Flowers in black and white. A different way to view our natural world. Seeing form over color. An artistic way to interpret our gardens. Seeing things differently, that is what photography should be about. http://www.debra-hunter.com Photography by Debra Hunter Red Deer, Alberta and Pender Island, BC, Canada . . . . Ads belong to WordPress
via The Garden in Black and White — Debra Hunter – Canadian photography, art and handmade
Photography by Debra Hunter http://www.debra-hunter.com . . . . Ads belong to WordPress.
Yesterday I was shooting a few architectural images for a client. Even when I am shooting something specific, I often look to take a few shots that appeal to me simply for their artistic merit.
The contrast of the steep peak of the church against the clouds caught my eye. Such strong lines made it so interesting.
The historic home edited to black and white was like stepping back in time. Elegant and timeless.
Other images from yesterday’s shooting can be found by clicking HERE.
It is so nice that spring has arrived, the blue skies are back, and soon we may even have leaves making for prettier pictures.
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The summers of 2015 and 2016 have been interesting for us, after years of spending every weekend at the cabin, we have now been challenged with learning how to reinvent how we “do” summer. Years of being on auto-pilot of going to the cabin Friday night, hanging out or hiking, then back home Sunday afternoon or evening, have been replaced with “What should we do this weekend?”.
We have discovered staying in the city isn’t an option; you can only go to the pool, walk on the city trails, or go shopping so many times…..plus that is what we do during the week, we want weekends to be different. So this summer has been THE summer of weekend road trips.
The weekend road trips are probably part to blame for this blog being so quiet. Half the time we are in areas with no cell phone service, and when we return home the hundreds of pictures taken are too daunting to go through to get a blog post up before we are off on another road trip.
The scale of the road trips has also been elevated, and have even been going into BC for the day (4.5-5 hour drive each way). Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, Golden, Field and hiking areas near Calgary and Canmore have become our weekend backyard. That’s a pretty stunning “backyard” of world class scenery!
This weekend we opted for Big Hill Springs Provincial Park. We have driven past the entrance to this park dozens of times and have never stopped. In all that time we had never realized how stunning this area was.
The trail, a family friendly 2.3 km loop, spends the first part of the trail skirting alongside creeks and waterfalls. It is literally one fairy tale waterfall after another. Wildflowers dot the sides of the trails at low levels until you start a gentle and short climb up to a lovely view point. The trail then takes the hiker through a treed area rich with mushrooms and fungi until you come to the final descent.
Walking the trail in this direction means that you do not start the hike with a straight uphill, but rather a pleasant and gradual climb.
I have many more images of the hike to share in the future, but for now, a few more waterfalls……..
Directions to the park can be found by clicking HERE. A great spot to check out if you are in Central or Southern Alberta (Canada).
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Photography by Debra Hunter
http://www.debra-hunter.com
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Rescued steeple.
Today’s post is a visit to Heritage Square, a quiet tucked away corner of historic buildings located in the downtown area of Red Deer (Alberta, Canada).
Historic store.
This area is always picturesque, but becomes even more interesting once blanketed in snow. The area becomes quieter and more timeless.
One room schoolhouse.
The school is a very interesting building. The interior has also been preserved. I have been lucky enough to see the inside of it on a couple of occasions when my children have been to the square on a school field trip. It is always great for children to see local history up close.
Library.
The library, that once belonged to a private home, is a very interesting building due to its shape. It sits front and center in the square as a showpiece while the other buildings flank the sides. The library indicates that even in the early years of the city that there was a lot of attention paid to architectural style and detail.
The feel of the square is enhanced by wooden sidewalks and lamps of a period styling. It is a spot well worth visiting no matter the time of year.
Photography by Debra Hunter
www.debra-hunter.com
www.handmade-canada.com
This post has been published on www.htheblog.wordpress.com .
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On Sunday we decided to go for a winter lakeside walk. It has been ages since I have ventured to the lakefront at Sylvan Lake, which is a bit odd seeing it is only 20 km from home. I think the fact that the lake is so busy in the summer had kept Sylvan Lake off our list of destinations. Winter, however, provided a much more relaxed setting of fairly empty sidewalks, easy to find parking, and still a rather pretty lake.
The trees were quite eye catching as they twisted framing in the lake.
The straight horizon highlights a large expanse of ice. A few were brave enough to tackle the lake on skates, but the ice shacks for fishing have yet to appear for the winter.
And of course one last picture of trees. Perhaps they will be inspiration for a future painting.
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Photography by Debra Hunter
www.debra-hunter.com
www.handmade-canada.com
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butterfly and clover – heritage ranch, red deer
I’ve been negligent with blogging this summer, being outside, going to the pool and playing tennis has taken priority over sitting in front of a screen. As we haven’t been able to use our cabin this summer we have taken to rediscovering places in our city.
Recently we went for an afternoon walk at Heritage Ranch (Red Deer, Alberta, Canada). It has been ages since we have been there in the summer months, usually it is a spot we go for a winter walk. As we looked across to the fishing pond we were treated to visits by multiple butterflies, dragonflies and other small creatures.
butterfly – heritage ranch, red deer
It’s always fun to see if you can capture an image of the butterflies flitting from flower to flower. On this particular day they were quite cooperative.
