First snowfall, Assiniboine Park

A very creepy snowman from the weekend’s first significant snowfall, Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg.  My personal favourite time of year to shoot.

 

Fierce Polar Bear, Journey to Churchill

I really got lucky on this day photographing the Polar Bears swimming underwater at The Journey to Churchill.   My wife and I have been members and visited them well over a dozen times and only seen this behaviour once.

Foggy morning, Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg

Foggy morning in Assiniboine Park, definitely one of my favourite times to shoot, and one that inspires the creation of black and white images.

Still deciding on this one, may leave the colour version intact.

At one with nature, architecture

An interesting design element of the Qualico Family Centre at Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park, is the tree growing through the exterior skylight.  The building also incorporates a living roof.

Prairie Dog Central Railway

After the Prairie Dog Central vintage steam train leaves the station it’s worth checking out the old luggage cart at Inkster Junction, Winnipeg, Canada.

Vintage steam train, Prairie Dog Central Railway

Vintage steam train No.3 of the Prairie Dog Central Railway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  While out picking Saskatoon berries and hiking with the dogs, we stopped by on the way home, mainly to scout out the location to photograph the train at a future time.

Dinosaurs Alive! Assiniboine Park Zoo, Winnipeg

More images from the life-sized dinosaurs at Dinosaurs Alive! at Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park Zoo.  These are great for practicing wildlife photography technique.  They move very slowly and don’t require long telephoto lenses.  I treated these like any wildlife close up or environmental portrait, just without my usual long lenses.  In fact, most were shot between 16 and 70 mm on a full frame camera.  Lighting and exposure can be a little tricky because of the midday sun angle, but any modern dslr or mirrorless camera can recover highlights and pull out any shadow detail.  So if you can, shoot in RAW and you will end up with some pretty unusual images.

Dinosaurs Alive! Assiniboine Park Zoo

Tyrannosaurus Rex at Dinosaurs Alive, Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg.  A great natural setting to view these life-size animatronic dinosaurs.  Bring a wide angle lens, if you want full length shots.

Polar Bear, superman

This Polar Bear at the Journey to Churchill in Assiniboine Park Zoo, Winnipeg had just dove in and continued by in a near perfect position.  I’ve patiently tried for this shot quite a few times, finally everything came together.  He almost looks like he could fly, just requires a photoshopped Superman cape.

Percheron Horse, Assiniboine Park Zoo, Winnipeg

A Percheron horse posing nicely in front of his brand new stable/barn at McFeetors Heavy Horse Centre, Assiniboine Park Zoo, Winnipeg.