ISSUE # 09 * DECEMBER 2013
www.northernlandscape.org
NORTHERN LANDSCAPE
HAVING COFFEE LUDWIG WAGNER
NORTHERN WINDS: NESTE OIL, BINERO AND GREENPEACE
THIS IS (HI)STORY! AN AUSIE ENDS HIS TRIP THROUGH CANADA III
PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIAL #09 - CHROMATIC ABERRATION
THE BIG CHALLENGE
FEATURED WORK
COVER
Frozen Poplar Trees II, Northern Ireland by Ludwig Wagner photograph of frozen trees after a snowstorm in northern ireland by ludwig wagner Olympus E600 806 views 25th November 2013 14 favouritings
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FROM THE EDITOR We have had a terrific edition last month with some great articles. Can this number beat its predecessor? I cannot answer to that question to be honest... I can only do my best. The answer is, in the end of the day, up to you.
Editor Chief
Another thing (or actually not) that also depends a lot on you is the quality of the articles. I keep on searching for people who wish to conceive us an interview or to write about something, but sometimes between work and family, it is very, very hard. So, if you have anything you want to talk about or even try out, please make contact with us!
Graphic Artist
It can be something that happened in your neighbourhood, it can be a PHD thesis, it can be some reflection about something, nearly anything really... Your contribution is very much welcome!
João Figueiredo
Test readers Charles Kosina, Alyson Kosina
João Figueiredo
Tutorial by João Figueiredo
Web site www.northernlandscape.org
E-mail contact info@northernlandscape.org
Featured artist Ludwig Wagner
Your host João Figueiredo
Northern Landscape Magazine • 3
INDEX 02 About the cover 03 From the editor & technical data 06 Northern winds - Neste Oil, Binero and Greenpeace 14 October features ~ Pure nature 48 NLM photo tutorial #09 - Chromatic Aberration 56 October features ~ Man touched 88 This is (hi)story! ~ An Ausie travels through Canada III 114 October features ~ Man made 128 The BIG Challenge ~ November 136 Having coffee with Ludwig Wagner + his Featured works 152 Northern Landscape: Some facts 157 Back cover artist 158 Back cover 4 • Northern Landscape Magazine
THIS AMAZING MAGAZINE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY
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Norden winds
Neste Oil, Binero and Greenpeace A Finish oil company, a Swedish ISP company and a worldwide environment organization. What does Neste Oil, Binero and Greenpeace have to do with each other? This is a story about the oil industry lobby against the weakest and the fight back of a medium company that decided to play for the right team. May I present you Neste Oil vs Greenpeace and Binero.
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once wrote her an article about modern slavery and how it was the engine of the northern countries well-being. Today I will be talking about another engine of that well being: The destruction of the environment! It is an undeniable fact that the climate is changing as a consequence of our industrial revolution and therefore some action is needed to try to avoid more harmful consequences. As usual in our history and kind, there are always people who try to seize these new realities as just another chance to
make a profit at any cost. This is the case of companies like Neste Oil who decide to advertise a brand new product exactly oriented to the consumers that are worried about the effects of fossil fuels. Such product is marketed as the solution for the greenhouse gases due to it is not a fossil fuel, it is ecological and it barely has any CO2 release. That would be true if the production of Palm Oil diesel would not provoke the mass destruction of rainforest areas worldwide, especially in southern Asia.
Deforestation in Riau province, Sumatra, to make way for an oil palm plantation (2007) We are not just talking about cutting down trees to make place to build massive plantations of palm trees, we are talking about the expelling the local people with use of violence from their own homes, the destruction and killing of plants and animals that aren’t even discovered or studied by the scientific community and the creation of massive erosion provoking lack of minerals on soil, making it impracticable for farming, forcing the
use of chemicals to boost the palm trees production. Isn’t this enough? No, because in the plantation are used all kinds of machines to speed up the process, such as excavators, tractors and others that use fossil fuels. Furthermore we are talking about brand new areas in sub-developed countries which means: no electricity. So, how to solve the problem
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with lack of electricity to power up palm oil plantations? Simple, you use diesel powered electric generators! Fortunately, someone has an eye on the situation to tell us about it. Greenpeace found out about this and decided to act by producing the website nestespoil.com (differing very little in the address of the official company Neste Oil, nesteoil.com) to disclosure the truth. An important question rises at this moment: Why Neste Oil? The easy and only answer is because the Finish oil company is the world leader in Palm Oil production and therefore one of the main responsible for what is going on in southern Asia. Greenpeace felt it was time to attack the problem at it’s heart. The objective of the creation of nestespoil. com website was to spread information about what Neste Oil and other companies that produce Palm Oil really are doing but don’t market! In the website we can read messages with a certain satire to Neste Oil’s official propaganda such as: “A Finish oil company, a Swedish Web Host company and a worldwide environment organization. What does Neste Oil, Binero and Greenpeace have to do with each other? This is a story about the oil industry lobby against the weakest and the fight back of a medium company that decided to play for the right team. May I present you Neste Oil vs Greenpeace and Binero.” and others. When the Finnish company found out about this they decided to sue not Greenpeace but the ISP company that hosted the website at that time! An important question to make at this stage is “Why on earth would they file a lawsuit against the ISP company that hosted the website and not at the website authors, Greenpeace?”. I did not manage to get an official answer for that question but it seems obvious that Neste Oil choose the easiest target. The company that hosted the website at that time was Loopia (a medium-small Swedish ISP company). By suing them they expected to take out the website from internet at the
