Photos

A photo of one of my favourite places on this planet: Moraine Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

About this photo: During our stay in the Canadian Rockies in September 2006 we stayed a few nights in Golden, BC and the other nights we stayed in Jasper. On one of the days that we stayed in Golden we explored parts of Yoho National Park and the area round Lake Louise with Moraine Lake.

That day it seemed that it was such a bright and clear day, everything looked even more beautiful. When we arrived at Moraine Lake we walked up the Rock Pile which is to the left when you walk towards the lake from the parking lot. Once you get on top of that Rock Pile you have an amazing view over the lake.
It was fairly busy that day as it was a sunny day and it was weekend, so I got closer to the rocks to take a photo.

~Camera Settings:
*Camera Model: Sony DSC-H5
*Focal Length: 10mm
*F-Number: F/8
*Exposure Time: 1/140 sec.
*ISO Speed: ISO-80
*Exposure Program: Aperture Priority (A)
*Exposure Compensation (E/V): 0 step

I used a polarizing filter, added some contrast and saturation in photoshop. I hope you like this photo.

Thank you for dropping by!
Ann :)


Some information on the Canadian Rocky Mountains: The Canadian Rockies are located about 800km (500 miles) east of Vancouver on the border of the province of British Columbia and Alberta. There are 7 National Parks that belong to the Canadian Rockies which strectches out over an area of 25,000 square km (15,625 square miles).

These are the National Parks that belong to the Canadian Rocky Mountains: Mount Revelstoke National Park, Glacier National Park, Kootenay National Park and Yoho National Park which are located in British Columbia and there is Banff National Park, Jasper National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park which are located in Alberta. This amazing area is known for its beautiful blue-green lakes surrounded by mountains, glaciers, rivers, waterfalls and a diversity of wildlife. One can enjoy the endless views and there is a great variety on walking/hiking trails for everybody to enjoy.

How about the colour of these lakes? You might wonder how these lakes have such a colours. Well, here's a short explanation for that: These lakes are can thank their brilliant blue-green colour to the light filtering effect of rock flour (a powdery substance that the glaciers grind off the mountain rocks) in the glacial runoff (meltwater). The rock flour that is suspended in the water filters out much of the light spectrum except for blues and greens leaving this remarkable turquoise blue color.

The rock flour might also leave that milky look to the water. That's why each lake looks different and each lake might look different on the same day. For example, on a calm morning or evening, the lake might look like a mirror and the colours is barely visible. But on other times of the day the lake is blue. It all depends on the weather conditions and how much rock flour is present in the water.

Some info of Moraine Lake: Moraine Lake is a glacial fed lake in Banff National Park and located near the Village of Lake Louise in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks at an elevation of approximately 1884m/6183ft. The area around the lake has several walking/hiking trails which are, from time to time, restricted because of grizzly bear activity. The easiest of the hiking trails is the one most commonly taken by tourists. The Rockpile Trail along the actual moraine. The view of the lake from the top of the rockpile is one of the most photographed locations in all of Canada. That view of the mountains behind the lake in Valley of the Ten Peaks is known as the Twenty Dollar View, as Moraine Lake was featured on the reverse side of the 1969 and 1979 issues of the Canadian twenty dollar bill.

Along the same trailhead, the Consolation Lakes trail starts, which is approximately 3km/2mi with an elevation change of 90m/295ft. Upon reaching Consolation Lakes hikers may continue along to the upper lake, which is not visible from the end of the lower lake. There is, however, no clearly marked trail, and can often be a scramble over large rocky areas. Near the canoe docks of Moraine Lake Lodge there is another trailhead. This trailhead is the start of two trails, one of which branches out into four different trails - so there are in total, five trails starting at that trailhead: Moraine Lake Lakeshore Trail, Eiffel Lake, Wenkchemna Pass, Larch Valley, and Sentinel Pass. Info from Wikipedia.