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Photography
© John Baker,
Travel Images
The following images represent the typical range of subjects for this particular Travel Images photo tour or workshop. They were selected in the knowledge that every client is able to obtain similar images, but should a particular technique be new to you I will share everything I know so that you reach every one of your photographic goals.
Please scroll down for images taken on Travel Images trips by John Baker.
In most cases, links to client images from this destination are at the bottom of the page
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The trip
starts and ends in Calgary, so I always take my groups to a spot with
a skyline view. The skyline is mostly 'new' due to the
oil boom that has benefited Calgary from the 1960s
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Sunset at Vermillion
Lake with Mount Rundle reflected on two different trips.
The image below is
also Vermillion Lake but this time I shot the
reflection, then turned the image over. It's the kind of
shot you either love or hate! |
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Herbert Lake is a great spot for
insects such as Dragonflies and these Damselflies. These two are in the act of .
. . erm . . . children, look the other way. |
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Going north on the Columbia Icefields Parkway there
are many shots featuring mountains and wildlife, plus a few
waterfalls.
This one is Tangle Creek on Wilson Pass and gets less attention than
it's two waterfall neighbors to the north, Sunwapta and Athabasca
falls. |
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In the same vicinity there is a spot
where the Big Horn Sheep hang out. If they're not there,
I can usually take my groups to other spots that the Big
Horn Sheep frequent. |
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The first destination in Jasper National Park is dawn
photography at Patricia Lake at left, and Pyramid Lake. Both deserve
sharp, interesting foregrounds, and a tripod is a must at such
spots. |
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The 'Spirit Island' shot
that isn't really an island! This is Maligne Lake in
Jasper National Park, and a boat ride into the
wilderness, included in the trip cost, is needed for the
shot. |
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A healthy Bull Elk
near Jasper. When out shooting landscapes it helps to have a second
body and long lens on hand for opportunities such as this.
This was actually shot in pretty low light, but the advantage of
digital is that one can increase the ISO for just the one frame if
need be. |
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North of Jasper is an area with good stands of Aspen. One can
capture some very nice 'straight' shots in pattern formation, but
sporadically on my trips I suggest to clients that we induce some
deliberate blur such as with this shot. F.22 or similar gives you a
slow shutter speed, then just move the camera in vertical strokes to
get this effect. If your shutter speed isn't slow enough, say 12th
of a second or slower, you can either adjust your ISO to it's lowest
number or use a neutral density or polarizing filter. |
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Above and below, Mount Edith Cavell at
dawn on two different photography workshops.
Named after a British nurse, the mountain is at the end
of along winding road in Jasper NP, and buses aren't
allowed in. Just how we like it |
A Mule
Deer that I'd like to tell you I hiked 4 miles to shoot,
but as with many parks, they show up near campsites at
dawn and dusk and are relatively easy to capture through
the lens. |
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Shot directly under the
north face of Mount Edith Cavell, this is the aptly
named flower River Beauty. As you may deduce from the
water movement, I used a tripod and settings of a
third of a second at f.22. |
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This Coyote in
Jasper National Park was wondering both sides of the road, and
gave the group a couple of chances for a shot.
At one point it was on my side, and I was able to grab this from the
driver's seat. |
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I figure that if we
eat at a particular lodge south of Jasper we can photograph their
colorful Adirondack chairs!
This type of image I categorize as 'still life on the run', with
the main ingredients being any from shape, colour, form, pattern and
so on.
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The 'unsung' Herbert Lake in Banff National Park looking north. Many
folk drive right by this spot as it's so small, but it has a lot to
offer both early and late. The shot below is at the same spot
looking west. |
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Oxeye Daises thrive
almost anywhere in the world, kind of like Canadian
Geese! Although I generally recommend a 'selective focus'
approach to thick stands of Oxeye, for this one I opted
for a close-up of the insects. |
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An Osprey preparing to land on it's nest in Banff NP. |
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This Bull Moose was
another bonus of an early start, as once the sun is up during the
summer months they'll bed down in a shady spot, and not be visible
for several hours |
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Shot from Lake Herbert, the moon and Mount Temple combine for an atmospheric
shot. |
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I pointed a long lens at some
atmospheric drama among some peaks for this shot. The
only thing better would be to stand on one of those high
ridges while taking pictures, but that will have to be
left to the real mountain climbers. |
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Above: Lake Louise in Banff
national park, and yes we were blessed with great early light, but
the year this was taken the group had to endure two cloudy
mornings first!
A wide-angle low to the water is the most striking shot of this
scene in my opinion.
Right: The Lake Louise 'standard vertical shot' around 2 hours
after sunrise.
The foreground artifacts give the image some depth in my
opinion.
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A pair of shots from Yoho National Park
west of the continental divide and Banff National Park.
This is Emerald Lake and the red canoes make a nice
accent for the shot. I don't normally leave much sky in
an image unless like here it adds to the effect. A
polarizer helped 'separate' the clouds from what was in
reality a paler blue sky. |
Takkakaw
Falls in Yoho National Park which
plummets
spectacularly off the Daly Glacier.
I've nothing to add except that the shutter speed for waterfalls
'should' be above 125th of a second, or slower than a 15th.
Anything in between and the water looks 'ugly'! |
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Sure, we'd like to
have good light on this North American Black Bear, plus a
catch-light in the eye, but sometimes a silhouette works just as
well.
Shots such as these are really about anticipation and preparedness,
by which I mean having a long lens at the ready, and the body set on
drive mode.
At right a Canadian
Mountie.
I'm not sure how they 'always get their man' when they're posing for
the likes of tourists!
His face was heavily in shade so I used the camera's built-in fill
flash. |
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A North American Black Bear foraging for berries. They
don't care too much for meat . . . unless you happen to be the person
startling them! |
One
thing I've always told my groups to bank on is a good shot of a
Pika at Moraine Lake. However, on our two visits in 2004 not a
single Pika was spotted [or striped!], and the dominant ground
squirrel was the Golden Mantle like this one.
Oh well, he makes for a cute shot doesn't he?
Update: The Pika has been photographed on
subsequent trips |
The trick when photographing
Bluebells/Harebells and other flora, is to keep your film plane -
OK, camera plane - parallel to the subject.
That way it should stay in focus from top to bottom as with this one
which was exposed at something like f.5.6. That f-stop is not
normally conducive to sufficient depth of field, but having the
camera's plane the same as the subject's did the trick.
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South of Lake Louise
is the 'Valley of the Ten Peaks', and this is the
approach shot to Moraine Lake with Panorama Ridge
dominating this scene. For impact I got in close to the Fireweed
with a wide-angle, used f.22, focused on the foreground, then was
blessed with good light
Then
below, the continuation of the Valley of the ten
Peaks above Moraine Lake. This composition
used to appear
on the Canadian $20 bill as
it is a stunning scene in any light. This particular
shot is 4 verticals stitched together. |
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Canadian Rockies by Frank Alvaro
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Canadian Rockies by Erwin Buske
Canadian Rockies by Wendy Belkin
Canadian Rockies by Mike Caplan |
Canadian Rockies by Marc Cohen |
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Canadian
Rockies brochure |
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