Autumn Sunrise

This morning I went out with friend and fellow photographer, Greg Bourque to capture some sunrise scenes. We didn’t venture far from home, about 10 minutes to the chosen photo site. The particular site is an old favourite that I hadn’t visited for a few years. It’s a great location, offering a great view over water of Canmore’s premier landmark, the Three Sisters.

It’s located just of Highway 1A, leaving Canmore traveling east. It’s a brief walk down Cougar Creek to where it joins Policeman Creek.

For a long time, this spot was relatively unknown. One could always count on having lots of room to set up and shoot. No longer. This morning, there had to be close to 25-30 photographers there. We found our niche and got down to business.

My first image is a view to the east as the sun rose through a gap between the mountains. This scene offers not only a pretty sunrise, but its reflection in Policeman Creek.

Turning my attention in a southwesterly direction, I captured this view of two of the mountains bordering the Bow Valley on the south side of Canmore. From left to right are Ship’s Prow and the Canmore Wall. The still waters of the creek were perfect for capturing their reflections this morning.

And now, la pièce de résistance. I never grow tired of taking this picture. The conditions are never the same and I can almost always capture a pleasing image of Canmore’s best known mountains, the Three Sisters. I like this particular image for the splash of autumn colour and of course, the reflection in Policeman Creek.

The brilliant orange of the alpenglow, seen in the previous picture is gone. The sun has moved behind some higher mountains as it continues its morning ascent. We could wait until it re-emerges, but by then it would be much higher in the sky. The soft, warm light of sunrise is over for today.

The change of light is the signal that our morning photo shoot is complete. We depart contented, having experienced a beautiful mountain sunrise and having capturing some memorable images.