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same time that they would avoid a big leak of information that would harm the company’s image and sales. Suing an organization like Greenpeace would be far more harder (Greenpeace has far more resources then a medium-small ISP from Sweden) and certainly reveal to be far more harmful to the company’s image and sales. In a first stage the lawsuit worked out. Loopia decided to close down the website and avoid a lawsuit. That was when Greenpeace decided to look around for another ISP to host the website and they found a Swedish company called Binero (the biggest Swedish ISP) that decided to host the website, even knowing about it’s complicated history. This time the address would be nestespoilreturns.com due to the previous address was blocked. Not coming as a surprise, Binero received a notification from a court about the website nestespoilreturns.com: take it off the web or face the consequences! Fortunately for us that live in a democratic world where freedom of speech and free access to information are (still) a right, Binero decided to take up the fight. In Binero’s blog we can read the conclusion of the process which I quote: At web host Binero we welcomed Greenpeace to us, and we welcome the WIPO decision regarding them. Now that WIPO has also clarified that a parody with no commercial interest should be tolerated within the frames of free speech, we hope that Neste Oil will accept this and argue their case with the public, rather than the courts. We remain ready should they once again choose to take legal action against the middle-man, the web host, rather than the owner of the site, said Erik Arnberg, Marketing Manager, Binero web hosting. Greenpeace opened the website Nestespoil. com as a parody of state-owned Finnish oil company Neste Oil’s website, in order to protest against the company’s large palm oil diesel production. Neste Oil sued the web host hosting the original Greenpeace
A satellite image showing deforestation in Malaysian Borneo to allow the plantation of oil palm. website. The web host at that point, chose to immediately close down the web site. Greenpeace then set up the web page Nestespoilreturns.com with web host Binero. Paragraph 18 of the Swedish E-commerce law regarding the responsibility of middlemen means a web host may be held responsible for all the websites of their customers. According to Binero this leads to absurd consequences and enables the suppression of free speech by action against vulnerable middle-men. Neste Oil didn’t stop at a law suit about the content of the websites. They filed complaints with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) for trademark infringement against the domain names themselves in the form of a UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy) process. WIPO has made its decision. It has concluded that non-commercial criticism is part of the freedom of speech, and that Greenpeace has used the websites for a lawful purpose, without commercial interest. With the votes
2 to 1, Neste Oils complaint has been denied, which gives Greenpeace the right to use both domain names. Neste Oil has withdrawn the lawsuit against the previous web host that closed down the website Nestespoil.com and has not filed any against Binero so far – nor any against the actual sender, Greenpeace. And this is how it is, still today...
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The beautiful, modern and luxurious headuarters of Neste Oil in Finalnd
Useful links: Neste Spoil: http://moon.greenpeace.org/nestespoil/ Greenpeace on Neste Oil and Palm Oil: http://www.greenpeace.org/finland/en/What-wedo/Neste-Oil--driving-rainforest-destruction/ Greenpeace on the case: http://www.greenpeace.org/finland/en/media/Press-releases/ Neste-Oil-is-trying-to-shut-down-Greenpeaces-Nestespoilcom-website/ Swedish ISP Binero proudly presents the outcome of the legal dispute with Neste Oil: http:// www.binero.se/omoss/pressinformation/greenpeace-wins-against-neste-oil-in-wipo
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PHOTOGRAPHY FROM WIKIPEDIA, USED
UNDER THE FAIR USE TERMS
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MAKE YOU
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INFO@NORTHERNLANDSCAPE.ORG
UR SUGGESTION TO:
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October fe pure lands
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eatures scape 142 FEATURES 30 DAYS
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Moraine Lake by Charles Kosina
Autumn,Banton Loch, Kilsyth, Scotland by Jim Wilson
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Cribyn, from Pen y Fan, Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. by Justin Foulkes
Castle Mountain 2 by Charles Kosina
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The River Leven by kernuak
Banff National Park by Ron Finkel 18 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Refections by Ron Finkel
Early Morning on Higger Tor by John Dunbar
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Saskatchewan River by Ron Finkel
gravitas by Rebecca Tun 20 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Broadford sunset by Peter Gallagher Jokulsarlon Lagoon - Iceland by Nicola Barnard
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Sunshine on the Ice - Lake Ontario, Toronto, Canada by Georgia Mizuleva
Stone Table at Kilve by kernuak
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Garell Glen,Kilsyth,Scotland by Jim Wilson
Lewis: Ness Beach by Kasia-D Northern Landscape Magazine • 23
Athabasca River - Canada by Ron Finkel
Horses. October evening. Norway. by UpNorthPhoto 24 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Lake Annette Canada by Ron Finkel
Canada’s Rockies by Ron Finkel Northern Landscape Magazine • 25
Bow River - Banff by Ron Finkel
Last Rays at Kilve by kernuak
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Foggy Sunrise by Keijo Savolainen
