Saturday 31 October 2015

$20 (Canadian) first course. And an Update from Nov 10

Even later on Thursday afternoon, just west of the Tower of Babel is Moraine Lake and the Valley of the 10 Peaks, even if not all were visible through the low clouds.


We now have plastic money and this scene has unfortunately been replaced. There are however lots of "signs" from the past. The sign of the Notmans, of course:
There are a couple of other posted to help you identify the setting:



You cannot help but notice the "fans" below the peaks "flowing into the lake. What ever happened to the trees that were growing there?


Visitor for visitor, this ranks with Niagara Falls.




The peaks had Cree names and non Cree names. This one is named after J. Tuzo Wilson, who taught many of us about Alfred Wegner and plate tectonics in the 1960s at U of T.





Lets leave these reflections and proceed to our last stop for today: Lake Louise - wob

Diet before the first course

One of the changes I have noted when trying to locate the spots where photos were taken is the change in forest growth. The Notmans saw beautiful settings, set up their equipment and took images. Today some of these view points are overgrown. I know from asking that some scenes around Banff were in 1900s visible because of forest fires and today they are hidden behind stands of evergreens.

So coming off a diet I offer what I think was an unobstructed view of the "Tower of Babel"

Here are a couple of shots late in the afternoon of Thursday Oct 8:

I need to get further to my right. But this is what I encountered there:



Still beautiful. I'll try to give myself more time next time and set off along some nonexistant trail!

WOB

Thursday 29 October 2015

On a diet

Too many superlatives, Thought I would continue with a little local colour before returning to the wild west, and more mountains, aurora, birds and dinosaurs - not to mention bison, beaver and banding about.

Do any of you want to see my splint? Ok, thought not.

So these images are from the balcony on Monday and Tuesday, local colour as it were.

Lets begin at dawn on Tue.:


The Canada geese have stayed around:


There has been gunfire in the morning. Maybe time to stay off the water and make that long portage to Spring:

Said Tom swiftly.

W O B

Tuesday 27 October 2015

Too much milk and honey; too much maple syrup?

So you thought you knew me, you anonymous reader! Well actually I have not changed my spots but just thought here was an interesting item from The New York Times
And if you right mouse click on it you will see the source code.
The North Sea countries are hard at work making plans for a barrier/dyke of 10+ meters to protect the low lands much of which right now is well below sea level. Several countries must co-operate or the surge will simply run around behind the barrier and flood the lands this way or that.

It is not the time to reduce research into the arctic. And the reductions being suggested are less than what one prominent Republican politican is spending on his election campaign - not sure if that is per day/week/month but certainly comparable.

So enjoy the dynamic link and recall that it is outside the lab where "ground truth" is found, not in the halls of government.

W O B

 PS  All except 2nd from bottom from/by me in June 2011







Sunday 25 October 2015

Prologue: comparing old photographs with new ones.

A long time ago, probably early 1980s I found a book on "Rom", a "Bilderhefte des 19. Jahrhunderts aus dem Archiv Alimari"  Originally edited in Italian by Vladimiro Settimelli, the German edition was by Gerhild Hüber.. There is no date when either edition was published, a little unusual.

Now Vicki and I spent 2 months in 1968 in and near Rome and thoroughly enjoyed the ancient amidst the new. I was back for two more months in 1969 when, with my brother, I walked many old by-ways. So whenever I found this book it was an inspiration and challenge to me to take our family back to Italy in 1988 to try and rediscover these places and rephotograph the scenes more than a century later.

The setting so set.  Vicki found the following book at a German Christmas market about that time, end of the 1980s, beginning of the '90s but before 1993.
And in 1993 we went west and I tried to find where Wm Notman and son had stood to take the photos I found so interesting, especially the ones containing glaciers. I had some success but the images are still analogue - I'll try to find them and digitize them "later". I took more photos in 1999, but again, still on film. So there was still the challenge to try to get some of the scenes on DSLR, this visit to Doug and Joan. (And to give them a break!)

While the 4 of us were at the Reynolds Museum, I noted one old time car at a Lake that I had seen in a previous visit and was on my list for Thur Oct 8, 2015:



That was dated, 1920s.
Below was an image taked prior to 1907:
And here is a reecent tourist from 2015:
Not quite the same view-points. There are 2 dams nearby, with a single track road across the nearest one off to Vicki's right by a few 100m (2015 or several100yards X 1.1!  1900s.) For the old car shot, I think one would have tro be on the south shore to get that bulge so prominent. For the pre 1907 we have to go further to pick up the background peaks. I asked about the rock in the lake and either it was removed/blown up or flooded by the dam.
Still not far enough to my left to separate the background peaks.


Almost.




And now it is off to Moraine Lake before the lighting fails - but that will be another entry plus a scan or so.

W O B

Saturday 24 October 2015

After the owls came the aurora

Would you believe that after all the events of the day already experienced there was yet one more?
(This the last of Wed Oct 7, 2015.)
The 2nd owl had been released and we were thinking maybe go home when .....












That is less than 1/3 of what I took.

wow - W O B