Where does your trash belong?

Travel has always been part of human life and exploring new places brings us joy and thrills. Since pandemic there are many hurdles to travel and people flock to their local parks and natural spaces for some fresh air and exercise. Many of us wouldn’t have paid attention to what is in our backyard and the beauty that surrounds Alberta in absence of this lockdown.

Like all things good and bad there is a dangerous side effect of increased human visits to the national parks and recreational areas. The free moving wildlife are surrounded by constant vehicular traffic and human activities and the untouched, clean zones turn to upsetting trash zones.

Icefield Parkway is deemed as one of the most scenic drives in the world and it leaves me speechless every time I visit but mostly in a good way; except for this one time I saw a raven digging through plastic wrapper for food at this epic viewpoint at Big Hill and Big Bend. In early summer I was so saddened by this sight as we stopped for a quick break on the way to Jasper. At least 5-10 cars came and went by and most people didn’t litter. There are few ignorant individuals that maybe risking the natural environment due to lack of knowledge and proper etiquettes to explore outdoors. I had to take few images to document this in hopes I can pass the message and help spread some awareness about littering.

A raven digging through a twix candy wrapper for scraps at Icefield Parkway June 2021

Please be aware of your non-degradable materials and trash as you head out to the mountains. Your trash doesn’t belong in the claws of these innocent birds and animals. Pack in what you pack out and dispose off all garbage in the designated bins.

We may think littering is no big deal, someone might come by and pick it up but that isn’t always true for free flying garbage. These areas receive heavy snowfall and winds, there are essential rivers and waterbodies nearby that will be covered in trash if we don’t do our part.

Every small effort counts, please make sure you don’t toss out garbage in these beautiful places of our backyard. Respect your surroundings and the animals & birds that share this land with you. Make sure to spread the message among your friends, tourists and fellow visitors to pack in and pack out. Leave nature cleaner than you found it.

Jasper Dark Sky Festival

Every year Jasper National Park hosts a week long festival with diverse opportunities to explore, learn and witness the night sky with minimal light pollution. It is a unique chance to learn about the celestial objects surrounding our galaxy and use top-notch telescopes to view the night sky.

We grabbed our cameras and booked a gondola ride up the Whistlers mountain for a night full of new experiences. We were greeted with the hosts who introduced us to the highlights of the evening and a presentation with amazing night photography.

The weather forecast was for clouds and some rain/snow so we only got a few moments to capture the shot of Jasper town and the river and lakes around the valley. Many knowledgeable volunteers from the Jasper Planetarium got us excited about celestial phenomenon of auroras, milky way and best features of Jasper town for night sky viewing

Aurora Chase

Northern hemisphere is popular for night sky phenomenon called the northern lights or the aurora borealis. When Sun’s core emits energy the charged particles travel through the space and hit the Earth’s atmosphere causing a display of reaction in the form of colorful waves and patterns in the sky.

In late 2021 the sun rotated in a favorable position for many such occurrences of the CME or coronal mass ejection towards earth’s surface. It is a delight to witness these lights dance across the night sky. At times the light is weak to be visible through the naked eye but can be captured with longer exposure time on a digital or cell phone camera.

On Nov 04, 2021 we got an alert on a mobile app for a chance of aurora. We drove outside of Calgary for some dark skies devoid of light pollution and managed to see a faint glow above the clouds. This image on top is shot with a DSLR camera at a 28 second exposure with 800 ISO and f / 3.2 at 21 mm focal length.

Night photography has a thrill to it and can be very rewarding with the right cloud conditions and low light pollution. As the milky way core disappears soon after sunset during winter months in the northern skies aurora season brings a new wave of excitement for night sky enthusiasts

Experience as a vendor at local festival

As an artist it is key to find admirers of your work and clients to pay the bills. These days social media helps with many hurdles of connecting with your viewers and buyers but face to face conversation has no competition. Considering all these things I decided to participate as a vendor in the Annual Lilac Festival in Calgary. It is hyped to be the biggest street festival in spring and it turned out to be true indeed.

I will go through the basic steps of how I got involved and the efforts we put into it.

1. Book your spot : Participation deadline is the key to getting a stall at these festivals. I booked my spot in the month of April. I had about a month and half to prepare and make this event a success.

2. Inventory & product display : This was probably the hardest part to decide what images I’d like to print and display at the booth. As you know I post regularly on social media so clues from the likes and comments on images worked a bit, however I chose to opt for landscape images for most of the display. I had a lot of help from my hubby and we also added few cityscapes just to be safe. Prints on Luster paper, Hahnemühle fine art paper and Matte paper were the favorites. We also chose to add few greeting cards, calendars, postcards and bookmarks. I would suggest planning this months ahead if you can for timely creation or ordering of items.

3. Updating your brand : If you have a logo, website and strong social media presence already it would be very helpful to get more response. In case you are starting out like me, work on the branding for all your products and overall presence. It helps to bring uniform look to your booth as well as creates authenticity and strong visual appeal and standardized message with your branding. Photoshop for logo creation or if you have the skills Adobe Illustrator would help too. Website I chose initially was WordPress but I had to switch to Squarespace for additional features they offered all in one spot. Creating flyers or brochures with offers and plans for different clientele helps as well.