Some of the butterflies also decided to show off a bit and pose upside down.
Not to be forgotten, the ant had to get in on the pictures as well. Quite a fun shot I think.
It’s always amazing to look at macro images as you get to examine details close up and see the intricacies of the world around us.
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Photography by Debra Hunter
www.debra-hunter.com
www.hunterphotographics.wordpress.com
Check us out on Instagram at debramhunter or hunterphotographics or handmadeincanada .
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Just a little post sharing a few wild flowers from a recent trip through Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.
(Testing out a new lap top (aggravating, has been updating for a week). Hopefully the images and blog post aren’t all wonky!)
Photography by Debra Hunter
Red Deer, Alberta & Pender Island, BC, Canada
www.debra-hunter.com
www.hunterphotographics.wordpress.com
www.handmade-canada.com
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“No, I will NOT work for free.”
I bet you are intrigued by the above statement. Perhaps you are wondering what has inspired me to write the statement. Well, it is a tale that needs to be told, has been told, and a story many others have also experienced. So sit back, grab a big cup of coffee…..it is time to share the story as to why I WILL NOT work for free.
It all started with this picture. Honest to goodness it did. A shot of the City Hall Park in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. So while I thought I was posting on this blog a beautiful image showing our city’s downtown in a most positive light, what I didn’t realize was this image was the gateway to insult and a demeaning of my worth.
Was it a crap picture? No. That was the problem. The problem was this was a picture that others wanted.
One day in September I received a message in my WordPress notifications requesting permission to use the image. The message was from Red Deer Public Schools. A publicly funded institution wanting permission to “use” my “photo” for the foreign student brochure. I was a bit put out. A bit insulted. Instead of getting into it with the person requesting use, a person who is paid a salary for their work (that clearly involves surfing the net….obviously….your tax dollars at work!), I simply didn’t respond. My tactic was “If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.”
I knew this would eventually happen, I just wasn’t expecting a PUBLICLY FUNDED institution, an institution funded by our TAX DOLLARS, to behave this way.
For months my emails and messages were normal and then one day I opened an email from the Government of Alberta. It read:
The pictures being discussed were of the Jeongia in Edmonton, Alberta.
I responded thinking surely the Government of Alberta is going to provide compensation for the use of images. WRONG. Instead I received the following response:
Yep, the Government of Alberta was going to offer me in compensation for my work “good karma and lots and lots of appreciation” . That’s pretty special isn’t it? Could you imagine how far I would get paying my provincial tax in “GOOD KARMA”?. My gut tells me that wouldn’t go over so well. “GOOD KARMA” also doesn’t feed my children, or clothe them or keep a roof over their heads.
Isn’t it special when someone sitting in a cushy job, playing on the internet, paid with MY TAX DOLLARS, tells me that all my work is worth is “good karma”.
As you can guess this one really rubbed me the wrong way. Insulted. Undervalued. They came to me regarding the images and then expected me to hand them over because artists in our society have ZERO value. Did anyone pick up on the irony? I, a born and raised Albertan, from a family that has been in Alberta well over a century, was supposed to GIVE AWAY their work to celebrate the cultural history of Korea. A twinned relationship with a foreign country was more important to the Government of Alberta than treating their own productive taxpaying lifelong resident fairly.
The Government of Alberta expected me to work for free.
Yes, I wrote an email regarding the fact that it was about time the government started to appreciate and see value in artists. I couldn’t stay silent on this one. I am sure it was just deleted.
A message was left on my phone about there being a “misunderstanding”. How? I didn’t return the call. How much devaluation should one have to endure? Chances are they were just going to withdraw the offer of “good karma” or perhaps charge me to use my own images. I wouldn’t doubt it.
So today my phone dings, I look down, and this is the email that has just come through:
This time it is the Red Deer Advocate asking to “use” an image of Red Deer City Hall for their advertising department. Seriously. Are you kidding me?
First I was going to email back (as in the case of the Government of Alberta). Then I was just going to ignore it (as I did with Red Deer Public Schools). Then I decided to BLOG it. And so I did.
Does anyone else see how bizarre this request is? The Red Deer Advocate EMPLOYS their very own PHOTOGRAPHERS. The Red Deer Advocate has ARCHIVES. It was +28C today, the sky was blue, City Hall is a 10 minute drive from the newspaper’s headquarters, yet they would rather I just GIVE them my work than shoot a picture of the bloody thing.
They want to “USE” my image for THEM to MAKE MONEY!
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I’m tired of publicly funded institutions trying to screw me over.
I’m tired of the government trying to screw me over.
I’m tired of big business trying to screw me over.
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I am professionally trained in both art and photography. I have diplomas in Fine Art and Design plus in Photographic Technology. I have years of experience on two different continents. If you want my images I must have FINANCIAL compensation.
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The Red Deer Public Schools are NOT a charity.
The Government of Alberta is NOT a charity.
The Red Deer Advocate is NOT a charity.
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I WILL NOT WORK FOR FREE
(and if you ask me to, I’ll blog about you too! Enough is enough.)
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Photography by Debra Hunter
www.debra-hunter.com
www.handmade-canada.com
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h..... the blog 
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