The 4am wake up call to make it into Grasslands National Park for sunrise was worth it for a view like this!
Category: North American Scenery
Northern Lights photography has been my Achilles heel for the past few years. I either saw great displays but did not have my camera equipment or I stayed up late and waited with my gear but the lights did not materialize. Finally everything came together this week in Banff National Park. It was worth the wait and lack of sleep!
What better way to start the day than with a view like this?
Have a great day!
Few places in Canada offer the peaceful solitude, natural beauty and diversity of species as Grasslands National Park. I tried to capture the magic of this place during our visit last week. With the help of a lone bull bison gazing down into the Frenchman River Valley on a foggy August morning, I got the photo I was looking for. (click on the image for the full size)
If you are ever in Saskatchewan this park is one of the gems of the province and certainly well worth the detour.
Tonight is the first super moon of the summer. The moon’s orbit is closet to the Earth, making it appear larger than other full moons. As a result, tides will be larger and people will on average get about 50 minutes less sleep.
I took this photo last night on my drive back from the mountains. There were enough smoke particles in the atmosphere from a nearby wildfire to give the sunset a purplish hue. Along the Trans-Canada Highway, many people pulled over to take pictures and appreciate the celestial event.
If you want to see the real full moon tonight, head outside just as the sun is setting, when the moon will be closest to the horizon and warmly lit by the sun’s rays. This is when it will appear the largest and when the light levels are balanced enough that you will get a great picture. If you happen to miss it, two other super moons in August and September will give you lots of chances to see it. Enjoy!
The last patches of ice and snow melt into pools of water on this Yukon lake, creating a unique reflection of the surrounding forest.
After a busy few months I’m starting to get back on track with my photography. I took this photo earlier this month in northern British Columbia near the Yukon border. It was more spring like in the Yukon than in Calgary, so that was a nice, pleasant surprise!
Ironically, it seems every time I’m on this road there is a caribou connection. The first time I drove this section it was to complete a long distance transport of a herd of caribou from Fairbanks, Alaska to Fort St. John BC, so we only stopped for fueling up and short breaks. This time it was because I was presenting at the North American Caribou Workshop in Whitehorse, Yukon and I decided to drive rather than fly. It was a great trip with lots of wildlife sightings, including numerous caribou along the way.
Over the next month or so I will post a few photos from the trip. I hope you enjoy them!
Under just the right conditions, thin layers of mud will crack and sometimes curled up into these shapes that look like tasty chocolate treats! I came across these neat formations while hiking along a stream in Arches National Park.
Having visited Arches National Park before, I wanted to explore some of the more remote areas on my trip in October. After a bit of a hike and a steep scramble up a sandstone formation, I came across this amazing cave with spectacular views over the valley below. The extra effort to get there was certainly well worth it.
A few weeks ago, the turquoise waters of Lake Peyto still had not frozen over, creating a surreal look on another spectacular day in the Rocky Mountains. Click on the panorama to see the full size.
With temperatures hovering around -25 degrees Celsius last week, getting out into the mountains was a bit more challenging, but the extra effort always pays off in one form or another.
An aspen tree appears to take a stand against winter in Sheep River Provincial Park.
I was recently down in Utah for work, but I had just enough time to take a quick detour to visit Arches National Park. Having been there once before I wanted to try something different. So after hiking to the famous Delicate Arch for the classic photos of it lit up by the setting sun, I stayed until after midnight to photograph it under the stars. With the help of one other photographer, the two of us used flashlights to ‘paint’ the arch in light while the other took photos. With several shooting stars and the Milky Way Galaxy shining brightly in the distance, it was a spectacular night to be out taking photos!
The famous Morant’s Curve on a beautiful, moonlit night in Banff National Park.
I have been trying to get this photo for some time but finally all the elements came together. Under the light of the moon the colours in the Bow river and on trees were highlighted, while the brightest of the stars and the soft glow of light from Lake Louise became visible in the distance.
It wasn’t hard to just sit and wait for a train that night, but I didn’t have to wait long. As it lumbered along the tracks on its approach to the curve I could see the lights of a car approaching. Was I finally going to get the lights of both in the same frame? As it rounded the curve I started the exposure and for almost a minute I held my breath hoping that I had got the settings correct. Soon I had my answer…a perfect ending to another great day in the Rockies.
Owen Slater Photography 