More pictures can be found in the gallery.

I haven't taken a good self-portrait in the last six months so last night I figured I was due. I drove to Assiniboine Forest after church and took a few shots, the best of which is this.

There is something so peaceful about a forest at night.

Last night was the first clear-ish night during the holidays so I headed out to Grand Beach to take some pictures last night. Unfortunately I failed to consider that I was heading to the leeward side of the lake so when I got there the strong wind and blowing snow quickly sent me back to the car. Note to self: the next time I head to Lake Winnipeg, I'm going to Matlock.

I ended up retreating back to a quarry I've been eyeing for some time near Beaconia and took a couple pictures before the cold finally convinced me to go home.

A while back I stumbled across the photography of Rune Guneriussen, bookmarked it, and promptly forgot about it for the better part of a year. Recently when cleaning out my bookmarks I found it again and am simply astounded by all the pictures.

I guess part of the reason I am attracted to these pictures is that I enjoy night photography. Whenever I look at them I can't help but try to figure out how they were taken. Generally taking the pictures like these is easy, but I just cannot imagine the logistics behind getting all these lamps into the forest and supplying power to them.

A while back Mikael and I had an idea very similar to this where we would take a sofa, television, side table and lamp around the province and photograph them in various random places. I liked the idea of a living room set up in the forest, a normal, typical home but completely out of context. These pictures make me want to revisit that project although how to cart everything around and supply power to it still eludes me.

Environmental remediation in progress at the site of an old shingle factory where coal tar was buried near the river. Despite the fact that this area looks like a moonscape, if you look closely there are deer in this picture.

I used to really dislike shooting in the city at night. I preferred to shoot by moonlight, with star trails in every picture. Last night I went out and shot some pictures and found that taking pictures in the city is great as long as you can avoid amber coloured lights.

...and I really need to calm down right now.

Edit: Here's a far, far better version. I originally took the picture below, and then returned three weeks later and took the picture above. For the longest time I preferred the picture above, but now, looking back I can safely say the picture below is superior. I guess life is just funny that way.

1) Wait for nightfall
2) Grab camera, tripod and cd player
3) Drive out to some place you have never been before
4) Set up the camera, put some relaxing music on
5) Start taking a picture
6) Stand, look around, and reflect on life while you wait
7) Check the completed picture, repeat steps 5 to 7 as necessary

I tend to follow this process at least once each exam season.

Edit: I changed the picture to a slightly better one, and here are two more steps that describe how I got the slightly better picture:

8) Get home, take a look at the pictures
9) Decide you hate them all and resolve to try again tomorrow, repeat steps 1-8

Last night I went out to take some pictures south of Headingly. I planned to take some star trail pictures of high voltage lines, but the frequent trains passing nearby caught my attention. I got a few pictures (and one really good one) but had to leave early because I forgot to bring gloves and the temperature was dropping fast.

My favourite picture of the night (above) was a great stroke of luck because two trains passed the crossing I was shooting. The picture of the crossing bars coming down is one I have wanted to take for a long time. I'll be returning later to get better shots of the power lines.

Music for night photography: Amon Tobin - Ten Piece Metric Wrench Set