Monsoon season is well upon us. There's been a lot of rain for Calgary. From now till just after Stampede, the days will start off clear and sunny, clouds will develop over the afternoon, there will be some fairly brief but intensive localized rain showers, and then the evening will be sunny again till it gets dark.
I once flew back from Drayton Valley on the corporate jet. That trip was the most fun airplane trip ever. I got dropped at the airport by a plant foreman, and was the only person there. I had time to hit the washroom and heard the whoosh of the jet. I walked out onto the tarmac to watch the jet rolling in. I was totally having a fantasy of having my own private jet coming to get me, but was expecting to get wedged into the last seat of a full airplane.
One of the pilots leaned out and yelled "come one, we want to beat the storms". The plane never stopped. I tossed in my bag, the pilot helped me in. There was only one other guy, stretched out and sound asleep. They told me to sit over the wing on the other side, and buckle in tight. By the time I had my bag stowed and my seatbelt fastened the plane was turning onto the runway. They punched the throttle and we were off. It was a Cessna Citation V, running light and they weren't kidding about being in a hurry. It was a rough ride, the little wings flapping like a bird sometimes. I could see the pop up thunderstorms all over the place, and there was a bit of dodging and weaving. Then we were on the ground and rolling for the terminal. They had a cab waiting for me, which is a nice perk. The other guy was still asleep.
This time of year one of the time management things is staying ahead of the grass. As I write this the lawn is soaking wet with dew. It's actually really quite pretty in the sun. There is sometimes a window of opportunity to mow the lawn after the dew and before the rain. Sometimes not, and it's easy to tell who has missed the window over the last several days.
One of the good things about it is there are two windows of opportunity for wet flower photographs. One is in the morning with dew, and the other is late afternoon after the rain. Both can offer really nice light. Sometimes I cheat and bring out a spray bottle.
Some of these shots might look a bit more moody than usual; that's just the light and me trying to emphasize the blooms and keep the background shadowy.
1. I've been working on the digital red. This looks closer to the real colour, but it's still not quite right. This peony is a darker red, but still somewhat glossy. I've had to edit this pretty carefully. I still don't have the film back from the lab.
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Of the Day
Driftwood
Peony
Film during a walk with Sean and Cam along the Bow River. (6x9, Ektar 100)
courtesy Green Fools. Clown decision making. I think they're about to start a giant clown version of rock paper scissors.
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