Dusky fjord by Keijo Savolainen Northern Landscape Magazine • 27
Autumnal Tree - UK by Nicola Barnard First Snow ~ North Saskatchewan River by Roxanne Persson
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The Largest Tarn In The Lake District by VoluntaryRanger
Early morning in the Reine by Keijo Savolainen
Coppermines Valley Panorama by VoluntaryRanger
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Harris: Seilebost by Kasia-D
Orange Dusk at Watchet by kernuak 30 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Isle of Skye, The Fairy Pools by derekbeattie
Jokulsarlon Lagoon - Iceland by Nicola Barnard Northern Landscape Magazine • 31
Dock Point ~ Panoramic B&W by Rick & Deb Larson
Tarn Hows - November Sunshine by VoluntaryRanger
Dock Point ~ Panoramic by Rick & Deb Larson
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Camusdarach Sunset by derekbeattie
Fleetwith Pike to Haystacks by VoluntaryRanger Northern Landscape Magazine • 33
Isle of Uist, My Beloved - Eilean Uibhist Mo Ruin by Kasia-D
Buttermere in Autumn by VoluntaryRanger 34 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Chasing Rainbows by Jeanie
Reflections In Crummock Water by VoluntaryRanger Northern Landscape Magazine • 35
Epic Adventure: Dawn at Kirkjufellfoss, Iceland by thewaxmuseum
Crummock Water Panorama by VoluntaryRanger
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Spring Swell (Mono) by Jeanie
Autumn in Battersea by Ludwig Wagner
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Dales Veil by Jeanie
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Golden Foss by Jeanie
Autumn on Wyming Brook III by John Dunbar
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Mount Rundle by Charles Kosina
Sunset at Sandbanks by PhotosByHealy
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The Fairy Pools Waterfalls, Isle of Skye by derekbeattie
The clouds, the sea, the mountains...and a bird by pascalplus Northern Landscape Magazine • 41
Sunrise over the Cuillins by Fraser Ross
Mountain creek by Keijo Savolainen
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Hot mountain river by pascalplus
Fire and Water by kernuak Northern Landscape Magazine • 43
Laig Bay Blues. Isle of Eigg. Scotland. by photosecosse /barbara jones
Old Man of Storr in Winter. Trotternish. Isle of Skye. Scotland. by photosecosse /barbara jones 44 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Creek at Moraine Lake by Charles Kosina
Under a bridge by Ólafur Már Sigurðsson Northern Landscape Magazine • 45
MORAINE LAKE by Raoul Madden
Gamle Strynefjellsvegen - Norway by Arie Koene 46 • Northern Landscape Magazine
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NLM PHOTO T CHROMATIC ABERRATION IS ONE OF YOUR WORST ENEMIES. LEARN HOW TO PUT IT DOWN! For many of you photographers, Chromatic aberration is an unknown danger. Probably many of you already heard of it but really don’t know what it is, how it may affect your work or how to prevent it/eliminate it. Adobe Photoshop will be used inthis tutorial. In this tutorial I will be explaining you everything bit by bit...
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TUTORIAL #9
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f you just seen the tutorial cover, you might be asking yourself what was wrong with the shot and why did I chose it as an example for this tutorial. If you are well know to this Chromatic aberration problem, then you probably already know. Let me tell you as well, before we start, that this issue has nothing to do with your photographic skills but with the technology used by your camera manufacturer instead. So, a good solution for this would be to buy another camera? Well not exactly, almost every camera has this issue... Let’s start with the beginning ok? I will explain simple and short what is Chromatic aberration and show you where in my example shot where is it. For many of you photographers, Chromatic aberration is an unknown danger. Probably many of you already heard of it but really don’t know what it is, how it may affect your work or how to prevent it/eliminate it. In this tutorial I will be explaining you everything bit by bit... When examining your shot, almost every single one of you will find in every single one of your shots some halo (usually red, green or purple) around objects or people. That is what Chromatic aberration is: an optic anomaly created by your camera.
WHY WORRY ABOUT CHROMATIC ABERRATIONS? If you are selling big sized prints, like posters for instance, shots to magazines, or selling to stock photography – in another words, big quality products – Chromatic aberration is definitely something to avoid! Nobody likes to buy photographies with weird colours or with poor quality. So, if you are selling or considering going pro somehow, then start considering eliminating Chromatic Aberrations in every single one of your shots!
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The image above shows in detail what and where you can find Chromatic aberrations. Look carefully into what the arrow is pointing at: a purple halo around the church window. Would you like to purchase a poster with that kind of imperfection? That is why many stock websites reject great photographies, because thei are full of Chromatic aberrations. Fortunately there is a simple way to remove this!
MATERIAL THAT YOU WILL NEED:
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A photograph in RAW or JPG format.
I will be using Adobe Photoshop. Other software might be used as long as it provides the same features.
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10 minutes of your time or even less will be enough.
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Did I mention a computer? Because... it is quite implicit, right?
GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY!
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If you are a RAW photographer, this is where you will gain an extra weapon to fight against this problem, though it will not correct it 100%. Open your RAW file on Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Camera RAW will be opening the file. In the image on the right you can see how it will look like. The orange arrow shows you where is the next step: Lens Corrections!
