begins I hope you have the best year of all time, I am going to, I just feel it in my bones! :)

Cheers to you all!!

Firstly pain no attention do any of the catalog prices, I've got quite a job changing stuff other catalog prices will be the first thing to change.

Secondly the galleries will be changing! It is been high time since I've changed how I present my images. I feel it is much more beneficial to the viewer to spend some time looking at a group of images of the same location. Being that I'm a landscape photographer I am drawn to a location and I will return repeatedly.

Lastly, I am starting to come out of my rut. I am finding more time to edit my images and I am starting to get a little spark of inspiration. Many things have happened this year, to be quite honest with you far more than I expected. But I am trying to do my best to maintain my attachment to you my viewer. It isn't that I haven't gone to take some photographs it is finding the enthusiasm to edit those images to a level that I deem complete.

Violet - Drew May Photo20170925_MAY2390-Edit-EditThe very last moments of an evening light as the colour shifts to an iridescent Violet hue, I am drawn to this scene by the patterns in the silt left as Jasper lake sir comes to winters grip. For some unknown reason I have been drawn near the entry point of Jasper National Park’s east gate. It is more likely than not, the very large number of visitors to the National Park.




Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Some of you know I do not shoot so you can check out my images only on the monitor. I shoot for print! To me that is a finished photograph, something you could hold in your hands, admire with your eyes and quite possibly smell the pigment on the print. I'll do my best to try to come back to where I was five years ago, thank you very much for your patience!

Cheers All 

Drew

Layers - Drew May Photo20170610_MAY0286-EditStanding on a ridgeline above the mighty Athabasca River, I was drawn to the light and clouds. I could only see this in Black and White, so I mille dover this image for days and spent the common multitude of hours creating a black and white that is my vision, and that is always a time consumer.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Standing on a Ridgeline above the mighty Athabasca River, I was drawn to the light and clouds. I could only see this in Black and White, so I milled over this image for days and spent the common multitude of hours creating a black and white that is my vision, and that is always a time consumer.
 

I am there!! 

Few things can have a more chilling effect on a creative mind than the reality of modern western life. The continued need for green to keep a roof over ones head. Then there is the realities of humanity. 

I do my very best to keep my personal life somewhat mine, and tell no one what is or has happened. So this is a break form my world of the tough guy and as my creative mind has been so heavily effected. Some of you, my personal friends, know I lost my mother at the end of January. She was not only my mom, but she had been my greatest supporter, friend, confidant . She was the first person that saw any of my completed works. She always was, the first after me, to touch any finished print. 

She kept me in check as well, if she saw something she thought wasn't up to my standards, she was the first person to inform me. I never had to worry, that after my mom saw a print, if she liked it it was worth showing the world. 

For the last couple of years I was my moms only outlet to the outside world. I did care for her more than most would ever think of doing, more than I would expect from my own son. I have never and never will regret the time I spent caring for my mom. 

I will admit it has been very hard on my business, especially the last year. To that end I have had to resurrect my previous life and return to working for the man. My life will be in a complete reset and this web site will see a complete revamp. 

Because I will have fluid funds in the near future I will be moving about doing my very best to recover my lost inspiration. I will also be removing the needless ability to purchase prints form some unknown venders. I will be creating my own prints, so you the buyer will be getting a print from my own work. I hope you find that more attractive and hope you will be more happy with the finished product because of the prints origins. 

I have been happy with and received no complaints about any orders from any of the vendors provided though Zenfolio!! Just has to pass that on!!

I have had wonderful friends that came forward to help me, they will never be forgotten. And I have had a couple of days that made me realize I still had something to say with my work. I am looking forward to the new life, and the direction that is inevitable, I have so many ideas starting to bounce about in the the great cranial void. 

To those that have stuck by me no matter the issue, thank you! 

To those that have wandered away because of the stagnation, I am back I would love to see you here again. 

To those that have left because their attention span is fleeting at best, what can I say ...umm ...I better not! 😂😂😂

Summer has come here in Sunny Alberta, I have weekends off, and I am fully free like I haven't been for years! 

This was the only time in the past few months I got out and found some semblance of inspiration. 

I am Getting out and shooting, so should you! 

Cheers,

Me!

It's been a while, that life thing has a wonderful effect on getting things done. I can assure you of the last few months have been interesting. late in the year I have been traveling quite extensively around the Alberta. 

Refection on Desjarlais Lake_20160826-_MAY5592Refection on Desjarlais Lake

A few days ago I spent the time wandering into my past, I went into Piers Greys Lakes provincial Park. The day was rainy and grey but it made Desjarlais Lake absolutely calm. The water was like a mirror and it reflected the most beautiful sunset hidden behind the clouds.

© www.drewmayphotography.com One of my new favourite spots Piers Grey Provincial Park

Some of you might remember that I got a new car in the early summer, and I named her Lilly. [ya two “l’s”] To date I have traveled just over 26,000 km and very pleasing Drive. Lily is an absolutely fantastic automobile, and exceedingly easy on fuel. I cannot recommend enough, Chevrolet Cruz 2016 as being a wonderful choice and I am very happy that I made it. I will continue to document her and my travels for some time to come.  Enough about a car!

Lilly at KM 5205© www.drewmayphotography.com Lilly after a bath next to my happy place :)

The travels took off in the last few months of summer, after my mother agreed to go into care, thus relieving me to explore. Almost immediately I drove to Cadomin, a small coal mining town on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. After that I went to further north along the same mountain chain, to the small town called Grande Cache. It is been almost 30 years since I've been there and I will inform you it was wonderful, I definitely will be going back!

Dancing Light On Cadomin Mountain__20160817-_MAY5021-PanoAs I left Cadomin, I stoped and looked back at the mountain that held the name of that small community. I witnessed the light dancing across the face of this mountain. How privileged I felt to be a witness of such beauty.

I love my job!!

© www.drewmayphotography.com Dancing Light On Cadomin Mountain

I have traveled to Jasper and northern Banff repeatedly, I have been going up and down the parkway, spending a fair amount of time around the locally named “Big Bend". I have a good friend that played my guide on one occasion. He had showed me a couple of waterfalls I have missed repeatedly. It truly is good to have some local knowledge, or do have friends that Have that knowledge.

Confluence_20160826-_MAY5426-PanoI spent a few hours in Sulphur Gates Provincial Recreation Area checking out a viewpoint which I haven't seen from many years. Today's shot as a panoramic made up of 12 separate images to create the slight sweet every beautiful location period

Below you see the Smoky River glorious in its mineral green and the confluence of the Sulphur River with its muddy brown colour mingle under the high cliffs and peaks the make up this valley. If you ever get a chance to come to Grande Cashe take the time and visit this recreation area.

http://www.albertaparks.ca/sulphur-gates/information-facilities/

© www.drewmayphotography.com the Sulphur Gates near Grande Cashe 

I would have to say my excitement finding waterfalls in this province has increased once again! I find myself searching the maps looking for locations that I haven't gone to, or did not know existed even slightly, so this spring I will have many locations to shoot. This coming summer is going to be very exciting, I have a couple of plans that might add to the excitement in the interest in my work going forward.

Pathway__20160928-_MAY6983Standing on the banks of an unnamed stream with Old Wonder falls at my back, I look into the valley of the North Saskatchewan River and the Icefields Parkway. On the horizon is Cirrus Mountain in a sea of blue, not a single cloud the sky made it a sunny, warm and beautiful autumn's day in Banff national Park.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Pathway

I have been writing this blog post for last couple of months when I can get around to it. I have had a lot of things on my plate in the last few months. Things now are only going to get better and I have plenty of projects in mind. I'm going to spend more time doing short videos, time lapses and doing a little bit of vlogging, I might even spread a little bit of the knowledge. I will be posting here on the website and Youtube so maybe I can build that subscriber base. :)

Today's blog is more about catching up and hopefully I can retain a continuous stream of work and have something of quality to say every week.

So to start off 2017 I thought I would add a little video that I have been compiling for the last few days as a kind of a showcase of the work that I have done this year. You will notice that the beginning of the video most of the images are local to my home. And as the video goes on those miles that I've added to that little car start make sense.

​​​​​​​

Oh I just so you know, November and December I have been mostly very little work or strictly commercial, We have some snow out here finally. And That gets me excited about the forest once again.

And I've done a few equipment changes, And have a few more in mind. So when I get this new gear idea might be a cool idea to Give you my impressions. I might include them in the vlogg, and include the "wordy" Version in the blog. So many changes in the plans, But a distinct hope for success in this year of 2017.

So let's close it off, I wish you all a very good New Year, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support.

Peace!

Drew

The Old View_20160928-_MAY6993I am standing on the old Icefields Parkway, on one of the many bridges, that overlooks the valley of the North Saskatchewan River headwaters. Imagine a time back in 40’s driving with your family along this serpentine road, I can guarantee you you wouldn't be driving like many of the drivers do today. This road is just barely wide enough vehicles to pass each other, and you can see the drop off is rather profound. This old bridge has had a wonderful view for a very long time.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I have been a little off my schedule this past couple of weeks sorry gang! 

I am standing on the old Icefields Parkway, on one of the many bridges, that overlooks the valley of the North Saskatchewan River headwaters. Imagine a time back in 40’s driving with your family along this serpentine road, I can guarantee you you wouldn't be driving like many of the drivers do today. This road is just barely wide enough vehicles to pass each other, and you can see the drop off is rather profound. This old bridge has had a wonderful view for a very long time.

Please take the time to visit my web site, leave a comment! Prints can be ordered direct from there or custom, limited editions can be ordered by contacting me directly.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

It has been an interesting week this week. This week has been amazing Summer in Alberta, Albertans will understand. The week has been filled with blue skies and the changing of the leaves. Every autumn makes my spirit fly and I have been doing a lot of short drives this week searching for the ultimate tree, culminating with this Saturday and very long drive with one of my photographic friends.

Drew May Photo20140212IMG_0319

Brothers and i love them both!

This week I thought I would start a short review of a lens that I have been in love with since the day I bought it. Four years ago I contacted Canon Professional Services and ordered two loaners for the weekend. Those loaders were of course the TSE 24 mm F3.5L Mark II and it's brother the TSE 17 mm F4L. It was a very cold weekend but I still forced myself to go out and try both of them. I traveled to Jasper for the day that was utterly amazed and smitten. My thanks and many of them has to go to CPS Canada, over the last few years they have been fantastic to me.

IMG_0020

The 24 sporting the Lee Filter system, I got to comment on that filter set another day. 

Well I've had difficulties making the final decision when it came to the 17 mm, with the 24 mm there was no pause. I had to have it! And a few months later I did! For me a 24 mm on a full frame camera is a no-brainer. The focal length of 24 mm has been my go to focal length for landscapes for some 30 years, and this Version of the 24 mm to me is absolutely perfect. Not only is it optically perfect but it adds the ability to have Full control [as much as a D SLR can logically provide] to the perspective, and the ability to correct some truly aggravating perspective issues.

_20160916-_7D_3923© www.drewmayphotography.com the tilt and an upward shift, try that with your conventional lens!!

Let's start with a note on construction… it's fantastic!!

The Note applying to the Image quality… astounding!!

The Note applying to the sharpness… sensational!!

Crescent Falls up CloseScrabiling down to the valley of the Bighorn River at the foot of the second deck of Crescent Fall.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com Crescent Falls just "fit" with a TSE-24  

When it comes to any other words that might be used to define the perfection of a lens be it verb or noun, this lens has it in spades. This Lens is without doubt one of the very best I have ever used in my lifetime. To understand the adjustments of this lens dose create a steep learning curve, and that makes it somewhat of a difficult Lens to use. But once you have it down you will never regret owning this piece of Canon perfection.

Brich Trees a studyI have always been fascinated by trees and i continue to experiment with views of a forest.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com if there is a mood of something special it allies seems it is my TSE-24mm F3.5L MKii that took it.

Truly, it is not a very fast 24 mm. It also is a little heavy at 780 g. it is also is a little expensive, as is the same monetary issue that the 17 mm has. But when you figure this lens out, and understand how to use it, it is virtually impossible to beat [at its price point, I am sure the Germans make something much better, They always seem to anyway]. For this price point,[approximately $2100 Canadian give or take] there are cheaper 24 mm but none are better!

Lower Tangle FallsDecided for the first time in a long time to wander down to the lower Tangle Creek Falls. I haven't been there in a long time and it is just as pretty as always.

