Bubbles, mountains, and accidently walking in front of the camera qualified a local photographer for Canadian Geographic’s photo of the week.
Tim Hall’s “accidental photograph” of himself standing on top of a sheet of methane bubbles on Abraham Lake is currently being featured in Canadian Geographic, a magazine that features articles and photos on travel destinations across Canada.
“It is a little bit surreal,” Hall said about being picked for photo of the week for the prominent magazine.
The photograph was meant to be of just the famous methane bubbles with a mountain in the background but Hall ended up walking through the shoot. Canadian Geographic announced the photo of the week via Twitter stating it was, “Strong leading lines” that made the shot the picture of the week.
“It was a windy day, and it was freezing cold, and I was lining up photos – and I just happened to be in one of the frames of the shots,” Hall explained.
“When I got home, I showed up in the frame and I had a better look and thought ‘wow, that is a neat picture.’ The exposure and the contrast were just perfect, which is pretty rare, but everything worked together.”
While this is not the first time the local photographer has been featured in Canadian Geographic, Hall said he is grateful for the recognition every time.
“You’re up against some pretty big (photographers) that have been shooting for years and years – it’s really only been in the past year or so where I’ve opened up my abilities to the public to see what I can do – this summer I saw more of Alberta than I have in my lifetime! It is a beautiful province.”
Hall is a born and raised, fourth-generation Cochranite.
“I remember a sign at the hill saying ‘Welcome to the Hamlet of Cochrane,’” he said with a laugh. “There is a lot of inspiration in the town with its depth of history… and now we are looking at almost city status.”
The photographer explained his hobby started when he began developing websites. Hall said that the two went hand-in-hand. As clients wanted websites, they would also ask Hall if he could take photographs for the websites.
He said lately it is his photography skills that have been keeping him busy, and also making his life interesting.
“A couple of week ago I shot a hermit’s cabin in Banff and it turned into an epic day – the really good shoots are not planned and when you see it, you just know it,” Hall explained. “I’ve driven hours in one direction and have never taken my camera out of the bag, but once you stop and you can look at a pond, all of a sudden ‘Boom!’ It hits, and yay.”
The photographer was recently contacted by Canadian Geographic to submit one of his photos for the Canadian Geographic 2017 calendar – and while Hall said he does not know for certain if that means his photograph will make it or if it was an initial screening process, he is still honoured.
“The sky is the limit and I am always planning a shoot,” Hall beamed. “Getting paid to do something you love is something most people only dream about, but there is not a day that I don’t get out of bed ready to go – I can’t wait to get out of bed.”
To see more of Hall’s Alberta photography, go to his website at timhall.ca
