Andrew Strain Photography » Landscape

Mountain Landscapes

Strain — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:04:41 +0000

A pair of mountain landscapes, one from the summer and one from last week.

The Spell of the Yukon

Strain — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:12:14 +0000

Atlin may be located south of 60 but is so isolated from the rest of BC that it may as well be a part of the Yukon. There is a real magic to the north – I’ve traveled to every corner of BC and have never felt the same electrifying attraction as the one that keeps drawing me to my childhood home. The south coast mountains may be where I live, but my heart will always belong to the vast wilderness of the north…

I spent the last 5 days visiting family in Atlin and find myself suffering from severe northern withdrawl. No one writes of the Yukon better than Service – I’ll leave you with this. Hopefully my vacation snaps do the words some justice.

I wanted the gold, and I sought it,
I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy — I fought it;
I hurled my youth into a grave.
I wanted the gold, and I got it —
Came out with a fortune last fall, —
Yet somehow life’s not what I thought it,
And somehow the gold isn’t all.

No! There’s the land. (Have you seen it?)
It’s the cussedest land that I know,
From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it
To the deep, deathlike valleys below.
Some say God was tired when He made it;
Some say it’s a fine land to shun;
Maybe; but there’s some as would trade it
For no land on earth — and I’m one.

You come to get rich (damned good reason);
You feel like an exile at first;
You hate it like hell for a season,
And then you are worse than the worst.
It grips you like some kinds of sinning;
It twists you from foe to a friend;
It seems it’s been since the beginning;
It seems it will be to the end.

I’ve stood in some mighty-mouthed hollow
That’s plumb-full of hush to the brim;
I’ve watched the big, husky sun wallow
In crimson and gold, and grow dim,
Till the moon set the pearly peaks gleaming,
And the stars tumbled out, neck and crop;
And I’ve thought that I surely was dreaming,
With the peace o’ the world piled on top.

The summer — no sweeter was ever;
The sunshiny woods all athrill;
The grayling aleap in the river,
The bighorn asleep on the hill.
The strong life that never knows harness;
The wilds where the caribou call;
The freshness, the freedom, the farness —
O God! how I’m stuck on it all.

The winter! the brightness that blinds you,
The white land locked tight as a drum,
The cold fear that follows and finds you,
The silence that bludgeons you dumb.
The snows that are older than history,
The woods where the weird shadows slant;
The stillness, the moonlight, the mystery,
I’ve bade ‘em good-by — but I can’t.

There’s a land where the mountains are nameless,
And the rivers all run God knows where;
There are lives that are erring and aimless,
And deaths that just hang by a hair;
There are hardships that nobody reckons;
There are valleys unpeopled and still;
There’s a land — oh, it beckons and beckons,
And I want to go back — and I will.

They’re making my money diminish;
I’m sick of the taste of champagne.
Thank God! when I’m skinned to a finish
I’ll pike to the Yukon again.
I’ll fight — and you bet it’s no sham-fight;
It’s hell! — but I’ve been there before;
And it’s better than this by a damsite —
So me for the Yukon once more.

There’s gold, and it’s haunting and haunting;
It’s luring me on as of old;
Yet it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting
So much as just finding the gold.
It’s the great, big, broad land ‘way up yonder,
It’s the forests where silence has lease;
It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.

The Spell of the Yukon, Robert Service

I’ve been busy…

Strain — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:00:31 +0000

Not a lot of time for blog posts these days… if you’ve been following my twitter feed you may have seen these photos, but for the blog readers here’s a couple photos from a whirlwind summer in the bush… more to come once the snow flies and the dust settles. In the meantime, peep some photos shot by my friend Jussi Grznar, another snowboard photographer from Whistler who’s found his way onto my field crew for the late season madness.

Other random note – I’ve moved to Whistler (although I’ve only spent one night in my new place, and likely won’t be around much til November. See you then?).