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Lens Corrections is the 6th button from the left to the right on that list of small buttons on the right side of Adobe Camera RAW. Press there and then press on the “Color” tab and VÓILÁ! Look at all those goodies Adobe is giving you! From the top to the bottom: “Remove Chromatic Aberration”, check on it. Defringing Chromatic aberrations by colour: Play with it until all or the most of your aberrations are gone! Have fun!
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When you are done with all your RAW editing, press “Open Image” as usual so that you can go to the next stage of eliminating Chromatic aberrations. Let’s take a look at my window again and see the result:
Look at that! If you are really finicky, you can say that there are still some traces of some purple or magenta Chromatic Aberration. Allright... let’s take care of it then!
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If you are shooting in JPG, this is where you can jump in. If you are in RAW, just keep following all the steps. After you opened your file on Adobe Photoshop, go to the menu “Filter” and press the option “Lens Correction” (image on the right). The image below shows you the interface that will pop-up. Once you are there, press on the tab “Costum” on your right side of the screen, like my orange pointer shows.
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In that new tab, you can find the Chromatic Aberration options. Play a bit more with them until you get rid of all of them!
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SOME TIPS TO AVOID CHROMATIC ABERRATIONS ON THE FIELD:
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Avoid high contrast situations. That is why my example shot was perfect. It was taken on a sunny day with a high exposure value. Avoiding high contrast situations really helps to reduce the optic design imperfections. Common targets of a Chromatic aberration can be fences, tree branches and shooting a subject against a bright sunny sky, like corners of a building.
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Stop down your aperture. It might be very tempting to use a wide aperture in many situations but stop down the aperture at least one stop. This will greatly help minimize the visible aberrations. Remember that then you can add more light into your shot when editing the RAW file. If you don’t shoot in RAW... well, good luck!
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Avoid the extremes of your zoom lens! Not only in life but also in photographic lenses it is said that virtue is in the middle. Zoom lenses usually perform better when using its middle focal lengths. For example, when using a 70-200mm zoom, shooting at 135mm will usually wield better results than at 200mm.
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Get some prime lenses, as they are generally optimized to reduce these optical artifacts and are relatively cheaper and lighter. If you are worried with your bank account, just remember: It is better to invest in good material then to invest in bad one. If you think that invest in cheap material for your camera is good, think again! Better to wait a while and buy great then otherwise!
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FINAL RESULT!
WANT TO SEND US YOUR TUTORIAL?
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US TO:
INFO@NORTHERNLANDSCAPE.ORG Northern Landscape Magazine • 55
Septembe man touch D
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er features hed 142 FEATURES 30 DAYS
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Evening on the River Leven by kernuak
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Cove near Invershiel, Scotland by triciamary
Alster serene waterscape sunrise by VibrantDesigns
Beach and Little Island in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada by Gerda Grice Northern Landscape Magazine • 59
Infinite Road by Nigel Bangert
Spring Thaw on Lake Ontario by Kathleen M. Daley
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Early Morning on the Thames~ ~Ludwig Wagner
A Cold Day In January by VoluntaryRanger
Autumn on the Kennebecasis by Kathleen M. Daley
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Nearing Harvest Time by PhotosByHealy
Sunlit River Conon by kernuak 62 • Northern Landscape Magazine
The Illicit Still by kernuak
Kirk Fell & Great Gable by VoluntaryRanger
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West Quaco Lighthouse by Kathleen M. Daley
Kylemore Abbey - Ireland by Arie Koene 64 • Northern Landscape Magazine
DOF on the Sognefjord (1) by Larry Lingard-Davis
The Coniston Fells in November by VoluntaryRanger
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Morning in the Ramberg by Keijo Savolainen
New London Rear Range (Lighthouse) II by Kathleen M. Daley 66 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Before the rains by MarianBendeth
Silver rain by Ranald
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Tranquillity Green on the Sognefjord (1) by Larry LingardDavis
Midnight Sun: Borgarvirki Mountain Landscape, Iceland by thewaxmuseum 68 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Wembdon in the Snow by kernuak
The Land Of Elves by Irina Chuckowree
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Lilac dawn by LadyFi
Abandonment by derekbeattie 70 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Reaching Out and Touching the Clouds (1 ) by Larry LingardDavis
Northern Landscape Magazine Sunshine Jetty on Loch Morar by derekbeattie
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The Duddon Valley and Coniston Fells by VoluntaryRanger
Surfer’s Paradise: Glaciers at Joksularon, Iceland by thewaxmuseum
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Country Road Sunrise by Nigel Bangert
Sunken Gold on Loch Craignish by derekbeattie Northern Landscape Magazine • 73
Heading Into the Clouds ( 3 ) by Larry Lingard-Davis
Heading Into the Clouds ( 1 ) by Larry Lingard-Davis
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Jæren - Norway by julie08
Old Groynes by kernuak Northern Landscape Magazine • 75
Golden tapestry by LadyFi
Langdales Light by Jeanie 76 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Nature 5 by BKSPicture
Roman Bridge Over The River Minnoch by derekbeattie Northern Landscape Magazine • 77
Icefields Parkway by Charles Kosina
Wave Runners by Nigel Bangert 78 • Northern Landscape Magazine
November Morning on Highlow Bank by John Dunbar
Moraine Lake by Charles Kosina
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Lewis: Rocky Beach by Kasia-D
Blaven and Winter Mists. Isle of Skye. Scotland. by photosecosse /barbara jones 80 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Sgurr Nan Gillean in Winter. Sligachan. Isle of Skye. Scotland. by photosecosse /barbara jones
Morning in Reine by Keijo Savolainen
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Bow River in Banff by Charles Kosina
Sunset at Low Tide by Nigel Bangert 82 • Northern Landscape Magazine
The fence by pascalplus
The Tree by Jeanie Northern Landscape Magazine • 83
Light on the Land by Jeanie
Loch Cuil na Caillich by kernuak 84 • Northern Landscape Magazine
Ullswater Rays by kernuak
Zen by LadyFi
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Misty winter morning by Keijo Savolainen
October evening landscape. Norway. by UpNorthPhoto 86 • Northern Landscape Magazine
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This is (h
CHARLES KOSINA HAS BEEN GUIDING US THROUGHOUT THE AMAZING CANADA, VI THE MOS BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH AND BEST OF ALL: SHARING HIS EXPERIEN 88 • Northern Landscape Magazine
hi)story!
