With an 'i' photography

The drive along the Icefields Parkway from Banff back to central Alberta is a long one, especially when the driver (me) is a photographer, and has to stop every so often to pull over and take pictures. Views like this, however, make that drive worth it.

Caught this deer on my evening walk, and decided to relearn some editing techniques that I don’t usually get to use, given I typically work for newspapers. As much as I like the spring/summer, there’s just something about the warmth of fall colours that makes things pop.

Missing one of my favourite places to go on road trips - Abraham Lake. It’s so much quieter than Lake Louise, but still has that unique aqua coloured water, and most importantly, I have a lot of good memories of shenanigans with friends stopping here, sometimes on our way back to Red Deer from Banff National Park, and sometimes to do cosplay photo shoots (because nothing makes those photos pop better than the majestic backdrop that is the Rocky Mountains).

Saw the Canadian Forces Snowbirds fly over Central Alberta this morning as part of their Op Inspiration cross-Canada "tour" thanking/boosting the moods of essential workers.

Got to fly in this Bell 47 helicopter last June with pilot Glenn Chong at the Lacombe Flying Club’s annual Fly-in breakfast. Quite the view from a short two minute ride. The little boy was Damien, and he was SO excited to be in the air, and I ran into him and his Grandmother lots after that and they always said hi.

While waiting for the super moon to crest earlier this week, I ran into a whole herd of deer just east of the City of Red Deer limits, north of Hwy 11. The same field had hundreds of geese, and the ones further back started to suddenly fly off but I couldn’t see why, until I went driving towards the other end.

There was a thick line of trees, so I had to shoot through them to even get part of the group, but there was probably at least 20 of them if not more - which is the most deer I’ve ever seen in one place. Whoever owns the land has “no hunting” signs in place, so I wonder if they always hang out in the area because they know it’s safe, or if it’s a sign of how quickly nature starts to reclaim its territory with people staying inside.

My heathen, Anakin, with some solid natural backlighting.

📷 Ashli Barrett

I had the opportunity to take in the Rock the Rink tour, and see Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue one last time before they officially retire.

It's sad they can't keep skating together forever, and we are so blessed to have been able to see them perform and grow together.

📷 Ashli Barrett