Banff National Park Long Sleeve T-Shirts

Golden hour in any part of the world makes everything look just that little bit more beautiful. Golden hour in the mountains is spectacular and seems to make for completely different scenes every few minutes as the light catches different parts of the mountains. This is one such scene, with the craggy slopes of Mount Rundle, covered with a recent snowfall, lighting up in pure gold.

What a day this was. We started by hiking 10km through Paradise Valley to the stunning Giant Steps -- a place that was worth every step of those 10km to reach. From there, we climbed over Sentinel Pass, reaching the top right around the time a blizzard bore down on the area. As we made our way down the (much easier) path down the other side of Sentinel Pass, the larches peppered gold across the Larch Valley below while the Ten Peaks stood imposingly behind. Having spent the day surrounded by breathtaking scenery, I wouldn't say it was a sight for sore eyes -- I think it's a better description to say it was a sight for sore feet!

Snow and ice battling to cover the Bow River at Lake Louise in mid-November. It did eventually win in sections of the river, but the Bow was still flowing strong on this day. The thing I noticed most in this scene was how the snow covered the rocks on the island, turning what would have been pristine, flat snow into white blobs all along the riverbank.

MORAINE LAKE - Rocky Mountains Canada Sunset.

MORAINE LAKE - Rocky Mountains Canada Sunrise glow.

It's spring, and that means that the Icefields Parkway is once again free of snow and ready for the hordes that descend on it during the summer months. And really, that's understandable -- after all, why wouldn't you want to drive this road? It's 230km of some of the most spectacular scenery you'll ever see!

I'm not sure if I will ever find a road I love more than the Icefields Parkway (although the Spray Lakes Rd/Smith Dorrien in the Kananaskis comes a close second). I find a new angle on the mountains every time I drive it, and fortunately in winter, you can stand in the middle of the road for quite a while before a car passes by!

An elk doing his best "majestic" look on a hill above Surprise Corner in Banff. It's only slightly undone by the big number on his ear tag!

Bow Lake with view of the Crowfoot Mountain and Bow Peak at far left on an overcast summer evening, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.

I love being out in the mountains under the full moon. The mountain ridges light up in a completely different way than they do during the day and make for quite the otherwordly scene, particularly when the clouds are racing across the sky as fast as they were on this night at Lake Louise!

Perfect for anyone who finds peace and joy in the stunning beauty of this mountain town, it's a reminder of the special moments and memories made in this beloved destination.

A small side road off the Icefields Parkway, meandering off towards a campsite that was closed (as everything on the Parkway is at this time of year). There was the perfect amount to pepper the roadside and mountains while still leaving the road clear for easy driving.

Of all the places I've ever shot the Milky Way, Bow Lake has to be one of my favourites. The wide open expanse of calm, reflective lake, the perfect line-up of the Milky Way and Crowfoot Mountain -- it's just the perfect place to spend a summer night (even if that summer night does dip down to 0ºC)!

The reflection of Mount Rundle may have still been covered by the ice, but the spring melt meant that this starry night was perfectly reflected in Two Jack Lake for the first time in months.

I've spent so much time at this lookout, patiently waiting for a train to pass by. On this visit, I got out of the car and could already hear the rumble of the train, so I had to run across the road and vault over the barrier to try to catch it. Luckily, I made it just in time!

Some nights do their best to discourage photographers from going out. On this night in June, I headed out to teach a night sky workshop only to be greeted with thick clouds across the entire sky. So, instead of teaching Milky Way photography, I taught the participants about capturing ultra-long exposures of streaky clouds, and then later, about light painting. Just as we were setting up for a few last light painting shots -- and right when I got out my camera to remote trigger a shot while light painting for the participants -- the clouds parted in front of the Milky Way. They stayed that way for 15 minutes before closing back up again. No one could really believe it, but they all agreed that they were happy I'd dragged them out rega...

While much of the rest of the Icefields Parkway felt more like autumn than winter, the Bow Summit didn't quite fall into that category. We had to plow through a bit of snow just to park and then were treated to a winter wonderland of frosted trees and snowy tracks on our way up to the Peyto Lake viewpoint. It was one of the highlights of our drive!

