Lucky Castle

When Willie and I flew into Calgary and drove to Banff we had high hopes for its season of "Ice and Fire". November has earned this reputation based on the beautiful pink and red sunsets that are more common during this month, while at the same time, Banffs lakes and rivers begin to freeze. On our first night in Banff we drove straight to Castle Mountain. Most of the riverbed was still flowing normally but we found a few patches where the shallow water was beginning to melt into neat patterns and shapes. We just had to sit and wait and hope that some clouds would arrive for sunset. When you photograph a sunset with this much depth between the foreground and the background, you often have to focus in multiple places, take a number of photos, and blend them together later. Sometimes this means you have to compose your photo before you know how much of the sky will be lit on fire, and that was the case here. While I hoped for more dragonplay in the sky, both Willie and I were pleasantly surprised with the pink clouds and the icy reflection we were treated to on our first night! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 17mm, f/11, 0.8 sec, ISO 100

Vermilliglow

Willie and I got our first taste of the northern lights when we were in Iceland in March. Since then I've been eager to see more aurora and had hoped that we'd see a little during our time in Banff. On this evening, a solar storm was predicted, that we hoped would cause the sky to glow green. NASA measures the solar radiation, which is what causes the aurora, and assigns it a number on a 1-9 scale. To see the aurora in Banff we needed something around a Kp 5 storm. Unfortunately, the storm that hit was only a Kp 4 and the only thing we saw was a *very faint* green glow on the very horizon. Our first stop, though, while hunting for the aurora was Vermillion Lakes. Even though the sky only had a faint green tint, there was some beautiful light in the clouds and hitting Mrt Rundle, due to light pollution from the town of Banff. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 14mm, f/2.8, 30 sec, ISO 1600

Minne Wanka and the Glow Factory

In March 2015 I visited Iceland and was treated to several nights of absolutely stunning aurora. Living in California means that I'm too far south to ever see the sky turn green and dance, but I had high hopes that we might see a bit of the northern lights while spending 6 days at Banff National Park. On our first night in Banff there was a possibility that the northern lights would come out. Willie and I dashed off to Lake Minnewanka, which had a clear view of the northern sky, and waited. Only an extremely small patch of sky managed to glow green and that was the last of the aurora that we saw during the whole trip. While waiting for the aurora I happened to turn around with my camera and point it back towards Mt. Inglismaldie. My guess is that light pollution all the way from Calgary was enough to cause these clouds to glow orange (the town of Banff is further southwest, or to the right). I loved looking back at this mountain range and seeing the clouds glowing, while the snowy river bank framed the photo. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 15mm, f/2.8, 20 sec, ISO 2500

Minne Wanka and the Glow Factory

In March 2015 I visited Iceland and was treated to several nights of absolutely stunning aurora. Living in California means that I'm too far south to ever see the sky turn green and dance, but I had high hopes that we might see a bit of the northern lights while spending 6 days at Banff National Park. On our first night in Banff there was a possibility that the northern lights would come out. Willie and I dashed off to Lake Minnewanka, which had a clear view of the northern sky, and waited. Only an extremely small patch of sky managed to glow green and that was the last of the aurora that we saw during the whole trip. While waiting for the aurora I happened to turn around with my camera and point it back towards Mt. Inglismaldie. My guess is that light pollution all the way from Calgary was enough to cause these clouds to glow orange (the town of Banff is further southwest, or to the right). I loved looking back at this mountain range and seeing the clouds glowing, while the snowy river bank framed the photo. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 14mm, f/2.8, 20 sec, ISO 3200

Frozen Rose

Just outside the town of Banff lies 3 beautiful lakes known as the Vermillion Lakes. By the time we arrived in November the first lake had mostly frozen over and was covered with snow. The second lake was starting to freeze and the third lake was somewhere in the middle. What makes the Vermillion Lakes special is that Mt. Rundle sits behind them and when the sun rises, it can leave some amazing scenes in its wake. On this particular morning the clouds were a bit too thick for the beautiful sunrise that we were hoping for. What we did witness, however, was a beautiful light display, with the clouds and the sun shooting rays of light out over the mountains. We happened to be hanging out at the Third Vermillion Lake when we found these frozen air bubbles, just as the sun decided to peak out and send lightrays in every direction. We ran around, very carefully, making sure not to break the ice! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 17mm, f/11, 1/500 sec, ISO 100

Storm the Castle

I spent almost a week in Banff and got all sorts of weather: clear skies, rain, snow, more snow, fog, clouds, you name it. The weather never put a damper on our photography and Willie and I spent our time driving madlessly around trying to find scenes to photograph. We made our way towards Lake Louise as a snow storm was brewing in the area. The more north we drove the more clouds we saw. As we got near Castle Mountain it began to peak itself out of the brewing clouds. There happened to be a Vista Point pull-out on the highway that we pulled into, grabbed our big lenses, and snapped away as it popped into view. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8: 200mm, f/11, 1/320 sec, ISO 200