View allAll Photos Tagged kamloopsbc
On the bank of the Thompson River
Kamloops, B.C.
This gentleman seemed disinclined to talk but it was only polite to say hello and ask the obligatory "How's the fishing?". He said "Lousy" and I nodded and was on my way. He didn't know I'd taken his picture.
What a view though, eh? The whole valley spread out before you. To the left in this shot are Mt. Peter and Mt. Paul. Straight ahead beyond the bank of trees is the city of Kamloops, about 7 km away.
McArthur Island park,
Kamloops, B.C.
No wonder the squirrels on McArthur Island seem so tame. This guy and his wife take walks there several times a week and bring a bag of peanuts.
"Sunset is still my favourite colour and rainbow is second."
--- Mattie Stepanek
This smoke-free sunset over the Thompson River reminded me of what a beautiful place I call home.
Thompson River,
Kamloops, B.C.
I've no idea what that shape in the sky is but I left it in for a discussion piece. :-) Maybe it's Superman. Maybe it's an alien space ship. Even if it's not, it's definitely a UFO.
I wasn't actually going for a comparison shot on this but I realized when I had this up on the computer that I had taken an almost identical shot in the winter. I'll link it below.
McArthur Island Park
Kamloops, B.C.
There is much to dislike about Canada geese. They overrun parks, school playing fields, marshlands in fall and sometimes through the winter, crapping all over everything with their nasty, slippery excrement. They won't move off paths and often have nasty dispositions, pecking viciously at passersby.
And, yet, there is something pleasing and special about them to most Canadians, bearing our country's name as they do. It just isn't fall (that's autumn in Canadian) until we can hear the honking overhead and look up to see the identifiable "V" flying pattern.
They do make a very nice picture against the snow and, in the end, that is all that matters to a photographer. :-)
Sandstone bluffs,
Kamloops, B.C.
It has been a relatively cool and wet spring thus far so the hillsides are looking lushly green. It won't last long though, in another month and a half or so they will be back to their usual golden brown colour. It's always pretty while it lasts. There was a very light rain coming down as I shot this which brought out a lot of colour in both the vegetation and rocks.
I thought the green of the grass and sagebrush was particularly nice here against the red sandstone. There are many interesting rock formations in this area as it is full of volcanic rock in addition to the sandstone. Not too far from here one can hike to some hoodoos.
Pioneer Park,
Kamloops, B.C.
As I walked around the park on a cold but sunny day, I was struck by how sad and lonely the park benches looked.
This particular park is one where dogs are permitted off leash and so every bit of snow is full of tracks both canine and human, indicators of just how many games of Fetch have been played. The park is still a happy place in winter, it's just the benches that are sad.
Mount Paul and a hillside dotted with sagebrush. Both are very quintessentially Kamloops. Not to everyone's taste but it's lovely to me. It's home. :-)
Silly goose! He stood at the edge of the snowy road hissing at any cars that drove by. The three or four cars that passed were quite unaware of the ball of feathered fury standing with wings raised, ready to attack.
Sunset over Tranquille Farms,
Kamloops, B.C.
As I was trying to decide on a title for this photo, a phrase popped into my head. "There's gold in them thar hills" (which, in my head, was said in a country twang) seemed perfect.
I thought it must have been said in some old classic movie about the California gold rush but I looked it up to be certain. The google search was pretty inconclusive. There were several stories about the derivation of the phrase. So, I'm sorry if you've never heard the phrase before but... doesn't it seem perfect anyway? :-)
Thompson River
Kamloops, B.C.
It had not been a particularly special sunset but this afterglow was pretty, especially with the jet trail making a bright line above the horizon. Dead centre is the silhouette of Battle Bluff.
Duck in a puddle
McArthur Island park
Kamloops, B.C.
I don't usually pay much attention to mallards, especially the females who lack the flashy colours of the males. But this one really caught my eye for several reasons.
She seemed much larger than the other ducks and was apart from the rest who were milling about in the slush of a largely unused parking lot in the park. While they waddled about foraging, she was having a nice relaxing bath in what was essentially a puddle. It was a very large puddle and was probably a few inches deep, formed from the big piles of melting snow at the parking lot's edge.
Isn't she pretty?
Listen. .
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees
And fall.