Wow! What a difference a month makes. When I visited the Bow Summit in September, the peaks had just received their first dusting of snow. A month later, we hiked through the snow just to get to the lookout, and the snow on the slopes below it made for a perfect spot to have a winter picnic and enjoy the amazing views.

You know it's going to be a good morning when you get to your sunrise spot 45 minutes early to set up for a workshop and the sky is already pink. You know it's an even better morning when you have to talk about ways to avoid oversaturation of oranges and pinks because it's such a vivid sunrise!

Flashback to late October when Bow Lake was just beginning to freeze. The -13ºC temps that morning made the open water steam like crazy, creating an absolutely stunning scene for golden hour. It was one of those scenes that, for the 1000th time in 2017, made me appreciate how lucky I am to live so close to the mountains.

The crags of Castle Mountain lit by the sun of an early November morning in Banff National Park. I find this mountain to be one of the most fascinating on the drive between Banff and Lake Louise; with every corner turned, it reveals a new face more interesting than the last.

Unbeatable beauty of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Herbert Lake early in the morning or during at sunset you can enjoy incredible reflection of Mt. Temple.

That feeling when you have the Rockpile all to yourself, knowing that within days it will be swarming with bus after bus full of people. It was pure serenity; that is, until a snow removal truck arrived and filled the air with constant BEEEEP BEEEEP *BEEEEP*s. Oh well, you can but try.

I woke up on the last official day of summer in Banff National Park to a winter wonderland. Even though the snow all melted by noon, it was fun while it lasted! I captured this image of the mountains surrounding Lake Minnewanka as the mist started to clear around mid-morning.

Doesn't this look like a scene right out of a Christmas card? Lake Louise was gorgeous under a blanket of late October snow. I love early season snows that pepper the trees in white while the lakes are still unfrozen!

Canadian Rockies, Icefields Parkway beautiful fresh mountain stream.

How amazing is Bow Lake at night? The Milky Way lined up perfectly over Crowfoot Mountain on this night in late June. You wouldn't have guessed it from the blue in the sky, but this photo was actually taken after 1am; even though the sun sets, it is close enough to the northern horizon that the sky stays in a constant state of faint twilight at this time of year.

Winter reflections can't be beaten, partially because of the stunning landscape they reflect, and partially because they are so rare! Luckily this area of Lake Louise often has a small area of open water, and this afternoon in late January was the perfect time to be there.

My original plan when I picked up a workshop participant at 3am was to head to Bow Lake to capture the Milky Way in pitch-black skies; however, after watching the northern lights dancing in front of us for the whole drive from Banff, we decided to head up to the Bow Summit (where there is a clear view to the north) instead. This is what we were greeted with -- dancing greens and purples and lights pulsing across the entire sky. I think it was the right choice!

Even though the moon disappeared behind Mount Fairview, the view across Lake Louise on this night was just unreal. The full moon lit up swirling clouds at the end of the lake as its turquoise waters lapped at the rocks at our feet -- and the best thing was, our group was one of the few to witness it after the daytime crowds disappeared completely at sunset. To get the full effect of the moving clouds, I shot for 3 minutes; hence the faint star trails you can see above.

Retro Lake Louise Banff National Park travel poster art by Sassan Filsoof

Sometimes you can just tell that the sun's had it after a cloudy day. I could almost hear it yelling from behind the mountain, "let me out! I just want to light up the sky once today!"

The hot springs at the end of the last Vermilion Lake steaming at sunrise on a -20ºC winter's day in Banff. I loved how the steam had coated the entire marsh nearby in frost!

Waputik Peak in the Canadian Rocky Mountains from Icefields Parkway

Can you see the person standing on the edge and enjoying the view? He's so hard to pick in the seemingly never-ending landscape of trees and mountains stretching out beyond the Bow Summit. I never get sick of this lookout because it seems to change every time I visit -- in the time I've lived in Canada, the lake has morphed from milky green to blue to white!

I made two trips to Jasper in September, and on both trips, I needed to be in Jasper at a certain time so I wasn't able to dawdle along the Icefields Parkway like I usually do. It's a travesty to drive the Parkway without stopping though, and I found that on both trips, I made one photo stop: at Mount Chephren and the Waterfowl Lakes. Both times presented me with completely different scenes; the first was a smoky sunset, and the second was this gorgeous, foggy scene just after sunrise.