Victoria, the Alberta Portfolio XX (Red Rock Canyon, Alberta)

After working up in the high mountains, and before leaving the park, Annie drove us to Red Rock Canyon, where a river has cut through soft red sandstone, and left behind a wonderful canyon of water-carved rock. Like the Red Rock Coulee, I had seen photos of the space at Annie's, but nothing in the images had prepared me for the rich colours and shapes of the canyon. Due to the Canyon's high sides, the path that the tourists take is high above the stream; Victoria and I clambered down into the canyon and crisscrossed the stream to move into the spaces we wished to work.

4"x5" film

The strongest image, above, has an almost static or pasted-up quality to it, because of the pose, yet the dynamic nature of the composition, with all the lines leading directly to Victoria, combined with the static pose, and the vibrant, fluid landscape, add up to a very vivid image, almost in spite of its simplicity.

4"x5" film

Because the Canyon was so deep, and the hour so late in the day, the exposures were a full second in length. This strengthened the images, in that the motion blur of the water was not an option, but a requirement, but it also influenced the poses that were possible,