Last Week’s

I was a pretty busy last week, getting out to shoot pictures on four occasions. So, rather than focus on any particular theme today, I’ll simply post some of my favourites from last week, choosing at least one shot from each of the places I went.

The first few pictures were in the course of some touring I did with Julie Green and Henry Kaye, visiting us from Australia. I begin with a few from Moraine Lake, where our morning began with pouring rain. Luckily, the sun began to poke through and we were able to get a better view of the astounding scenery at this picturesque location. Not bad for photography either, with the peaks at the end of the lake beginning to emerge. A splash of colour in the foreground never hurts either.

I also managed to get this picture of the sun breaking through the clouds and illuminating an adjacent peak, the Tower of Babel. The pile of rocks on the right is the edge of a large mound of glacial till that serves as a viewpoint looking down the lake. It’s the place to get the iconic shot of Moraine Lake. But not on that day!

One more from Moraine Lake before moving along. Great light!

No visit to the Rockies is complete without a stop at Lake Louise, just down the mountain from Moraine Lake. This next picture is the classic scene of the lake, with Mount Victoria and the Victoria Glacier at the end of the lake, taken from in front of the Chateau Lake Louise resort. The sky had cleared considerably by the time I took this picture, helping to bring out the brilliant colour of the water.

We also visited Emerald Lake, named for its brilliant colour. Emerald Lake is located in Yoho National Park, about 40 km further west from Lake Louise, near the village of Field, B.C.. Here’s a scene I really like, taken from the area of the souvenir shop and canoe rental. That’s Emerald Peak to the left in the background.

We also visited nearby Takakkaw Falls. This waterfall has an overall height of 302 metres (990 ft); its longest drop is 254 metres (833 ft). Quite a plunge!

Later in the week, I went on a long photographic excursion with Bob Bear, into Kananaskis Country. Along the way we came across a large cloud bank hovering over the valley. We stopped at an old favourite location, the Wedge Pond, where we could get a good view of the cloud (fog?) bank. The mountain in the distance, nicely reflected in the pond is the Fortress.

Our destination on that day was an area referred to as “The Hump”, a high point where the mountains transition to the prairies. Following is a scene I quite liked, the road leading up to the Hump’s summit. This is a beautiful composition, not requiring much thought on the part of this photographer. It was just there, waiting to be photographed. I like the diagonal lines and the curving road ascending the hill.

Another scene with eye appeal is this next one, also with lots of diagonal lines and a winding creek bed leading the eye from the bottom left to the upper right.

The ultimate goal was the panoramic scene looking eastward from the summit. If I’m not mistaken, that’s Toronto, barely visible in the distance. Perhaps not.

Bob and I took some more shots along the way home, including this following picture of the Misty Range, featuring a profusion of colourful wildflowers in the foreground. I was getting a little tired by this time, so it was easy to take this picture, lying down.

A busy week, but a good one. Some nice pictures and the great company of old friends Henry and Julie and my frequent photo companion, Bob.