VISITING SOME OF NCE WITH US!
Charles Kosina is ending his trip throughout Canada. How will this adventure end? Northern Landscape Magazine • 89
P
It would have been nice to stay in the Banff area much longer, but it’s a long way back to Vancouver through some spectacular scenery.
MORAINE LAKE As I mentioned in previous episodes, a lot of our trip was dogged by poor weather. As we drove north along the Bow Valley Parkway the sun was shining. But by the time we got to Lake Louise, we were getting back to rainy and overcast conditions. Having visited the actual Lake Louise last year, we decided skip that and drive up to Moraine Lake which is located some 14 km above the village and at an elevation of 1885 meters. Who has not seen the beautiful pictures of that lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks with its emerald green water and snow covered mountains. Well, that will have to wait for another time and we had to make do with the mostly gloomy weather. We did sometimes get glimpses of blue sky and a little bit of sun, but these moments were few and far between. This created quite a challenge in getting something worthwhile. As for almost all photos, starting with a RAW image was paramount. Then the detail had to be teased out with all possible tools in Photoshop and using the NIK plugin. As mentioned
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previously, the NIK software is extremely useful. In “viveza 2” it has a slider called “structure”. By winding this up between 0 and 100, the detail that would otherwise be hidden can be enhanced. But care has to be
taken not to overdo it and create an unrealistic image. The rule of thumb seems to be, wind it up till you like it and then take it back 10 points! I find that somewhere between 40 and 60 is generally a good compromise.
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YOHO NATIONAL PARK Leaving Lake Louise, we had a relatively short trip along Highway 1 through the Yoho National Park to Golden. On the way is the small village of Field where we stayed a couple of nights last year. Our accommodation at the time was within about 100 metres of the railway line, and the shunting trains kept us awake almost all night. This was the main reason we opted to stay at Golden instead. Regardless of the weather, a place not to be missed is Takkakaw Falls. The word loosely translates from the Cree language to “it is magnificent” and this is a most apt description. These are the second highest falls in Canada being 384 metres high and with the main “free-fall” of 254 metres. These falls are fed by the Daly Glacier and this maintains a good flow during the summer months. To stand near the foot of the falls is awesome in the true sense of the word. It is also freezing! The volume of near zero degree water displaces a huge quantity of air at the base that manifests itself as an icy blast. Also, the spray makes photography close up near impossible. But the photos this trip really did not do justice to the falls. So I really have to show what I took in July 2012. On that occasion we had a lovely blue sky. But we did have something of a bonus this year. Near the car park at the end of the road was a family of prairie dogs. I have to confess that at the time I did not know what these creatures were called and just assumed that they were some kind of squirrel, which indeed is right. They live in burrows and you can find much more about them on Wikipedia. Unlike most squirrels that we saw elsewhere scurrying around and near impossible to photograph, this on posed quite unconcerned for several minutes while cameras all around him clicked away.
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Sometimes bad weather can enhance an image. Compare the two photos of Cathedral Mountain which were taken from the road that leads from Highway 1 to Takkakaw Falls. The one with blue sky was taken in July 2012 whereas the one with stormy sky was on this trip and looks far more dramatic. Really, we should have planned the trip to spend far more time in the Yoho National Park. There is so much more we just did not get to.
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GOLDEN
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Golden is a small town in British Columbia. It is in the Rocky Mountains Trench, a large valley in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains and close to the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, a popular ski destination. For us it was mainly an overnight stay before our trip continued to Revelstoke. But of interest in the town is the Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge is the longest freestanding timber frame bridge in Canada. This was completed by volunteers from the USA and Canada in September 2011. After Golden we drove to Revelstoke on Highway 1 across Roger’s Pass. Not a pleasant drive as the next section details!