4. Create inventory & pricing : This is probably a very important step to get success. If you have all the market analysis and some research on data what sells and top products you may sell on a given day keep tabs on the cost of creating and the cost of selling the item. If there is a line-up you may miss how much stock you have and what is already gone. Create a digital inventory of your merchandise and offer cost variations based on your customer’s interest. Payment methods have come a long way since cash, so offer your customers some alternatives to pay for the sale using digital methods of credit, debit or PayPal.

5. Display shelves, overall look for your booth: Welcoming is the key but also spacious and open area is how you may want to design your booth. Products that can be visible from afar and then smaller items to inspect upon closer contact is a better idea. It invites the customers to check out your merchandise for a distance without the uncomfortable rush by gesture if they feel pressured to communicate. Have price tags visible or eliminate them all-together so there is a chance for small talk.

6. Day of the event: You may be very nervous on the day of your event, use the energy from those butterflies to bring out the best in you. One day will not define your business prospects but you can end up with some happy faces with engagement and quality products. Remember to breathe and take it all one step at a time. These festivals are for building connections and showing the world what you have to offer.

7. Expectations, hopes and reality: Crowd, weather and merchandise or conditions of the stalls around you will probably help the day go by faster or drag if your visitors are skipping away from a distance. If the stalls next to yours is selling food, giving freebies or entertaining products some clientele will stop by for a chat or to say hello. Keep options to rejuvenate and hydrate throughout the day.

8. The aftermath & business outcome: At the end of an exhibition you will probably be very exhausted, ask few friends to help wind down the booth or have a plan to put everything back together without any damage. Depending on your sales you may be very excited to come back next year or you may be ready to hit the pillow feeling disappointed. But take this as a learning challenge and come back more prepared next time. Business is ever-changing and more challenging theses days as online stores compete with small local sellers. You may not win them all but a few loyal clientele can take you to big heights with word-of-mouth and positive feedback or review options, so don’t be afraid to ask.

Biodiversity - flora

The question people ask when you walk around with your camera ‘are you a photographer?’ always puts me in dilemma. Honestly I am so many things at the same time and just saying I am a biologist or a photographer or a nature lover won’t do justice to what I am doing at this moment. Yes I do have this bulky DSLR around my neck that I love to carry around and when it’s not handy I keep recording all that I find interesting through my mobile phone. Plants and flowers are almost everywhere, especially in summer time and I love noticing them. So I certainly had to write a blog about all the wildflowers blooming across the prairies and the mountains in Alberta.

Yellow Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium parviflorum

These flowers have been seen multiple times but if we don’t know their relevance to the ecosystem we can’t protect them.

Alberta Wild Rose, Rosa acicularis

Along the trails there are warnings to stay on the path and not step on the plants around. Yet people don’t give it a second thought. Trails have to be closed just so the vegetation can grow back to its original state after landslides and avalanches and heavy rains

Arnica, Arnica cordifolia.

If we knew better and had more knowledge about the medicinal and herbal properties of these beautiful flowers and plants we would probably offer more support to their survival. Unfortunately there is no information passed down from generation to next and whatever knowledge we get is from Google and search engines. Companies spend millions of dollars researching plants extracts and use them for pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes.

Red Paintbrush, Castilleja miniata

We even have to revisit nature and the functionality in ways that Biomimicry is a new branch of science and technology. Beginning from the strength of silk fiber to the complex honeycomb structure we get all of our design inspiration from nature.

Tufted/Bird/Cow/ Vetch, Vicia cracca with a honey bee

The fancy perfumes and lotions that give you a feeling of luxury and wealth comes from the bounty of nature. Yet we rush past these fragrant bushes and flowers at arm’s length along the cities and towns

Elaeagnus commutata, the silverberry or wolf-willow

Fragaria virginiana/vesca, wild strawberry

As a child I plucked and gathered flowers, as Indian culture uses flowers as offering to the Gods. Gradually I learned botany in high school and college to understand all the elaborate designs and the Fibonacci number as well as ways of pollination and propagation. These species fight with everything to survive in this competitive land.

Not sure ?

Next time you pass a pretty flower or wonder of nature, take a minute to observe it and appreciate it. Not all plants have to be purchased and nurtured from the conservatory and local garden centers. We can also give a chance to these wildflowers.

Erigeron glaucus, Beach Fleabane

These buds and bushes are not just essential to the bees, but also to our own survival. Some have thorns and some aren’t your store bought roses yet they are here to stay. Maybe long after we are gone there will be more plants than we can count and earth will be more greener than when we found it.

Dasiphora floribunda , Shrubby Cinquefoil

Anemone patens, Prairie Crocus

These crocuses are first sign of the change in seasons and definitely a sight of relief from the long winter in Alberta. Lets spend some more time in the wild and keep our curiosity alive.

Fireweed or Purple loosestrife

These were just a few handful specimens I came across, I hope there will be many new wonderful species to identify and photograph. If you have a favorite wildflower share it in comments. I am looking forward to more trips across the mountain trails and prairies to see more wonders of nature.

Cheers!