If you ever go to Tangle Falls, in Jasper NP, take an hour and walk the other way from the crowds. Be careful the walk is a little steep but the view is worth the trip and best of all, I bet you will be completely alone. ;)

© www.drewmayphotography.com

When ever I need to walk into a valley or some place that is a hike to get out of I always choose one lens and almost every time it is the TSE-24

I will continue over the next few weeks to add a few things here and there about my experiences with this lens, the 17 mm and also about my awesomely sharp TSE 90 mm. It seems that there's very little information out there about these TSE lenses and I'd like to help some make a decision to buy one. They clearly are a specialized bunch of lenses but when they're used for what they're designed to be used for they are astounding. To be honest, I think if I included the TSE 45 mm F2.8 I could get rid of all other lenses except my 70 to 200 and I would be covered with every eventuality that I could encounter as a landscape photographer. Stay tuned!

The Colour Overtakes _20150918-_MAY4023the forest is all green above and full of colours at eye level.

© www.drewmayphotography.com Colour everywhere 

Now what I have been doing for the rest of this past week! 

This week I kept relatively close to home, mostly because of a few personal items that I had to deal with, and Lily needed a change of oil and a bath. Lily has been an absolutely fantastic companion and without question fantastic on fuel and she has been truly comfortable. I know that long trip aversion won't last long as I'm planning to take a little tour towards a small forest that I know that should have some serious colour in by now. Stay tuned for those pictures maybe next week. I am thoroughly excited about this, it has my tree orientated mind going a mile a minute.

Km 16825 Cropssing the Athabasca_20160916-_MAY6490Lilly and me crossing the Athabasca River at the Klondike Crossing

© www.drewmayphotography.com Crossing the Athabasca on the Klondike Ferry one of the few remaining ferries in Alberta 

I've been spending a little bit of time trying to figure out the cost structures and all that other business stuff. Not something that the artist mine can easily tolerate but there're things that have to be done. I think there is going to be some need for new cost structure, at a more defined identification of truly limited edition work. Another thing to stay tuned for.

Also last week was the first time that my Facebook fan page reached 3000 followers and stayed there. Some people don't really qualify or quantify any advancements in Facebook as worth anything, butI can tell you for my own personal feelings it feels very good when there is a large group of people who expressed an interest in your work. Sometimes I think people belittle Facebook or any achievement on Facebook because of some form of avarice. To be quite honest I'm getting tired of how people act when somebody else succeeds in something.

Km 16865 Lilly and Me in the Sandhills Ecological Reserve_20160916-_MAY6497Lilly and me in the Fort Assiniboine Sandhills Wildland enjoying a quiet drive in the country looking for autumn colours.

© www.drewmayphotography.com Long dusty road in to the back woods and Lilly did wonderfully. 

I continue Think of some kind of reward for those people who have shown loyalty to me over all these years, Something else to stay tuned for.

The Blue Bells Hold On_20160917-_MAY6563Windy Point David Thompson Country, this place couldnt be more aptly named!! Man it was windy! I had little choise but to raze the ISO and the shudder speed just to stop the movement!

© www.drewmayphotography.com How the Bluebells stay in the ground at "Windy Point" {David Thompson country} is truly beyond me. It was just blasting down the valley on Saturday. 

I also have been debating the course of my life, whether I should stay in this little hick burg that I call home, or run for the hills. Last couple weeks I have been spending some time in the local cities and larger towns. I can say without a pause as a person who likes quiet simple things, City folk are to wound up! They're like a scurrying bunch of ants all going in different directions and the lack of courtesy is absolutely astounding! That alone would make it very difficult for me to live in a larger centre. I sit here in my small little house in my little Town, and I strain to hear anything other than the fan going in the refrigerator upstairs. I suffer from the sound of thundering trucks going by, driven by sexually challenged men. I don't hear or have fear of the teenagers in this town, I actually praise them because they're actually decent young people. Some might say the life in a small town is a special thing, and as time goes on, I'm starting to have that same feeling.

The Trickle in The Forest_20160917-_MAY6635There are some of us who go to one of the most famous locations in the Canadian national Parks and spend hours trying to capture that postcard image. I, just to be difficult, spend more time looking into the forest on the trail that leads to these postcard locations. I don't know why I am drawn to trees in the forest, but for some reason it feels "Just right".

© www.drewmayphotography.com I have hundreds of photos to go though from this past week This is the first one I finished from Saturday in Banff NP more are coming!!

I might have to change this blog to the Lamentations a landscape photographer. :)

Anyway, if there is anything you would like to hear or have my opinion of, feel free to comment. Remember, I live in a small town, any kind of human interaction is interesting. That is until I get into a place where I got a camera in my hand that I don't want people around me at all. :)

No matter what you think your gear is not the best, it is only the best to you, so shut up and shoot!!

We'll talk to you all next week!!

Lilly checking out The Athabasca Pass_20160910-_MAY6203Km 15525 Lilly and me at the foot of Mount Hardisty on a moment of sunshine in Jasper NP.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Km 15525 Lilly and me at the foot of Mount Hardisty on a moment of sunshine in Jasper NP.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I ask you how do you dream about a lens, Get it, use it, fall head over heels in love with the quality, but consistently think you don't use it enough to keep it in the bag. And then when you use the lens that nagging feeling “if you just could zoom in here…” keep revealing an awkward thought in your head. 

IMG_0019Look at that beauty!! Love that glass!! Look at that lovely glass!!!

Well that's has been my experience for the TSE 17 mm. It is truly an absolutely fantastic lens, it is wonderfully sharp, almost distortion free, beautifully built, a dream to use, and almost perfect Image quality. But since I went out and purchased a 16-35mm F2.8 L Mkii, which is not as good not even close, to the 17 mm. It is wonderfully convenient, the 16 to 35mm and it has wonderful autofocus, wonderful weather sealing, lighter, you can use filters, but it just isn't as sharp in the corners as a 17 mm or the TSE24 mm F3.5L Mkii, another lens full of perfection’s, though I have no doubts of any kind where this lens is going to be!  

20140725-IMG_0449 My Tilt-Shift family aren't they beautiful!!

The TSE17 is a wonderful lens and in no way am I putting it down, not even slightly, I am suffering from a struggle of relevance with my work flow. there has been times when the 17mm has shined way above it’s weight and it has lots of that, 820g worth. Add a griped 5D Mkiii and you have some serious weight to lug about. Not only is it optically wonderful is fun to use, so much so you forget the weight.  

Canon has made a classic beauty in this lens, every thing just works and truly beautifully. Every time I turn the focusing ring the quality of a finely built lens screams out. I will tell you Canon did not hold back when they made this lens. Every part of this lens is absolute perfection, from the wonderfully curve of the front element to the tilt and shift controls. It is a leader in a segment of lenses that just isn't being challenged by any manufacturer. 

Before I got this lens I looked all over the inter webs for information, and boy is it sparse. To me it seems that almost no people were buying this lens. Only one lens seem to be worse within the Canon lineup, And that was the TSE 45 mm F2.8 which is another lens I'd like to add to my bag. But when I did find some semblance of some review, it was unprecedented and amazing how much love there was for this lens by those that had obtained it, and also for the 45 mm as well. 

A Extraordinary Yellow DayDrew May Photography Just look at that sweeping loveliness!

I was challenged a while back to use Lightroom to see just what focal length I used the  most and I can tell you without doubt, the 17 mm was nowhere near the top. The lens I use the most, or I should say the focal range, was between 40 mm and 60 mm. I am sure that is a throwback to the older times when the only lens that I had was a 50 mm. Does not lessen the value of the 17 mm? Well I decided to check how many photographs I edited to the end and I held with actually some form of reverence. That told a completely different story where the 17 mm as well as a 24 mm we're very close to holding half of all of my printable imagery. So where does that leave a 17 mm lens?

In my bag!! Maybe…. :)

The Last RaysDrew May Photography

Thing like this just kill doubts.

For I can tell you, without a doubt, the moment I selloff any special lens, the feelings of the needing that lens become greater. I feel this would be greater with the TSE 17 mm, as it is not a generic lens! It is fine to sell off the standard zoom or the every day 50 mm and it is almost easy. Tilt shift lens are specialty items, they fill a niche that is unlike anything else in the photographic world. Owning them and using them makes you different from the rest of the crowd. These lenses force you to slow down, they force you to compose, they force you to scan the scene before you. They force you to search for the elements that truly acknowledge this story you were trying to tell. 

Exalation of the Holy Cross_Drew May Photo20140512_K3_0014-EditExalation of the Holy Cross one more rural Alberta Church that I spent a few hours with. B&W conversion Nik Silver Effects Pro 2 as always. My Canon TSE 17mm F4L in action...loving the lens!!

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography. Standing just a few feet from the cross hand held and shifted a few mm just to straighten thing up a bit.

Tilt shift lenses are far more than just your average 24mm-somthing lens. When these lenses are used properly by somebody who has a vision in their head and patience, they perform like nothing else. Sure you can listen to 1 million other photographers, that will bestow the greatness of their abilities, Online of course. They will make the claim “there is never a need for fine gear because “a great photographer, can make anything work”. This is in someways true but in others completely false. What makes a truly fine photographer is not his gear, Excuse me “his or her” gear. It is the vision that they hold within them, that innermost thought. And when they are truly connected to the vision that they have, fine gear makes it easier for that photographer to express that vision. Fiddling with buttons and inappropriate or poorly designed gear only frustrates the process to the point of misdirecting the vision of art, into the commonality of technology. To be quite honest with you, when people make sweeping statements that are so common in photography, they are more often comments of the jealous or the visually weak.

Sadly in today's world we spent an awful lot of time chasing the next best technological advancement, or harping about Technology with little of any consequence to the art form. I think we do it to fill a void that is within ourselves. And sadly there are large number of “photographers" who spend more time commenting and complementing their gear, only to defend their choice, And sometimes excessively. That they lose the realities of what photography is supposed to be about. 

I sadly know this feeling, the derisive any insulting behaviour of other photographers, Because I didn't have a camera that was part of their club was heartbreaking. I did in time see the weakness of the gear that I had, but I didn't need some inappropriate bully bash the camera that I owned. Especially when I saw serious weakness in their own work and to be quite honest with you, trying not to sound egotistical, substantially lesser than my own.

To the bullies, the Internet Warriors, to those that spend an inordinate amount of time deriding other people's gear, you are nothing more than the village idiot, you contribute nothing of value in photography. If you spend more time on the Internet, then you do taking or editing photographs your opinion is of little value, and You should spend some time looking inwardly and shutting your mouth!

Photography to some it's just simple pleasure, to others it is the ability to express their vision of art. And again there are others that use it simply as a way to record their life's journey. For some people they don't need fancy gear to record pleasure or a journey. But I am not just the average photographer.

I purchased Canons’ TSE 17 mm F4l for a reason that has never changed. It is a tool to help me create and it does it beautifully!  

So in the end what is the answer never ending question?

Will I ever sell my TSE 17mm F4L?

Blazing SunsetI am going though some older images today and finding the images I liked but did not edit. Today it is the sunset on the Morse River, just south of Swan Hills, Alberta. A very slow moving river in an area full of boggs and Muskeg rulled by the mighty Tamarack. The Tamarack is one of those trees I really love and have been working to get that photograph that just make me happy. .

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

if the light keeps doing this I could never turn my back on the lens I dreamt about. 

NEVER!!!

What you haven't figured out by now I have been rather busy the last few months, It's really kind of a personal nature suffice to say, I've been caring for my Mom the last few months, years actually. My mother has finally decided to go into care, it clearly was not the easiest decision she has ever made, but it is for the best, for both of us. The last couple of weeks have been a bit of flurry of driving about and checking out places I haven't been to in years. I almost feel like a man freed, well you don't need to here more Enough of that! 

In the past two weeks I have travelled to Jasper, Grande Cache, Cadomin, the back country north-east of Edmonton and far north west of my town about an hour and a half. I been shooting every other day and I have filled up my files the last part of August in a outbreak of activity. 

A we a bit of the technical; I have restarted to use my EOS 24-105mm F4L lens once again. Have had quite the hiatus from using it. I have been unhappy with it’s softness, and that has bothered me out of proportions. I feel I have been a little sensitive of sharp using my tilts and my 16-35mm f2.8 Mkii, they are very sharp, especially compared to the 24-105. I have done a bunch of calibrations it still remains a little soft but I love the range of this lens, it is just about perfect! 

The range is so good if a very sharp weather sealed lens could be got it would be a one lens solution for a lot of things. Using the copy I have tends to add a little dreamy flavour to a certain images here and there. I will not be re-placing it until I have enough funds, well that will mean I have to sell a few prints, or get a few commissions.  The push is on, and I have loads of free time, so now it comes time to sell my work and very enthusiastically.

