Golden sunrise light on Pyramid Mountain – Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

I waited for nearly two hours to get this shot. It wasn’t a spectacular sunrise, but eventually, first light lit up the side of Pyramid Mountain for a few minutes. I love catching first light on mountain peaks mirrored by a perfectly still lake surface.

There is a sense of separation in this composition: the distant cloud formation seems to mimic the rock formation under water, and a piece of driftwood serves as a lone element connecting with the distant trees on the other side of the lake. The ethereal light on the mountain is the force that binds these displaced elements together. As I wrote in my previous post, light is what you see. I hope you see what you seek.

PS: Perhaps this scene looks familiar? It is the same location where I shot Every Man Should Paddle His Own Canoe.

Golden aspens awaiting first light as the morning mist rises from Patricia Lake, Jasper National Park – Alberta, Canada

I shot this image about fifteen minutes prior to my previous photo, Layers of Stillness. From this view, turn 120° left to see the alpenglow on the Triden Range. Patricia Lake is small and easily accessible, but when those aspens turn colors on a crystal clear lake water surface, this place is incredibly photogenic. Throw in a moody cold Autumn mist rising under a colorful sunrise sky, this place can take one’s breath away. The best part about this beautiful morning sunrise? I saw only two other sunrise watchers enjoying this scene in silence. Out on this small lake, I found my own space and time, and I loved the absolute stillness of this quiet sunrise. This was one of those rare intangible moments that I can’t described nor captured with my camera. I think of myself as a “light chaser”, but it is not just about the light, it’s about finding those “pauses” that make time stands still. “Light” is what you see.

First light on the snow-capped peaks of the Trident Range reflected in the stillness of Patricia Lake, Jasper National Park – Alberta, Canada

I mentioned in my previous post that I spent two hours on Patricia Lake for a sunrise that didn’t materialized; undeterred, I went back the next morning and caught this beautiful sunrise: first light struck the snowy peaks of the distant Trident Range as the Autumn fog slowly rose from the stillness of the lake water surface. Everything seemed to move in super slow motion in the quiet dawn hour. Being a city dweller, my sensory gets assaulted every day from every possible directions; thus being out here in this quietude was nirvana as I found myself lost in these layers of stillness …

Morning light and autumnal reflections on Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park – Alberta, Canada

This photo is one of my favorite landscape shots that I’ve done to date. Technically speaking, this shot was difficult for me to pull off. I went to Patricia Lake for a sunrise shoot. After two hours of flat light and choppy water, I decided to move to Pyramid Lake where I found calm water just as the morning light began to light up the aspens on other side of the lake.

I setup my tripod inside this canoe, thinking that I’d get plenty of opportunities to experiment with different compositions; but every single movement I made caused ripples in the calm lake water, ruining the reflections. Then the wind started to pick up, sending ripples across the lake. So I sat inside this canoe and waited patiently for my shots as the morning light dappled in and out of the clouds. To get a good exposure was also a challenge. I stacked a two stops soft edge and a two stops hard edge Lee GND filter to keep the highlights in checked and to prevent the mountain details from getting lost in the shadows.

I love this shot not because of the technical challenges, but because how I felt so connected to this scene as I sat inside this canoe with my tripod and remote shuttle release cable. The wind was a blessing in disguise as it allowed me to contemplate about what I wanted my image to convey. Since I was in Canada, it’s fitting to quote Wayne Gretzky, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” In this shot, I aimed the canoe not at the light directly, but where I anticipated the light would be when I reached the other side of the lake. I’ve been paddling my own canoe since I was sixteen. Although my canoe might be old and leaky, it always takes me to where I want to go. Of course, I am speaking metaphorically. This canoe didn’t move at all during the time I sat in it, but it took me on a journey, a self-discovering journey that I will always remember.

Mt Gould Alpenglow at sunrise on Swiftcurrent Lake – Many Glacier, Montana.

I was experimenting with bulb exposures to exaggerate the cloud movements, but as the beautiful sunrise light lit up the top of the mountain range, I removed two of my GND filters to cut down my exposure time. Knowing that this beautiful alpenglow wouldn’t last long, I hurried a few shots before the intensity of the sunrise light faded. Perhaps this was the best sunrise light that I was lucky enough to catch during my trip.

The previous morning, I got out on the lake shore at 5am and waited for the sunrise alpenglow that never showed up. Two of the Many Glacier hotel employees joined my company. I asked them about their experience with sunrise on this lake. They described how they once saw the three peaks (Mt Gould, Mt Grinnell, Mt Wilbur) became infernal volcanoes spewing out fiery clouds! On this sunrise, I witnessed a glimpse of what the “locals” get to see.

