Camera is Back

Very quick service from Canon... I highly recommend buying Canon for the service alone!

Above are a couple of quick shots from my new prime lens, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens. A beautiful lens with awesome background blur. My photo of the Cladonia Lichen is a little out of focus as I haven't mastered the depth of field of this lens yet, and the lighting was very dark. But, this lichen is actually 6mm tall... a phenomenal lens... this will be my favourite for a long time. I can't wait for the flower bloom now. I was going to publish a book this spring of my wildflower photos, but now I think I'll wait to see what this year's photos are going to look like.

Television Crew

Today I took out the Resort Sports Network www.rsn.com, and had a great day. This was the most fun I've had on a television 'FAM' trip. Lots of jokes and a real comfortable atmosphere around these people. They were really appreciative of where I brought them and what I showed them. I took them to places that were out of the ordinary so that they would have some unique shots of popular areas. I also brought them to the 'edge of the world', a place that is reserved to special guests!
Tours like this make me think about the idea of becoming a full mountain guide that only guides television crews. They're always looking for great, unique footage. The host's name is Jessica York, of course being the television retard that I am, I didn't know who she was. I found her and the rest of the crew to be very personable. Jessica and I shared a love for mountain biking, she's a mountain girl at heart! Sam, the camera guy and I talked camera stuff a lot. I was very impressed how well he jury-rigged his badly damaged camera, damaged by the airline company. Both Towle and Michelle were lots of fun, they were always willing to look around every corner that I pointed out. I really hope to do another segment with them in the summer!

Camera Gone

Not for good!
My camera is off for an image screen cleaning by Canon in Calgary. I'm blown away by the fact that they do this for free AND ship it back on their dime! Now that is customer service... I'll never buy a different brand of camera. Oh, this is just to let you all know that I won't be posting pictures for the next week or so until I get it back. Why is may image sensor dirty already? I have my doubts that my camera was completely new when I got it

The Dog Ruins another Day!

Well, not really.

My buddy Neil and I set off to climb Bedson Ridge yesterday and were deterred by the long walk we had ahead of us to launch the canoe to get to the other side of the Athabasca River. Actually it was the walk back to the car that seemed more daunting as we would not be able to paddle up river very effectively (we did later on, but that was a whole different matter.. the rapids are what halted us then).

Realizing that the canoe/peak bag was out of the question we went up the first mountain before the plains called Roche Pedrix (Partridge). Actually, we climbed a sub-peak of it that I've wanted to reach for sometime now. We had a good scramble up... Yoho was in fine form until we hit the 15 meter wall that we could not get up or around with Yoho. That meant we had to turn around and abandon the summit only 50 meters above. This will be the last time that Yoho ruins another summit attempt... and how you may ask?

I found a rescue dog harness made for lowering dogs out of helicopters and I bought it. Now all I need to do is bring a short rope (25 meters) and I'll pull him up and lower him down. I'm very excited for this prospect, and I'm sure he is too. (he has no choice really).

Today's Photos ... Serious Canyon Shots!

All taken from inside the Maligne Canyon. Proof that my camera rocks! Not sure what you're looking at? Ask! wayne@jasperadventurecentre.com

More photos from this week

These photos are taken from Cinquefoil Mountain. By far the windiest trip ever. I was blown to the ground twice! Anyhow, too windy and cold for a lot of photos, so here are two. By the way, photos are taken from nearly 1300 m above the valley floor. This would make for a pretty good guided trip!

Top Photo: Looking across the Athabasca Valley to De Smet Range. Bottom Photo: Summit Cairn for Cinquefoil Mountain... could continue to Mount Jacques... oh wait... forgot my rope.

Photos from this week

A sheep in serious thought

The NEW CAMERA ROCKS!

Top Photo: Me on Parker's Ridge. Bottom: Back side of Parker's Ridge looking to Cirrus Mountain.

The only problem with it is that I'm obsessed with lenses. I promised Tracey that if I could buy one more lens I would stop looking at lenses for at least six months. So I researched, and I located the lens that I wanted: canon EF 100mm f/2.8 usm macro. Wow, what a lens... supposedly the most 'fun' of all the canon lenses. It is rated as one of canon's best amateur lenses! The problem is that I found it for 299 USD but that company won't send to Canada... I think they maybe a little crooked is why! So everywhere else, I couldn't find this lens for less than 467 USD. That's a bit expensive when you add shipping, duty, and a hood... plus the lens is 62mm in diameter which won't fit any of my filters. So I looked into this more and found reviews of the Tamron LD Di 90mm f/2.8 Marco lens. The reviews were shocking.., 'best lens that Tamron makes', they also stated that in terms of sharpness they were the same (and maybe the tamron a little sharper!). The downfall though is no USM and therefore the AF is a little slower. The Tamron comes with a hood, and has a 58mm diameter, which matches all my filters! Now the real goods is the fact it retailed for 354.oo USD.. all in all it will cost462.80 CAD before duty. I'm super excited... as you will see macro is my favourite mode of photography... this lens is also exceptional for portraits. Anyhow, I'm super stoked for my new lens to arrive.

And what am I looking for in the future? Either a canon 14mm prime lens, or a 17-105 canon zoom.... either way, I need a wider angle lens (short of fish eye) and a lens that will do all... a carry everywhere lens... time will provide!