The first thing on the mind is the need of a sharp “50” the main reason for breaking out the 24-105. I still spend lots of time feeling the 35mm is to wide, and the 70mm is to tight. For my eye much of my vision is happy at 40mm to 60mm, I thought the 24-105mm would fill that spot, but sadly them damn tilts and there sharpness, contrast, colour….. :) Then I got that EF-s 24mm F2.8 for the 7D and so much happiness came over me I decided to keep the 7d, convincing me the next lens has to be a “50”. 

My first major trip was me just basically driving in a direction. I wanted to drive down a paved road that I had seen in the backcountry I wanted to see what came up at the end. That brought me into the small town of Cadomin after an hour or so of a gravel road after the end of that lovely paved road. I also crossed my favourite river in the province the Pembina. I'm still working on the photographs I'll post those later.

Medicine Lake _20160820-_MAY5207I spent a little time at Medicine Lake during my much needed wamder in Jasper National Park. I had to check out the area that was on fire last year to see what kind of recovery has taken place, the area still makes me breathless!

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Running away from people brings me to one of my "happy spots" in Jasper

My Second major trip in the last two weeks, was in to Jasper National Park, and on to Mount Robson provincial park in British Columbia. I forgot just how busy Jasper and the parks get on a Summer weekend, I won't soon forget that! In the next couple of weeks Autumn shall be falling in Jasper, and the colour should be outstanding and as I was not there last year, so this year is a must.

A Flooded Pathway__20160826-_MAY5599-PanoOn Desjarlais Lake in Pierre Greys Lakes Provincial Park there is a picnic area on a small peninsula. But with that so much rain this year the path to this area has been flooded out the good foot of water.
It is has been well over 30 years since I've been at this location and is just as beautiful as it always has been. I shall return!

© www.drewmayphotography.com

A few days after Jasper I took the drive up to a place that I haven't been to in over 30 years. I remember it as being one of those really beautiful places in this province, that few really know, my memory serves me well, it still is. These two images were taken one north of town and the other south of town. The next few weeks I'm going to be a very busy man capturing is much colour as I possibly can. However the next few weeks I'm going to post photographs here and there as I and my new traveling companion, Lilly the Bright Red Chevy Cruze wander about this province.  

Confluence_20160826-_MAY5426-PanoI spent a few hours in Sulphur Gates Provincial Recreation Area checking out a viewpoint which I haven't seen from many years. Today's shot as a panoramic made up of 12 separate images to create the slight sweet every beautiful location period

Below you see the Smoky River glorious in its mineral green and the confluence of the Sulphur River with its muddy brown colour mingle under the high cliffs and peaks the make up this valley. If you ever get a chance to come to Grande Cashe take the time and visit this recreation area.

http://www.albertaparks.ca/sulphur-gates/information-facilities/

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I got to come back here in the Fall, just think of the colours!!

Refection on Desjarlais Lake_20160826-_MAY5592Refection on Desjarlais Lake

A few days ago I spent the time wandering into my past, I went into Piers Greys Lakes provincial Park. The day was rainy and grey but it made Desjarlais Lake absolutely calm. The water was like a mirror and it reflected the most beautiful sunset hidden behind the clouds.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

The lake was just so much glass!!!

I'm going to continue to try to add To the blog on a regular basis from here on, life is settling. I think it is time for an update on a few of the lenses that I purchased. It is time for me also to voice a few opinions about that horrible conundrum of which camera is best for me going forward. The camera geeks out there know Canon has released its latest addition to the 5D series of cameras and as the 5d it is my go to camera for the work that I do a few thought wouldn't hurt. There has been a lot of opinion spewing about lately and few have a copy of the camera. I still very much adore my mark three and I will never surrender that one for quite a few more years. 

Well this is a catch-up and it's amazingly Sunday this is the day I am supposed to be posting these blogs for you to enjoy. I have been a bad photographer. :)

We will talk to you next week, keep shooting!!!

Cheers

A Flooded Pathway__20160826-_MAY5599-PanoOn Desjarlais Lake in Pierre Greys Lakes Provincial Park there is a picnic area on a small peninsula. But with that so much rain this year the path to this area has been flooded out the good foot of water.
It is has been well over 30 years since I've been at this location and is just as beautiful as it always has been. I shall return!

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I have been doing a lot of wandering over the past couple of weeks. My life is going though some major changes I will be posting a few new images in the next few days and catch up with you all!! 

On Desjarlais Lake in Pierre Greys Lakes Provincial Park there is a picnic area on a small peninsula. But with that so much rain this year the path to this area has been flooded out the good foot of water.
It is has been well over 30 years since I've been at this location and is just as beautiful as it always has been. I shall return!

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Some of you know those of you that have access to my Instagram account, but I purchased a new car last month. And I took it upon myself to record I A few images of this car as a proceed to wander this province. As I always do, I have chosen to name this car Lilly, so say hello to Lilly!

Km 400The new car and the first real trip....okay it was the bank but what the hell.

You can do that in the comments I'd love to hear from you!

Km 2300 at the Rochefort Bridge Over Look Lilly and the Rainbow km 3640Km 3540 Lilly and me wandering about chasing rainbows. :)

© www.drewmayphotography.com Sangudo Valley Km2575© www.drewmayphotography.com IMG_0015 IMG_0016

This one was with Lilly at my side!

A Extraordinary Yellow DayDrew May Photography

I will be posting a photograph from time to time and linking it to a photograph that I took at the location at The photograph of Lilly was taken. So watch out here comes Lilly my little red Chevy Cruz my partner in crime in my photographic journey.

Some people explore small cameras to be their point shoots. And some people know that I been struggling to make the decision what camera I would like to have always with me. I've tried Fuji, and I've tried a smaller Canons, but as I was sitting here thinking about selling a 7D, I thought what a fantastic point-and-shoot. Add the EF-S 24mm F2.8 pancake and what a combo! Yes it is a little heavy, but it's fully controllable, it's exceedingly tough, and it goes forever on one battery. The resolution is fantastic and it blows the doors off of a 1 inch sensor camera. 

Would I be able to use a lot of these images for printing, you bet! Say hello to the old out of date 7D, cheaper and much better than any point and shoot. Does it have wifi well no, can my cell phone control it, i couldn't care less about that, I have a camera in my face not my phone! 

I can say for the first time since I bought this camera….I like my 7D. :)

_Mount William Booth_20150125-_MAY6685Mount William Booth was named after William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, in 1965. It is part of the Ram Range in Alberta, Canada.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Mount William Booth was named after William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, in 1965. It is part of the Ram Range in Alberta, Canada.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Images that I put aside for those times when I feel like working on them. I saw this image as a Black and White and it took me hours to make it even close to my original vision. Moody clouds always make me oh so happy!.

I am building a blog about a lens I almost sold but, after I took it out and made an effort to use it, no way could I sell it. 

Keep shooting! 

Summer Storms in Lac St. AnneAlways in the excitement after a wonderful storm, I am left with dozens of good to great images. The hardest thing is to pick the first one to post.

This day was filled with so much colour and so much drama, not to mention my excitement after every click. There is nothing ever like the feeling of accomplishment of "getting the shot".

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Always in the excitement after a wonderful storm, I am left with dozens of good to great images. The hardest thing is to pick the first one to post.

This day was filled with so much colour and so much drama, not to mention my excitement after every click. There is nothing ever like the feeling of accomplishment of "getting the shot".

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Sich Kolomea, Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the skys' colour._20151231-_MAY3842Sich Kolomea, Ukrainian Orthodox Church on New Years Eve 2015. With only 6 minutes left of 2015, mother nature presented the most wonderful view. The curch is just a few miles aways from Mundare Alberta.

© www.drewmayphotography.com I came upon this church last summer, I thought how wonderfully preserved it is. On New Years eve of 2016 we had a most intense Aurora. I was enjoying my New Year's celebration with out a glass of booze and wondering the back roads of Alberta with a good friend looking for those places to provide the most interesting foreground. 

If you get a chance check out my friends website  http://aragondinaphoto.com there is some great work to see. :) He likes to photographing people more than I do :)

Oh I forgot one of my images has found its way to another site http://www.allsaintsorthodoxchurch.com/sich-kolomea.html

No I haven't left you all hanging, I've been working, Just not in the world of nature and light. I have been shooting the world of local sports for my local newspaper. It is very interesting doing something completely different from landscapes. it's all about making the bills go away, something that never really happens. Isn't modern life grand? 

Well, shooting sports is not really new to me, I have done it for the paper before, a couple of times. Even bigger papers than this local one. I don't really know why I always end up shooting sports, but I'm not complaining at all. it was really cool to have an assignment to complete, and a timeframe do have it done by. It lights a fire under my butt, and makes me see different things, this is always a good.

Today I did get away for a short time, Seeing as the sun was out and afterwards seems like weeks in endless days I've known distinctive lame ass they could be called a sky period I have to admit, would that kind of sky depresses me quite profoundly. I have to admit that as well its very hard for me to find inspiration in the flat grey mass. Today was special, the Sun had burned the clouds away, and presented a blue sky.

I only spent a couple hours wandering, I kept within 10 miles of my home, to be honest, I forgot to fill the gas tank. In keeping with the project that I started out last year I kept within that 10th miles from my home. 

Being that it is winter here in Alberta, and for the last few days, we been covered in humid fog that is not very common here. Ice has gathered on the trees making them look surreal, and strikingly beautiful. Almost makes a guy like winter, well visually anyway. To be honest I love winter, but the pain in my toes, and a searing burning in my fingertips makes one grasp just how wonderful winter can be without the proper clothing.

Trail GlowThe "Glow in the Snow" as sunset approaches. In this latitude in the winter time the Sun is almost always at that "perfect" angle, but just as the sun finishes for the day, after an all to short appearance, is the very best light. All warm and yet it is a cold -12C

© www.drewmayphotography.com

So the first Image is all about the snow on the trail, And the lovely glowing orange light just before the sun dips beneath the horizon. period sunsets up north comes early and take a long time to happen. One could say they are rather leisurely, and give you a enough time to set up and move about. I've been in this forest before and I knew it would look very cool with all the snow and ice so I had to return.

Standing ApartDrew May Photography

Here is an example of that "lazy" sunset and I thought it would look very interesting to photograph with my 400 mm, to gain some compression on the image. For some reason I cannot explain, I decided to use F16, to increase my depth of field, which is of course redundant with a 400mm. But my mind doesn't work that way at times. Even with all the training and experience, my creative brain still tells me that I can achieve something that is totally impossible. But that is the technical running into the creative and at times they don't mesh.

The life of a landscape photographer continues, and as always, I love it!

Enjoy your winter, enjoy your Christmas, Hanukkah Or what ever you celebrate. I wish you all the best keep reading, I will be back.

Cheers, keep shooting,

Drew

This last Saturday I and a friend did a little wandering on the eastern slopes of Alberta. We started by heading directly for the small town of Cadomin. Our main desire was to take a fairly unmaintained road to the Cardinal Divide and get the wide sweeping panoramic of the Valley in the Whitehorse Wildland reserve. It's been 30 years since I have taken this road and I was more interested in finding out if things have really changed much. I also had the advantage of seeing things that I had not seen before, because my friend, Al, was doing all the driving.

It was the first time I was able to see the little ghost town of Mountain Park. The last time I took this road, I drove right by it, without seeing it. You have to remember it was before the Internet, so you had to go to the library or rely on other people's experiences, and you had to know those people, to have any idea what was on this road or that road. In Mountain Park, we spent a little time wandering through the graveyard and reflecting on the fact that it had a fairly large population at one time. And realising that in this province there's a lot of history that we don't know.

Cardiinal Divide__MAY5955-PanoStanding on the precipice looking towards the mountains Tripoli and Cheviot, at the Cardinal Divide. Such wonderful vistas and such a wonderful day truly in only a few weeks this location will be covered in snow.

I have been planning for years to return to this location again. Sadly i could make it at the end of the season. Next year it will be at the height of summer and this field and recovered and flowers.

A Lee 3 stop "soft edge" Grad a Canon TSE 90mm and 48 separate images make up this Panoramic creating an 107" x 20" image at 300dpi; one of my largest images to date.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

The road sadly didn't travel much past the Cardinal Divide. I did not know until I got there, that the road, if you can call it that, had washed out 6 km past the parking lot at the divide. I wasn't upset in the end as it really didn't matter much because it was a very enjoyable place to be, and extremely beautiful location. I will have to return in the spring or the early summer, because when I am told there's quite a large amount of Alpine flowers and the location bursts into colour. If this rumour is true, that alone coupled with the beauty of the location is enough reason for me to return.

