RH Speirs | Photographer - Winter 2022-23, Various

There are a few photos/images at the start of this gallery from before the 2022/23 Winter season officially started on December 21st, 2022, but there wasn't enough to warrant having their own gallery, so they've been included here. Besides, it felt much more like winter than it did autumn at the time they were captured :p

Regarding these first two photos, my envisioned photo idea/plan didn't quite work out due to clouds (surprise, surprise, I know!)..you can see them at the top of the frame(s). My plan was to capture the crescent moon directly centered over the Bow building (tallest building you see in the frame), but by the time it made it up into that position it was totally blocked by clouds. Fortunately, I started a little early and did manage to capture the rising moon before it became fully hidden by clouds..it just isn't aligned as nicely as originally planned. Also fortunately, as a little bonus, and not part of the original plan, the planet Mercury photobombed my shot, making these photos a little more rare/unique :)

A photo of the rising Moon (Waning Crescent, 1%), and Mercury, over a portion of the Downtown Calgary skyline during Nautical Twilight (55 minutes before Sunrise), from Edworthy Park, Calgary, AB - October 24th (7:20 AM, 4:5 crop, 36 Mp)

A photo of the rising Moon (Waning Crescent, 1%), and Mercury, over a portion of the Downtown Calgary skyline during Nautical Twilight (53 minutes before Sunrise), from Edworthy Park, Calgary, AB - October 24th (7:22 AM, 4:5 crop, 38 Mp)

Those very same clouds that kind of messed me up earlier, resulting in the previous two photos (above), actually came in quite handy for the next two images (below) :)

16:9 panoramic (5 shot) image of the Downtown Calgary skyline (19 minutes before Sunrise), from Edworthy Park, Calgary, AB - October 24th (7:56 AM, 119 Mp)

3:1 panoramic (7 shot) image of the Downtown Calgary skyline (at Sunrise), from Edworthy Park, Calgary, AB - October 24th (8:13 AM, 75 Mp)

Again with the clouds (below)..oh well, wasn't a total loss I guess :)

Setting Crescent Moon aligned with the Calgary Tower, from Airways Park, Calgary, AB - October 27th (6:53 PM, 4:5 crop, 34 Mp)

3:1 panoramic (7 shot) image of the Downtown Calgary skyline (49 minutes before Sunrise), from Edworthy Park, Calgary, AB - October 28th (7:33 AM, 137 Mp)

16:9 panoramic (3 shot) image of the Downtown Calgary skyline (28 minutes before Sunrise), from Edworthy Park, Calgary, AB - October 28th (7:54 AM, 59 Mp)

First successful Moon alignment photo attempt of 2023 :)

Rising Wolf Moon aligned with the Downtown Calgary skyline, from Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, Alberta - January 6th (4:13 PM, 4:5 crop, 55 Mp)

I went out hoping to see Aurora on this evening (below)..didn't happen unfortunatly.

5:2 panoramic (6 shot) image of the Downtown Calgary skyline (at Night), from Foothills County, AB - January 14th (10:08 PM, 129 Mp)

I went out hoping to see Aurora on this evening as well..again, didn't happen unfortunatly. I did however manage to get this photo while waiting though (below) :)

A close-up of the top of the Calgary Tower with the Bow building as the backdrop, Calgary, AB - February 27th (10:15 PM, 4:5 crop, 37 Mp)

Oh those clouds... (below). Again, they spoiled the original plan to align the setting moon with the top of the Calgary Tower. They did partially reveal the moon though when it was centered over the twin buildings giving this photo quite a moody dramatic look. I like that the LED lighting on the Tower matched the colour of the moon in this shot..just wish those twin buildings had more interior lights on at the time..would have made for a better overall photo I think :)

A shot with the Calgary Tower, and the setting Moon aligned between twin buildings, from Southview Off Leash Dog Park, Calgary, AB - March 4th (6:27 AM, 5:4 crop, 35 Mp)

Sun and Moon alignment photography has been a fairly big interest of mine over the past couple of years now. Around a year or so ago I stumbled upon this phenomenon called Manhattanhenge..if you're not familiar with it just Google search it, and click/tap on images. It's a very popular thing with photographers in Manhattan, NY to get photos of the Sun on the horizon when looking straight down a downtown street..it likely occurs twice a year. Anyway, I thought why not give the same idea a try here in Downtown Calgary. Using the PhotoPills app, and scouting out the downtown streets beforehand, I was able to come up with a couple of separate photo plans on two consecutive mornings to give it a try. Fortunately the weather was cooperative, and here's the results of my first two attempts (below x3) at this kind of a photo :)

Calgaryhenge sunrise, looking east down 6th Avenue from a +15 skywalk, Calgary, AB - March 16th (7:52 AM)

I'm showing two different crop alternatives of the same photo here (below).

Calgaryhenge sunrise, looking east down 6th Avenue from near 11th Street SW, Calgary, AB - March 17th (7:53 AM)

Here are a few Downtown Calgary skyline photos (below) from a location that's new to me. This location is situated 7.7 km directly west of the Calgary Tower making it ideal for sunrise photos around the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes. Always nice to try out different vantage points throughout the city..thanks very much to fellow photographer Marcus for sharing the whereabouts of this location! :)

A photo of the Downtown Calgary skyline a half hour before Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 18th (7:15 AM, 38 Mp, 16:9 crop)

A photo of a portion of the Downtown Calgary skyline at Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 18th (7:44 AM, 30 Mp, 4:5 crop)

A photo of a portion of the Downtown Calgary skyline at Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 18th (7:46 AM, 44 Mp)

A photo of the Encore Condominiums at Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 18th (7:55 AM, 37 Mp, 4:5 crop)

Here are a few more photos (below) from the same location on the very next morning :)

A photo of the Downtown Calgary skyline fourty minutes before Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 19th (7:02 AM, 38 Mp, 16:9 crop)

A photo of a portion of the Downtown Calgary skyline at Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 19th (7:40 AM, 27 Mp, 4:5 crop)

A photo of a portion of the Downtown Calgary skyline at Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 19th (7:43 AM, 40 Mp)

A photo of the Downtown Calgary skyline at Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 19th (7:47 AM, 36 Mp, 16:9 crop)

Yet a few more photos (below) from the same location on the following morning..the last Sunrise of the 2022/23 Winter Season as Spring Equinox officially hits later that day :)

A photo of the Downtown Calgary skyline a half hour before Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 20th (7:10 AM, 23 Mp, 3:1 crop)

A photo of a portion of the Downtown Calgary skyline at Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 20th (7:41 AM, 38 Mp, 16:9 crop)

A photo of a portion of the Downtown Calgary skyline at Sunrise, from a park in Strathcona, Calgary, AB - March 20th (7:46 AM, 33 Mp, 16:9 crop)

Winter 2022-23, Various - Southern Alberta

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