Cabo Pulmo

Strain — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:40:23 +0000

A quick post since I’m rushed for time – I spent the past 2 weeks in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico, where my friend Jake Cohn has an incredible place within spitting distance of the ocean. Not a bad spot for a skier to rehab from season-ending shoulder surgery, eh? That boy leads a rough life, I’ll tell you what…

I tried to take as much time away from the lens as possible, but eventually the orange glow that filtered through the window every morning pulled me out of bed to shoot as the sun rose. Unfortunately, the time flew by and I’m back in Pemberton, frantically unpacking my vacation bags and gearing up for another field season looking for gold [+copper +molybdenum] in the mountains of British Columbia. One night in my own bed and I’m headed into camp.

A few more photos can be found on my flickr.

Tremor

Strain — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:15:48 +0000

I’m not feeling particularly wordy but wanted to post a couple photos I shot last week from the summit of Tremor Mountain, the highest point in the Spearhead Range. There are few things as humbling as travelling on skis through big terrain – note the two skiers tackling the spearhead traverse (bottom left) for scale.

Tremor was one hell of an adventure and I’m stoked we made it out there – the hourglass is a line I won’t be forgetting any time soon. I was quite pleased with how easy the trip was on my splitboard – I can’t imagine doing a day trip out to Tremor on snowshoes. Speaking of, anyone want to buy a pair of MSR Denali Evos? I won’t be using mine again… ever.

Splitboarding is the answer.

A few more photos from the trip to Tremor:

PhotoShelter / D7000

Strain — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 23:29:47 +0000

People often complain that I don’t have a portfolio (a valid criticism). Well, now I do. You can check it out here as well as the link in the top right of this page. I’m using PhotoShelter to run the site and will be setting up galleries for stock and print sales over the next little while – for now, it’s just a portfolio. I have it broken up into Mineral Exploration, Snowboard / Ski, Landscapes and People. Check it out and let me know what you think! Next up, business cards…

I picked up a Nikon D7000 last week, and the first big dump of the season in Pemberton gave me a perfect excuse to get out and shoot with my new photo-maker. I tested the low light capabilities in Vancouver last weekend and was blown away by the usability of images up to ISO 6400, but realistically my main application for a camera is landscapes and action in good light so I was anxious to get out and see how the new sensor performed in my typical shooting situation.

All three photos taken with the D7000 / 10.5mm fisheye combo.

I’m quite pleased with the obvious improvements in dynamic range over the D200 that I upgraded from, particularly in shadow detail where I feel that the D200 suffers quite a bit. Image quality is vastly improved in all respects, but given the age of the camera I was upgrading from, that is to be expected.

I haven’t done enough shooting to comment much further than that on image quality or functionality of the camera, but my other main observation was just how much smaller it is than the D200. It weighs only 100 grams or so less, but is visibly narrower and shorter than the D200, and fits much better in my small touring/hiking camera bag – I’m pretty excited about the smaller size giving me more packing options for heading into the backcountry.

I’m not a big gear fiend but people do often ask about my equipment and for camera recommendations, so I’ll try to share my thoughts on the D7000 over the next couple posts.

No related posts.

Fall Snow

Strain — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:31:22 +0000

A few more photos of October snowfall in the upper reaches of the Lillooet River / Salal Creek. Hopefully my next post will be less of a tease and more about actual snowfall.

It’s coming…

Strain — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:03:14 +0000

Winter is almost here. Are you ready?

Salal Creek, NW of Pemberton, BC.

Salal Creek

Strain — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:29:44 +0000

Salal Creek, just upstream of its confluence with the Lillooet River.

I’m done with bush work for the season – now its time to look to the skies and call to Ullr to send a cold and snowy winter.

Back to the Bush

Strain — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 03:35:35 +0000

I’m looking forward to a busy end to what’s been a lengthly field season in mountains of southwest BC – fingers crossed winter holds off for one more month, then hits full force and doesn’t stop ’til May.

I’m heading back to the bush tomorrow morning – here’s a quick glimpse of the area I’ll be returning to:

No internet in camp, so I’ll see you all in a week (or more).