Over the Divide___MAY5971Looking over the Cardinal Divide in to the river valleys that move east. Behind me all the rivers flow north to the Artic. I broke the "rules" here shot in harsh day light because I could see the haze selling in the valleys and thoght how could I make that in to a picture.

Well this one took a bunch of "fixing" to make it even close in my eyes. There will defiantly have to be a return trip here, in better light.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

After we spent some time at the divide, we decided to take some time going back up this, road, and see what we could find as we went back. I have to admit there's a great pleasure to being a passenger as I get to see so much I could not hope to see behind the driver's wheel. And we were lucky to find a small waterfall, a collapsing railroad, and a very good reason to return in the summer, spring, fall and hopefully maybe if the road can handle it, winter.

Tranquility ___MAY5992a few second on the shores of Rock Lake, with absolute silence that makes you uncomfortable. The place is just shatering in it's beauty.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

After a little while, with the shadows getting long, we thought it might be an idea find a lake. I had remembered that I looked through a map a few weeks before, and I had seen a Lake that had interested me. The sun was going down there wasn't a large number of clouds so I couldn't see that we are going to get a blistering beautiful orange sunset, but maybe we could get a really interesting foreground, in a beautiful location, that would make up for a beautiful sunset. We drove to Rock Lake provincial park, and I will tell you, without question, this place is stunning. We got there what about Half an hour to spare before the sun dipped beneath the horizon. But the clouds had built up on the horizon so there was little chance of any true colour. So that caused the mind to compose images from the artistic heart.

At this point I will say after all that driving, the dust, the Great conversation, the beautiful day, it was all worth it. Rock Lake what's so silent it was frightening. There was not even a kilometre of wind to rustle the trees, you could hear the pins drop. A treat to the eyes made the entire day Worth every second. There's a great pleasure to be able to share experiences that are a landscape photographer, and Al is an amazing photographer, that I would share any location with this man. :)

Stay tuned next week I'll see what else I can provide you. I thought I might even do some images showing the effects of tilt shift lenses. Remember, to always have a camera at your side and keep on clicking.

Cheers!

Drew

The other day, actually couple weeks ago. I was sitting at home watching little bit of television and my eye caught a flash in the window. Up like a shot I thought i was to catch the next next lightning storm but I wasn't quick enough! The storm has left me in the dust and was to far away to chase after in the failing light, so i thought to stay close to home and catch an absolutely stunning light show.

Mother Natures Gift_20150829-_MAY3615I went out today after seeing a flash in the sky. I did not get the "lightning" shot, but mother nature gave me a few gifts. :)

© www.drewmayphotography.com

As I traveled to the outside edge of town I was greeted by this wonderful Rainbow. I took as a consolation prize for not be able to catch the storm. I decided to stay in town and capture the light that was presenting itself. I've been constantly attempting to catch good light on this elevator to no avail, but this day it was completely different. Remember that Rainbow? :)

Warmth after the Rain© www.drewmayphotography.com

I've been trying to capture good warm light, this day it was more than warm. I was able to wander around the grain elevator just as the sun was going down just as the storm was clearing the sky. It was providence, a gift from the gods, A very happy time.

Spectacular SunsetAfter four days of smole in the sky, the sky opened up rained and cleared just in time for the sun to provide a beautiful sky!

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I decided to frame this photograph with a rails leading off into the distance and just enough light on the facing wall so you could make out which town it is in. This in the end becomes a celebration of this building that has for the last few years truly been looking pretty rough. I found out this summer that someone had actually purchased this building and was restoring it to it's previous glory. This only prompted me to make extra effort to Catch a good photograph and I was presented with fantastic light. I have talked to the owner and brace your self for some interesting images coming. :) That’s all I am going to say right now.

The Sky was Alive _20150829-_MAY3637To those storms that come before sunset and clear just before the sun slips beneath the horizon, it say thanks!!

© www.drewmayphotography.com

With this photograph I wanted to catch part of town and the glorious reds and oranges that were in the sky, it was a wonderful night. If only the weather could do this every Sunset I would be a very happy man.

I just thought I should mention if you're ever interested in finding out what the camera settings are for any particular image all one has to do is hover your mouse over the right hand side of the image. Right or you'll get all the information under the "I button" you know the one right next to the little button shaped like a heart that says you like to photograph.  :) 

Talk to you next week;

Cheers

Drew

I took a look at my website the last few days wondering if it would be Wise to explain how I come up with ideas's and galleries, thats coming. As I am not a horribly technical guy, and the way it is on the Internet these days I don't want to be very technical. Because it seems like there's an awful lot of anal-retentive individuals who feel “geeking out” about their cameras identifies that they actually knowing what they're doing, kind of scares me. 

I have always been of the philosophy that the camera is nothing more than a tool of our vision. And The most important thing to me about the camera tech, is to just understand how it works, and how the camera it's self sees. The editing is an attempt to get the Cameras vision with our artistic vision and combine the two. The anal editing types get all wound up thinking that the photograph should be completely finished within the camera, they're a different group as well quite honest with you, not worth the debate. 

I don't like going on rants about photography, I don't like spending a huge amount of time explaining the merits of this camera over that camera. I'd rather be outside with the wind in my face and a beautiful scene before me, with a good camera, great glass, with a good tripod, and a handful of neutral density filters. Do I care what brand of camera I am using; for the most part, no! Do I care what's glass I use, how sharp it is, how clean it is, how many aspersions it has, how distorted it is, yes! But here's the caveat what it comes to a lens, all these attributes of this lens are so I know how it reacts to the light that's in front of me, not so that I can go around with a fluffed up chest. Hey I own three Tilt shift lenses for a reason, and every other lens sports a "Red Ring", not because I like to brag about them because they are great glass. 

It's time just to get out and shoot, finish reading this then turn off you computer and go outside!

Let's get to what I've been doing over the last few days.

Light in the ValleyJust North of Mayerthorpe after an afternoon storm, Mother Nature provides me some lovly light.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

If you haven't noticed, it's autumn outside, and around here that means harvest. So I have been doing everything in my power over the last few days to Get the ultimate image. I'm not so interested in the farm vehicle working in the field of dust pouring out from the back. I'm looking for patterns, I'm looking for light as it goes across the field, I'm generally looking for a beautiful thing. Clean field that isn't full of extra extraneous plants. That's not to common in todays world of mono agriculture. To me a single clean crop of wheat sure is interesting. The crop cut down and drying in the fields makes the interesting patterns. With me, in the end, even with all the political discussions, questioning the environment, nothing matters more than the picture.

A Field of GoldA field just north of Rochford Bridge an un-harvested field stands waiting for the combine.

This year has been a tough one for our farmers. The grain though ripe is looking small. But the valley is still very pretty. :)

© www.drewmayphotography.com

So these photographs were taken within a very short distance of home. I was out wondering almost every night looking for clean crops. I found this place and set up, and waited for the light to change. In the space of 45 minutes I had four conversations with people driving by. It has always amazed me how country folk are so easy to talk to for the most part. 

Lines of Harvest_20150907-_MAY3691On my way to Thunder Lake i just had to come to a screacing halt when I saw this.

I took this with the cell phone as well just because, there is no contest, the Canon kicks the iPhone to the curb. :)

© www.drewmayphotography.com

This photograph I was driving speedily, along the highway and saw the light strike this field, and had no option. I had to turn around and park, set up and take the picture.

Just remember No one see you work if you hide it on your computer. 

Cheers

Drew

A Ribbon of lightAs i continued to shoot the night sky over the small town of Rochfort Bridge the sky continued to be interesting .

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I have been a little obsessed with the night sky lately. And it seams people have been very interested in my work of late, some major things are on the way for me!!

As I continued to shoot the night sky over the small town of Rochfort Bridge the sky continued to be interesting .

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Warwick still Stands ProudThe project continues with Warwick elevator. there will be a need to return, with different light. :)

© www.drewmayphotography.com

It's been a couple weeks and I have been exceedingly busy it must be autumn. I've been checking out all sorts of different places I shoot at. So I haven't been able to really truly blog in the last little while. So we'll spend a little time and catch up on this one. I have been actively attempting to sell my prints as well as taking images of harvest the colours of autumn. I have also started to teach a small course at the local Library To many jobs to do all at once so something had to give and that was the blog. 

Rainbow in RefectionEarly morning, Jasper National Park, standing on the shores of Jasper Lake. In the far distance light rain create a rainbow which is reflected in the river in front of me.

If this confuses you I'm sorry, It confuses me, This is actually the Athabasca River period it is a wide flat and shallow part of the river in the park. As the river leaves the national park it becomes a very wild river once again.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I spent a little bit of time in Jasper National Park with a friend who did driving gratefully. It's always kind of nice, to be able to look about, when somebody else is driving. It was a long drive comprising of approximately 1200 km. We entered into Jasper just sun was rising so we got some interesting light. There was a light rain storm, creating some interesting patterns in the light. It's rare that I'm able to get into Jasper in the morning, as it is a 3 hour drive from my home. But getting up before 6 o'clock in the morning getting into a car that somebody else's driving, and being able to just sit back, made it so much easier.

Alpine StreamThis stream is fed by the Columbia Ice Fields. I was amazed by the colour in this valley.

© www.drewmayphotography.com Lower Tangle FallsDecided for the first time in a long time to wander down to the lower Tangle Creek Falls. I haven't been there in a long time and it is just as pretty as always.

If you ever go to Tangle Falls, in Jasper NP, take an hour and walk the other way from the crowds. Be careful the walk is a little steep but the view is worth the trip and best of all, I bet you will be completely alone. ;)

© www.drewmayphotography.com

After I got back from Jasper I continued my project to capture images locally that is where the harvest came in. With harvest of course comes all the colours that come with autumn. That makes me feel like a dog hanging outside a moving car window barking at every squirrel that goes by. Harvest hasn't completely finished but it's pretty darn close. The light of autumn I always find to be so wonderful. I find to be warm and clear, and the haze is at its minimum. This makes the Skies clear and crisp. I could say I love autumn far more summer, but of all the seasons in northern Alberta this was the shortest, and the hardest on a landscape photographer. 

On the shores of Jasper LakeWandering up the shore of Jasper lake one morning I came upon an interesting half buried tree and I had to stop.

I have no idea why they call this part of the Athabasca River "Jasper Lake" it is certainly wide enough, but it acts like a river in every way :)

© www.drewmayphotography.com

With all this running about camera in hand and with the portfolio as well, I discovered a river that I am going continue To photograph. It wasn't a large leap for me, I have been thinking about it for quite a while now. But I'll post a photograph today and tell you it's the..... Pembina River.

The Pembina has quite a long course and goes from an extremely wild River in the mountains, to a placid reflective and slow old meandering river. Before it fades into the Athabasca river which heads north to join other rivers to the Arctic Ocean. I am not going to go up to the Arctic Ocean, at least not this month, but I will do some work on the tributaries that feed the great Mackenzie River.

The Sky Reflecting on The PembinaStanding on one of the many bridges over the Pembina River as tha sun sets. The final "blaze" before the "blue hour" that last like 15 minutes this time of year. :)

If you haven't figured it out, the sun is setting to the far off right, The lesson here; turn your head when the sun goes down or rises you might see more colour opposite of what is in front of you.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I also have been doing a little bit of Farm photography and a few photographs for the latest auroras but before I post Auroras or the farm photographs, I'm going to give myself a reason to put another blog, out for you. 

So that's a quick catch-up, we'll talk to you again very soon keep shooting.

Cheers

Drew

The Last DramaFinding images that need to be edited and got missed. The final light and the powerful storm that moved away bringing out lovely fleeting colours.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Finding images that need to be edited and got missed. The final light and the powerful storm that moved away bringing out lovely fleeting colours.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Trying to direct some people over to Fine Art America as well for printing. here is the direct link.

<a href="http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/landscape/canvas+prints" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">landscape canvas prints and landscape canvas art for sale</a>

the IPhone Panopictures with the cell phone

pictures with the cell phone. I have been playing a lot more with my iPhone of late. I would say I was impressed with the camera but I can't it not my Canon

Lightning over the PaddleThis morning the sky was rumbling and I was in the need to capture a lightning shot. So at 2:30 AM i packed my bag, gave my Mom a kiss good bye, and off to the Paddle Reservoir. Mother nature complied with very very many bolts of lightning striking nearby and overhead. All in all it was a good morning the best I've had in many months.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

This morning the sky was rumbling and I was in the need to capture a lightning shot. So at 2:30 AM i packed my bag, gave my Mom a kiss good bye, and off to the Paddle Reservoir. Mother nature complied with very very many bolts of lightning striking nearby and overhead. All in all it was a good morning the best I've had in many months.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Light in the ValleyJust North of Mayerthorpe after an afternoon storm, Mother Nature provides me some lovly light.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Just North of Mayerthorpe after an afternoon storm, Mother Nature provides me some lovly light.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Bardo at SunsetBardo is or was a town and it has long gone. all that remains is the elevator. The railway was removed in the 60's and the land around the elevator was sold off.

