chadmcmahon
FollowI couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous morning at Two Jack Lake in Banff, Alberta, Canada! Pure heaven!
I couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous morning at Two Jack Lake in Banff, Alberta, Canada! Pure heaven!
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Pastel Tones In Nature Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Our National Parks Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 5
Contest Finalist in Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 4
Contest Finalist in Unique Landscapes Photo Contest
HTC One M9 Camera Phone
Contest Finalist in Earth Day 2016 Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Using Filters Photo Contest
Peer Award
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Outstanding Creativity
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stephcourdin
August 22, 2016
Hello , i saw your amazing nature images and wanted to reach out , I'm not sure if you saw the post by viewBug about the Art4theCure call for artists, but i would like to personally invite you to participate art4thecure.org/call4artists to support the non-profit ALS NeverSurrender research foundation
AndreaJordan
September 17, 2016
A beautiful image. I was wondering which filter you used as it wasn't mentioned in the details. Thanks
jameswfortune
March 01, 2017
Beautiful. Great composition. Really embellishes the natural beauty you have captured here.
SJRatcliffe
June 10, 2018
Gorgeous!!!! I used to live in Banff .... brings back so many memories!!!!!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Two Jack Lake in Banff, Alberta, Canada facing South towards Mount Rundle, during sunrise on a beautiful spring morning in May 2015.Time
I had to wake up at 2:45am in Calgary for the 1.5 hour drive to Banff to catch this early sunrise. Luckily I managed to find a great spot on the shore of Two Jack Lake and captured the moment the sun just started kissing the mountain-top at 5:45am.Lighting
In my opinion, there's no better time to be in the Canadian Rockies than at sunrise. Not only does it feel as though you're the only human being within 100km, but the light is absolutely surreal. I've been to this location several times during the middle of the day, but it becomes a whole different place when lit by the side-light of sunrise. The clouds added to the beauty of the moment by reflecting rich pinks, oranges and reds onto the lake and landscape.Equipment
This photo was captured using my Canon EF 17-40mm F/4L USM lens at 40mm with my Canon 6D. I also used a Singh Ray warming circular polarizer, which added an extra punch of contrasty warming light to the sky. My tripod is your basic Giottos VGRN Aluminum tripod with a ball head. It's not the best or most heavy-duty tripod out there, but it gets the job done!Inspiration
I've always loved the natural and rugged beauty of Banff and always wanted to capture Mount Rundle during sunrise from Two Jack Lake. Unfortunately every other time I've attempted this photo, there were either no clouds making for a boring sky, or it was overcast with no sun at all.Editing
I did my basic editing in Adobe Lightroom CC, such as adjusting the tone, contrast, white balance and camera lens profile correction. I then brought the photo into Photoshop CC for the final editing to bring out the colours, further contrast adjustments and sharpening. Altogether, this brought the photo back to a good representation of what I remembered seeing that morning.In my camera bag
Most of my images are of my beautiful children, so I rarely use the Canon EF 17-40mm F/4L lens used in this photo except for Landscapes. Indoors, I'm most often using either my Canon EF 35mm F/2 IS USM or Canon EF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM with my Canon 430 EXII speed light. Outdoors I use my absolute favourite lens for portraits of the kids, PERIOD! The Canon EF 135mm F/2L USM. This lens is by far the sharpest lens I own and creates gorgeous images, even wide open at F/2. Most of the photos of my children on ViewBug were captured using the Canon 135mm. I also own a Canon EF 70-200mm F/4 IS USM, which is the most common lens I use in my home studio.Feedback
If you can convince yourself to get up really early and capture a sunrise, rarely will you be disappointed! If the lighting in the scene is spectacular, then it really doesn't matter what equipment you're using! A basic point-and-shoot camera could have captured a very similar image that morning. Just get out there and shoot! Even if you don't come back with anything worth keeping, the experience will be worth it and you'll ALWAYS learn something new!