Seasonal Changes

Photographer Christy Turner of Calgary loves autumn, as it provides a whole new palette of colours and photographic opportunities

With the change of seasons comes, at times, rapid shifts and unpredictability in weather, regardless of where you live in Canada. Extreme fluctuations in temperature, such as snow one day and waning summer warmth the next, are common to the Canadian landscape, and it’s up to the hardy environment to adapt and adjust accordingly. As a landscape/night skies photographer in Alberta, the change of season also means a whole new palette of colours and photographic opportunities, as wildlife and nature bring out their “winter clothes” and prepare for the chill of winter. For Canadian night sky enthusiasts, it means the end of the Milky Way season, and darkness comes earlier as the days shorten. With the shortened days, it typically means that aurora borealis activity increases with the onset of the fall equinox, historically indicating an increase in geomagnetic activity, making vibrant northern lights sightings easier to catch.

I have travelled to the Yukon, around this change of season, which has fantastic offerings of its own, combining its stunning landscape beauty as foreground to brilliant displays of aurora at night. The Yukon catches snow considerably earlier than its more southerly provincial counterparts, and already looks downright wintery in late fall, with crisp powder snow reflecting the vibrant northern lights overhead.