I was out wandering with my friend yesterday and as always out looking for Grain Elevators. We went looking for Bardo and low and behold it remains standing. Shauna had the courage to talk to the farmer who own the property as I am to chicken to bother people after dinner, ya Shauna!

© www.drewmayphotography.com

As i set up for the longer Blog on yesterdays travels....

Bardo is or was a town and it has long gone. all that remains is the elevator. The railway was removed in the 60's and the land around the elevator was sold off.

I was out wandering with my friend yesterday and as always out looking for Grain Elivators. We went looking for Bardo and low and behold it remains standing. Shauna had the courage to talk to the farmer who own the property as I am to chicken to bother people after dinner, ya Shauna!

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Thor's TridentOne more from a lighting shower from a few days ago. I was amazed when i really looked at this image I saw a bird in flight. And you can see it too, just left of the right hand bolt at the major bend down.

Come on down for visit! See what real prints look like.

:-)

Keep shooting

Drew

Enjoy and hope to see you many times!

At the Edge of Kooteney PlainsA many image Pano facing south west toward Banff NP. There are mountains in Alberta that are not ina national Park. :)

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

The Images that I will be posting in this gallery are not just standard Panoramic's, they're a multishot panoramic's that are stitched together in Photoshop.

Scraping the SkyThis is a one of those big Pano's that I do. Using a TSE 90mm f2.8 {wonderfully sharp lens} i combined 28 images. spent hours and hours to correct and clean up,. Three moutaians are presented, to the right, The White Pyramid, Howes Peak covered in clouds, and Aiguille, and Aries peaks repectivly.

A return trip to Banff is defiantly on the books!

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In the next little while I will also give you some information and opinions about Adobe LightroomAnd their new attachment for multi shot Panoramic's, so far not so bad.

:-)

Keep shooting talk to you soon!

Drew

Just a quick note before I go on;

I will be selling prints at the Stoney Plain Art Walk on Canada Day, I would love to meet more of my supporters!

http://www.stonyplainartwalk.com

There's also little update on the lens selection within Drew May Photography. The last couple of weeks.... okay months, I picked up a 400 mm F5 .6L and be honest with you it's wonderful and sharp. Its main task is going to be for birds, and wild animals, okay and landscapes. I also was able to pick up a 16-35mm F2.8L Mkii, it hasn't left my camera much at all, since the day I picked it up. I have to say I'm very fond of it. I also picked up after selling a couple of lenses a 70-200mm F4L, and I have to say that is a beautiful lenses well. I knew I had to round out my equipment for two basic tasks, one being landscapes which is where the tilt shift lens will reside. The other Group of lenses being more orientated toward wild life and general purpose photography that's where the sealed and zoom lenses will sing. I could almost say honestly I think I've got the whole kit and I will not need any extras. This summer is going to be interesting. 

Rays from Pyramid MountainPyramid Mountain has always been one of those magical places in Jasper National Park. Crystal clear Lake, a beautiful peak, and besr of all, few crowds. Every one that vists the mountain Parks should take a trip up to this location. :)

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

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I was seriously considering purchasing Canon's 5DSR, This year, But decided against it. This year is going to be about making enough money to survive. And to that end I will be doing a fair number of local art shows and venturing into a few ideas that I have two increase my income. Canon 5D SR would have been very interesting but for now, I still have a great attachment to my 5D Mark III it's a beautiful camera and to be honest I don't need much bigger in the megapixel wars.

Lightning across the Prairie.Copyright: www.drewmayphoto.ca

So far I've done quite a few excursions, mostly just to wander for the sake of wandering, but I've been able to catch some beautiful reflections. I have returned to many of the places I have been before, as normal. I looked at them in a completely different way thanks to the 16-35 F2.8L Mkii. This doesn't mean that by tilt shift lens's are going to remain in the bag forever! It's a new lens and I have to use it to to get used to it. So with the storm season in full swing 16-35 is going to be a great advantage simply because it is the weather sealed. I don't have a lot of weather sealed lenses, I know I needed to correct that this year, I have done so.

Movement in The FieldsA field is wipped up just before the sky's open.

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© www.drewmayphotography.com

So the summer begins, sadly it is horribly short, and so much needs to be done, In such a short space of time. But I must have some adventure but I must make the effort travel To locations within this province but I haven't been to and oh so very long. There are few places within the province of Alberta that I haven't been to. I have seeing this 60th parallel and I've seen the American border but almost everything in between but there're always little corners, Little looks and crannies, that can create some beauty, And that is my job as a photographer, because I call myself a fine art landscape photographer. It sounds awfully pretentious I know but in the last year and a half since I decided to center my entire Direction to landscape photography, I have noticed a massive difference and how people perceive me. For anyone is just starting out, It's very important to understand your equipment and all the aspects of photography itself before you decide which direction you're going to go into. But From my own experience I have found identifying what you would like to do, Is far more important than just being a general photographer. Bed To be totally honest, I would rather do landscape photography then anything else!

So!

This summer get your cameras out Endure the heat, swat a few mosquitoes, and enjoy this summer!

Happy shooting!

Drew

Lessard Lake SunsetDrew May Photography

Summer sunsets bring simple beauty and having a lake reflect it only adds to the wonder. :)

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Summer is here! So it's time to do a little blog stay tuned!

Hard Luck FallsHard Luck Canyon is just south of Whitecourt Alberta. Kind of one of those things the locals know about. I was here about 8 Years ago and I had to return, just woke up today and though way not. :)

I was in for quite a surprize, the area is now developed and easy to get to. It use to be quite a risk to get down into the valley, now it is a set of stares.

Sweet there will be a return for sure!

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Hard Luck Canyon is just south of Whitecourt Alberta. Kind of one of those things the locals know about. I was here about 8 Years ago and I had to return, just woke up today and though why not. :)

I was in for quite a surprize, the area is now developed and easy to get to. It use to be quite a risk to get down into the valley, now it is a set of stares.

Sweet there will be a return for sure!

I will be creating a gallery for just this location and break up the Gallery of "Water in Motion" stay tuned. 

Keep shooting!!

Drew

On top Of Crescent FallsGoing though the old files and I am finding images that have been finished but not posted.

Going though the old files and I am finding images that have been finished but not posted.

What are the many good reasons to actually keep all your raw files, It seems like this is one. I took this photograph 3 years ago in an area that I truly love, In the province of Alberta. As a landscape photographer there're are few places in my mind, that are more dramatic than David Thompson County.

We have the strong almost desert light conditions, Next hi Alpine peaks, As well as deep River Valley's, strong mountain streams, loads of animal life. A bevie of interesting things. I could spend a lifetime here and still not capture a tenth of the area. It's a place that I'll return to, till I am old and grey.  

From an Alberta landscape photographer,

And a Canon lover,

Cheers keep shooting we'll talk to you soon!

20141101-IMG_0521No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I will admit it's been somewhat of a learning curve not only because it is an ultra wide. But also because It's an ultra wide tilt shift it's going to take me a little while to get it worked out in my head. And I've taken a lot of images using it, but Not quite enough to fully get every aspect of this lens. What I have taken with it I have got nothing but spectacular results! This is a fantastic lens, supremely well-built, wonderfully sharp, with only the slightest softness in the edges. To be honest with you being a superwide and having slightly soft edges that's not too much to ask. It is expensive that is for sure but for me I don't mind. To be honest with you I think if I got a 45mm in the tool chest I think my kit would be complete, i would not need any other lenses. The only question I would have how are they going to hold up against the new 5DSR which I have decided to put off ordering, for now. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Right now I have TSE 17mm F4L, a TSE 24 mm F3.5L, and to round off the family TES E 90 mm F2 .8.The 90 mm I am using it for all lot of Panoramic's, it is wonderfully sharp and just as well-built as both a 17 and 24 mm. The only problem is the tilt and shift are on the opposite Plain until change it manually by removing the four screws that hold the mount on, and giving it a 90° twist. That's exactly what I did after the first two days of owning it. The greatest debate is whether I should get the 45 mm F2 .8 or wait for the new, [Canon has alluded to a rumor that they were retooling the 45 and 90 mm] it's a difficult decision. And it definitely will lighten my load of gear to carry with only four lenses that I would use. I have found it quite nice to actually manual focus as well, but it's clear the viewfinder is not designed for manual focus. But useing live view works well and that solves that problem.

20140725-IMG_0449 I have read lots of people complaining, that because the front element, filters were out of the question. In fact Lee had come up with a wonderful way of making it work with their system. It does vignette when you shift the lens around 6 mm or more. And it's much worse if you put their polarizing filter on, or stack more than one filter. But it does work and it does allow graduated filters to be used, and it's not so big.

20140429-IMG_0395

This is the system mounted directly on my TSE 24 mm F 3.5L. I really like this system, all in all. Just received a hard edge grad a week or so ago, just in time for summer in the lovely light we get here.

http://www.leefilters.com/index.php/camera/system

Stay tuned for the next report I have much more work to do with this lens and I have a new one being added to the next month or so.

Cheers and keep shooting:

Drew

Colours over the Paddle RiverJust a few blocks from Home this little river reflects tonights lovely light.

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wispsNo modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com LightsNo modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

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As far as exposure is concerned there's nothing really special here, all are been all have been shot with Canons TSE-17mm f4L. ISO 3200, 8 to 13 seconds and F4 or F5.6, nothing special. But a very good tripod is essential and if you haven't got one that's where the mistake start.

So stay tuned, I have a lovely little dark location already worked out in my mind, and it looks like it's going to be good night as well tonight.

Cheers:

Keep shooting:

Drew

A golden springNo modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com Fields aren't green yet!

The End of an EraStanding on the defunct ralway bed in Elk Point Alberta, the Grain Elevator remains a proud reminder of differing times.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com But the skies are getting pretty!

KaleidoscopeClouds and Northern lights makes the sky spectacular!

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© www.drewmayphotography.com It means I'll go outside of the night!

The Front EndNo modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com You know I can find things that arn't buried in snow.

I am also going to be doing some changes to the galleries and the website, So be prepared for some changes.

And as always, comments, compliments and complaints are always welcome.

I have a question for you; For those of you read this blog what would you like to see? Would you like to see more technical information? Would you like to see you somehow to's? How about how did I get the photograph, What I went through what I had to do? It's all up to you gang, I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Keep snapping,

Cheers

And one more, Okay two things I'm going to do, we're going to be checking out more lightning this year, and Looking for more rural life and how it is been affected by time.

this old house.No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com So this really is the ending cheers!

The first day was more spending time with a friend and enjoying just being with him. Got some very good photographs from the day and to be quite honest with you the day was absolutely beautiful. Clear sunny day the very few clouds, and to be honest a little cold. Day two was a different event altogether. I decided to go home in a different way, the long way home.

I wandered straight into Banff itself passed by the towns, Banff, and Lake Louise, headed straight up Highway 93. I thought I would go visit some other places that many people visit, and get the common photographs that everyone does. I always understand the desire for some people to get photographs of the places they've visited, and record your holiday any way possible, there's no insult to that. But for me, I have to get something different, it is who I am.

Above Hector Lake {Blanck and White}Drew May Photography

As the first day was sunny and beautiful, The second day was still beautiful there was a lovely full clouds. It seemed as if the mountains we're tearing the clouds apart, or the clouds are trying to envelop the peaks. I saw black and white in almost every image and I decided to record to suit that reality. So what you'll see here's a few images from that day, the second day. They're definitely has to be a time I return and spend a day or two, or week, an experienced Banff once again.

Signing off, Spring is coming, and the cameras are ready to click.

Cheers! See you next time, keep smiling, keep shooting!

A Carpet of YellowI did a little wandering in a wood that is just behind my house. Autumn is such a beautiful time and sadly so short here.

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To that end over the last three weeks I have kept with in 30 km of my home. I have done my very best to remain within those constraints. Luckily I have a friend has completely untouched piece of land, and they're kind enough to loan me a quad too wander. These few images are an example of just that type of work. 

Natural PatternsDrew May Photography

I've always had a love of trees the patterns they create and how they seem to find willy-nilly ways of expressing their own position. Everybody takes a photograph that involves a direct shot straight up through the trees toward the sky, I wanted to try something a little different. I'm always trying to do something little different. 

