Elbow Falls

Earlier this week, I made a trip to an old favourite site, an area south and east of Bragg Creek in Kananaskis Country on the eastern slope of the Rockies. I hadn’t been there for 10 years or more and I was a little apprehensive about what I might see. My prime destination, Elbow Falls was severely damaged in the 2013 flooding of the Elbow River but although a little altered from what it once was, it’s still a good photo location.

It was a sunny, warm spring day in mid-week and following a long stretch of “sheltering in place” many others thought this was a good place to go. The falls are only about an hour from Calgary, a great place to enjoy some newly recovered freedom.

I chose to continue further down the road to Forget Me Not Pond, another old favourite This site was quite busy as well but it’s more spacious and I was able to find a quiet location, away from the pond. I set up on the bank of the Elbow River facing west toward the mountains. The prominent peak in this scene is Mount Glasgow (the 3 peaks to the right), flanked by Mount Cornwall on the left.

The spring run-off has begun but hasn’t as yet peaked. The volume of water is more than usual but the river is nonetheless quite shallow in this area. I experimented with a few shutter speeds and conclude this is my favourite of a number of shots I took. It’s a relatively long exposure, 1.6 seconds, achieved using a 10-stop filter affixed to my lens.

Later in the afternoon, the crowds had abated at Elbow Falls and I was able to get some good shots beginning with this close-up view taken with a 70-200 mm lens at a focal length of 85 mm. I used a fast shutter speed (1/6400th of a second) to capture the power of the water cascading over the brink. The falls are not high, about 3 metres (~10 ft) but they’re very scenic. They’re quite narrow in comparison to the river’s width, such that the convergence of the flow creates a lot of turbulence.

I repeated this same shot at a much longer exposure (1/6th second). I was able to do so without using the 10-stop filter, relying on a tiny aperture and low sensor sensitivity to slow down the camera. It’s an appealing look that I generally favour but I think the previous shot is better suited for this subject.

As I concluded my shooting and began putting my gear away, I was surprised by the arrival of 3 kayakers testing their skills in the falls. Fortunately, I had not removed the telephoto lens from the camera and although not ready to shoot I hurriedly snapped off a few quick shots. Not ideal, but better than missing the opportunity altogether.

All three manoeuvred the falls successfully. My timing was fortunate on this picture, capturing the final kayaker amid the turbulence at the bottom of the falls while his companion observes from the the shadows beneath the rock ledge.

A good day with a lucky flourish at the end.