~~~~ Adelaide Crapsey
Poor woman, a poet, to be saddled with a name like that. She wrote beautiful poetry though. I marvel at these leaves, long dead, still clinging to the trees.
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee.
~~~ Carly Simon, "You're So Vain"
This sky made me think of this song, not because it reminded me of coffee but because there is a certain surrealism to both things. And, certainly, the sky was like a dream.
Ponderosa pine trees,
Kamloops, B.C.
A month ago I posted a photo of these magnificent trees. I waited all this time before pulling out another shot so here it is. I'm still in love with these trees!
So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough
Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road.
-- Bernie Taupin / Elton John
The world looked fresh and beautiful in the golden light of early morning. As I walked along a section of the Rivers Trail I'd not been on before, I felt like I was entering some enchanted land , if not Oz at least some scene from an animated movie.
Kamloops newest permanent public art installation was unveiled in Riverside Park 06 June 2019.
"Locking in Hope" is a partnership between the Kamloops Food Bank and the City of Kamloops and serves as a fundraiser for the Kamloops Food Bank.
The food bank is selling padlocks for $20 each to be uniquely decorated and clasped to the structure. The goal is to raise e$200,000.
The iron heart and letters were created by Anvil Ironworks of Kamloops.
Anvil Ironworks Ltd. Is a Kamloops full service steel fabricator specializing in structural steel and miscellaneous metals.
Along the Thompson River,
Kamloops, B.C.
Grasses line the edge of the river bank above the frozen river. The shadows are from the trees that are a bit further back. The snow is almost all gone now, a week after I took this shot and I who complained bitterly about the snow when it was here now find I am feeling a bit nostalgic already. I did enjoy photographing it.
This snow-capped fence keeps large animals -- big horn sheep and free range cattle -- from leaving the grasslands on the left and onto the road to the right.
Nature's palette in the winter can be soft and pastel while her hand on the paintbrush can be delicate and subtle.
Flickr friends: I will be out of town for 11 days, doing a volunteer stint. I'm not sure how often I will be able to get on Flickr in that time. I hope to be able to take some pictures in the mornings and get on Flickr in the evenings but that might not be too regular.
McArthur Island
Kamloops, B.C.
In Explore 2017-12-24
This is a little oxbow meander of the Thompson River which is what makes McArthur Island into an island. In the summer it is almost dry and in the winter it freezes over though a small portion which forms a duck pond is often kept open by a few people with shovels breaking the ice for the ducks.
What is shown here is a very tiny bit which seems to have some fresh water running into it.
Taken up at the Mile High Lodge on Face Lake while on a fishing trip. It was calm and peaceful up there on the lake.
In Explore 2019-12-13
I've always loved this old wooden bridge. As far as I can find out, the wooden trestles pictured here are the original structures dating back to 1936. The only reinforcing has been in the form of four steel piers which bolster the open span that goes across the river. The span was built high to accomodate boat traffic for at one time, paddlewheelers plied the waters of the Thompson River.
On this side of the river, the trestles rise up out of park land where one can hear the creaking of the wood as cars pass overhead.
Paul Lake Road,
Kamloops, B.C.
Two months ago I took a photo (shown below) which included the tree which is leaning across the top right corner of this shot. The trees had not begun to leaf out yet, and situated at the edge of a swampy area, I thought ... surely that tree is dead or dying.
Well, lo and behold, it's not dead. But there is definitely something funny going on! Look at that other tree on the left all bent over. And the two trees in the middle have a decided lean. Things that make you go .... hmm...
Sacred Heart Cathedral is a Romanesque-style church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamloops.
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Sacred Heart Cathedral (formerly known as St. Louis Church) first opened in 1887 and was destroyed by fire in 1919,
The present church opened 20 December, 1925 after 5 years of construction.
So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains
Where the spirits go now
Over the hills where the spirits fly, oh, I really don't know
~~~~ Led Zeppelin
Originally I was going to quote from Tolkien's poem but when I came across this lyric I thought it more fitting. I remember as a teenager listening to the Led Zepp album and discovering how many of the songs referred to things in Lord of the Rings.
The prominent rock formation to the right of the river is Battle Bluff so named in the 1870s for the blood red pictographs on its rocks which depicted a great battle.