The Valley Of the Pembina RiverI have been here a few times but this time i wanted to come fully prepared and equipped with the big "guns". 27 image Pano makes up this image and done with a TSE 90mm f2.8 makes the detail massive. as well as the finished print.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

Spending a little but of time and this friend of mines farmyard I went back to the places I have been to before. I went there first six years ago with an Olympus E-3, And upon inspection of those images with the eyes that I have now, developed from many years of playing with digital, I truly understand why I switched to Canon. The detail is about 10 times what was before and it is truly a sharp Image now. A lot of that has to do with very expensive Tilt-Shift lenses but I don't know where I would be without them now, that I have fallen in love with them. 

I am now attempting to get a greater amount of exposure, not only because it's needed, but because I am truly distracted and dismayed with the consistent state of photographs that involve people. I'm afraid this is going to get to be a little bit of a rant but please forgive me. The present expectations of those clients today this extensively higher than it used to be. Not only in the quality of the image though they don't understand what that truly means, but in was extensive competition in the fields that I aspire to. I truly love weddings, I love photographing them, And being part of a very special day but the absolute disenchantment, [for lack of a better word] with paying and appropriate amount of money for the work that is involved by somebody who takes great care is waning. There are many sites filled with photographers that are willing to photograph a wedding for peanuts makes it difficult to quantify my work. Don't get me wrong I don't mind competition, but competition has to be intelligent. It will come back to the way it was I'm sure in time, but until that time I will restrict my wedding, portrait, and family photography to a bare minimum. I will pursue my first and greatest love, which is landscape photography. To me there is nothing greater than being able to wander a forest, walk up the mountain trail and behold the beauty that is nature. And that's why this website is dedicated to landscape  photography, and let other website, Which needs a large amount of work to bring it up to date, remain in place. If you want to check it out Head on over to www.drewmayphoto.ca Love to see you there but most important support this one because if I have my way, this one's going to be the one that carries on. 

Keep on shooting Will talk to you later 

Drew

Crescent Falls up CloseScrabiling down to the valley of the Bighorn River at the foot of the second deck of Crescent Fall.

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© www.drewmayphotography.com

Yellow before SiffleurMy whole trip to David Thompson County was about colour for me, it is good I found some. :)

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Also decided to take a little scroll towards Siffleur Falls but the rumours of bears and approaching darkness, Made us change our minds. But I still got A shot but I enjoyed. I also spent some time in another of my favourite locations, Swan Hills. But that's the next blog.

The path to Elbe PeakThe trail to Siffleur Falls, Edbe Peak get perfectly framed. One of the most beautiful locations in Alberta is the Kooteney Plains well worth a visit.

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© www.drewmayphotography.com

But as this is a Landscape blog, we can't spend too much time with people that would be just wrong.  :-) 

Last Thursday I and a friend wandered the northern part of Alberta, well not the extreme northern part of Alberta, just North of Edmonton. So for the adventure let's get started. At first we started to move towards north west of Edmonton close to where I live, but as I was wandering around with my friend, I just wasn't inspired. So on a whim, I pointed my car East and headed for A road I haven't driven for 30 years. And just let me get this out right now, I'm a fool for not going there more often. I headed for a small town called Rochester, I remembered it as being the centre roughly, of the Tawatinaw Valley. And to be straight here this is one of the most beautiful valleys that exist in this province and I just haven't visited enough. Over the next few months that's going to change. 

So it the initial run over to the valley I found myself coming to a quick halt. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the most glorious light striking a harvested field. Quickly turned around and headed back to the spot that I saw this light, Unfortunately as I got there the light went dead and it just wasn't good enough. Crossing my fingers and hoping the best, I waited a few moments put the camera on a tripod, Like always, mounted my TSE 90 mm F2 .8 and waited. I was awarded this image and I think the gods. There is very little processing of this image. The white balance was set to “cloudy day” in Lightroom, crank up the contrast a touch. Added a touch of clarity did my normal shadows highlight work, which I do with every Image that I do. I found I have a dusty sensor, that will be rectified before the next trip, removed those little spots, and added I hint of Vignette, done! I could never be accused as a person that over processes, I hate spending hours in Photoshop.   :-)

Stubble and the CloudsWhile driving around i recognized this lovely light across a harvested field, had to screech to a stop and return to the location.

Another form of the gods light.

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So off to the next photograph, which is the valley in question, it represents 18 stitched together images in Photoshop to create this picture. And let me tell you it was/is a large image. Not a tremendous amount of processing pretty much standard fair for me, and most of it done in Lightroom to finish it off. 

The last image is in the town of the valley gets its name. I don't know what the domination of the church is, I'm assuming it's Ukrainian Catholic. Unfortunately without a sign to confirm it, or priest, I have to leave it as a question mark. And as far as the processing is concerned I'm going to do a blog just on how I do my black-and-white process. Because it's pretty much the same for every image but it doesn't really change much. 

So this week I have planned at least two ”Photo wanders" one for sure into the David Thompson County just to catch the colours and maybe a short excursion in to Banff National Park, so stay tuned for next weeks blog. I might just add this blog to Google as well just to increase the audience. 

Keep shooting Will talk to you next week! 

Cheers 

Well hello folks;

It's been a while since I've done a blog. I decided to take a little break from social media, And I'm afraid it extended to my website as well I promise I won't let that happen to often. So tonight's little blog will be more of a reality of catching up going through a few images that I've taken in the last couple of weeks. Doing a short blurb on what happened and making every effort to continue to do these on a weekly basis at the very least. 

Where do I start: 

Well to start with I got a new lens! Yes it is a Canon and I'm sorry to my Nikon readers. The new lens well, it is another tilt shift it is TSE 90 mm F2 .8 I have to say blisteringly sharp. Don't know how much I'm going to use it but to be honest with you I can see it being used lots for intimate portraiture and intimate landscape. It will make a fantastic portrait lens, and the ability to select focus beyond all other lenses I doubt will be beatable. Now to actually find the model worthy to get me away from landscapes.

The fields Play with the light.No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

The last little while I have going on a fair number of little trip's, I've got enough photo walk with a bunch of nerd geeky friends. Spent some time in the eastern slopes during a rainstorm wandered about the country A number of times and tried out my new 90 mm as well as the further adventures with TSE 17 mm F4L. One more TSE lenses and I will have the whole family, As long as Canon add a new one. :-) I have to say they really do slow me down and this is always a good thing but with the rain or dusty situations not a good thing. 

I just noticed in actuality, it's been a month since I last bloged. And that is too far too long. Mostly it's the blog after so much time has passed kind of makes a long drawn out thing. And I can have some difficulty not being long-winded. 

So let's get started I'm bound to miss a few things. But in time I'm sure I'll catch up as I am as I go along, I keep coming back and re-editing the same set of files over and over again. So let's just jump in on the trip I took with a friend of mine, Ian, as he and I traveled south and took him to the place I have gone to now four times. It's the roundhouse the abandoned one, At Big Valley Alberta. To me it looks like a modern Stonehenge really got some interesting shapes. And I truly think it is a haunted place. I kind of hoped that there was far more stuff left around like tools and stuff but, there's only a very limited number of things to photograph in that way, beyond the grand landscape. But I'm sure if you spent a lot of time there you would find little things that would interest you. So far I've only been there a total of 10 hours I need more time. :-)

We did some extra wandering about in the Drumheller area and got some interesting shots of some old buildings and some sweeping landscapes. I got a print sale out of it, so that's not too bad. Made me happy to actually created image that brought back some memories. I hope the new owner Will enjoy it the rest of their lives. 

Spent some time wandering about in the country as well and spent a little time on the eastern slopes, and Jasper National Park. 

Just a short note on the quality of the lenses that I've bought in the last little while, the TSE 17 mm and the TSC 90 mm. These lenses are built to very very high-quality. I said I would give you a little short snippets on the 17mm as I go through the summer, I have to say, it's become one of my favourites in more ways than one. It hasn't replaced my TSE 24 mm, but it's definitely being used and it is incredibly sharp. As far as the tilting aspect is concerned, being so wide it is almost unnecessary, I have to be honest. But I'm sure it will be found of value in the future as I start to use it more for the intimate landscape. Now the 90 mm is way beyond what I expected. It is incredibly sharp, It's build quality is truly "L" Quality. I am not sure why Canon didn't give it a red ring, but it deserves it. More of that later!

So this is getting a little bit too long-winded even for me. It seems redundant to carry-on and give you every step-by-step action over the last month, All-in-one blog, So what I'm going to do is give you little short snippets from here on. 

Nice to be back, and I promise I'll keep this up a little more often. 

Cheers all!

I was watching sky very intently looking for the light to change. The light was quite harsh for the most part but just one hour before as always, mother nature provided me some colour. I felt my little location of the side of the road of all places, you provided me something different from the bland and fields, and farms. 

The land South East of Edmonton is quite swampy lots of little pot lakes, and ponds. It's not horribly flat as well, I'm quite shocked that the Pioneers did not drain the area for farming. maybe the land truly wasn't worth clearing completely but all the better for the birds and we photo types. :)

Ranbow Over a PondWandering south of Edmonton Alberta, one of the many summer showers flys past later in the day.

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© www.drewmayphotography.com

The picture you see here, “Rainbow over a Pond” I tracked for a good 45 minutes looking location set up, and for the light to “warm up” a bit. The storm never developed in to any thing serious just a little summer shower with a bit of colour. I tried a hand held panorama as well but learned a a lesson to slow down when I shoot them. It is not as sharp as I like it so that one no one sees :) as a print. 

First image I will talk about: Balance, it's the latest image I have taken. I took it in a quest of a serious storm that never did happen. It's taken on the shores of Lake Isle Alberta Canada one of the many lakes I spent a lot of time around. There's not a lot of good locations this late, but this one I kind of fell into, I remember this is a campsite long-ago. Now the campsite is closed down and nobody visits, but it makes a wonderful place for photographers.

Next photograph: I call it Soft Colours, it is an image of a lake that has a very strange name originally, It was called in times past, Buffalo Chip Lake. Today it is just shortened to Chip Lake. Don't want to anger anybody's gentle sensibilities, So we'll just keep calling it Chip Lake. Quite a large lake but quite shallow, doesn't have a tremendous amount of access as well but I found a few spots, and I'll be going back as I do over and over again. This image is very different for me, it's soft, I actually softened the image. That's not something I normally do but I love the mood that it created.

Third photograph is called; Alberta Lake and Sunset, is another review of Lake Isle. The sky was much warmer earlier, And I had a spectacular sunset, but I did is I always do I hung around for another hour. And now I am graced with an image that has such subtle colours, and water of glass the perfect reflector.

Alberta lake and SunsetSun is setting the colours are just exploding and the bugs...man the bugs!

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© www.drewmayphotography.com

This brings us to the last image title: Reflections of Reds. It's a little Lake call Sandy Beach, the lake is more of a sough, that it is a lake. As it's relatively shallow but I was chasing A storm that evening, but I really didn't get any lightning that night so I was looking for someplace to capture the sunset. So I stopped at Sandy Beach, spent some time watching the sunset, and enjoyed the vibrant and brilliant colours mother nature provided me. 

So this week I had a interesting little time at an art show in a small town called Stony Plain, I enjoyed it a lot. It’s kind of nice to have people actually coming to see the finished product. For me it was also very nice to get some input on what I am printing, it's very positive that allows me to see what is popular, not so much the images themselves because they're all received praise. More along the lines of the ratios of the prints, Standard 8 x 10 and didn't hold much interest but the one and only Canvas that I had people from across the park coming directly to my booth. The whole day gave me the clues that will provide me direction for the rest of the summer. And what I should continue to create. This canvas wasn't additional print it was a mere 10 inches tall and 40 inches wide, I am sure it was the odd ratios that drew people by. 

As you can see I have a interest in the Panoramic this is a good thing for me it enforces are or should I say reinforces, that the panoramic or or the long and thin print is very interesting to peoples eyes. Now the goal for this summer, is to print on find paper, art papers, Panoramas and put them under fine frames for the next show and hopefully there'll be a greater interest.

Well that's all for now, next week will do a little more exploration as I'm hoping to get to Jasper National Park, for a day trip and I'm also going to make a point of going to Elk Island National Park tomorrow and we'll see what mother nature has to provide. 

Keep on shooting!!! 

Cheers, ciao for now! :-)

This time I was able to go down and meet with a friend who is able to show me parts of this area that had never known existed. I have to say it was quite interesting to find something that I didn’t know in the area, an even better to be able to photograph. It was a sunny clear Alberta day, without a cloud in the sky. It wasn’t until later in the day the clouds rolled in and provided some beautiful light. 

