My “Superseries” - A Change of Perspective.

We have been living in Edmonton for almost two years now and our time here is coming to an end soon, but before we leave this beautiful city and the amazing province of Alberta, I wanted to get a new perspective of my favourite place in Edmonton: The River Valley.

Downtown Edmonton in Golden morning light, while the River and the High Level Bridge are covered in fog. Used a slightly longer exposure here of 10sec. to show the dynamic of the rolling fog.

One way to do it would have been to use a drone to get a bird’s eye of the North Saskatschewan River cutting its way through the city of Edmonton. I had already explored all my favourite spots in the River Valley and shot them in different light situations. So I guided my way through different offices, received safety training and eventually came up access to a spot on the campus of the University of Alberta, allowing me to get a unique perspective of downtown Edmonton, the iconic Highlevel Bridge and the River.

My first time at the viewpoint during a warm and colorful fall day. Used a circular polarizer to get more contrasty sky.

My first time on that vantage point, it was a golden fall day in the middle of September and the valley was glowing golden from the foliage under a blue sky. Next I went before going to the office in the morning and witnessed an insane display of fog rolling through the valley creating some special light, and lately I have been documenting various brilliant sunrises, with each having its own character. So even though it is one perspective, the colours and mood always differ, making this an appealing series for me and a goal of mine to capture more beauty in the next three months, when winter will be slowly taking over.

By far the most vibrant sunrise I witnessed from up there so far, the color progression that morning was intense and everything was casted in shades of red.

Let me just quickly add some thoughts for the composition. When I am up there I shoot with my 24-85 standard zoom lens on my Nikon D750, and I usually bring my ND-Filters as well, which will allow me to balance the sky using a Grad ND0.9. My general thought process for this scene is that I try to place the horizon on a line of thirds (black lines in the sketch), while I also find that the river with its flow and the Bridge help to guide the viewer (arrows). As you may see I also try to place downtown on the intersection of the thirds (at least roughly), this creates more interest. With the wider angle shots I will have more sky and when use a zoomed in view I will focus more on the river, this will be the case when the sky does not light up well. 

Sketching out my compositional thoughts for this slightly zoomed in view. Read the details above.

As usual I would like to here from you what you think about this project and if there is a shot you would like to see in particular. I have three or four more situations envisioned that I can hopefully bring to life. Here are some more that I have captured so far. Thanks for reading.