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DRIVING IN CANADA Let me digress at this point and talk about our driving experiences in Canada. This was our second experience of driving in British Columbia and Alberta and confirmed our impressions of last year’s travel. As in USA, Canadians drive on the right side of the road. So coming from Australia where we drive on the left, this is the first major hurdle to overcome. But after about three days I was used to this, although we still had to concentrate hard to avoid doing silly things. But the most scary thing was the driving habits of almost all cars and trucks on the road. I don’t know what the situation is like in other provinces, but in BC and Alberta nobody, but nobody keeps to the speed limits. And I don’t mean just 5 or 10 km over, but on a 100 km/hr road, the norm appears to be about 130! On the Trans Canada Highway between Golden and Revelstoke where the road passes over Roger’s Pass the speed limit is generally 90 km/h, and we were pushed to doing 110, but this did not prevent large trucks following us at a frighteningly close distance and roaring past when they had a chance to pass. There are no speed cameras and very little police presence on the roads, so to us, this crazy driving appears to go unchecked. Contrast this with what we are used to in Australia, where speed limits are strictly enforced, there are many speed cameras and if caught doing as little as 5 km/hr over the speed limit can result in a $150 fine. Also we have random breath tests for alcohol, and if caught with over 0.05% blood alcohol,
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the driving licence is immediately suspended. There are likewise constant reminders to drive safely on signs along the major highways. Nowhere did we see this in our driving experience in Canada. Our aim was not to get from A to B at the maximum speed, but to enjoy the scenery, stop when we wanted to take photos and generally enjoy the drive. Avoiding major highways became a primary objective. In fact, after the drive to Revelstoke, we were advised to take an alternative route to Kelowna. On Highways 1 and 97 this is a 201 km drive. But a much more scenic if considerably longer (340 km) drive is to travel south
on relatively minor highways and this route included two (free) ferries. Once we exited the ferry we allowed all traffic to pass and then we had absolutely no-one behind us as the next ferry was half an hour later.
REVELSTOKE TO KELOWNA We had a long section where we took few photos. Why? Well after a while you get tired of looking at the scenery through a viewfinder and just enjoy the place without having to snap away hundreds of shots. Also, while it is beautiful country, it just did not have the WOW factor of the preceding days. So we have just a few examples of this section of the trip. As mentioned in the previous section, instead of the dreaded Trans-Canada Highway, we took a relatively minor highway south from Revelstoke. This runs alongside the Upper Arrow Lake which, is actually a long (230 km) and skinny dam on the Columbia River. This is a sparsely populated region, with only one town on the route, Nakusp, that boasts a population of about 1,600. Traffic density is equally low, and combined with the ferry
crossings it was a very relaxing trip. The first ferry is 49 km south of Revelstoke, and the crossing took about half an hour. Then it’s another 49 km to Nakusp, and just the place for lunch next to the beach on the lake. The beach was a surprise as most of the lake has steep sided mountains and hills alongside. and I suspect it has been constructed artificially by bringing in sand from a seaside beach somewhere.
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KELOWNA Kelowna is a city of about 120, 000 and is in the semi-arid region between the coastal mountains and the Rockies. Our main reason for stopping here was to break our journey back to Hope. But our accommodation here shows how sometimes things can go wrong. The night before in Revelstoke we received a “no-show” email from an on-line booking agency. Despite checking everything we had a wrong date in our booking and they expected us on the 26th of August rather then on the 28th. And as it turns out it was booked out for that date so we had to look elsewhere. OK, wrote off the cost and we found somewhere else which looked reasonable and made a booking through a booking agency.
had not received our booking. Fortunately, all was well as they had space available. The lessons to be learned are obvious. Double check everything and then do it again to avoid such mishaps. Make sure you are online to receive any emails or notifications. And call your next accommodation to make sure the booking system has not failed.
As we were approaching Kelowna, we were a bit later arriving than we had hoped so made a phone call to say what time we would be arriving. Oh dear, we were not expected, their email had been down all day and they
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HOPE The next stop was a town we really knew nothing about. Hope is 154 km east of Vancouver, it is near the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla Rivers and to the
east are the Cascade Mountains. There are several notable features in and around the town. Throughout the town there are many chainsaw wood carvings.
East of the town is the Hope Slide, the largest recorded landslide in Canada that occurred in 1965. It buried a 3 km wide section of the valley below and also killed four people in vehicles on the road. The scar on the hillside still remains today.
Rocky Mountaineer train from Vancouver to Banff. On the way this train ran alongside the Fraser River and past Hells Gate. This is a very narrow portion of the river and can be spectacular when river is in heavy flow. It is also the site of the worst environmantal disaster in Canada when a rock slide caused by railway construction in 1914 blocked the river preventing spawning salmon swimming upstream. Again, Google will find you all the details if you are interested.
Hope has been used for a number of movies over the years, most notably the first Rambo film, First Blood. In one sequence he is seen climbing up a canyon wall pursued by a helicopter. This was shot in the Coquihalla Canyon. Through this canyon also passed the Kettle Valley railway which shut down many years ago, but it is now a magnificent walking trail that passes along the canyon and through the Othello Tunnels. But rather than me giving all the details here, the Wikipedia site is very informative on the town and surroundings so I recommend you have a look at it. On our trip to Canada last year we took the
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We did the drive from Hope up to Hells Gate hoping for some spectacular rapids in the river. But being late summer the water flow had diminished to the point where it would be tame even for white water rafters. It was, however, worth taking the aerial tram down to the footbridge that crosses the river as you can see from the photos.
