Beautiful Moraine Lake
The stunning beauty of Moraine Lake, in Banff National Park, Canada…
This place is just so stunning. I can try and write up a bunch of superlatives to describe how gorgeous it is, but they would all fall short. Just go. You will not regret it.
Flow
A long exposure taken on a trip to Banff National Park, Canada…
I absolutely love to shoot moving water. It’s one of my favorite subjects. Whether it’s a river, a stream or a waterfall, I love all of them. The sense of motion you can capture with a slightly long exposure just adds so much to the photograph. This one I captured in Johnston Canyon, in Banff National Park, in Canada. It was mid-afternoon and we were just hiking in the canyon, but I kept stopping every few yards for another shot. But the river running through there is just gorgeous. Can you blame me for stopping so much? And though I prefer to edit in color, I am continuing to explore creating monochromes, because sometimes they just really work for me, like in this image.
The skyline of Vancouver
A lovely view at sunset over the skyline of Vancouver…
When we were in Vancouver, we rented an apartment with this stunning view. When I first walked in and saw this view, I was so happy and hoped for some nice light. Luckily, that afternoon it started looking great, and then sunset was just gorgeous. I just stood on the balcony and fired away. It was probably the least amount of effort I ever needed for a sunset. I only had to walk about 10 feet from the couch!
Moraine Lake
The dramatic beauty of Moraine Lake in the Canadian Rockies…
It’s just hard to think of a place more beautiful than Moraine Lake.
When we visited the Canadian Rockies, I spent two sunsets in a row here at Moraine Lake. It’s just so beautiful that even though my first sunset was gorgeous and I loved my photos, I wanted to return just to see and shoot it some more. It’s that gorgeous. You just sort of stand there in awe at the incredible natural beauty. I don’t often get the chance to shoot landscapes, and rarely do I get to see ones that are this stunning. It’s a real treat. If you are anywhere near it, please go see it.
Beautiful Moraine Lake
Moraine Lake in western Canada, at sunset…..
Ah, the Canadian Rockies - so gorgeous there!
I love Canada, having been lucky enough to visit many times. My favorite part of course is western Canada, and the town of Banff (and the National Park it sits in). It’s just a landscape paradise that is incredibly beautiful and inspiring. When we visited, I took as many photos as possible, just because I wanted to soak up as much as I could and be able to revisit it in my library again and again. This is one of many from Moraine Lake, which may just be the prettiest part of the whole area. I spent two sunsets here in a row, and both were just off the charts amazing.
Sunset in Vancouver
A lovely sunset over the equally lovely skyline of Vancouver, Canada!
Sometimes you get lucky with the view!
We rented an apartment when we visited Vancouver last year, and it just so happened that it was way up high with an amazing view. You don't always get that - in fact, often you don't - but we did in this case and I capitalized on it. What this really means is that I spent a lot of time on the balcony with my camera in hand. But hey, no complaints!
Sunset Over Lake Louise
Sunset at Lake Louise, in Banff National Park - a stunning part of the Canadian Rockies.
Ah, the beauty of Lake Louise! I have a serious thing for landscapes, but sadly I rarely get to photograph them since I am most often in cities. So when given the chance, I jump at it. This was taken during our trip to Banff National Park in Canada about a year ago. I still have a lot of photos to edit from the trip. I'm excited just thinking about them all!
A good night in Victoria
A pair of photos from lovely Victoria, British Columbia, Canada from my visit there last summer...
Sometimes you get a couple of good ones on the same night!
Not always, but sometimes. I'm always trying, of course, because who wants to go home without a bunch of good photos? Not me. Heck, I spent time and money getting there. I have to make it worthwhile, right? So on this particular night in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada I happened to get a nice sunset and then a lovely blue hour.
These shots are literally just a few steps apart, so it's not like I was wandering all over the place. It barely evens qualifies as walking, and certainly it's not exercise. But hey, I got some shots that I like, so no complaints from me.
I spent quite a while at the BC Parliament Building (first photo) during that lovely sunset, before hopping across the street to fire away at the Empress Hotel during blue hour (second photo). The entire town is pretty small, but this harbor area is really pretty and quite photogenic, so no need to go elsewhere anyways. :-)
The endless beauty of Moraine Lake
A really long exposure from Moraine Lake in the Canadian Rockies...
