Hanging Memories on Ribbons

December 22, 2015December 22, 2015 | drawandshoot

WinterTree_HoldingMemories4 — A couple of years ago around this same time of year I came across this small tree decorated with a few shiny baubles on gossamer ribbons. It was a season of snow and cold, which this year emphatically, is not. At least, not so far. This particular tree, I think, is planted in a public space in memory of someone and those ribbons and balls were most likely filled with warm thoughts and tender memories . It seemed such an intimate and lovely gesture in an unlikely space and at the time I thought the best way to photograph the scene was through camera movement. One small gesture for another.

© Karen McRae, 2015

Goose Down 2

December 14, 2015 | drawandshoot

This is a reworking of an image from a couple of years ago. The graceful form of the bird struck me when I first came across it; the water was shifting the goose back and forth in a slow rhythmic motion and the submerged down looked so soft and painterly. I have layered the bird photograph with an image of cloud reflections on water and I think I like the inky blue that spills over to the delicate palisade of golden threaded flora. Now I am thinking about how I might translate this into a painting…

It’s Still Autumn

December 13, 2015December 13, 2015 | drawandshoot

River’sEdge1, Early December 2015

River’s Edge2, Early December 2015

River’s Edge1, Early December 2014

River’s Edge2, Early December 2014

In the infancy of December 2014 the air was very cold and the river was all frozen jagged edges – sculptural and almost colourless. It felt like deep winter. But there is no ice in this early December, no snow. Just gentle waves lapping the soft shoreline.

[click on an image to see the bigger picture – top images from this Dec, bottom images from last]

Flight Patterns, Too

October 22, 2015October 22, 2015 | drawandshoot

When you find a swing hidden away in the greenspace… : )

[Self portrait in ‘flight’]
© Karen McRae, 2015

While Waiting on the Tide…

September 13, 2015September 13, 2015 | drawandshoot

Hiking the shoreline of Bic National Park (parc national du Bic) in Quebec, waiting for the water to push out a little further so we are able to pass around boulders and cliffs that are only passable during low tide. While stopped and listening to gently crashing waves and breathing in salty air this little red fox appears from the scattered boulders waiting with us until the water will recede enough for the hike to continue.

We are walking beside the immense St. Lawrence River (Le fleuve Saint-Laurent) as it opens up to the Gulf of St Lawrence, which then flows into the North Atlantic Ocean. The river becomes tidal somewhere around Quebec City, about 300 km upstream of where we are walking and it does feel like being on the cusp of the ocean.

September might be the best month to take a vacation. The best time for missing the summer crowds and peak insect season while still basking in (mostly) gorgeous weather.

Evening Aria

August 19, 2015 | drawandshoot

In-camera multiple exposures of the mutable river and sky ~ intimate and still, wide open and wild. The summer heat sends the mind (and perhaps the body) to the water.

Rivière Coulonge

August 3, 2015August 3, 2015 | drawandshoot

A series of images made while on a paddling trip on a section of the beautiful and storied rivière Coulonge, Quebec. Technically these photographs are quite ‘low quality’ but somehow I feel they hint at expressing some of those stories of the rivers’ past.