Alberta |
| Friday, 01 February 2008 00:00 |
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Who doesn’t remember the impressive photography in the Academy Award-winning movie “Brokeback Mountain” – the vast plains, which the main characters crossed on their horses, the massive rock formations, mighty rivers, and the awe-inspiring sunsets over the Rocky Mountains. All of these can be experienced hands-on in Alberta, the westernmost of the Canadian Prairie provinces where the movie was shot. This doesn’t surprise: Alberta is often referred to as “Texas North”, not just because of the oil fields the region is blessed with, but because of the high number of working and guest ranches where even town folks can inhale sweet country air and play cowboys. Little tip: The country fair “Calgary Exhibition and Stampede” is the biggest open-air fair in the world. Every year about 1.5m visitors are attracted by not just the fair but the great rodeo, the Calgary Stampede. You don’t have to follow in the footsteps of the movie to enjoy Alberta. Bring your wide angle lens, as any photographer, professional or amateur, will be struck by the panorama of these landscapes. To paint you a picture: you’re snug in your sleeping bag somewhere in the Canadian plains, not a soul in sight, somewhere in the far distance you can hear coyotes howl and you’re looking straight up into the most amazing starry night you could possibly imagine. Perhaps you’re hiking in the Rocky Mountains, stop for a break at a crystal-clear mountain stream, maybe have a snack and watch the enormous grizzly bear downstream enjoy his own lunch – heavy on salmon – at the same time. Its pictures such as this which stay with you for the rest of your life.
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