A sunday walk at Bowmont Park

by patil | Jul 12, 2020 | Life, Places We Go

A Sunday Walk At Bowmont Park

I love Calgary for offering beautiful nature walks just 5 min drive away. This Sunday we went to Silver Springs Boardwalk which is the upper side of Bowmont Natural Environment Park. Summer months are like a party in the nature areas. Flowers from all colors can be seen on the side of the pathways. I love the wild Alberta rose the best as it smells like heaven. The happiest flower of all is daisies. Symbol of youth and innocence. It’s not a flower known for its scent, but I love daisy’s wild scent. It takes me to my childhood.

Exploring the park

The wooden boardwalk all the way to the river is so cute and joy to walk on. The little streams come together and flow down to the river through a rocky path along with a small waterfall. The soothing sound of the flowing water is like a music to your ears. At the end of the boardwalk, you arrive a beautiful look out by the river. This is where we take our first break watching the birds bathing in the water and the people rafting on the river. From there we took a steep climb which wasn’t long and we were on the top of a hill overlooking Bow River, Paskapoo Slops, bridges and railroads. (Edit: That steep climb had actually been replaced with steps) This is my favourite spot to take photos. The view is amazing, sky is beautiful. I never did a family session here as there is some hiking and climbing involved, but I would love to if anyone is interested. From here you have a nice long pathway to enjoy the view of the beautiful valley and Bowmont Park. When the pathway forks you can either go down to the Bowmont park and little lagoon or continue to a high deck sitting on top of another hill. It is a nice deck with benches where you can enjoy the beautiful view and have some rest.

On our way back there was a crazy wind which later turned to a rain storm. It was like a natural attraction for the kids as they were walking against the wind gusts with hair flying in the air.

I enjoyed taking photos of my favourite people playing with the wind, laughing like crazy!

Seriously, does anyone want a family session at upper Bowmont Park? 😊

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Porch-raits / A Novel Trend In Pandemic Times

by patil | May 9, 2020 | Family, Life

What the heck is a porch-rait? It’s basically a portrait of the porch people

During Coronavirus lock-down, a creative photographer came up with the idea of taking friends’ portraits from a distance, at their porches, windows or balconies. It has spread all around the world faster than the Corona virus itself. In this isolation time where we stop meeting with people, porch-raits has been a way of spreading positivity and cheer. Connecting with people through a fun photography project was a great idea that has gotten photographers out of their homes and put a smile on people’s faces. At the beginning I didn’t feel like doing it as it was still cold and snowy in Calgary but, when it started to get warmer, it turned into an attractive and fun thing to do.

I was drawn into the porch photo idea, also because I LOVE PORCHES. Seriously, I love everything about porches. Doors, windows, stairs, pots, railings, plank floors and everything that goes along with it. When I’m walking on the streets the front porches of the houses always catch my eye. That pretty “home sweet home” feeling! When you add your family to this view, it completes the cozy home picture where we live, be loved and belong. There is no place like home!

So the last couple of weeks, I’m enjoying the spring in the air, going to different neighbourhoods, capturing beautiful smiles. Families cuddled on the front steps, giggling kids, pets, babies…♥♥♥

One of the lovely people I photographed told me that they just bought and moved in their new house right before the lock- down and this porch-rait of their family will be a beautiful memory of their first days in their new house.

I actually started thinking of making these sessions permenant minis especially for people who just bought their new house!

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Tags: calgary family photographer, calgary family photography, Coronavirus, covid19, family mini session, family photo, family photographer, front steps project, home sweet home, isolation, porch photo, porch-rait, social distancing, professional photography service, outdoor family portraits, family pictures, family photos, family pictures on the porch, kids photography, children’s photography, porchraits, porch-traits

A day in the fall

by patil | Sep 22, 2019 | Kids, Outdoor Sessions

A Day In The Fall: A Fall Photo Session At Nosehill Park

It’s Calgary, as everybody knows we don’t have lengthy falls and winter can show it’s face any time with a surprise snow storm. Before this happens, I wanted to capture the beautiful colors of the fall and chose this Saturday as our photo shoot day.

I had a dress from my 20’s. I thought it would be a wonderful photo prop for fall photos. It was big for my 7-year-old but worked fine. She was going to be my model for the day. My son was my assistant holding the diffuser and pulling my equipment wagon. He was very happy with his job unlike his sister who was whining non-stop and refusing to look pretty. I promised them to pay for their work at the end of the day, and she cooperated. The timing was just perfect, we arrived at the park late afternoon and stayed until the sunset. I didn’t know the Nose Hill Park would make a prefect place for fall photos as there are lots of bright yellow trees which are human height so you can easily get beautiful bright fall colours in your portraits. I brought a children size guitar, a wooden stool, some flowers, books and an umbrella. I just loved how all these props worked with the dress. Little country girl in the fall wilderness. I think we can call Nose Hill Park “wilderness” as you can see cayotes and deer wondering around, lucky us, we didn’t encounter any cayotes. When we got to the top of the hill, I started taking as many pictures as possible in the time limit my daughter was giving me. We emerged into a beautiful meadow which was covered with high grass and unfortunately lots of thorns. I enjoyed the golden hour through my daughter’s occasional whining and took some more sunset photos.

The moment I said, “thank you guys, we’re done” they jumped in the air and started enjoying themselves/ one is riding the wagon, the other one is pushing it down the hill, screaming and laughing. And I? of course I was running behind them with my camera trying to capture some action shots. Photography is like an uncurable disease and what I love the most is capturing candid photos of people living that very moment in all its reality and emotion. I am sharing here some of the couple hundred photos I took that day. When I asked my kids as we drove back home what was their favourite part of the photo shoot, they said “the wagon ride of course” LOL, I knew it. I paid $10 each for modeling and assisting. What a slave driver! :))

Give me a shout for your fall family photos.

www.alpinaphotography.com

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