Weekly Thing 322 / Banff & Lake Louise
Hello from the Canadian Rockies! 🏔️
Tammy and I spent this week exploring beautiful and awe inspiring places around Banff and Lake Louise with our cameras in hand. The plan for the week was via Photo Workshop Adventures. Our leader and instructor for the trip was Chase Guttman, an incredibly accomplished photographer and explorer.
My wish for the week was to have a great time exploring the area, capture amazing images, while learning and improving my photographic technique. It was a success on all fronts. For me photography is a way to really focus on seeing and framing. There were multiple times this week that the shutter closed and I got a big smile looking at what was captured.
I was also reminded many times of a saying among photographers that I first heard from my friend and photographer Layne Kennedy.
f/8 and be there.
When the alarm clock goes off at 3:40am to start your trip to Moraine Lake in the dark to see the stunning beauty of that place in the morning blue hour I thought be there. Being there can be difficult. It’s early, it’s late, it’s cold, it’s "oh dark thirty" at night. But being there is part of what is great about photography. Being there connects you with the place. You see it differently. When you are seeking that perfect light that will captures the feeling of the place, you dig deeper and look closer. You inspect and admire. You are truly there.
My photography focus this week was on composition. Unplanned but I also learned to love my filters this week. I took a lot of 30 second exposures with a 10 stop ND filter, even stacking a graduated filter in front of that to bring the snow on the mountains down.
This week I ignored my feed reader and the Internet. My computer did hard things working with RAW images and processing instead of AI and web things.
So I’m sending a totally different Weekly Thing. No links. No journal entries. I did blog of course so check out my site if you want some behind the scenes blog posts.
I’m instead sharing 24 images that I captured this week.
Take a moment to "be there". Each image is hyperlinked to a larger version. I added a bit of context for each image.
I hope you enjoy them. Have a great weekend!
Two Jack Lake was incredibly still and gave a perfect reflection as the sun was setting and lighting up the mountains in the distance.
The Upper Falls at Johnston Canyon with the sun peeking in like a spotlight on the water.
The Fairmont Banff Springs in the background as Bow Falls rages below.
Boats docked on Lake Minnewanka at sunset.
At the Upper Falls in Johnston Canyon the air is thick with mist and in early June it is still routinely below freezing. The mist and ice was coating this pine tree as the sun was coming up.
Vermilion Lake at dawn with peaks in the distance catching early rays of light.
On the shore of the Bow River at the sun rises on the snowy peaks of the Canadian Rockies in the morning.
Lower Falls at Johnston Canyon roaring with power.
The Banff Gondolas bringing visitors to the mountaintop.
Vermilion Lake at dawn with the peaks of Banff in the distance.
While exploring around the Banff Gondolas we went on some lesser used trails and when returning we found this Mountain Goat exploring along with us.
The Three Sisters peaks.
Walking the boardwalk in Canmore at sunset.
A candidate for my favorite photo I took on the trip. The Canadian Rockies in the background of the Bow River outside of Canmore at sunset. I love the texture of this photo.
Horses having a snack at Banff Trail Riders.
Peyto Lake from above. The indigo blue color of this lake is striking and a unique reaction to the glacial activity that it is fed by.
Freight train coming through Morant's Curve.
Moraine Lake in the middle of the Valley of Ten Peaks during morning blue hour.
Lake Louise nestled in between the mountains from 1,000 feet above on the trail.
Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park.
Glacial stream fed by Emerald Lake
The Kicking Horse River crashing through a natural bridge.
A downed tree on the shore of Bow Lake with the mountains in the background.
Early mountain flowers arriving in Banff.
Fortune
Here is your fortune…
Mountains whisper wisdom — listen closely in Banff and Lake Louise.
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This work by Jamie Thingelstad is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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