We spent some time here last summer, and it was amazing.
This glacially-fed lake outside of Banff in the Canadian Rockies is just magnificent. Those are the real colors, by the way. All the minerals in the lake make it just so amazingly blue. We arrived so that I could shoot the sunset here, and in this photo I went with my 10-stop filter to get a really long exposure. That's why the clouds are streaking across the sky - I kept the shutter open a long time (I can't remember the exposure time, but it was something like 3 minutes).
Taking really long exposures is one of my favorite shooting techniques. It works really well at sunset over a beautiful landscape, but works just as well with cityscapes, too. I did some in London back in January, and particularly when there is a river in the scene, the water just gets so smooth. In this photo the wind was moving the water a bit - and there was a few canoes out on the lake, too - but all that disappears when you have the shutter open that long.
Canoes at rest
Waiting on sunset at Moraine Lake...
Another shot from Moraine Lake!
There's just so much you can shoot at Moraine Lake and it's pretty much all amazing. After shooting a TON up on top of the big rock pile at the edge of the lake (which gives you a beautiful view), I clambered back down and wandered over here to shoot the canoes. All the colors and reflections in the still water are impossible to pass up!
Sunset in Victoria
A stunning sunset in the harbor of Victoria, BC, Canada...
Sometimes the action is behind you!
We were in Victoria, BC and I was busy shooting the amazing Empress Hotel. Since it was sunset, some nice warm light was falling on the facade of the hotel and it looked pretty awesome. But of course, I always look behind me too (just in case) and when I did I noticed just how incredible the light was looking. So here's a quick snap from that!
Below Moraine Lake
A stream exits Moraine Lake under a sunset sky...
I could wander around the shores of Moraine Lake for DAYS. It's just so gorgeous there, and you really can't take a bad photo of the place. After shooting the wide shots from the rocks up above the lake, I made my way back down and saw this stream that was exiting the lake. I clambered over a fence, balanced on some wet rocks and fired away. Photography is EASY there. :-)
The Kicking Horse River
A pair of shots from the Kicking Horse River in Field, British Columbia...such amazing scenery!
Just another beautiful spot in Canada!
I don't know how anyone in western Canada gets anything done. There is so much incredible natural beauty that I would never be able to sit still. I would be out shooting all the time!
This was in Field, BC which we stopped in while headed from Banff to Vancouver. Our destination was Emerald Lake, which is gorgeous, but after that we paused here for a quick snap of this gorgeous river and the natural rock bridge that straddles it.
See what I mean? We didn't even know about this stuff, and just stopped in case there was something to see, and wow was it amazing!
Emerald Lake
Emerald Lake, one of many beautiful spots to grab some photos in western Canada...
Another jewel in the mountains of western Canada!
Oh my, there is just so much incredible natural beauty to see in western Canada. It's almost impossible to go anywhere without wanting to stop and take some photos. I'm not complaining, of course. ;-)
This beautiful spot is Emerald Lake, which is accurately named. It's just over the border from Alberta as you are coming into British Columbia. I heard about this from another photographer when we were in Banff, and he mentioned that it's a great place to stop if you are leaving Banff and heading west (which we were, thankfully).
So we pulled over and hung out here for a little while. I wandered and took a few shots, but all in all it was just a quick stop. I would definitely like to return at some point so I could capture more angles and do some long exposures and sunsets here. Well there is always next time!
Afternoon at Moraine Lake
Golden afternoon light sparkles on Moraine Lake in the Canadian Rockies...
This place is gorgeous any time of day!
On my trip to Banff, I made it a point to get to Moraine Lake for at least one sunset (I ended up getting there for 2 sunsets, yay!). On one of those visits, I was wandering around quite a bit prior to the actual sunset getting started. This is part of my routine for finding a good composition, plus I like to look around and I always wonder if the view is better somewhere else. Yeah, I'm never done looking, basically. When I came across this view, I had to stop and fire a few - then again, I could say that about every view I had there, it's all just so amazing!