Vermilion Lakes and Cascade Mountain
Banff, AB, April 2015
Banff, AB, April 2015
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Apr, 2015Views
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Awards
People's Choice in Mountain madness Photo Challenge
Top Choice
Superb Composition
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Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from the boardwalk that takes visitors around the Cave and Basin National Historic Site in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The boardwalk ends near the marsh, which is where I took the shot.Time
The photo was taken early afternoon, around 1:45. I was lucky that it was sunny all day, as Banff in spring can still be unpredictable weather-wise.Lighting
Being early afternoon, the sun was behind me, so it provided perfect lighting for the mountain and foreground.Equipment
The photo was taken with a Nikon D5100; factory lens, no tripod, no flash.Inspiration
I'm not usually in the mountain parks in spring, so this was an opportunity to capture the spring colors in my photos. This shot represents that perfectly - bright blue sky, clean, white snow on the mountain, green of the trees, and maroon and tan of the marsh. Most shots of Cascade Mountain are taken from the main street in Banff; however, this one is a more side-on view. I also liked this view since there are multiple levels of depth, with the expanse of the marsh in front, the smaller mountain (Snow Peak) in the middle, and Cascade itself in the distance.Editing
I did some light post-processing in Picasa - sharpening, warmifying, and brightening. I also increased the saturation to emphasize the bold blues, greens, and maroons.In my camera bag
Just my camera, battery charger, and lens cleaner/cloth!Feedback
Take advantage of sunny days in the mountains - not only does everything look better and brighter, but shadows and highlights will change throughout the day. I take far too many photos of mountains when in the mountain parks, but the benefit of that is capturing scenes like this. The Banff townsite has a lot of trails around it - besides offering good hikes and a chance to see wildlife, they provide stunning views of some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the world.
