tompkins landing

Cable – Tompkins Landing, Alberta 1

Ice Bridge, Tompkins Landing, Alberta 1

Ice Bridge, Tompkins Landing, Alberta 2

Cable has been wound upon one of two huge snow-covered spools used to pull the Edmonton Queen ferry up and out from the Peace River at Tompkins’ Landing, Alberta. The first image, a macro shot explores light, colour and texture of cable on the spool. The other two images are of the Tompkin’s Landing ice bridge – one kilometre in length, crossing the Peace River – a solid structure between December and March, capable of holding a transport truck weighing 60 tons.

Listening to – Coldplay from the Mylo Xyloto 2012 tour beginning with ‘Major Minus,’ then ‘Yellow,’ ‘Princess of China,’ ‘Up in Flames,’ ‘Clocks’ and ‘Charlie Brown.’

Quote to Inspire – “Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” – Don McCullin

Walkway and Road - High Level, Alberta — Walkway and Road – High Level, Alberta

Mailbox 3 - High Level, Alberta — Mailbox 3 – High Level, Alberta

Mailbox 2 - High Level, Alberta — Mailbox 2 – High Level, Alberta

Mailbox - High Level, Alberta — Mailbox – High Level, Alberta

Boat Launch 3 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Boat Launch 3 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Boat Launch - Footner Lake, Alberta — Boat Launch – Footner Lake, Alberta

Boat Launch 2 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Boat Launch 2 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Green Pastures – Buffalo Head Prairie, Alberta

Abandoned Car 1 - Blue Hills, Alberta — Abandoned Car 1 – Blue Hills, Alberta

Abandoned Car 2 - Blue Hills, Alberta — Abandoned Car 2 – Blue Hills, Alberta

Farm Implement - Blue Hills, Alberta — Farm Implement – Blue Hills, Alberta

Picnic Area - Tompkins' Landing, Alberta — Picnic Area – Tompkins’ Landing, Alberta

Tompkins' Landing Ferry - Tompkins' Landing, Alberta — Tompkins’ Landing Ferry – Tompkins’ Landing, Alberta

Aboard the Tompkins' Landing Ferry 2 - Tompkins' Landing, Alberta — Aboard the Tompkins’ Landing Ferry 2 – Tompkins’ Landing, Alberta

Aboard the Tompkins' Landing Ferry - Tompkins' Landing, Alberta — Aboard the Tompkins’ Landing Ferry – Tompkins’ Landing, Alberta

Sunset at Midpoint of the Peace River – Tompkins’ Landing, Alberta

Cattails 5 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Cattails 5 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Cattail 1 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Cattail 1 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Cattail 2 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Cattail 2 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Cattail 3 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Cattail 3 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Cattail 4 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Cattail 4 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Dandelions - Footner Lake, Alberta — Dandelions – Footner Lake, Alberta

Dandelions 2 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Dandelions 2 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Dandelions 3 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Dandelions 3 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Dandelions 4 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Dandelions 4 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Dandelion - Footner Lake, Alberta — Dandelion – Footner Lake, Alberta

Grass & Flora - Footner Lake, Alberta — Grass & Flora – Footner Lake, Alberta

Flora - Footner Lake, Alberta — Flora – Footner Lake, Alberta

Flora 2 - Footner Lake, Alberta — Flora 2 – Footner Lake, Alberta

Elektra Air Tankers - High Level Airport, High Level, Alberta — Elektra Air Tankers – High Level Airport, High Level, Alberta

Flower - High Level, Alberta — Flower – High Level, Alberta

Forest grows dangerously dry with summer heat. The matter of our region being a tinderbox is an expression used to describe this state in which forest can become prey to lightning strike and neglect by people working with fire. In this setting, rain becomes a welcome visitor calming and cooling our world. Photographically rain serves to reflect the world in unusual ways – doubling what is seen and placing the doubled image in unusual contexts. At night, it is the rain’s reflection of light on surfaces that draws interest.

Life is busy just now. Students in their final year of education anticipate graduation and ceremony and future departure from friends, family and that place that’s been home for them through so many years. Angst is there. Worry is there. Disillusionment about what the world holds is about to occur in more broad and more true strokes than these students have ever encountered before. And, time pushes them and us forward and through different thresholds. It’s totally interesting that the term threshold comes from the act of threshing; the threshold was the place where the act of separating husk from seed occurred. Threshold is that place where former and newer state are in close proximity – what was and what now is. Action is that other important ingredient – the lifting, colliding and splitting, all are percussive, energetic acts that in time yield the seed from the husk that’s held it. Winnowing is the other term, here – the separating and sorting of husk (the now dead, former shell) and seed (the new life holding element). The seed is ready for further use. How will it be used?

The photographs presented here are culled from the last week. There’s the green of Buffalo Head Prairie; there’s the woods between La Crete and Blue Hills. There’s the Peace River and the Tompkins’ Landing Ferry. There’s rain slicked streets of High Level and there’s images from Footner Lake. There’s even an image of a flower from a flower bed on our front lawn.

Listening to – U2’s Mysterious Ways, Coldplay’s God Put a Smile Upon Your Face, David Gray’s Babylon and Radiohead’s High and Dry.

Quote to Inspire – “I didn’t want to tell the tree or weed what it was. I wanted it to tell me something and through me express its meaning in nature.” – Wynn Bullock

Hey there, Frank. Thank you, for the encouragement. :)

Wonderful photo series. I especially like the B&Ws. :-)

Thank you Rajiv - yes, bare and beautiful in winter's cold.

That looks bare and beautiful

Good day, Kristiina - yes, please use the “Edmonton Skyline – Edmonton, Alberta Canada 1” in the PPT presentation you…

In My Back Pocket – Photography

'It is not what you look at that matters. It's what you see.' – Henry David Thoreau

Cable & Ice Bridge

Threshold’s Threshing & Winnowing