This week’s photo of the week is a chilly winter image I took just over a week ago while out in the mountains looking for photos. This one is from Numa Falls in Kootenay National Park. I really liked the look of the cool blue water and the way the falls tumbled down between the snow covered rocks. The compositional choices are a little limited here in that the only vantage point of the falls is from the footbridge that crosses over the river. Despite that, I experimented as much as possible and made images that included the trees, stream, and the rest of the scene above the falls as well as more isolated images like this one. In the end I decided on this one because I felt like the falling snow and featureless sky in the wider compositions just didn’t add enough to the image. The obviously interesting draw of the scene is the waterfall so I felt like focusing in on that would make for a more effective photo. The overcast conditions that day were perfect for easily capturing the entire dynamic range of the scene in a single exposure which was great. With the dark rocks, flowing water, and bright white snow this would have been quite a challenging exposure in brighter conditions. I used a polarizing filter to remove the reflections in the water and bring out the colour as well as solid neutral density filter to lengthen my exposure enough (1.3 seconds) to get the effect I was looking for in the water.

Thanks for stopping in, I hope you enjoy this one.

Well, this week marks the final instalment in my 2012 weekly photo series. For this final post, I’m sharing a simple image I made while out shooting on a cold snowy day in the mountains last week. It was a beautiful winter morning with fresh snow having fallen over night and even more gently falling throughout the day. The low clouds and overcast conditions made for somewhat of a photographic challenge though in that the main attraction of the Rockies, the mountains themselves, were practically invisible. Not that I’m complaining or anything, it’s always a great exercise when the conditions force you to look past the obvious images and see more creatively. I often find some of my favourite images come from days like this.
I saw this view across the valley near Lake Louise and was really drawn to the repeated patterns of the lines of trees and the way the fog created a kind of layered effect. Using my telephoto lens I extracted this little scene and took advantage of the compression effect of using a longer focal length.
While simple and maybe not all that exciting, this image really captured the peaceful, quiet mood of that beautiful winter morning for me. If you haven’t experienced the stillness and quiet of a crisp winter morning in the mountains, I would highly recommend it. I hope this photo at least gives you a taste.