“Life is Your Art.” – Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams has long been one of my favourite photographers. I love the simplicity mixed with awe in each spell-binding, stark, black and white still. What I appreciate even more is his ability to eloquently put into words his philosophy behind his work. Let me share his full quote here: “Life is art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film. Your bright eyes and easy smile is your museum.”

As I was driving home from a work trip to Lethbridge on Friday afternoon, I thought of this quote that I love. It mirrors what motivates me to stop, pull out my camera (or handy iPhone) and take a photo. You see, Friday’s drive home, typically a 3 hour journey, was a warm, windy affair on the wind tunnel that is Highway 2. The infamous southern Alberta winds wreaked havoc on my wee Jeep packed to the roof with books, so I sought alternative routes that would get me home safely. Back roads that I’ve never traversed opened up a wondrous new canvas that swelled my heart (my camera) and begged me to stop often to capture the beauty around me. Acres and acres of brilliant golden wheat fields mid-harvest with teams of combines lining up like beacons along the wind rows. Giant, puffy Alberta clouds skidding across the vast Alberta sky. Ancient farm buildings, leaning, as if tired, away from the strong, incessant, prevailing westerlies. The feeling that I may never pass this way again drove me to stop and capture each perfect moment in time. You can find my “driving home” snaps here.

Many of you have commented that I should create a book of my Alberta Adventures, and I appreciate this idea! Snaps like the one above of Mount Kidd taken high up in the Kananaskis Mountains several weeks ago, will serve as a testament to my time spent here in wonderful, gorgeous, stunning Alberta. Did you know Ansel Adams also experienced the pull of the Rockies? On my drive home, I stopped at my favourite local art gallery in Black Diamond, Bluerock Gallery, and purchased a tiny gem of a book that I have had my hands on many times this summer: Ansel Adams In the Canadian Rockies. This crisp, stark, black and white collection of photos taken by the master very early in his career on work trip to Jasper and Mount Robson reveals the awesome beauty of the Rocky Mountains in all their glory. As Adams writes in a letter to his wife during this trip:

“These mountains are breathtaking – utterly different than anything we have seen. The peaks and forest and ‘tone’ fulfill almost every ideal I have had of what ‘my’ mountains could be…These are the great mountains we dream about.”

Thanks as always for stopping by! If you would like to see a few more of my Alberta Adventure photos, please visit my website and kindly let me know what snaps you would like to see gathered between the covers of a book. Know that they were taken with a grateful, open heart…my “camera”!