Rundle Reflection
Instead of going for the usual grand landscape with the mountain and the sky, I concentrated on the reflection in Vermillion Lakes in Banff National Park. I liked the way that the cloud hung in the sky and was mirrored in the still water. The bit of color from the sunrise accents the triangles formed by the upside down peaks.
In the best light…
Herbert Lakeshore
This week, instead of featuring new images, I’m bringing back older images. Some of them have not been seen before and some will be reprocessed. I’m still learning Adobe Photoshop CS6 and there are a few things I’m trying to improve the older images.
This scene is from Herbert Lake north of Lake Louise in Banff National Park.
In the best light…
Last Light At Vermillion
At the end of the day, Dave Brosha both wanted to stay and leave. You can never tell what’s going to happen to the light, but he was flying out of Edmonton and had to drive there that night, and he was my ride back to Cochrane. Well, we stayed until after the sun set. This was one of the last of my frames from the day. Looking west across Vermillion Lakes 3, with the backlighting on the clouds.
This photo is the last that I’m planning to post, of the ones that were taken as part of the Persistent Vision weekend Field Shoot put on by oopoomoo.com at Vermillion Lakes in Banff National Park with guest instructor David DuChemin.
Looking back, it was just over a month ago and still fairly fresh in my mind. The experience of a photographic event of this sort should not be minimized. There was a massive amount of learning going on everyday. Even the social events were educational. I met a number of new friends and got together with others, many whom I hadn’t seen in a while. I really want to thank my friends Darwin Wiggett, Samantha Chrysanthou and Catherine Byram from oopoomoo.com for organizing such a fantastic event. I’m hoping we’ll see more like this in the future.
In the best light…
Ice Crusts
As spring slowly approaches, the ice releases it’s grip on our lakes and rivers. Where it can’t stay in open water, it hangs on to the edges and surfaces protruding from the water.
Reeds On The Lake
The reeds in Vermillion Lakes are quite interesting the repeating curves attracted my eye. Find what to shoot and how to do that was another question.
It’s In The Details
Near Vermillion Lakes #3 there are warm springs that feeds into the lake that keeps that water open nearly year round. I found one that started on the other side of the road. The algae was thriving in the warm water and the steam coming off of the surface in the cold weather, caused droplets of ice to form on the stems of the grasses above the water line. It has to be far enough above the warm water so the ice doesn’t melt, and higher, the mist doesn’t coagulate and form on the grass stems. It is an interesting process that would be easy to miss. This little puddle wasn’t very photogenic as a whole, but by moving in close and seeing the details, I was able to find an interesting image.
In the best light…
By The Lakeside
Nearly everyone who photographs near the town of Banff, in Banff National Park, shoots Mount Rundle from Vermillion Lakes.
Near Bow Falls
This is one of my favorite images from my morning in Banff National Park with Dave Brosha and Stephen DesRoches.
On A Wintry Morn
An overcast sunrise is harder to shoot than a spectacular one. A blazing sky filled with vivid colors is easy pickings. On a grey day you have to be more thoughtful about your shots.
Trees And Snow
I was riding with Dave Brosha in Banff National Park, and he saw a tree! Seriously, he saw some trees that he wanted to photograph so we stopped on the side of the road.
Sunrise At Two Jack Lake
I was booked for the Sunday afternoon photo session at Vermillion Lakes with David DuChemin as part of the Persistent Vision weekend. Dave Brosha had flown down from Yellowknife, NWT for the weekend and was also on the afternoon shoot. Dave wanted to do some additional shooting in the Rocky Mountains, so I offered to join him.
Peyto Mist
My sister Sheila once worked at Tekarra Color Labs, a photo finisher in Jasper, Alberta. She said that Peyto Lake was the most photographed spot that she saw coming out of the film processor that summer.
Rundle and Red Bush
This frame is from a few years back. I’ve been going through some of my old stuff and finding pictures to reprocess using the newer tools that I now have at my disposal. I originally shot this at Vermillion Lakes #2 in September 2008. I thought the iconic image would be enhanced by the brilliant red leaves on the bush in the foreground, and wanted to preserve the color. I used Adobe Lightroom 4.3 with Nik Color Efex Pro 4 and Nik Viveza 2.
Nikon D80, Nikkor 12-24mm, @14mm, f/16, 1/200 sec, ISO 400
In the best light…
Castle And Bow Winter
Sometime the light is just sweet and all you have to do is frame the image and press the shutter. I rarely post right out of the camera and I used Tonal Contrast from Nik Color Efex Pro 4 but little else was done to the file. Enjoy !
In the best light…
Sunny Near Louise
A lot of the images that I have been showing lately show the bleaker side of winter. On the days that the sun comes out, winter in the mountains can be spectacular. There are many times when I’d love to stop and take the day off shooting pictures, but my work schedule won’t allow it. Occasionally I can pause and grab a quick frame. This is one of the results. One of the benefits of being outside is that I get to see the changing light all along my route.
In the best light…
Midnight Dreams
With the full moon shining, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to try a little more night photography. I set up my point and shoot on a mini flexible tripod and placed it on the dash board. It ended up going to an 8 second exposure but I liked the colors in the shot. The blueness of the night sky showed through and the brown from the sand on the road. I liked the way you can see the glow of the moon light on the low clouds.
In the best light…
Snowland
With the light dusting of snow over the entire landscape, it gave the scene a nice light and airy feeling. The brightness carried from the road level to the peak of Mount Bosworth, and on in to the clouds.
The image was processed in Adobe Lightroom using Nik Color Efex Pro 4, and was not converted to black and white as you might suspect. I adjusted the brightness using the High Key filter and added a small amount of Tonal Contrast. If you examine the road closely, you can see the approaching vehicle’s headlights have a yellow glow.
In the best light…
Clear Road Ahead
After a few days of snow and blowing snow, seeing a road that has been plowed, sanded and cleared is a welcome relief. The air is crisp and clear on a cold winter’s day. It is perfect for getting maximum sharpness in your images.
I processed this image in Lightroom using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
In the best light…
Castle Light
Castle Mountain is one of the most distinctive mountains in Banff National Park. It stands apart from other nearby mountains. It’s up thrust strata is instantly recognisable from the Trans-Canada Highway.
I’ve photographed Castle many times and the light is always changing on the mountain face. Some days the clouds move in and the peaks are not visible, often there won’t be any visibility above the treeline. On this day, the afternoon sun warmed the exposed rocks. The small lenticular cloud in the lower left was also warmed by the setting sun.
In the best light…
Sawback Fog
A shaft of light burned through the fog on the Sawback Range in Banff National Park. It lit up the folds and crevasses on the rocky peak.
Memories Of ‘88
The bright yellow with red stripes of the Canadian Ski Team was instantly recognizable to me. I almost didn’t have to look for the Calgary ‘88 logo on the bib. I was a little curious about it being in Banff at all, with Banff having been by passed for 1988 Winter Olympic venues. It did bring back many fond memories for me.
Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-70mm, @44mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO 200, Adobe Lightroom
In the best light…
Bikes In Banff 2
Motorcycles were not the only thing to catch my eye. To me, nothing says Banff more than a mountain bike with a carrier crafted out of a Spanish wine box. I could not pass it by with out snapping a picture.
Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-70mm, @35mm, f/4.0, 1/100 sec, ISO 200, Adobe Lightroom
In the best light…
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