 Starting the day, we spent time finding moving water, one of my happiest subjects, and learning how to hike once again. I truly have realized that I am out of shape, and need to walk a lot more than I have been. Looks like this summer might be some health nut or health kick, in plan. Can’t say that would be bad that I will forever hate to give up pizza, And most importantly chicken wings.:-)

Today I’m only going to give you A couple of photographs to look at, this way I leave myself open to add a little bit more as I go along. I noticed that some people’s blogs are quite short usually just a single sentence at a picture, I would like to provide you a little more than just that. 

So let’s get this blog going with the very first photograph, which is actually pretty close to the last one I shot that day. Just as the sun was starting to slip behind the mountains and yes the mountains in Banff National Park, Which we are not that far away from. Colours started to show through, I thought it’s time to be A little old-fashioned and increase the saturation. I saw this image much like I would’ve got with one of my favorite films of the day, Kodachrome 25 ASA. I truly loved that film, I was sad to see it go he would’ve been the only film to keep me shooting film. I loved the fact that it was slow and almost grain free, I loved the fact that it slowed me down, And it was truly a beautifully saturated film. 

So with this image the sun has just dropped a little been behind the mountains, as you can see the shadows, and at the base of the tree that’s in the foreground, you can see a blaze of red that existed in the rock. There’s no question I will have to return to this location and explore it a little more, I might even take the entire day, just to get something interesting. The trees are truly interesting here, they are twisted and weathered from the wind, which is a constant feature in this valley. The exposed wood of these trees has so much texture is truly inspiring just on it’s own.

So first image I call “A View across the north Saskatchewan”. The original image that was taken, was shot purposely a little flat, Because I was going to edited in Lightroom and add to the saturation, So would look much like Kodachrome in the day. So I wanted it to be as neutral as possible so I could bring it to the visual that I saw.

The next image is if you have a small waterfall near the beginning of the reservoir. It is truly a seasonal waterfall, so if you don’t get there soon you’ll have to wait till next year to see it in action. I decided that it was a good idea to try out the new Lee ”Big stopper” 10 stop filter, to get the wispy water effect that we landscape photographers so prize. 

A little fallsA little gem in David Thompson County Alberta, Canada.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

So that’s all for today as I continue to edit the remainder from my little excursion into David Thompson County, I am sure to add a few more for your enjoyment of those might be the short Little blurbs.:-) 

Cheers!! 

Keep your cameras Humming!! 

Drew

So if you haven’t noticed I spent a lot of time looking for lightning and bad storms. I guess I’m searching for drama, In the sky and in my life I guess. Being a landscape photographer, it’s very important to look for drama. What makes an excellent image, in my mind is a lot of visuals, something for your eye to grab onto. I love creating an image that people will enjoy, It’s not always about me, But it’s very important that my eye is intrigued. Reality that’s quite obvious. 

So throughout this summer, I’m going to be chasing storms, looking for that ultimate image that will complement my vision. It will have to, bring not only pleasure to your eyes, but bring pleasure to my heart. So today I thought it would be good, to talk a little bit about what it takes to capture some of these images, I have got it I’m about to get this summer. 

So I’ll start with the first one this was called Prairie Light, it is very popular on 500 PX. With in the area of almost 40,000 views. I’m rather proud of it to be honest with you. I never thought it would get that much play at all, but I’ll accept whatever play it does get. :-) But I bet you’re wondering how I was able to capture a lightning bolts in the middle of the day. Well it’s quite simple called the lightning trigger I’ve talked about them before, but let’s get a little bit more in-depth. There are varying types of triggers available right now, some are very inexpensive, some are very expensive. But strangely enough of them have seen, do not have any form of weather sealing. I wonder if that’s to keep you out of the rain and away from the lightning, or just because they’re too cheap to seal it. 

Which one do I have? 

 Patch Master: http://www.pmgadgets.net 

But here are some links to others;

http://www.lightningtrigger.com/Tips.html

http://www.aeophoto.com

http://www.nerotrigger.com

Here is a DIY just because,

http://www.solorb.com/elect/lightning/

Understand I’m not four or against any lightning trigger, I am sure they’re all equally good, this is just happens to be the one that I use. There’s even a DIY on YouTube and online with a little bit of searching you can make of your own. 

So what what else is needed well, the good camera doesn’t hurt something that can take a little bit of rain. So that means it means some form of weather sealing. You’re not going to dunk it in the water, but there is a possibility they might get rained on. Don’t forget your lens needs to be sealed as well. 

Well it is up to you if you feel you don’t need a lightning trigger. it does keep your camera from shooting endless photographs. But I’ll give you that other method right now, Just so you don’t think that I’m only for lightning triggers. The other method involves constant shutter releasing. First set your camera to manual, and set it to continuous shutter activation. If you have a cable release all you would do is plug it into the camera set into relatively long shutter speed so this means you have to be at night, or have ND filters. Put your camera it on a tripod. Point your camera at the coming storm, compose. Press the shutter for your cable release, lock it in place. I almost forgot lock your camera focus to infinity and lock on manual focus. 

From here on you’re at the mercy of nature.:-) 

You see simple, but can you imagine a half hour lightning shower and your camera going off every 20 seconds or so. That’s going to leave you with hundreds and hundreds of images with no lightning in them at all. And you’re going to have to go through each and everyone, to see if you captured something. But if you’re really lucky you might get one or two bolts in the same 20 or 30 or 15{what ever is needed} second exposure. So now you understand why I use trigger, it’s a great investment for $100. I But it does work, and it is a way to try it out so give it a shot. You might like it. But please at all costs be safe and don’t be stupid! :-) 

So this next image is the last one that I got, that I think is worthy, from the last little wondering I did last Saturday night. Scene was getting very dark and 20 seconds was not enough to expose the scene, But that was my plan. I wanted as much darkness I think it adds to the mood. When you don’t see is the effect of what is referred to, As mirror slap. If you can lock your mirror before your exposure to it, get using live you or actually shooting your beer first. You may not notice any vibration in your lightning itself or the surrounding area but any extraneous light will show a slight motion. 

One of the things I see a lot of lightning shooters do is not compose the image. They use the lightning as the complete directions of the image, as if it is the entire image. To me there has to be some form of leading line, or something in the foreground, but that’s the landscape photographer in me. Please don’t forget about your composition is if the lightning wasn’t even there, It makes a beautiful image with the lightning added to it as well. 

So for the next little while I will be chasing storms and what I will do, for the next little while, is I’ll put out a single image to give you a short little treatise on it. 

So get out try some lightning shooting be safe, Be smart, take a raincoat, don’t forget your tripod, and enjoy photography in all it’s strangeness and it’s beauty.

Keep shooting, talk to you!!

Cheers! :-)

Couple weeks back I and a friend hopped into the single car and drove east of Edmonton. Donning our cameras and having just the simple good time wondering about the fields and farms and starting out in a national park, we have just outside of our city. 

To me there’s nothing quite like just wondering camera in hand, without any great plan, and seeing what this great wonderful world has to offer. We started out traveling directly to the national Park of Elk Island. 

A little history, Elk Island National Park is a relatively small park. With it interesting history, mostly it is famous for one great beast, the plains bison. There are both types of bison here, the plains bison which is short and stout, And the wood bison which is tall and quite thin. Many people just come for the bison and little else. It’s quite sad actually because this park is quite a gem of flora and fauna that has rarely seen the hand of man. For me that alone makes it worth a visit. 

The park primarily is a forest of Aspen Parkland loaded with many different animals moose deer and elk is and many many different kinds of birds. Three little gems of lakes that are primarily accessible by road, and many other little pothole lakes, some are unfortunately are quite dry. So be warned, the map may say there is a lake, but I can assure you it may not be there. By far my  greatest interest in this park is simply, untouched land. I always harking back and I thinking, whenever I’m in this park, what it must’ve been like for the pioneers to come here and see the vast amount of trees that cover this land. The amount of work that must’ve been simply daunting to my mind.

I’ve included the link to this park you have a chance visit take your day and enjoy.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/elkisland/index.aspx 

As we arrived in the park got there too early in the day about noon, and the sun was not providing us the greatest light. So we left the park and wandered around the country going to exciting hotspots like Woking, and Star. I’ve traveled these roads many many times in my quest for the ultimate church image. So I was able to kind of take a backseat show my friend location and locations that I have photographed at. But we still found interesting spots that stood out and begged to be photographed uniquely. 

Last moments of FireNo modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com The Last LightStanding almost 120m for the official shore of a Aberta lake just as the sun takes it last breath.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

I will post a few images from the park in the next couple of days i have been little bit busy on other projects but I promise you well see some interesting stuff from the National Park stayed tuned enjoy and will talk to you later. 

Have a great day cheers!

Today’s blog is going to be about a little adventure I had this last weekend.

The day started out with me prepping for a dance troupe shoot in a club. Yeah I shoot other things besides landscape’s. I have shot many different types of photography but I’ve always been attached and drawn to Landscape. I got to the club way too early, so I decided to wander just spend a little time with the camera not shoot anything specific. But I really didn’t get anything that I was very happy with so we won’t go into that group, but it was nice to launder alone in the quiet. 

The dance number that I was photographing was relatively short, so I was thinking this great I’m going to be able to get home relatively early, and get some editing done. But I was in for a surprise as I was going home I saw a couple flashes in the sky, and I knew what that meant. So quickly as I could I start to move towards location that I hand in my mind, I’ve been there a few times, and we landscape photographers like to return the places over and over again. I must say I drove rather quickly but we must take chances from time to time and what better way to go in the quest for your art.  

I drove to A small town called Alberta beach, it’s more of a summer village, then a established Town, but I’m sure the locals would disagree. The place can get very rowdy in the summertime and thankfully it’s very early in the summer so not many people are there at this time of the season. I drove directly to the pier, Which is large enough for a card easily drive right to the Waters edge. Quickly setting my camera gear up, hauling my lightning trigger out finding a clear CF card mounting the camera with tripod composing it and setting up my own mind to take the shot. In less than five minutes I was ready to shoot lightning.

The lightning unfortunately was not getting very close to the location that I was standing at so I had to use all little bit longer lens than I normally do. I decided to use my 24-105mm F4L simply because it is fully weather sealed and it would not be affected by any kind of moisture in the air. It wasn’t raining on me, so I wasn’t worried about having to costly white raindrops off the front element.

I bet you’re all wondering why I use a lightning trigger. To be honest it just makes things easier but it allows me to shoot lightning in broad daylight without having to use ND filters. To be honest the greatest advantage to a lightning trigger, is the simple fact that you’re not burning up your shutter activations on your camera, and it only triggers when it actually sees the flash of lightning. And it’s pretty efficient rarely missing any single bolt and using longish shutter speeds, there’s a great chance I’ll catch more than one bolt and that makes for an interesting composition. Not too bad for $150 investment that saves massively of the $3500 investment of my camera. So if you’re thinking of getting one and you’re not a fool that likes to stand under the lightning in the worst possible places, go get one, but please don’t be stupid lightning can kill you.

So that being said I present to you “the gods displeasure”!  :-) the first true lightning photograph I post this season.

You can find all the technical information on any photographs that I take as I don’t remove the metadata in the image information is available so please take the time check it out if you wish and remember my main reason for doing all this isn’t just love to get one of you to enjoy my prints on your wall. 

Have a wonderful day we see you next week.

This weeks blog will be about A little Lens that I purchased a couple of weeks ago. If you haven’t figured out by now I have purchased the Canon TS-e 17 mm  F4L. At first I thought it was going to be difficult lens to get used to but I found it to be something that I’m going to fall in love with. 

In the past month I have used this lens almost exclusively every time I find a landscape. For some unknown reason I find a pleasure in its distortion it’s use to very wonderful lens. It’s very sharp, extremely well-made, and smooth as silk. The only thing I wish it had would be weatherproofing. It’s not a massive distractor but it is something to think about mostly in dusty locations. 

To those who don’t know this lens is always completely manual focus system, it has focused confirmation but if you can’t focus A lens manually this is not the lens for you. The simple fact that just about everything is in focus being that it’s a 17 mm, makes it very easy to get most things in focus especially if you pick anything around F8 or F11. If you don’t know this is not my only tilt shift lens I do have a 24 mm Mii as well. I still love that lens as well. And I’m sure in time the glow of the 17 mm will fade, and I will once again pick up a 24 mm and use it far more often. As I also find a great interest in the remainder of the tilt shift lenses in the Canon stable I look forward checking out of 90 mm as well as the 45 mm. But I have heard that Canon has plans to improve both of these lenses and quite possibly add one more telephoto, this gets me very interested I seem to be more and more interested until shift lenses.

