Lower Falls, Johnston Canyon

A couple of days ago, I ventured back to Banff National Park.  I visited a few locations, including Johnston Canyon where I photographed one of the two waterfalls featured at this very popular tourist destination. I arrived at about 8:00 am, just in time to beat the onrush of tourists. It’s a pleasant walk to the first set of falls (about 1 km) and I was able to get about 30 minutes to complete my shots before the first busload arrived.

This is today’s featured photo, my preferred one from among many. I tried this picture from several angles and with different camera settings and this one worked out the best. Despite it being a clear, sunny morning the light was very subdued at this hour. There was no direct sunlight at the bottom of the canyon which is very helpful because the light is very uniform.  It was also a little dark, so the exposure was 1/2 second, creating the soft, streaming look to the moving water.

To highlight the waterfall itself, I added some”vignetting”, darkening of the image around the edges, most noticeable in the corners. This is the first time I’ve tried this; just waiting for the right opportunity. Usually, vignetting is an undesired result. It can happen for instance when using a very wide angle and the lens picks up the edges of the filter bracket attached to it. I would normally use Adobe Camera Raw software to remove the vignetting but the reverse is possible as well. You can add it, as I did in this case to focus attention on the photo’s subject, the waterfall. I think it works well in a picture like this where the subject is very bright in relation to the rest of the scene.

Satisfied with the collection of shots I had amassed, I returned to the parking lot, meeting a lot of enthusiastic visitors on their way up the canyon.