shades of autumn

Today is the first full day of autumn. It arrived yesterday at 10:49 EDT in the northern hemisphere. So, it did show up yesterday but today is the first full day. I always wonder how the comity of "they" know when that happens. Doesn't matter that much to me to research it.

The leaves change in Calgary to mostly shades of yellow. It's a sorry site to see when you're from Ontario. I miss the RED! Ok, maybe I miss the water of Lake Superior too. Yes yes, the mountains are here, I get it. (:

The question also is, why do leaves change colours at all? I've known for awhile but I don't think it's common knowledge. Most people think it's mostly due to the frost. It's not. The leaves change on only a few of our deciduous trees - maples, aspens, oaks, etc. & there are a few factors which contribute to autumn colours; the main agent is light or really, the lack thereof. As the days become shorter, the reduction of light triggers chemical changes in deciduous plants causing a corky wall to form between the twig & the leaf stalk. This eventually causes the leaf to drop in the autumn breezes which we are all very familiar with. The combination of less light, lack of nutrients & no water add up to the death of chlorophyll (the reason for the green colour in plants). Ok, enough of the science. I still miss the red. Thankfully, I am going to Vancouver next weekend to hopefully get my colour fix while I'm there.

I took a few images this evening. I always look for reds or oranges.

Yes, the last one is mostly yellow but it's still very pretty!

the opposite

This post is out of order.

A couple weeks ago I drove up Sarcee Trail to catch the sunrise. In this case, I knew it was sunny since I live 5 minutes from where I wanted to shoot from. I've noticed this view often as I drive to & from Sunterra Market on Sarcee & 17 Ave SW. As I thought about shooting this scene, I wondered where to park my car or if I'd have to cycle up there (which I really didn't want to do).
All around, it worked out well. I drove north on Sarcee then turned around to head back south. The shoulder on the side of the road is quite wide so all I had to do was pull over & put my hazards on. I didn't even have to get out of my car! I rolled down the passenger's side window & had my 70-200 IS II lens on my camera & just fired away.

no sunrise

This morning, Jason & I went to Moraine Lake in Lake Louise to catch the sunrise which was not actually there. Well, it did rise but the clouds were in the way.
To make the most of it, we took a few images anyway.

Here are the ones I took:

This was taken using a neutral density filter over the clouds. It helps bring out the tones in the sky when normally they're blown out.

Moraine Lake is known for it's canoe rentals (not that I've ever rented one). The canoes are colourful & always laying on the dock.

Hopefully next time (if there is a next time), there will be sunshine! Perhaps I should have gone earlier in the year. It was quite chilly there this morning but the thought of getting up at 3a to drive 2 hours to catch the sunrise at 5:30a doesn't exactly thrill me. We left at 4:20a as it was. Early enough for today.