What blew my mind the most was the sheer scale of the canadian rockies. Everywhere you look is beautiful. Wanted to share some of my favorite shots which are just a handful of the thousands of photos taken during my compulsive photographing spree. Every time I was like ok, I’m done with photos, a new scenery and lighting would appear that I just couldn’t resist :)
Going in early October was spontaneous but a blessing in disguise. To me, nothing beats the cool morning frost and mist, the snow on snow peaks, and the colors of the trees (not just the larches). Would love to go back in the winter and spring! Was totally shocked by the crowds in October and can’t imagine the summer would be a good time due to them.
Bravo great pictures!
I completely agree with you about the scale. When you see an image there is usually 360 degrees around and 10,000 feet vertically that is almost equally stunning. It’s hard to capture that kind of grandeur on film. It makes you feel small. Cliches like jaw dropping and awesome are actually accurate descriptions
totally! it was wild to me that there were so many national parks in such close vicinity to each other. Feel like I just scratched the surface. Absolutely loved the US RMNP but definitely felt smaller in scale
The pictures are absolutely stunning!! Each picture is so beautiful in its own way. Do you offer photography lessons or pointers? If so, any place where I could follow you? Thanks so much!
Here are some tips on my camera and lessons I learned along the way. I‘m an amateur so no classes. My insta: swangslife ... I’ve lost track of posting there lately (ironically as I’ve improved) but you can see my earlier stuff that’s more beginner there.
this is the camera body and lens I use. What I love about the OM camera is built in features like ND filters thar you’d otherwise have to lug around and manually change.
tips are nothing new but two I found most helpful:
when shooting, think about the subject / one thing youd want people to focus on or feel when looking at the photo. Once you know that, eliminate distractions from it (eg beginner mistake for me was trying to capture everything in the landscape and losing the “subject), and use common photography techniques like framing or leading lines to draw attention to it.
find your post-processing style and know the importance of post-processing. Still trying to figure out my post processing style but Im not a huge fan out super muted or saturated colors. This is also where your subject comes back into play, as you can crop, dodge/burn, etc to enhance the subject further.
These are beautifully breathtaking🥹🤍 do you mind sharing what camera you used, I’ve been wanting a high end camera but I have no clue which one to choose
this is the camera body and lens I use. What I love about the OM camera is built in features like ND filters thar you’d otherwise have to lug around and manually change.
this is the camera body and lens I use. What I love about the OM camera is boot in features like ND filters thar you’d otherwise have to lug around and manually change.
tips are nothing new but two I found most helpful:
when shooting, think about the subject / one thing youd want people to focus on when looking at the photo. Once you know that, eliminate distractions from it (eg beginner mistake for me was trying to capture everything in the landscape and losing the “subject), and use common photography techniques like framing or leading lines to draw attention to it.
find your post-processing style and know the importance of post-processing. Still trying to figure out my post processing style but Im not a huge fan out super muted or saturated colors. This is also where your subject comes back into play, as you can crop, dodge/burn, etc to enhance the subject further.
this is the camera body and lens I use. What I love about the OM camera is boot in features like ND filters thar you’d otherwise have to lug around and manually change.
2 nights Canmore - 1 night more of a transit day from Calgary to Canmore, got some Mckays ice cream and explored Canmore. Next day Kananaskis - hiked Picklejar Lakes (not an easy one but lovely), and black shale bridge.
2 nights Jasper: first night we spent most of the day driving to Jasper, we probably spent about 9 hrs on stops along the road. 2nd night Maligne lake and Jasper SkyTram.
2 nights Emerald Lake: 1st Night we got there for dinner - once again spent all day doing other stuff on the drive from Jasper down to Emerald Lake Lodge. 2nd night, early morning lake shore trail (foggy lake pics are all from the walk), Wapta falls hike, and explored Golden. Tried A&W for the first time and wow!! Don’t sit on it!
2 nights Lake Louise: 1st night was torrential icy rain, so it was a great rest day, did the shoreline trail during sunset. 2nd night we hiked lake Agnes, little beehive (where the photo of big beehive was taken), highline trail, plain of 6 glaciers, back down the shoreline trail.
last night we stayed by Calgary airport bc we had a 6:45am flight out. Spent the day with a 9:30am trip to Lake Moraine, didn’t have time to do a long hike without risking missing the shuttle and legs were tired, so we actually just walked all the way down the shoreline and hung out on a rock for 2-3 hours. I really enjoyed the moment and minimal crowds if you go all the way down. Then went to Banff, stopped quickly at some roadside attractions. Went to town to do some shopping and exploring, crazy crowded... It’s a great stop for a few hours but I enjoyed Canmore more. Just depends on what you like: more glitzy and crowded with more restaurants/shops or more quaint.
Happy to answer any other questions if you got any.
edit: biggest regrets - wish we had more time for Maligne lake, personally one of my favorite lakes. Download all trail maps for certain areas like Kananaskis and Moraine, no service there We did Picklejar spontaneously after driving by Ptarmigan Cirque and seeing how absolutely insane crowds were. Picklejar lakes looked like a rather short walk on Google Maps…it was not.
thank you! The ravens were so majestic and massive! Funny story, this raven seemed to like hanging out on cars in the parking lot. I snapped this photo, went on a hike, came back to this lovely surprise the raven left me. Said raven then sauntered up to me, proud as ever of its gift 💀
this is the camera body and lens I use. What I love about the OM camera is boot in features like ND filters thar you’d otherwise have to lug around and manually change.
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u/MiserableAssist4908 1d ago
Bravo great pictures!
I completely agree with you about the scale. When you see an image there is usually 360 degrees around and 10,000 feet vertically that is almost equally stunning. It’s hard to capture that kind of grandeur on film. It makes you feel small. Cliches like jaw dropping and awesome are actually accurate descriptions