Wild horses couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses we'll ride them some day
-- The Rolling Stones
I spotted this pair as they came up over the crest of a hill. They were some distance away but I was immediately captivated nevertheless. (sorry you can't zoom in on this as it's already zoomed). They galloped out of sight so I got back in my car and headed off.
A bit farther along the road, I could scarcely believe my eyes as a group of about 12 came galloping toward me, very close to the road. I didn't get my camera out in time but what a sight! I've never seen wild horses before and didn't know there were any in this area. I did some asking around, and apparently they are indeed wild though it's believed that they were at one time rodeo stock who went feral and now roam over free range First Nations land.
In a normal August, the grasses in this field would be golden brown. But this has been no normal summer. For the months of June and July a vast pasture area including this section was under a lake formed by flood waters.
Happy Fence Friday!
Kamloops B.C.
A group of trumpeter swans winters in Kamloops. I had never seen any up close before because they usually hang out on the other side of the river. They are an imposing sight with a wing span of up to ten feet. The swans are the largest species of bird native to North America.
The trumpeter swan was close to being extinct in the 1940's with a known population of less than 100 but now has a population of 46,000.
South Thompson River
Kamloops, B.C.
I've always loved this old wooden bridge. Yes, that's wood even though it may look like metal in this shot. It was the first bridge across the river when it was built in 1890 and has been rebuilt twice since. The last iteration was built in 1936 and survives today, albeit with the reinforcing of four steel piers.
It's not clear how it came to be known as the Red Bridge but it's always been called that. The pedestrian walkway that was added on the far side of the bridge was painted red a few years ago.
Ranch along Paul Lake Rd
Kamloops, B.C.
Just kidding about it being a tree farm. It's a small ranch; you can see some cattle just to the right of the barn. I've always been intrigued though by the corral around that tree on the left.
The snowy mountain, about 8 km drive to its base, is Mount Harper (elevation 1524 m or 5000 ft at its summit). The markings atop it are not Nazca lines nor directional markers pointing the way for alien spacecraft. Those are the ski slopes of Harper Mountain ski area. :-)
This is an item in the kids' playground in a park. I'm not sure what it does as I've never paid any attention to it before the snow chose to sculpt it. I think though that a kid can sit on it and bounce up and down. Just a guess.
The snow in this image has a pinkish hue in several places. I've no idea why, except for under the plaything which is explainable as a reflection of the red plastic. The rest, I just don't know. I thought of trying to take it out in Lightroom but then I decided I liked it. :-)
This will be my last photo of shadows on the snow. I promise. (but I've got my fingers crossed)
McArthur Island
Kamloops, B.C.
I took a walk in the snow today and was amazed to find when I got home that you could see the falling snow in my pictures. It's my first time taking pictures in the snow with a good camera.
My two favourite shots have almost the same frame but a different focus -- one on the trunks and heaviest branches of the trees and one on the falling snow and needles/scales on the finer branches.
Batchelor Heights
Kamloops, B.C.
In all the years I've lived in Kamloops (about 25 years total), I've never seen a wildfire come so close to the city. There were 12 homes evacuated. These were about a mile from where I live and I took these photos from a parking lot across from my home. The initial moments, as high winds fanned up the flames, were terrifying. All is under control now though.
Near Tranquille
Kamloops, B.C.
About a week ago I posted a shot of the thick low clouds parting to reveal a brighter sky. I called it "Let there be light" and described how I'd driven around in a quest to find the light. A bit later I also found this pink light of the setting sun.
McArthur Island
Kamloops, B.C.
There's a parking lot that despite getting plowed out regularly never gets used in the winter. Never used by cars, that is. It's used quite a bit by ducks and geese but not usually at the same time, it's usually one or the other. They like to go there and just hang out or "chill" as it were.
This goose looked a bit odd, all alone in a sea of ducks. He seemed quite unconcerned though and, as for the ducks, the goose might as well have been invisible for all the attention the ducks paid to him.
Yearling buck enjoys some dinner in the sunshine
McArthur Island
Kamloops, B.C.
In Explore 2017-10-30
It was a pleasant sight to round a corner and see this deer right along the path. I'd seen deer on the island many times last winter but not before or since. I was annoyed not to have my 250mm lens with me but I was able to get fairly close and then made do with a bit of cropping later.
