Monochrome Mountains

The Canadian Rockies ~ Seen in Black and White

June, 2018

MAKING THE ADJUSTMENT TO MONOCHROME

My personal goal on a recent trip to the Canadian Rockies was to shoot entirely in black and white. Yes, I adjusted my camera settings to preview and shoot in monochrome, but the big adjustment was to really think and “see” in black and white. I never took my camera off of monochrome for the entire trip and to be honest, I really got into the mindset of seeing things that way :)

Making the most of textures, tones and motion!

ABOVE: We had a week of beautiful sunrises and sunsets — no rain in sight :)

I love playing with silhouettes and contrast in black and white and that mood can be extended even further by using long exposures to really contrast the dark objects against the blurred motion of the bright passing clouds.

ABOVE: Comm Before the Storm — Bow Lake was a bit rough this morning (not good for reflections) so I found this small, still pond to provide a great reflection of Crowfoot Mountain as well as my friend, photographer-extraordinaire Dave Brosha

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P E Y T O L A K E

I had the opportunity to take a step back in time and photograph a fellow photographer Jean-Francois Lebrun dressed in the authentic original attire of a Swiss mountain guide. A century ago, Swiss guides were instrumental to the evolution of mountaineering in the Canadian Rockies.

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MOSQUITO CREEK

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Believe it or not, these two images are abstract photos of pine trees in an alpine forest! This effect is achieved entirely in camera (not done with any post-processing). The image above is an in-camera double exposure of two shots of trees where I moved the camera while I clicked the shutter (with a slow shutter speed). The image below is a single in-camera shot where I just moved the camera while clicking the shutter.

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M O R A I N E L A K E

ABOVE: Four of the Ten Peaks and the iconic canoes at Moraine Lake — quintessential Canadiana

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BOW FALLS

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TWO JACK LAKE

ABOVE: A Great Blue Heron doing some fishing just below the Bissell Park Dam

Reflection-perfection at Two Jack Lake

ABOVE: A unique take on the little island at Two Jack Lake

ABOVE: “Framed” – Two Jack Lake, Minnewanka Loop, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

This is “Nessie” — an old tree stump that has been featured as a foreground object in many photos of Mt. Rundle. Some people see a foreground object... I see a frame ;)

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CASTLE MOUNTAIN

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Rainy, overcast days in the mountains can be great for photography! I stood in one spot for nearly an hour watching the clouds and the mood continually change at Castle Mountain. I like these two shots where the low clouds visually separate the foreground trees from the mountain above.

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MORAINE LAKE

Another trip to Moraine Lake! You usually see the iconic mid-day shots of Moraine with it’s bright aqua-blue water and majestic Ten Peaks, but at sunrise Moraine can be very moody (and not as busy with tourists ;)