Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake under the midday sun – Icefields Parkway, Alberta, Canada

Peyto Lake is one of those rare locations that is best photographed under a brilliant midday sun to get the full impact of its turquoise water from suspended glacial flour in the lake refracting the green spectrum of the sun’s light. The three most famous glacier-fed lakes with bright turquoise/emerald water color in the Banff-Jasper area are Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, and Peyto Lake. Each has its own beauty, but perhaps this view of Peyto Lake seen from Bow Summit is the most visually striking of them three.

This is a single exposure shot at 16mm with a two stops soft-edge GND filter.

Layers of Stillness

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 …

Twilight Sky over Maligne Lake – Jasper National Park, Alberta

Spent a week in the Canadian Rockies during foliage season and came home with many beautiful photos. Out of seven days there, I was able to photograph one good sunset. The Canadian Rockies have so many beautiful locations that I would love to be able to spend a few weeks there. Between Banff and Jasper, I much prefer the quiet beauty of Jasper. For this evening, I had all Maligne Lake to myself. For hours, our car was the only vehicle in the parking lot.

Will post and write more about my trip. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this image. I captured many different variations of this beautiful sunset over Maligne Lake’s boat house, but like the soft pink clouds in this shot as opposed to later shots that feature intense red skies.

To get a good exposure of the sky and the foreground – including those trees that might have been in deep shadows, I stacked a 2 stops soft edge GND filter and a 2 stops hard edge GND filter. To get extra vertical coverage of the beautiful soft pink sky while maintaining my favorite rocks in the foreground, I took two horizontal exposures at 16mm and combined them in Photoshop. To capture the cloud movements, I lengthen my exposure to five seconds.

Mono Contemplation

Normally a popular spot for photographers, but in the middle of a cold winter, solitude can still be found for intrepid travelers seeking a few moments of clarity before darkness comes. Mono Lake – Eastern Sierra, California

Great White Fang Winter Sunrise

Winter sunrise over Mt Morrison – Eastern Sierra, California

Frozen Twin Lakes Twilight

A two minutes twilight exposure of a frozen Twin Lakes – Eastern Sierra, California

Road to White Mountains

Looking West on California State Route 120 from a few miles East of US-395

Motion in Stillness

Early morning winter light on Mono Lake, California.

First Light over Mt. Laurel

First Light over Mt. Laurel, Convict Lake – Eastern Sierra, California

Mt. Laurel Winter Reflection

Winter sunrise light over Mt Laurel, Convict Lake – Eastern Sierra, California