All In The Wild...

 ...was the theme for the 2018 International Ice Carving Competition in Lake Louise.
And photography played quite the role this time as the ten teams could choose their favorite photograph from the many that have been taken over the years capturing the beauty of the Banff National Park. They then had exactly 34 hours to create their personal masterpiece.

Please click on the images to enlarge them, it's worth it!

As every year, it blows my mind how detailed and creative these ice carvings are.
This year though, almost a week went by after the competition finished that I had a chance to visit Lake Louise. Wind and weather, or better, snow and weather, had taken their toll. One of the sculptures had already disappeared, others showed quite some damage.

This piece of art I will call "Aurora" as it had no official title, but the inspiring photo shows the aurora. On second thought, I might have called it "Le Petit Prince" or "B 612"!

Beautifully executed and painstakingly hard to photograph...

This years Ice Sculpture Competition was at the same time the Canada Cup of Ice Carving which is hosted by a different site each year. The creators of "Aurora", Team Samuel and Michal from France/Poland, won the Cup last year in Ottawa.

Another favorite of mine was the "Eskimo Chieftain" by Team Ice Kingdom from China.

Ever wondered why it is called the blue hour? The sun had long set, but the light was still lingering as snow was falling in steady fine flakes.

With total darkness though and the proper illumination the sculpture really shows its full splendor.

"Aurora" was my favorite sculpture of all, but this one comes in as a close second.
Horse, of course....for those of you who know me.

Created by the Baisas Brothers from the Philippines "Catch me if you can" won a very deserved 3rd place this year.

Isn't that detail just amazing? 

Team Sakha from Russia carved my favorite sculpture of last years competition, "The Guardian". This year they won 2nd place and the People's Choice Award for their "Fun" carving.

To give a better appreciation for the sculpture I will include the sketch here.

Fun indeed!

Last but not least, the winner of this years competition:
"Moonlight Meeting" by Team US EH!!, from, you guessed it, the US and Canada.

Wildly stunning!

Black & White Is The New Color

Since the beginning of photography in the early 1800s, photographers were eager to be able to photograph in color. Since 1935 color photography became more and more main stream.

Starting with high saturation slide films like the Fujichrome Velvia and others, color photography took on a new dimension. Photos were as colorful as nature itself...sometimes even more so. In the era of Photoshop color-reality seems to be rather an interpretation of the artist than pure documentation.
I love color and I love Photoshop, but lately I feel the urge to take a step back and focus more on other elements that make a good photo.
Composition, texture, detail, depth of field to name a few.
Will I be able to create as good and impressive photos if I forgo color?

With this question in mind I promised myself to post at least one blog per month in 2018 that is dedicated to Black & White photography.

As you can see, I allow myself a splash of color here and there...

These images were taken at a nearby vacant ranch. I feel very fortunate to have obtained the permission to wander there and to take images.

The ranch is stunning, but my love goes to this absolute amazing former dairy barn.

 A log barn with incredible charm!

Another one of my favorite items on the ranch...

What do you think? Comments here or on facebook are appreciated!