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.

]]> http://www.photofool.com/2011/11/08/peyto-lake/feed/ 15 http://www.photofool.com/2011/10/14/layers-of-stillness/ http://www.photofool.com/2011/10/14/layers-of-stillness/#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2011 07:07:22 +0000 photofool http://www.photofool.com/?p=4025

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 …

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.

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

Winter sunrise over Mt Morrison – Eastern Sierra, California

This is my first post for 2011 and I am at a loss of words, unsure what to write. Needing a break, I packed my gears and drove up the mountains last weekend. I should have been home with my family, but I didn’t want to sit around to discuss terminal illness and death and dying yet again.

It’s hard to explain how priceless these moments are to me: sitting in solitude waiting for first light to break through a dark and cold winter night. The process of waiting and anticipating for that first light restores my balance and increases my self-awareness of where I am and where I want to be. When those brilliant colors show up, nothing else matters. Even in the freezing temperatures, my heart glows with the sunrise light.

For those struggling to find your balance, I hope you find your own space that allows you to recharge and regain your focus. It does not have to be an exotic location. All one needs is a place to find inspiration in solitude. If you have not found yours, don’t rush, allow it to find you.

About this photo: The composition is not as clean as I would have liked. I found the left edge too distracting; but due to the ice and snow, my tripod location choices were limited. I used a 0.6 hard-edge GND filter and under-exposed by half a stop. I like to under expose my RAW file slightly to boost colors. As for interpretations, here are a few to think about: fire/ice, peaks/valleys, the end/the beginning, genesis, rebirth, reborn …

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

I took this long exposure of Twin Lakes in the Mammoth Lakes basin after a wonderful dinner at the Tamarack Lodge’s Lakefront restaurant. If you are ever in Mammoth Lakes, I recommend an early dinner at the Lakefront restaurant before a sunset shoot.

I scouted around this area to see where and when I could set up my tripod. I walked near the base of Twin Falls on Lake Mary, but preferred the view from this side of Twin Lakes. From what I saw, this location should be good for sunrise also. I didn’t have enough energy for a sunrise shoot for this trip, but I’ll definitely return to this location next time.

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

This is a hand-held shot taken about half an hour after the previous shot, Motion in Stillness. I had my circular polarizer filter to its maximum and my lens image-stabilizer on.

Early morning winter light on Mono Lake, California.

There I sat frozen on the edge of Mono Lake in the midst of gentle snowflakes tumbling down, enjoying every second of my winter solitude. I could time the gentle ripples on the lake surface; I could sense the clouds moving; I could feel the early winter morning light dancing on the distance mountain peaks; yet the stillness of the landscape was unmistakable. As out-of-this-world as those terrestrial sedimentary rock formations appeared, I felt so connected to my surroundings. Moments like these remind me that I am sharing my time with a living and breathing planet.

I arrived at the lake well before first light, hoping to catch a red sunrise sky on Mono Lake as I once witnessed, but this time, it wasn’t meant to be: dark clouds blanketed the eastern sky. Didn’t want to waste my effort of driving 400 miles and waking up before dawn to get to this location, I waited in the freezing cold for over two hours in to get this shot.

Some might say that Mono Lake has been done to death, but I love to capture scenes that I enjoy being apart of – regardless of how many times they’ve been photographed. It’s not the pursuit of uniqueness that I am after; it’s the desire of being in the moment that I seek.

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

This is a color version of a similar shot converted to black and white I posted last week. I guess this is a “normal” view of the scene as opposed to the surrealism feel from the previous high contrast b&w version. The two were shot about an hour apart.

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

I meant to post this winter wonderland image of a nearly frozen Convict Lake sooner, but couldn’t find the time …

Last week, I went up the mountains after the recent snow storms. After a day on the slopes with my snowboard, I caught this beautiful sunrise with my camera the next morning. It was a cold morning, -5 F. With snow deep to my thighs, I couldn’t get around the lake perimeter as much as I would have liked. I dug myself a semi igloo, curled up in a ball and enjoyed the prissiness and the quietness of the mountains … deep blue skies of the high sierra, cold mountain air that left me breathless, pristine white powder, soft morning light on the snowy peaks… life is too darn busy, and these beautiful moments are too far and few in between … at times, I felt like I was sitting on the edge of darkness waiting for dawn light …

PS: For a different perspective, here is a nearly identical view that I shot a few years back.