The snow is mostly gone, here on the prairies, but it will be some weeks before we see greenery and flowers blooming. I can’t wait! It has been a long winter and I sure could use a bit of color. Late spring or early summer images are great for it because all is fresh and green is bright and not dimmed by dust of late summer days.
We are lucky here in Alberta, because some nights are full of light show. We had a couple of gorgeous Aurora showing last fall and I have managed to capture some shots without leaving the city.
I know, I know it is winter and everybody posts winter photography, but I am not ready for it yet. I see it outside my window every day, so I want to see something warm, colorful and pretty. Hope you are in need of this as well.
It has been a while since I’ve posted anything about Elk Island National Park. So, I think, it is time for some lovely sunset from the beginning of summer, when all was green, flowers were blooming and days were warm and long.
April in Banff National Park can mean lots of snow, heavy skies, sunshine and no snow what-so-ever.. One never knows what one will find when travelling Rockies in spring. This particular time, the weather was sunny and relatively warm. Not much snow anywhere, either, except on higher elevations. Perfect condition for explorations as well as braving sunrises and sunsets and night photo sessions.
Sunrise in the mountains is as great as a sunset, enjoyed the best in peace and quiet. Unfortunately, that was not the case that morning. It seems like a lot of tourists decided to go shooting in the same location as we did and they were running around yelling and generally making a nuisance of themselves…
One cannot be in Banff NP and not visit Lake Louise. I’m sure I have said it many times before, but this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. No matter what time of year I am there, I always find myself taking a long time to explore the surrounding area and taking lots and lots of pictures.
One of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in Canadian Rockies is Lake Louise in Banff National Park. I am drawn to it over and over again regardless of the season. It is simply picturesque and one cannot blame me, really, for taking lots of pictures while I am there.. We have visited it again, during our December trip to the mountains. I have already shared some of the pictures from this trip in my post Solstice Sunrise in the Rockies and, with a great pleasure, I'd like to show you some more. Hope you find them pleasing. Winter really can be beautiful and since we are stuck with it here for months on end I'd rather concentrate on it's better aspects.. And if you can add to it a little bit of travel that's even better. Travel photography is a beautiful thing! ;D Have a wonderful weekend everybody! Kasia
It is truly a wonderful experience to welcome a new day in the mountains. We were lucky to be able to do just that during our recent trip to Banff National Park just before Christmas. The changing colors of the sky, reflected in little pools of open water at Vermilion Lakes made it all seem like the most exotic place, even though we have visited it so many times before.. Met a few photographers who, having the same idea, were already positioned in various places along the lakes capturing all those colors of a beautiful solstice morning. Experiencing such natural splendor makes landscape photography even more enjoyable. Even though you are spending long time outside, in the cold, you are rewarded with such wonderful views that it is all worth it! I have managed to shoot a few close ups, too (can't really help myself, you know ;D) I have also been finally able to play with Sony NEX-6 and NEX-7 during this trip enjoying not having to drag my heave Canons along and must say, I do like the results. I hope you do, too ;D.
Kasia
As I have mentioned in my previous post: Ice and Light - Lake Louise in Winter, we haven't had much luck with the weather, during our latest foray into the mountains. We've glimpsed a bit of a blue sky for a moment - I did managed to snap a shot of it :D (see below) - but mostly the sky was heavy with clouds and the snow, along with rain were falling heavily obscuring the views... That, however, has not stopped us from taking pictures ;D. They are just totally different than what we usually come back with, because it forced us to chose different ways of showcasing the mountains. And the heavy snow added a bit of a Chrismasy feel to some of the pictures.. I hope I was able to capture the atmosphere and the feel of the world of winter Rockies.. Enjoy! Kasia
I've never been to Lake Louise in winter before and was looking forward to seeing this beautiful place all covered in snow. When we arrived there the sky was already clouding up, but there was still enough light and colour to make things look interesting and it gave me the opportunity to take a few pictures of some of the great ice sculptures scattered all over the place, before they were damaged by rain and snow that came the next day. Mac has shared his images from this trip in his posts: A mix of color in winter - Alberta Landscape Photography, Winter in the Rockies – Alberta Landscape Photography and People in the Mountains – Candid Photography and now it is my turn to show mine, hoping you are not too bored yet ;D Kasia
We were very lucky this summer to be able to travel through the Rockies twice - so far :D. The first time we have visited only Jasper National Park in Alberta visiting some of the places we have not seen yet. The weather, again, was on our side and in spite of the very strong wind the temperature as well as the sky cooperated and allowed us to stop by and take lots of pictures... It was a very wet beginning of the summer and the lakes and rivers were full of water (as you can see on pictures of both Jasper and Talbot Lakes below). We have made a little detour before we entered the park to visit another site in the mountains, but the roads were closed due to flooding... There was still quite a lot of snow high in the mountains and we have been granted wonderful views of glaciers and snow covered peaks (Mount Edith Cavell with her glaciers, below). Here is a few shots from the first trip:
It was a wonderful trip, filled with great views and animal sitings that are always a pleasure...
Our second trip took place just a week ago and it took us a very long way through the mountains to British Columbia and back home to Alberta. We were a bit short on time and could not stop too often to take pictures but we have still managed to take a few stops here and there admiring the views and the abundant flora. It's amazing how of the wild flowers full the mountain meadows were this time of year!! It was simply gorgeous and since I did take my macro lens with me I took advantage of it and here are some of the results:
On the way there we could not resist a short stop at the beautiful Moose Lake, B.C. It was a gorgeous day, the clouds providing a lovely background to the mountains surrounding this lake and the wild flowers bloomed with abandonment making the views even more appealing...
As before we have decided to take a different way home and could not resist stopping at Lake Louise (since we were travelling through Banff National Park this time). After we left there, the views became even more beautiful... We rarely have a chance to travel through the mountains with setting sun and moon accompanying us. This time we were granted both of these and it was such a gorgeous set of views that, regardless of a long travel ahead, we have decided to stop a few more time to capture the wonderful scenes. I hope you like them as much as we did :D
Kasia