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HOPE SLIDE - AERIAL TRAMWAY ABOVE HELL’S GATE
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HELL’S GATE OTHELLO TUNNELS
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OTHELLO TUNNELS
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COQUIHALLA CANYON
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VANCOUVER The last part of our Canadian Journey was in Vancouver. We stayed in North Vancouver which was a very convenient and quiet location. From there it was but a brief ferry ride to the city and also only a short distance from Grouse Mountain. So the last few photos are rather “touristy” ones. Some fom the marketplace area at Vancouver North.We took the “seabus” across to the city of Vancouver and there were two large
cruise ships at Canada Place which provided more photo opportunities. Grouse Mountain, above North Vancouver is a popular playground for all. Amongst the highlights for me was the zipline tour. Unfortunately there was no way I could take photos zipping along the wire at high speed. The “birds of prey” show was worth going to. But getting photos of the birds was difficult as they rarely stayed still for more than a
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couple of seconds. But I did manage a couple of clear shots. And the bear posed for me nicely. Safely behind an electrified fence I may add! So that is a very brief account of three and a half weeks coviring what is really a tiny portion of British Columbia and Alberta. Just look at a map and you will see just how huge the country is. Canada is after all the second biggest country in the world after Russia and it would take years to cover everything adequately. We flew from Vancouver to Salt Lake City to meet up with an organised photographic tour of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. There were 28 keen photographers on this tour, mostly from Melbourne, Australia led by two professional photographers and the three weeks spent there were equally amazing. But that’s another story, and not being “Northern Landscape” will have to be told elsewhere. 108 • Northern Landscape Magazine
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VANCOUVER FROM THE SEABUS
WANT TO SEND US A STORY ABOUT YOUR
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PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY CHARLES KOSINA
LOCAL STORIES? MAIL US TO: INFO@NORTHERNLANDSCAPE.ORG Northern Landscape Magazine • 113
October fe man made D
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eatures e 142 FEATURES 30 DAYS
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Castle Tioram by derekbeattie
The MS. Albatros (2) = Ferrying Back and Forth by Larry Lingard-Davis 116 • Northern Landscape Magazine
The Stavangerfjord Ferry (1) by Larry Lingard-Davis
60N........ The Beach at Sandness by Larry Lingard-Davis
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60N.. Jarlshof (2) by Larry Lingard-Davis
Three on the Hill by Mark Gamblin
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The Big House at Jarlshof (1) by Larry Lingard-Davis
Morning Blue on the Aalborg Limfjord (1) by Larry LingardDavis Northern Landscape Magazine • 119
Moretonhampstead Church, Dartmoor by Ludwig Wagner The Old Mill and the Locks by PhotosByHealy
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Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon in Edinburgh by Kasia-D
Morning Blue on the Aalborg Limfjord (2) by Larry LingardDavis Northern Landscape Magazine • 121
Being on the Rivers Edge in a Stockholm Ferry (8) by Larry Lingard-Davis
15 Sisters by Irina Chuckowree 122 • Northern Landscape Magazine
A New Day in Stockholm by Larry Lingard-Davis
Along the Pier by kalaryder
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Leaving Stockholm ( 2 ) Memories of the Twin Towers by Larry Lingard-Davis
St. Martins by Kathleen M. Daley
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Odense (1) by Larry Lingard-Davis Tivoli Gardens (1)~ ~Larry Lingard-Davis
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The Star Inn at Berwick by Larry Lingard-Davis
On the Beach in Eastbourne (8) by Larry Lingard-Davis The Lom Stave (2)~ ~Larry Lingard-Davis
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THE BIG CHALLEN
20 ENTRIES 37 VOTES 1 WINNER
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5 DAYS FOR VOTING
NGE ~ NOVEMBER
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FROZEN POPLAR TREES II, NORTHERN IRELAND LUDWIG WAGNER
5 VOTES
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4 VOTES
The BIG top ten
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BUNGLAS - HIGHEST SEA CLIFFS IN EUROPE? GEORGE ROW
MORAINE LAKE
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4 VOTES
RAOUL MADDEN
4 VOTES
SPIRIT ISLAND 2
CHARLES KOSINA
4 VOTES
GAMLE STRYNEFJELLSVEGEN - NORWAY ARIE KOENE
4 VOTES
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HOT MOUNTAIN RIVER
ON THE WAY TO LOM (1)
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PASCALPLUS
LARRY LINGARD-DAVIS
3 VOTES
3 VOTES
BREAKING WAVE
AYTHORPE RODING WINDMILL
KASIA-D
3 VOTES
NIGEL BANGERT
3 VOTES
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LUDWIG WAGNER
T
Featured artist
here are some things that have to be said and this one is going to be said: I have never seen a challenge in this group with such a tight result! The vote difference between the first place and the last place of the top10 was just of 2 votes!! This is just a reflection of the great quality of the entries in our group and it makes me incredibly glad!
This month’s winner was Ludwig Wagner, one of Northern Landscape’s most featured artists! In fact, I wanted to “kill him” when he gave me a list of nearly 70 featured works to place on the magazine. I went nuts really... His reaction? He was laughing at the poor moderator! Therefore we decided to showcase only 20 of his featured work, otherwise we would have a book instead of a magazine! Girls and lads, may I present you the almighty good humoured Ludwig Wagner!
# When did you start photographing?
I only started taking photography seriously about 10 years ago. Prior to that I focused mainly on my art/paintings.