When my new sunrise companions found out that I write computer software for a living. Both of them stared at me for a few seconds, “What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere in the dark?” I replied, “Once in a while, I love to get a way from the computers, turn off my cellphone and get off ‘the grid’ for a few days to find myself again.” They both nodded in approval. We talked about how beautiful this place is during the summer and how isolated it can be in the brutal winters. Both later offered to take me on a guided hike to hidden place with caves and waterfalls. I was tempted, really tempted, but I politely turned it down. Perhaps next time, I might take up on their offer …

Swiftcurrent Lake sunrise – Many Glacier, Montana.

Although we encountered wind gusting 25-40 mph and rains during our week long visiting Glacier National Park, this area is one of the most visually stunning locations that I have visited. The diversity of photographic opportunities were amazing: rugged mountains, towering peaks, dramatic clouds, turquoise lakes, raging waterfalls and cascades, exquisite flora and exotic fauna … I was in heaven. No wonder why this little corner of the world is known as “The Crown of the Continent“. Over the next few weeks, I will post a series of photos that I managed to capture during my time there.

This ninety seconds exposure was taken during my second sunrise photographing Swiftcurrent Lake in the Many Glacier area. The prominent peak on the right is Mt Grinnell and Mt Gould is under those fast moving clouds above the valley. Both mornings, the strong wind destroyed all the lake reflections:(

To maximize the wind effect, I stacked three GND filters (3 stops hard + 2 stops hard + 2 stops soft) to simulate solid ND filters to lengthen my exposure time. With the sunrise light changing rapidly every minute, I could not afford to experiment with too many of these long exposures and loose the exquisite sunrise light. In my next post, I will upload a much shorter exposure of the same location shot a few minutes later.

The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places. — Ernest Hemingway

As I mentioned in my previous post about a twilight surfer, I lined up my tripod to make a vertorama, and this image was what I had in mind. I rushed the last shot out because I did not have time to finish processing this image.

“Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.” — Author unknown.

I haven’t been around much lately. It has been two hectic weeks. Wife’s grandfather passed away last week, and we’ve been running back and forth taking care things. Last evening, I took a few visitors out for a beach walk to give them a chance to escape reality for a while. I was hoping that they could catch a peaceful sunset, but we witnessed one hellish looking sky after the sun went down. I guess it was fitting considering what we went through during the past few days. Imagine standing underneath those overpowering clouds and colors …

This vertorama is a composite of two separate horizontal shots. I didn’t have to do much to get those unreal colors and textures: RAW to TIFF conversion with cloudy white balance + 3 black points + linear S curve. Composition wise, I threw the rule of thirds away. The symmetry suggests one’s state of mind. It’s all about finding one’s balance.

The ruins on the outskirts of Bodie Ghost Town – Bodie State Historic Park, California

Once where gold was taken, now, Bodie is a forsaken place.

Standing on this outskirts part of town gives a good feel for what the old American West once looked like … wagon carts, wooden houses, yellow grasses on rolling hills, big blue sky … now the American West is full of SUVs, sky rises, massive freeway interchanges and smog filled valleys.

After the last few colorful images, I thought I’d post a black and white since I haven’t done one for a while. I’m a little hesitant to post this image because I feel that the clouds are too distracting. They compete with the foreground interests. Its ironic since I’m always on the lookout for interesting cloud formations to photograph. This image is a blend of two exposures, one for the sky and one for the foreground. The EXIF info shown on the left is from the foreground exposure. The sky was shot at 1/15s (2 stops apart).

PS: I just got back in town after a few days being away, so I’m a little behind. We left town just before the Tea fire broke out. For those asking, thanks for checking to make sure that we’re okay. We’re not directly affected by the fire.

"Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead.
Just walk beside me and be my friend." — Albert Camus

After my last trip, I returned to my private sanctuary last week. Here on this local beach, unlike when I travel, I don’t feel the urge to be a light chaser. I just sit and wait for the light and the colors to come to me instead. It’s comforting knowing that the beach will always be there, and the “right” light will come.

As usual, I use small pebbles in as my foreground subjects to personify human relationships. This might not look like a huge image, but it is a “vertorama” resulting from merging two wide angle shots. The horizon distortion was corrected in DPP. I also made a tighter square crop to pull the two small pebbles closer to the viewers attention.

I’d like to use this post to welcome my recent StumbleUpon viewers and to thank those who “stumbled” upon some of my posts. For the past few days, SU has been sending a steady stream of traffic to my site. A big “thank you” to those who made this happen – you know who you are.