This mountain is probably by far the most photographed inside Banff National Park and as you can see it's for a good reason!

Being up here for almost a week, I can tell you that it definitely takes quite some hard work and lots of luck to get good photos. We mostly have sunny days, the type with not a single cloud in the sky. There's always some wind, too, making it near impossible to see any reflection in the lakes.

That very morning (our 4th inside the park), I was rewarded for the first time with the right amount of clouds, color intensity, and near windlessness. It was so cold (~32F), though, but I was well prepared with a merino wool hat plus my down jacket's hood, 4 layers on top and 2 layers on bottom. However, there's no way to cover my fingers and at times I just couldn't feel them.

There was no one around besides me in that section of Vermilion Lake that morning, but further down the road there were quite a few photogs clicking away. One was there throughout the night taking timelapse photos; another one (my new friend) was there until 2am to capture the Milky Way and returned before 5am. My new friend is a gifted and hardworking photog, his dedication is most admirable! (He's not on Flickr but on 1x.com.)

It took me over half an hour to shake off the chills in my bones afterward, but looking at the images I captured, I found my "pain (cold) and suffering (lack of sleep)" so worth it.

So far we only explored the southern section of Banff National Park. The more we go north, the less cell reception we will get.

Currently we are back in Calgary to restock our food suppl. it's a beautiful city 80 miles east of Banff.

I'm sorry I can't get to view your photos these days, may you continue to be blessed with good health and company!

Thank you for your visit, my dear Flickr friends!

Tags:   Scenery Composition Outdoor Outside Canon EOS R5 Full Frame Mirrorless ThroughHerLens RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Sky Light Water Landscape Cloudscape Nature Sunrise Banff Vermilion Lakes Mt Rundle Breathtaking Reflection Lake Alone

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It's an all day rain event on our first day spent in the Canadian Rockies region. Arrived at Canmore, Alberta by mid-day, rained most of the time until 6-ish. Ehagay Nakoda was gradually making its appearance, and I believed I photographed Mt Lawrence Grassi.

"Ehagay Nakoda is a multi-peaked massif located immediately south of the town of Canmore just east of the Spray Lakes road in Alberta's Canadian Rockies. The mountain sports two subsidiary peaks with commemorative names, Mount Lawrence Grassi (which is the tallest) and Ha Ling Peak on the northwestern end. It also sports two other named peaks: Ship's Prow on the southeastern side, and Miner's Peak. The mountain is separated from Mount Rundle by Whiteman's Gap, and is separated to the South from The Three Sisters by Three Sisters Pass." ... Wikipedia

We haven't entered the national park, so I still get cell signals; however, with my US Verizon unlimited phone plan, I only get 0.5G of high speed data per day in Canada. Unfortunately, this 0.5G does not last long so I must pick and choose what I do online.

Wishing you all a happy day ahead!

Tags:   RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Scenery Composition Outdoor Outside Canon EOS R5 Full Frame Mirrorless ThroughHerLens Canadian Rockies Canmore Cloudscape Nature Ehagay Nakoda Mt Lawrence Grassi Mountain Canada

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0.00001% is just my guesstimate of how many people got to see this scene with their own eyes. Judging by how few people we encountered in the lake that very early morning, I suspect there might be more zeros in actuality.

No one who ever visited the Canadian Rockies could miss the impressive Bow Lake along Icefield Parkway. Those who visited between noon and late afternoon in the sunny days might not notice the rocks' unique textures due to the washout lighting and a not well defined reflection on the water due to the position of the sun and the presence of the wind.

Bus loads and bus loads of tourists were given at most 10 minutes to admire the scenery, we observed the shortest time allocation being 5; not just here but in all the viewpoints in the park.

I wonder when they go back home, would they tell their friends and family that the Canadian Rockies was nothing like what they saw on the travel brochure or photos hung in the gallery.

I'm so glad photography has made me join the 0.00001% club!

Bow Lake in early hours, with Crowfoot Mountain getting the best light.

(28 minutes after sunrise | 37F/2.8C)

Our free-styling road trip is still going strong, I am currently parked outside a library, enjoying fast and free Wi-Fi.

Wishing everyone a great day ahead and a wonderful weekend!

Eͤxͯрⷬloͦrͬeͤdͩ ⍟ Nov 01, 2022 # 4

Tags:   Scenery Composition Outdoor Outside Canon EOS R5 Full Frame Mirrorless ThroughHerLens RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Sky Light Water Landscape Reflection Bow Lake Crowfoot Mountain Canada Canadian Rockies Sunrise Morning Tranquility Long Exposure LE Travel

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Moraine Lake is a glacially fed lake in Banff National Park, best known for its appearance on the back of the Canadian dollar bill. It's one of the most popular lakes inside the national park, so much so that its parking lot is often full and closed. The best chance to get in is to go there after 6:30pm or later at night.

We went there twice, both times in the evening near sunset time. The first time was so windy and so cold that we didn't bother to climb up the Rockpile for the most optimal viewing position.

This photo was taken in our second visit. Though no wind, there wasn't any reflections on the lake. As we were about to leave, the deep blue set in and the lake took on the shape of the surrounding mountains.

Nice, I finally got my Moraine Lake photo!

Time to go... but... wait.....

Tags:   Scenery Composition Outdoor Outside Canon EOS R5 Full Frame Mirrorless ThroughHerLens RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Sky Light Water Landscape Moraine Lake Lake Canadian Rockies Blue Hour Long Exposure LE Night Photography

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After I captured the previous photo and was about to leave, I heard a magic word. Next to me stood two photographers, speaking in Hindi except for the words "Milky Way".

I asked "What about the Milky Way?" and was told it would be rising over the lake starting about 9pm.

Ahhhhh, we should stay, but yike, we were not dressed for the cold nor we ate dinner yet!

No matter, Milky Way rules!

Good thing I still have the note for Night Sky Photography on my phone (no cell signal) so I knew what settings to use.

PS: The photogs were brother and sister, their parents were sitting on the bench patiently waiting for them to finish their Milky Way photoshoot. They were visiting Canada from Australia for two weeks.

Our free-styling road trip is still going strong, we left Jasper/Banff and are heading west.

Wishing everyone a great day ahead, thanks for your visit!

Tags:   Scenery Composition Outdoor Outside Canon EOS R5 Full Frame Mirrorless ThroughHerLens RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Sky Light Water Landscape Milky Way Long Exposure LE Night Photography Stars Moraine Lake Canada Canadian Rockies

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