We wrapped up our trip home from Arizona with a stop at Waterton Lakes National Park, located in southern Alberta. The park is adjacent to Glacier National Park in Montana, just across the border. It’s still early for tourists but the beauty of the park is there year round.
I got up early yesterday to get a few photographs at sunrise, before we departed for home. I took my pictures from the bluff overlooking Waterton Lake, also the site of the Prince of Wales Hotel, an icon of the park. The hotel was vacant, not due to open until May 15th. Parking was not a problem.
This first shot was taken just before sunrise with the sun’s rays reflecting off the clouds on the horizon. The hotel looks a little odd with no lights, but that will change soon.
As at the sun’s rays began to strike the peaks on the opposite side of the lake, I began taking pictures down Waterton Lake. That’s the town of Waterton on the right; our hotel is the one with the blue roof. I chose this picture because I like the wind driven pattern on the water’s surface. It was a bit chilly though.
Before moving on, I took this picture of the hotel.
I didn’t have the time to get the classic photo of the hotel on the bluff, but you can see someone else’s picture here. Beautiful setting for a hotel.
I moved on to a favourite location as my last stop, Cameron Falls. It’s a small waterfall right in the town, and quite picturesque. I took this first shot from further back to capture the falls and its setting.
The next two were taken from the footbridge with emphasis on the waterfall itself. They’re the same photograph except for the shutter speed I used. The first was taken at a shutter speed of 3/10 second to create the “silky” look. My preference. In order to get the picture, I stopped down to f22. I was able to get the desired shutter speed with ISO set to 160.
The second version of this scene was taken at a shutter speed of 1/1000 second for those who prefer the “stop action” appearance, lots of splashing and water droplets suspended in the air. To achieve the shutter speed I wanted, I opened the aperture to f4.5 and increased the ISO setting to 3200.
Lastly, here are two close-ups taken from these two pictures for better comparison of the effect of shutter speed.
Let me know if you have a preference for either of these two looks. I might have some money riding on it!
I think you know by now, I like the ‘stop action’ best, but both are great shots. But keep trying, you might convince me eventually LOL
Love the sunrise, looks cold and windy…lake is pretty too, but still prefer a reflection :)!
Welcome home
Helen