Fernie, B.C.

This May long weekend I was able to visit Fernie with family.  Calgary has had very poor air quality lately due to the number of forest fires in the province of Alberta.  The air quality if Fernie was great and there was no smoke smell in the air or visible.  It was an amazing break. It was also a good mental reset for me. Certainly what I have been through has been difficult, but many have been through worse. It is good to be thankful for what I have.  This picture was taken just about a hundred meters from where we were staying.  The sky was blue, no visible smoke - such a change.

Olympus OM-1, 14-150mm, 31mm, ISO 1250, 1/500, f/16. March 21, 2023, 4:20pm.

On our first walk after arriving we came across this Black Bear cub.  We quickly checked, but weren't able to see its mom. There were four of us plus a dog, so we continued on with our walk after the cub ran away. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 473mm, ISO 5000, 1/25, f/16. March 19, 2023, 7:15pm.

On our last morning, the day was cloudy and a slow drizzle of BC sunshine.  The colours really saturated with the lighting. It was very dark, so the ISO was quite high. 

Olympus OM-1, 14-150mm, 56mm, ISO 10,000, 1/60, f/11. March 22, 2023, 6:35am.

An advantage of my early morning walks is that I catch some wildlife that are pretty shy and stay hidden during the day.  Quite a few White Tail Deer were seen on my walks and on this day I saw a couple of Red Tailed Foxes. Again, it was quite dark, the street lights can be seen as still being on.

Olympus OM-1, 14-150mm, 150mm, ISO 10,000, 1/160, f/5.6. March 22, 2023, 5:45am.

This little fox did run off and was later seen with a friend. Normally they are quite solitary.

Olympus OM-1, 14-150mm, 140mm, ISO 10,000, 1/40, f/5.6. March 22, 2023, 5:50am.