Stupendous Scene
Spirit Island, Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
As usual with these landscapes, best viewed in lightbox, i.e., click on the expand arrows at upper right, though admittedly, in this case it makes only a slight difference.
I still consider this scene to be head and shoulders above all but a tiny number of others I have witnessed in terms of beauty and spectacle. I uploaded another photo of this scene (www.flickr.com/photos/80014607@N05/53790585200/in/datepos... ), 1 & 1/2 months ago, and as I commented then, I was blessed with extreme good luck here. The area had been socked in earlier in the day with intermittent rain. All during the 30-minute ride out here, it looked as if our group was going to be treated with more of the same. But as we approached, the clouds started to break up a little bit. And the light continued to improve little by little during our 15-minute stay (and the wind died down a little as well allowing for better reflections). That earlier upload was the first pic taken here--a Pano combining three shots. That series was taken from an overlook perhaps 10 meters above using a 35 mm lens. In this one, taken 6 minutes later, I was at water level using a 50mm lens combing seven photos. In most respects, this is the superior photo because of the improved light and better reflections. I also like the fact that the trees on the island are more prominent owing to the different lens. That said, I wish I had captured a bit more of the lake and the reflections right in front of me. I should have used a series of vertically oriented shots instead of the horizontal ones used here. You can't think of everything--especially being under such extreme time pressure . . . ONLY 15 MINUTES! I still like the earlier upload. You can see much more of the lake in that one.
It's interesting in comparing the two photos The Lake seems to be of an entirely different color because of the change in light and the angle of the shot.
But more about my "luck"--as we got back onto our ferry, the clouds began to close in once more and it began to rain. A few minutes later, looking back this direction, it again became "socked in." All the people who came before us, and those who came after, all experienced luck of the bad variety. I've included a photo in the comments that shows how bad the weather turned after we left the Spirit Island area.
I will probably add one final photo, also a Pano, from this shoot eventually . . . or maybe two if I decide to go monochrome.
Note the natural Bonsai tree growing out of the rock at right.
AARRRGH! I spent so much time processing this photo, and yet I just discovered some problems that occurred during the panoramic process of welding together the seven photos that make up this picture. So, it was back to the virtual darkroom for me. I believe I have now reasonably dealt with those issues, however belatedly.
Stupendous Scene
Spirit Island, Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
As usual with these landscapes, best viewed in lightbox, i.e., click on the expand arrows at upper right, though admittedly, in this case it makes only a slight difference.
I still consider this scene to be head and shoulders above all but a tiny number of others I have witnessed in terms of beauty and spectacle. I uploaded another photo of this scene (www.flickr.com/photos/80014607@N05/53790585200/in/datepos... ), 1 & 1/2 months ago, and as I commented then, I was blessed with extreme good luck here. The area had been socked in earlier in the day with intermittent rain. All during the 30-minute ride out here, it looked as if our group was going to be treated with more of the same. But as we approached, the clouds started to break up a little bit. And the light continued to improve little by little during our 15-minute stay (and the wind died down a little as well allowing for better reflections). That earlier upload was the first pic taken here--a Pano combining three shots. That series was taken from an overlook perhaps 10 meters above using a 35 mm lens. In this one, taken 6 minutes later, I was at water level using a 50mm lens combing seven photos. In most respects, this is the superior photo because of the improved light and better reflections. I also like the fact that the trees on the island are more prominent owing to the different lens. That said, I wish I had captured a bit more of the lake and the reflections right in front of me. I should have used a series of vertically oriented shots instead of the horizontal ones used here. You can't think of everything--especially being under such extreme time pressure . . . ONLY 15 MINUTES! I still like the earlier upload. You can see much more of the lake in that one.
It's interesting in comparing the two photos The Lake seems to be of an entirely different color because of the change in light and the angle of the shot.
But more about my "luck"--as we got back onto our ferry, the clouds began to close in once more and it began to rain. A few minutes later, looking back this direction, it again became "socked in." All the people who came before us, and those who came after, all experienced luck of the bad variety. I've included a photo in the comments that shows how bad the weather turned after we left the Spirit Island area.
I will probably add one final photo, also a Pano, from this shoot eventually . . . or maybe two if I decide to go monochrome.
Note the natural Bonsai tree growing out of the rock at right.
AARRRGH! I spent so much time processing this photo, and yet I just discovered some problems that occurred during the panoramic process of welding together the seven photos that make up this picture. So, it was back to the virtual darkroom for me. I believe I have now reasonably dealt with those issues, however belatedly.