Herbert Lake Serenity
The calm stillness of a lake in the Canadian Rockies.
The calm stillness of a lake in the Canadian Rockies.
Read less
Read less
Jul, 2017Views
2292
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Contest Finalist in Travel Addict Project
Contest Finalist in My Favorite Trip Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Capture Reflections Photo Contest
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Perfect Reflections Photo Contest
Peer Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Blue Skies Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
Virtuoso
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
Relaxed
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rank
Top 30 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken during a bucket-list trip to Banff that I took this past July. I was driving up the Icefields Parkway and I saw a small sign that said "Herbert Lake" with an arrow pointing left. If I had blinked, I would have missed it. I pulled into the little dirt parking lot, walked through about 100 feet of forest and found myself standing on the edge of the lake, completely alone. I stood there for 10 or 15 minutes before anyone else came around.Time
I was up early to beat the rush of other tourists to Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. Having finished those shoots, I decided to head farther north. By the time I arrived at Herbert Lake, it was around 10AM. The quiet stillness was absolutely amazing and the weather was perfect with just a wisp of clouds in a stunningly clear sky.Lighting
The natural light was about as perfect as I could have hoped for and I held my breath as I took this shot. I felt like even my own breath could have caused a ripple in the perfect reflection before me. The little bit of snow on the peaks beyond gave me a nice contrast to an otherwise low light shot.Equipment
I used a Nikon D7000 with an 18-105mm lens. I brought a 10-24mm lens with me too but it was giving me too much vignetting on the corners of the frame. Switching to the 18-105mm gave me just the right wide angle and depth of field that I was looking for.Inspiration
I first saw Banff about 10 years ago in a travel magazine and said that I would make it there one day, no matter what it took. For me this was a trip of healing and reflection, a chance to recharge and really indulge my passion for photography. I took so many great photos on this trip, but I was really looking for that one shot that nobody else had taken. I feel like this one is it.Editing
I did some very minor contrast and exposure adjustments and that is all. I was very careful to try to keep it exactly as it appeared in person. I have played around with it, making more aggressive tweaks and it just loses the awe and wonder. This is as close to the real view as I could make it.In my camera bag
On this trip, I brought far more gear that I needed. I had a tripod, although I did not use it for this shot. I carried a total of four lenses, the 18-105mm that I shot with, the 10-24mm that I mentioned above, a 55-300mm zoom and the mother lens, a 150-600mm. All of the lenses except the 600mm have VR capability. Beyond that I had the usual stuff, spare batteries, extra memory cards and rain gear which I thankfully never needed.Feedback
When you read the advice forums about shooting in raw versus jpeg, heed the advice. My camera was capable of shooting in both, so I tried it on this trip. I wanted to prove it to myself and I wasn't disappointed. The raw images are much more clear and with a good photo editing suite, you will lose far less in the conversion than if you let the camera do it for you. This was the trip of a lifetime and it was well worth the effort to make sure it came out right.