It’s true that both of these two tilt shift lenses are not exactly the cheapest lenses in Canon’s stable of lenses, but for me as a landscape photographer, they are irreplaceable. And I am sure they will be gloriously held in my camera bag for many years to come. 

The reason I have chosen a 17 mm and it found its way into my bag, I spent many many days, realizing just how much I was using my 17-40mm on any other focal length than 17 mm. And I found the only reason I pulled the 17-40mm out of my bag was because I was interested in the 17mm part of the lens. Now it’s true that the 17-40 mm is substantially cheaper than the 17 mm tilt shift but I was willing to accept the difference in price for a better quality and I am not sorry. Understand first off the 17-40 mm is a high-quality lens and well worth it’s price, I’m not detracting from in anyway. 

I’m not going to go into prices that’s not what I’m going to harp about there’s enough of that going on on the Internet, I don’t wish to be one of the gang. I will say this I was told long ago that if you truly are doing something that you love get the best you can afford you will never be sorry, And it will last and in the end it will be cheaper than buying two or three of the cheaper version.

Last moments of FireNo modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

© www.drewmayphotography.com

I will state as a changed to the 17 mm I was presented with an issue, and that issue was filters. I looked quite diligently for a way to mountain neutral density filter on my 17 mm. If you understand as a landscape photographer there are two filters that are almost a necessity in our camera bags. One is of course a polarizer because it cannot easily be corrected or created in Photoshop. The other filter is a neutral density filter, and for me that’s very important as well. So begin the quest to find amount that would fit on my lovely new 17 mm and I was drawn to only one company and that is Lee. I have to say I do like the system the filters and it will be interesting to continue to use them. I will give you a further information on them later as it’s still new and I can’t really form a true opinion of their quality but so far I’m very impressed.   

MovementStanding by a little northern Alberta lake just as winter looses it's grip, capturing movement in the clouds.

All fine Art Landscape and other images are available as art prints in collections and as limited edition signed copies. All canvas prints are all limited edition and signed.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

This image is truly an example of the Lee filter system in use. It's in many minute photograph only made possible on the 17 mm Tilt shift with the Lee filter system and a Big Stopper filter.

The seasons starting to change and summer is truly here for once, lightning season is coming. And it’s very exciting. So I find myself editing images from last year and I’m looking forward to capturing is much inclement weather as I possibly can find. It’s truly exciting for me and I find myself for some unknown reason drawn to the drama in the clouds it’s going to be a good year.

See you again Cheers!!

This post I will introduce one of the two projects I have an motion. 

I dream of trees. The other one I’ll announce later.

I am always loved trees don’t know why, I always seem to point my camera towards them and find something beautiful. I admire the way they stand, where they stand, what they stand up to. I love the age they represent, their stability and the colors they provide. One of those things that remain common, a constant never fluctuating always growing, until man intervenes. How they’ve seen the world’s history. How they have done nothing but good this world. They give us of the air we breathe, the clean the filth we expel into the atmosphere. They hurt no one, they can provide homes to wildlife, man. When man reaches for his creative spirit, the beauty would can be easily seen.

In Alberta the variety of trees I had to choose from is not extreme. I live in a region of the boreal forest, a vast swath of geography. Huge forests of Spruce, Fur, and Tamarack in the northern regions. Mirrored by vast areas of Aspen, Popular and from time to time Birch in quite secluded valleys away from the tough winters we have the pleasure enduring, in the south.

I said don’t make special trips to capture just trees, they just seem to fall in front of me, in my adventures to capture pretty places. Always looked and longed for that single lone tree out in the field or exposed in a lake but I have not had the pleasure. One day it’ll happen I have no doubt. 

So I have taken a compilation of images and I am going to present them as an actual project. Over the next few months I’m going to continue to view and look for trees. I’m going to attempt to view creativity, and capture the feeling I have for those long-lived beautiful pieces of life we hold dear on this planet.

Relections of DeathThe consequence of the work of our fury friends the Beaver. Large tracks of land flooded out by the need of the beaver to make a den for the winter to rase his family. I will return to this area in 5 years and you will see the difference in the location. ReincarnationCame on this last summer and I just found the files I guess i down loaded some images and had little time to edit them. Natures MonolthAs I stand in the middle of a frozen swamp the light just starting to fade i am struck by a solitary tree that remains defiant.

So I hope to see you I hope you enjoy what I am going to present in the gallery and hopefully in a real gallery with real prints, we will see. 

Thanks for reading we'll see you soon!

Rocks and WaterThe Bighorn River Alberta Canada just before Cressent Falls, at dusk.

All fine Art Landscape and other images are available as art prints in collections and as limited edition signed copies. All canvas prints are all limited edition and signed.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

To me even storms represent moving water the lightning and rain are all part of some ingrained part of my inner-self.  

This year I am set to chase a few storms I am waiting for the stormy season. So be prepared there be lightning a coming! :)

As always I will be returning to the mountains my other spiritual home. If you are a reader you would have seen that I spent some time in Jasper National Park. I have a thing for day trips driving 1000Km's doesn't seam to bother me I get home after a long day tired but very happy. 

I just finished this image and I thought i would talk about it a bit.

Columbia Ice Fields captured with 12 images. I have this interest lately for Pano's. I am not completely geared up for them but I keep shooting them and playing with Photoshop to create the final product. It is truly amazing how far the editing programs have come in 10 years, but I see a new piece of gear in my future. I Pano head for the tripod is becoming a good possibility from what I have seen in my own work it would be a good thing to add a little more accuracy in the creation of the image. 

Well that is all for tonight 

Have a good one and we will talk again, and feel free to comment maybe there is some thing that you would like to here my opinions on or maybe a little more info on an image. 

Cheers

Inside the PastStanding inside what was once was a busy shop, almost 100 years ago. I can here the din of the work, the smells of the coal and oil still remain, or at the very least I can smell it.

All fine Art Landscape and other images are available as art prints in collections and as limited edition signed copies. All canvas prints are all limited edition and signed.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography. Monuments of Big ValleyMy second visit to Big Valley roundhouse. The stucture was built in 1912 and had a major effect on the town. spending some time reading the self guided tour was very interesting.

All fine Art Landscape and other images are available as art prints in collections and as limited edition signed copies. All canvas prints are all limited edition and signed.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

Just the first two. more to follow and a greater explanation of the area. 

The Camera geeks will be happy to here the Camera Canon 5D Mkiii and the lens my very quickly favourite lens TS-e 17mm F4L. Stunning build and fantastic glass!!

From the first trip. 

PD_4342 Curve from a time pastThe underside of acual reason for a roundhouse, the turn table to spin many tone engines.

All fine Art Landscape and other images are available as art prints in collections and as limited edition signed copies. All canvas prints are all limited edition and signed.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

I will add a few more as I go along!! 

Till next time!! Keep searching for light and loving shadows. 

MovementStanding by a little northern Alberta lake just as winter looses it's grip, capturing movement in the clouds.

All fine Art Landscape and other images are available as art prints in collections and as limited edition signed copies. All canvas prints are all limited edition and signed.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

My latest lens is a TS-e 17mm F4L and I have falling in love with it. it just suits my style to a tee. :) full explanation of this image is coming in a further blog.

Firstly I just noticed I forgot to add the links so here they are;

Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/drewmayphoto

The 500px page; http://500px.com/drewmayphoto

Check them out follow me if you like :)

As I said before I am not going to get hugely technical. Mostly because I am not that type and another reason, for sure there is the internet troll who spends hours reading information and opinion. The troll spends no time actually using the equipment, or they spend all their time making every thing technically perfect that they have no actual connection with a subject. They have strong opinions about gear, some are clearly correct but it is only technically correct, where is the feeling, the warmth, the art, lost in a string of toys and geekdom. 

To often I have seen portrait photographers that spend half of their time setting up, making sure this light or that light is at the perfect place at the perfect power, missing that opportunity to connect. For me I would rather spend time with my subject, getting to know them, making a connection. I find that a “model” that is more friend and less a client I get far more opportunities often to grab a piece of their soul the twinkle in the eye, the unguarded emotion. But that being said I am a landscape photographer trying to steer away from the the direct work with people. I will always return to photographing people from time to time but I must remain on course. :)

So what am I saying here?

I am not going to spend hours testing lenses on charts and comparing the findings and condemning a lens because it is slightly less sharp than lens "b". I was taught to work with the tools I had and as long as they are good tools make them sing, work with in their limits. Heighten their strong suits and learn how to avoid or use their week points.  Photography is the study of light not the study of this gear or that gear, please get off that train it's not a good place to be. It's a boring place filled with angry selfish egotists who think their work has meaning and emotion. And their camera are the best in the world, and that have no problem being the first to tell you that at every opportunity. 

Just so you know a little of my back ground, I have had a camera in my hand since {and I don’t want to make me sound old or greater than I am} the late 60’s. I have shot professionally, sport, fashion, portraits, weddings, events, commercial and on and on. I really hate making a big deal of my abilities or my experiences so I won't. Just understand every one has some experience and all of it has some value don't belittle mine and I won't tell every one just how much of a sell important little dweeb you are. cool?  

Nothing brings me more pleasure than chasing that lightning shower, or sitting on the edge of a mountain stream. I made the decision last year that I should pursue my first love, I will be happier and the finished product will show. It is early times yet but things are moving far faster than before and I am sure the fact I love the path is having a major effect.

So for the next few weeks I will spend some time on the gear and the reason I picked it. I am not going to get heavily into any of the stats. I will be a personal feeling of the quality and value of the lens or body, doodad, what ever I choose. So sit back check in form time to time read up on my reasons for certain things. you can even comment, I guarantee I will ignore you as soon as you get to technical and or to aggressive. 

Oh I am Canon for my DSLR’s and they rock!! I will tell you why! I love my little Fuji X100LE and I still have a Olympus XA for film, and a Canonet [in a boxing in bits, I am the greatest repair person in the world ... not, far to easily distracted}. I am sure there are all sorts of extra camera about, in fact now that I think of it I know of at least three more. To me cameras are tools so I don’t keep and become attached to cameras like some do, for me as soon as a camera has little value in my work it usually finds a new home or a box in the closet or garage. 

Sunset RaysOne of those moments when you wish you had a high resolution Camera :)

All fine Art Landscape and other images are available as art prints in collections and as limited edition signed copies. All canvas prints are all limited edition and signed.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

As this is a relatively new blog and as I can't figure out how to migrate my older one here, I will have to populate this one. I was thinking on being a technical blog, spending hours providing you with my testing and opinions about gear, but that is not my style. for sure I will give you opinions about some of my gear. I am sure some of you might find it helpful. 

So welcome and I hope you enjoy. If you have the time feel free to leave me a message a comment I would be happy to chat. Feel free also to fallow me on 500px  

or my Facebook page

Love to see you there 

Cheers to all!!

Yesterday I am a couple of my friends where going to take a day trip to Jasper national park. Well it did not work out that way from them and I was left to my own devices. Well I have a car and a camera so what the hell, key in the ignition and and off west. 

It’s not just a short hop, it really takes a good couple of hours just to get to Jasper. And when I got there after a little debate pointed the car south and wandered down the parkway. For those of you who don’t have a clue what I am talking about, the Parkway is one the most beautiful drives in the world and it connects Jasper town with Banff town. Most times in the summer it is kind of slow going but this being real early in the season there where very few cars. 

Wandering means in my book that time just doesn't matter so to cover 150km took the most of the afternoon. it was glorious the weather was stunning the entire way. maybe not the perfect light for fantastic dramatic landscapes but I like clean sunny images too, so for me the time of day does not free me from my love of what I am seeing. I try my best with what mother nature has given me, and I hope you like what you see. 

I still have a few more images to edit so stay tuned for the next entry I will add a couple more images. 

Cheers all!! 

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Then off we went to a little town called Dorthy. it an old mining town with just a few, very few people still remaining. Deep in the Red Deer river valley in our badlands the place where many of the worlds dinosaur bones come from. 

then we found an old washing Machine.  Old CleanerNot Far from Dorthy Alberta allong the Red Deer River, I found a abandoned washing machine. It an old one and in amazing shape for this climate.

The Red Deer River is the area where most of North America's dinosaur bones are found, just a little tid bit. :)

All fine Art Landscape and other images are available as art prints in collections and as limited edition signed copies. All canvas prints are all limited edition and signed.

No modification, cropping or further editing is permitted with out with the expressed permission of Drew May Photography.

Next day trip is in the works this time ... Mountains the water should be moving soon!