On the CNR branch line to downtown Kamloops, three bridges have been built over the South Thompson River at this location.
The first structure was a temporary wooden trestle erected in 1913 to move construction supplies between the CPR and CNR yards.
The first permanent structure went into use in 1919 and was a wooden truss bridge with a central swing span. It was intended to be used for a short period.
In 1927 it was replaced with this steel girder bridge with a 208 foot swing span of through truss design. This span rotates on a center circular pier and provides two openings, each of 90 foot width.
The bridge span was built by Coughlin Steel Ltd, a Vancouver firm that fabricated steel used for merchant ships during World War 1.
The bridge is designed to be swung manually, with an arrangement somewhat akin to winding a mantlepiece clock. A four sided stem or shaft rises vertically to track level and presumably a capstan bar was attached to this and two or four men rotated it.
Today a compressor is trundled onto the swing span and creates the turning power.
No passenger train ran over this bridge from 1963 until 1988 when the thrice-weekly summer train, the "Rocky Mountaineer", began operation.
In recent times the swing span was used regularly, allowing the Wanda Sue paddlewheeler, a tour boat, to pass on its tours of the South Thompson. These tours ended in 2005.
Most recently the swing span was opened in early July 2011 to allow a private boat to pass. With the era of commercial traffic on the river long gone, the only boats plying the waters today are small private craft which pass easily under the bridge except in times of extremely high water.
©All photographs on this site are copyright: DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2020 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) ©
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**** This frame was chosen on March 19th 2020 to appear on FLICKR EXPLORE (Highest Ranking: #206. This is my 175th photograph to be selected.
I am really thrilled to have a frame picked and most grateful to every one of the 35.500+ Million people who have visited, favourite and commented on this and all of my other photographs here on my FLICKR site. *****
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Five hundred and fifty four metres, at 09:28am on Friday 13th September 2019 off Trans Canada Highway 1 around thirty kilometres West of the city of Kamloops, looking out over Kamloops lake as it narrows into the Thompson River from a viewpoint in Savona, British Columbia, Canada.
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Nikon D850. Focal length 24mm Shutter speed 1/100s Aperture f/16.0 iso250 RAW (14 bit uncompressed) Image size L (8256 x 5504 FX). Hand held with Nikon Image stabilization VR enabled on Normal mode. Focus mode AF-C focus 51 point with 3D- tracking. AF-Area mode single point & 73 point switchable. Exposure mode - Aperture priority exposure. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. Matrix metering. ISO Sensitivity: Auto. White balance: Natural light auto. Colour space Adobe RGB. Nikon Distortion control on. Picture control: Auto. High ISO NR on. Vignette control: normal. Active D-lighting Auto.
Nikkor AF-S 24-120mm f/4G ED VR. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 77mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 0.6 (2 stops) ND Grad soft resin. Lee SW150 Filters field pouch.Nikon EN-EL15a battery.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960. Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.
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LATITUDE: N 50d 45m 1.88s
LONGITUDE: W 120d 43m 33.60s
ALTITUDE: 554.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 93.5MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 34.90MB
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PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.017 (20/3/18) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit (Version 1.3.1 11/07/2019). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit (Version 1.4.7 15/03/2018). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 1.3.2 15/03/2018). Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”
--- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
This deer was lightly snow-kissed too. But she's prepared for it in a heavy winter coat. I've noticed these last two times I've seen deer how heavy their coats are compared to the sleek ones they have in summer.
Ranch
Kamloops, B.C.
This ranch is a photographer's dream. Well, this photographer anyway. Views of the rolling golden hills, the site of the eagle tree, plenty of sagebrush and the best fences anywhere. Paradise!
Kamloops Stuart Wood School is a three-storey schoolhouse with a symmetrical façade, red brick cladding, a broad hipped roof, front and rear gabled projections and Classical Revival detailing.
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Built in 1906-07, it is situated on a large corner lot, surrounded by an open schoolyard with mature perimeter plantings, set far back from the street.
The building is named after its first principal Edward Stuart Wood (1857-1942).
The schoolhouse permanently closed in 2016.
When the Kamloops-Thompson school district closed the school in 2016, title required it to be used as a school or the land would be forfeited to the province.
It remains unclear what will happen to the former school.