Kananaskis Country is a park system situated to the west of Calgary in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. It’s just east of Canmore, about 30 minutes from home by car. Kananaskis Country is noted for recreation and tourism. Recreation facilities in Kananaskis include several campgrounds, a hotel, a holiday ranch, two alpine ski areas (Nakiska, which hosted alpine skiing during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games and Fortress Mountain Resort) and a competitive cross-country ski area (the Canmore Nordic Centre) that the public can use. The Canmore Nordic Centre was the venue for cross-country skiing events during the 1988 Winter Olympics. Most of the development is within Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and along the highway 40 corridor that parallels the Kananaskis River. Kananaskis has many kilometres of hiking, cross-country ski and horse trails. Other activities popular in Kananaskis include mountain biking, scrambling, climbing, backpacking, hunting and fishing. Oh, and did I mention photography! The scenery is amazing as I hope today’s photographs will attest.
The weather was pretty nice yesterday, sunny and about 20 deg C (68 deg F) so I grabbed some gear and drove down into Kananaskis. My first picture was taken along the Kananaskis Trail about 40 km (25 miles) south of the Trans Canada Highway junction. It features one of many creeks flowing out of the mountain ranges that flank the valley of the Kananaskis River. The spring runoff hasn’t really peaked yet, so the flow of water can be described as moderate. You can see by the expanse of the creek bed, how large the creek can get at the peak of the runoff. By the end of June, most of these creeks will have dried up, once the runoff is complete. In the background is an unnamed peak, part of the Opal Range that runs along the east side of the valley. The picture was taken with a wide angle lens, 17-40 mm (f22.0, ISO 50, 0.3 sec,). For this photo and the next one, I used a very small aperture and a low ISO setting to reduce the shutter opening to 3/10 sec., enabling me to get the desired look of the flowing water.
The next picture was taken in roughly the same location, but facing north west toward Mount Kidd, the subject of this photograph. I’ve included the same creek in the foreground. Mount Kidd is a large mountain, visible from almost anywhere in the area. This photograph includes both peaks, the south and the north. I used the same wide angle lens and the camera settings were almost the same.
On the way back, I stopped at a new location, the turnout for viewing Mount Allan. I liked the angle this location offered on Mount Lorette to the north. I took two photographs here, one from near the turnout and a second one down near a pond below. Here’s the first view, further back and showing a wider view of Mount Lorette and surroundings. The sky and clouds provide a striking backdrop to the mountain. This scene just grabbed my attention as it came into view.
Here’s the pond side view, offering a much closer look a the pond. This picture emphasizes the foreground with less sky in view. I used a circular polarizing filter to manage there glare on the pond’s surface. I wanted to capture a glimpse of the bottom of the pond while at the same time not losing the reflections on the water’s surface. I’m quite content with the balance I achieved. Both pictures were taken with the same camera settings, f16.0, ISO 160 and 1/25 sec.
I enjoyed a great couple of hours on a brilliant afternoon. I look forward to my next visit, soon.