# What can you tell us about yourself?
I was born in South Africa where I went to school and studied Art and became a Teacher before starting work in the film industry. This led me to London where I have been living for the past 14 years. I currently run a creative design agency doing lots of interesting work such as designing movie posters. www.zuluspice.com
# How does photography fit in your life? And where do you want to get with it?
I love travelling and exploring new places and my camera is always with me documenting my journey. My dream job will be to become a travel and documentary photographer (any offers will be welcome!). I have only recently started developing my career in photography and became a member of the Society of International Wildlife & Nature Photographers and the Society of International Tourism & Travel Photographers in June 2013. I joined Redbubble in March 2013 and have also started listing my photographs on stock image libraries. I am also very interested in iPhoneography, always exploring and creating images via various apps on my iPhone.
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INTERVIEW
Having coffee with Ludwig Wagner + his Featured works Northern Landscape Magazine • 137
# What photographic gear do you have?
Olympus E600, Fujifilm Finepix HS30 EXR and my trusty iPhone. I would love to upgrade to a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a few big lenses but that will have to wait until I sell a few more photographs to pay for it!
# How does it feel to win our BIG CHALLENGE and have such a feature on our monthly magazine?
I’m thrilled, I’ve been trying to win the challenge since I joined the group! Very happy to be featured, I think it’s a wonderful opportunity (by far the best prize in any group on Redbubble)!
# Tell us about the winning shot!
It’s part of a series of photographs I took on a farm in Northern Ireland where we spend Christmas every year. It was a particularly cold winter and we were snowed in for a few days. I remember it was something like minus 20 degrees Celsius outside, and I could only go out for short periods at a time to take photographs, however the result was some of my favourite photographs and I can’t wait for the next snowstorm!
# Describe us how would your perfect photo be!
The most tricky part of taking photographs when travelling and visiting popular places is getting the right shot without people or vehicles spoiling it. My perfect shot would be when I am able to get everyone else to stay at home on the day when I go out to take photographs. Seriously though, I love photographing places and objects in isolation, exploring the relationship between objects and the rest of their environment. There is often a sense of loneliness in my photography too.
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SNOWFIELD II
HARVEST TIME, NORTHERN IRELAND
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FACTORY IN DUBLIN HARBOUR
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GIANT’S CAUSEWAY, NORTHERN IRELAND
DUBLIN HARBOUR LIGHTHOUSE EARLY MORNING GLOW
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SUMMER ON BRIGHTON BEACH THE TITANIC MUSEUM, BELFAST
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SEVEN SISTERS CLIFFS, EAST SUSSEX
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WINTER SUNSET, NORTHERN IRELAND
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NORTHERN IRELAND
BALLINTOY HARBOUR, CO ANTRIM, NORTHERN IRELAND
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BODIAM CASTLE
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LONDON BY NIGHT
WINTER SUNSET
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WINTER FARM KYNANCE COVE, CORNWALL
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FROZEN POPLAR TREES II, NORTHERN IRELAND BY LUDWIG WAGNER THE WINNER OF OUR BIG CHALLENGE ~ NOVEMBER
WANT TO BE FEATURED? DON’T LOSE OUR NEXT BIG CHALLENGE!
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Northern La Some facts
Geographic area - a remi
A
lot of people have been having troubles with some of our rules lately, like submitting shots to our challenges that are not in the group, submitting 5 or 6 works at a time, but especially, especially one single rule (and allow me the caps lock please): GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION. Though the geographic location is written quite explicit on the rules, apparently nobody reads them really. And yes, the name of the country is necessary because not everybody knows what Skye, BC, or some other random place in the UK, Estonia or
The allowed geographic locations in our community
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Canada is... Many of our reader is! Remember that the world doe hood! Trust me, your work will g on insisting!
Another thing that is strange is th ently without reading the rules, accepting the rules and joining t kind of deal that allows me to us – despite all the 62USD made so
andscape -
inder for the forgotten...
rs don’t even know what Estonia es not go around your neighbourget rejected anyway if you keep
hat people join the group apparthe same rules that say that by the group you are signing some se your shots on a magazine with o far – commercial use – even if
I intent to use that money on the promotion of the magazine and therefore, the artists that are featured in it! Strange... Do you usually sign contracts without reading first? Well, anyway, here is a reminder. Ladies and Gentleman, may I present you, the Northern Landscape’s geographic area:
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WANT TO SEND US YOUR FA
INFO@NORTHERNL
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ACTS? MAIL US TO:
LANDSCAPE.ORG
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Back cover artist
R
etired, Grandmother of 7 (4 girls, 3 boys) and Great Grandmother to three boys, a new Great Granddaughter born April 27th 2013, and a beautiful Cavalier Spaniel called Charlie Girl, I love photography, I love to travel and to meet people, I also enjoy seeing the world through the eyes of others too, take care all, regards & Hugs Ann xx Please feel free to add me to your watchlist!
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NORTHERN LANDSCAPE ISSUE # 09 * DECEMBER 2013
www.northernlandscape.org
THE ROCKIES, CANMORE, ALBERTA, CANADA BY ANNDIXON
Fuji S20 pro Our B&B was at the foot of the Three Sisters Mountain, it was amazing
NORTHERN LANDSCAPE MAGAZINE - ISSUE #9 DECEMBER 2013