May 31,08. Image re-worked to remove magenta cast and intensify blue/cyan channel


One of the joys of winter, is the beauty created within nature. This image was taken a few months ago, but every year we wake up to hoard frost, sometimes lasting for a week at other times for just a few hours. This morning was like that. Foggy and beautiful. The sun is out now, and most of the frost is gone. The beauty and fragility always amazes me.

Taking these pictures is always a significant challenge. Exposure is actually the easiest part, as long as you use the f16 rule or an incident meter. The hard part is waiting to get good light and the resulting contrast. When that happens, in almost no time, the scene begins to deteriorate because of the heat of the sun. Planning is a necessity, knowing where to go, and being able to do so when the weather cooperates is a must.


Canada is a world class diamond producing country. Its diamond industry has now become worth more than $2.0 billion with all indicators pointing to potential for future growth. Canadian diamond production in 2003 was about 11.6 million carats and in 2004 was 12.6 million carats.

Although there have been diamond polishing facilities in Canada for many years, the new mines triggered the construction of a number of factories in the Northwest Territories that now employ close to 100 people. One facility is majority-owned by the Yellowknife Dene First Nation. The largest of these facilities has an output of 2500 carats a month.

The Canadian diamond industry employs about 1200 people in mine operations and over 1000 more in support industries for exploration and mining. In total, the Canadian industry provides some 4000 direct and indirect jobs. Aboriginal persons comprise 30 to 40 percent of the work forces at Ekati and Diavik.