There's a world of wonder to be seen at Big Lake if you have the patience for it.
Al Popil knows this well. The former Gazette photographer has been snapping shots in the region for years and some of his best shots are the result of patience. "I'll find an area where there's a lot of activity, plant myself and wait."
Sometimes — as was the case with this enormous ladybug — that means sitting for hours, waiting for the right moment, swaying back and forth to match the wind. Other times, like with the giant mug of a grasshopper, it means a few minutes and a patient bug. "He just sat there all day," he says. "I just thought he had a cute face."
Popil is one of three St. Albert photographers taking part in the Local Lenses exhibit at the Musée Héritage Museum this week, says museum curator Joanna White. The free exhibit features about 40 photos from Popil, Dave Conlin and Peter Stahl. It opens Saturday.
"A lot of people don't realize you can go to Riel Pond and get all these images," she says. "We thought people would enjoy seeing what's really outside their back door."
Three shutterbugs
White says she knew Popil and Conlin from their previous work with the museum and learned of Stahl through them.
Stahl, who is retired, says he's been shooting seriously for about six years now and has already sold a few prints. "I enjoy being able to get all the detail out of a bird," he says, noting how even a sparrow can be interesting once you see the spots and hues of its plumage.
Stahl's specialty is birds in flight. He says his favourite piece in this exhibit is of a snowy owl whose yellow eyes are looking right at the camera. "He'd just finished capturing a vole in a field and he's taking off."
Popil, who now works in desktop publishing, says he got into photography in the 1970s after he tired of his job as a TV cameraman. He now specializes in wildlife photography, especially macro work. "It lets you see small things in a large way," he explains.
You can see every single hair on a European skipper, for example, whose fiery orange fur leaps out from the dark grass behind it, and the beady eyes and white spikes of a cheddar-coloured orb spider.
These can be challenging shots, Popil says, since the bugs move very fast. "All wild macro photography is strictly patience and having an idea of your subject."
Conlin, who lives just outside of St. Albert, says he's been shooting seriously since about 2002. There's no particular trick to his shots, he says — he just shoots what he sees when he walks his dog. "It's a question of being observant and persistent."
He got the shot in the exhibit of a bald eagle taking off from a branch, for example, because he'd been visiting that branch for about three years and knew the eagles used it to overlook the lake. "I was there that day and it took off and I just happened to have my long lens on."
The dog helps him spot shots as well — sometimes unwillingly, as was the case with the shot of the coyote in the exhibit. "If you look really closely, it's got something in its mouth," Conlin says. "That's actually a piece of my dog."
Conlin says he was walking through the woods, following some horses when the dog yelped. "I thought I stood on him." After a few more yelps, he noticed that a coyote had been nipping fur off the back of the dog's legs. The coyote wasn't going anywhere, so he took a shot. The dog was annoyed, but fine.
Conlin's advice to other photographers is pretty simple — keep shooting. "You've got to get out there and use your equipment," he says. "Those skills that you learn will just get better."
Call the museum at 780-459-1528 for more on the exhibit.
