How long should it take for a photographer to come away from a scene with a great photograph? For example, this past summer in the mountains, I set up my camera within sight of another photographer. Both of us were shooting the same mountain and lake looking for great light during sunrise. After getting my shot, I wandered to another spot and composed another photograph. After one hour I had taken approximately 10 shots that consisted of bracketed images, single shots and long exposures with a variety of compositions in differing light. The other photographer didn’t move once!  Was I being impatient or was the other photographer lazy? Did I miss a few fleeting seconds of amazing light by moving around or did I find a unique composition that screams creativity? Which technique is the best way?

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to return to one of the most beautiful areas of the Canadian Rockies: Mount Robson. Or more precisely: Berg Lake at the foot of Mount Robson. This mountain is just a hair under 13,000 ft tall and is the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. It is often referred to as the ‘Monarch of the Rockies’ and as you can see, this mountain deserves its regal nickname. Camping next to Berg Lake, many times throughout the day and night you can hear the thunderous rumblings of Berg Glacier across the lake calving huge chunks of ice into the icy, cold water.
For much of this trip, the weather was less than desirable. A landscape photographer is always in search of great skies and amazing light to surround their subject. This quite often is the key to dramatic landscape imagery, but unfortunately these things are very unpredictable. Sometimes you only have a very small window of opportunity to find what you are looking for. Fortunately, I had one evening where there were snippets of great light during a mostly grey sky.
The two images below were taken in the evening and help to illustrate the type of light that most landscape photographers are in search of.

      Not too far from where I live is Ya Ha Tinda located in the front ranges of the Alberta Rocky Mountains. A relatively short drive west and you can find yourself in very picturesque country. Along the way you may come across some of the famous wild horses that roam the area. Many people come out here to camp, fish, raft and trail ride with horses.
     The picture below is of Bighorn Falls. After parking your vehicle, a short walk up the creek in the canyon will get you to the bottom of these beautiful falls. Although well known to locals, these falls fortunately, still feel relatively secluded not being over run with tourism. Thanks for looking!

The mountain landscape is, for many people, the most beautiful type of scenery on the planet. I personally really enjoy being out in the mountains. The unpredictable weather, the rugged geography and the immense size of some of these pointy rocks make for amazing landscape imagery. Couple these grand vistas with great light, calm lakes, and fast flowing rivers and waterfalls, you’ll have photographs that will make all your friends ooh and aah.
That being said, many photographers want to take it to another level. Hanging out of helicopters, kayaking over waterfalls, and being attached to sheer cliff walls by thin ropes tied to small screws, photographers are able to record scenes that few will ever witness with their own eyes. As a photographer, I am constantly amazed and inspired by these photo explorers; adventurers; nutcases. While I am all for exploring and finding new ways to photograph our wonderful planet, I will only go so far. Will I take a risk? Absolutely! The one mistake and your dead kind of risk? Never! Make a mistake and break bones? Not likely! Fall down and scrape up your butt? I could handle that.
That takes me to the image below. Bow Lake and Crowfoot Mountain in Banff National Park, Alberta. Easy to get to and easy to photograph. There is a lodge that you can stay in just steps away from the shores of the lake. My car was about a 2 minute walk away from where I took this shot. Search the internet and you will find all kinds of images from this beautiful location……… but not like mine!