Banff Lake Pins and Buttons

Moraine Lake isn't often seen without its signature brilliantly blue waters, but this scene -- with its dramatic clouds welling up over the top of the mountains -- begged for black & white. Location: Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Canada Camera: Nikon D700 w/ 24-70mm f/2.8 lens

NATURE IN BEAUTIFUL CANADA,CANMORE

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)!

When we started the night shooting at Vermilion Lakes, we had no idea it would end with watching the aurora dance high above Lake Minnewanka! The clouds, which had been much heavier earlier in the evening, gradually cleared and let us see this gorgeous display all across the northern sky. It was the strongest auroras I've seen yet in Alberta!

Late on the evening of Christmas Day, we headed out to Lake Minnewanka to see if we could get a glimpse of the northern lights, which were supposed to be quite strong. Not only did we see them dancing above the peaks at the end of the lake, but we also caught a glimpse of Santa heading back home to the North Pole (or it could have been a meteorite -- you decide)!

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!

Colorful canoes at Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, on a rainny summer day.

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.

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!

No matter what time of year, the view from Morant's Curve is stunning, with the mixture of natural (the mountains, the Bow River) and the manmade (the train tracks). The frame of golden aspens in late September just makes it even moreso.

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!

The cabins of Shadow Lake Lodge nestled in amongst the pine trees of Banff National Park. It snowed for most of our 13km snowshoe trip in, so we were happy to get even a glimpse of the area -- resplendent in its fresh coat of snow -- before we snowshoed out the next morning!

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!"

Immerse yourself in the breathtaking beauty of Jasper National Park with our exclusive design. Perfect for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts!

Colorful canoes at Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, on a rainny summer day.

The First Snowstorm Of The Season Creates A Stunning Panoramic Landscape As The Bright Blue Waters Of Peyto Lake Reflect The Surrounding Mountain Range At Banff National Park In Canada.

A Large Winter Panoramic View Of A Purple Sunset Over Peyto Lake At Banff National Park In The Canadian Rocky Mountains.

It doesn't get much better than going to somewhere that is packed during the day and finding it completely deserted for sunrise. I had the entire Bow Summit lookout to myself for much of this morning, and that made it feel even more special when the peaks all started to glow in orange, their reflection in the water below. Sure, the water is a brighter blue at midday, but this is truly the way to see Peyto Lake.

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!

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.

A Lake Louise design to show off your Lake Louise love!

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.

In the summer months, sunrise creates a gorgeous alpenglow on the ten peaks behind Moraine Lake. It first paints the peaks in orange and then gradually sinks down the mountains as it turns pink and then white. It's an amazing sight to behold, and even though I frequent Moraine Lake for sunrise workshops, it's a scene that never gets old!

Ramen Bear Me

An idyllic summer morning at Lake Louise, its perfectly calm waters lighting up a brilliant green in the early morning light.

I'd driven past Herbert Lake a number of times on windy days where the lake was rough, but on this morning, all was still and it was absolutely perfect. I called it Herbert Lake's Last Hurrah because this was only days before all the lakes in Banff National Park began to freeze; on my next visit two weeks later, it was frozen solid!

Lake Louise is often pictured in wide angle, showing off the waters of the lake itself as well as the mountains that tower above it. On this morning in mid-November, though, I felt like the reflection really stole the show. Much of the rest of the lake already had a fine sheen of ice over it, and only this one corner had open water to reflect the snowy peaks of Mount Victoria above. It was a nice last glimpse of the lake, which was shortly after buried in snow and will stay that way until the end of May!

Wow. There are some places that take the words right out of your mouth, and Moraine Lake is one of them. The Valley of the Ten Peaks may be one of the most crowded places in the Rockies, but a visit there is so worth it -- particularly if you get there early enough to see the lake look like glass, reflecting the mountains and the sky above.

The trees of Lake Louise are always an amazing sight to see, and by far my favourite time to see them is at night -- when you can look up past the snow-encrusted branches to see the stars glittering above. Add in a moonrise to light up the trees and a halo around said moon and you get a memorable sight indeed.

When we passed 7,000ft on our way uphill to the Larch Valley, the green pine trees started to give way to the gold of larches. The view of them stretching into the distance with the mountains behind was something else!

A Lake Louise design to show off your Lake Louise love!

Moraine Lake is one of my most popular workshop destinations, so over the summer, I watched the sunrise nearly 20 times there. It was fascinating to see how the lake changed over that time, as well as all the different sorts of lighting that can occur at that time of the morning. I captured the light on the Ten Peaks behind the canoes at the end of my second "All-Nighter" workshop in July. It was a great place to end our long night of shooting around the park!

Canoes set up on the shoreline of Two Jack Lake, ready for a morning of paddling out on the lake.

While snow covered the majority of Johnson Lake and kept it hidden from view on this visit in mid-February, a small unfrozen area gave a little window into what was hiding underneath the winter wonderland!

On Tuesday morning, I was lucky enough to make it to the Moraine Lake Road entrance just after the road was opened for the season. I arrived at the lake to find I was only the third car parked in the parking lot! It was fantastic exploring around the Rockpile in the wintry conditions, and it proved that Moraine Lake is well worth visiting even when the water isn't shining brightly blue like it does later in the summer!

I went to Morant's Curve early one afternoon looking to capture a timelapse that perhaps featured a train. 45 minutes later, no trains had passed, but in that time, this cloud crossed the entire sky -- just a single streak with hardly a cloud around it. It was truly unbelievable to watch...and very exciting because I managed to capture the entire traversal in my timelapse, which you can watch at https://vimeo.com/202296789.