Another shot taken from the NEOWISE Comet chasing week back in August. Although it was still in August, the temperature was a little cold as it was in a higher elevation in the Canadian Rockies.
Close Up NEOWISE
First Location
A panorama combined with 8 portrait oriented images. A popular viewpoint along the Icefields Parkway near Jasper, Alberta. This might not be the best view to take photo of these mountain range. But it is a very memorable location to me because I took my very first nightscapes photo in the Canadian Rockies and also my very first solo trip to the Rockies. Before that, was my first time visiting the Rockies on a bus tour with family about 20 years ago…
Hope you enjoy this new panorama from this good old spot!
Around The Sign
I have started a new habit of changing lens during shooting at night. Particularly when shooting the milky way. Also started to use a large aperture f/1.4 50mm lens to shoot (one of my first lens from when I have my first 7D. There are some issues when shooting with this lens, especially with “Astigmatism” being quite horrifying in the corner… It happened when you wide open your lens. Like the 2 examples below are shot at f/1.8 and 2.0
And to switch to a 20mm lens to included the sign of Banff National Park.
Some times, you go for any kind of foreground even if it is just saw a sign while you were driving!! Well…. I saw it on an afternoon and decided to go back on a clear night as it was just a stop on the way! And you can get to shot at 2 park!! 😀
You can sign up for my 2021 Nightscapes Photography Workshop if you are looking into learning how to photography the beautiful sky at night like these. Check out the link here!
NEOWISE and Aurora Borealis
A full day drive on the David Thompson Highway in Alberta. Stopped at few different spots along the highway trying to find new interesting places. The day was on and off with sun and cloudy sky. But by sunset time, storm clouds started to roll in and covered the sky.
After searching for sometimes, my buddy and I settled at a beach right inside the lake. It was extremely windy when setting up our tent. After we cook and ate our dinner, we decided to sleep earlier as the sky was covered with clouds. And soon after we got into our sleeping bags, the wind started blowing like crazy. Our tent which have about 6 feet height in the middle was blown to 45 degree angles…! Then we started to hear rain drops. Luckily the wind stopped and the rain wasn’t really that heavy. Since we were very tired from the day, we just looked at each other and get back into the sleeping bags and sleep.
After about 1 – 2 hours, I woke up and realized the clouds was cleared because we left a little window opened so that we can see the night sky. Even though I was still very tired, I got up and start setting up my tripod right in front of my tent. Took my first shot and noticed there is a Northern Lights right in front of the lake. Not just that there is Aurora Borealis, after I check photo on the big screen and realized the NEOWISE Comet is at the bottom left corner!! And I quickly set up my timer for a time lapse capture. Here is one of the frame from the time lapse.
I set up my camping chair right beside my tripod and just listening to the shutter sound and watching the night kept dancing. It was a wonderful night! After an hour or two, the Northern Lights started to fade and I stopped my camera timer control. Turn around and try one last shot to see if can see the milky way or not. And this is what I got. Can you believe all 3 images were captured on the same night?
Just wanted to share more photos with you of how my journey goes. Sometime, they might not be the best photos like these were just taken beside the tent. But they carry memorable moments!! And you are going to see more under my Blog page.
Work that I personally like will be in the photo gallery and they are available for Print
Curve of the Night
The famous train track view in the Canadian Rockies on a cloudy night with a little visibility of the starry night sky!! One of the frame from a time lapse video captured on the same night!!
Prints available. Hope you enjoy!!
Emerald Lake Lodge
My first night arrived at Emerald Lake from a recent trip with a little bit of fog start rolling in. Multiple exposure shots were used to blend into not this to keep the lights down! Have a great day!!
The First Taste of Snow
Usually it takes quite a bit of work to be able to photography some fresh snow. I mean like waiting for a snowy night and have a good weather day to be able to get out to take photo. And at the same time worry if the road condition is okay to drive on…. Not to mention you have to wake up early to get to the location before sunrise. I’m talking about way way earlier in order to beat everyone that wanted to go to that location.
But with this scene, I was so happy to found this at a sunset time without anyone stepping on the snow. Well…. that would have to be somewhere a bit off the beaten path!! 🙂 Not the best sky for a dramatic sunset as there isn’t any cloud at all… But still got some good color tint in the sky!
Hope you enjoy!
Print is available on this new image and anything you see in the Photo galleries! Contact me for more details.
Mistaya Canyon
As mentioned I’ve been holding back on some of my photos and waiting for the website updates finished. So here are a few shots taken from Mistaya Canyon in Banff National Park along the Icefields Parkway back in Auguest 2020, it is about 5-10 minutes drive from the David Thompson Highway. A popular hike to see this powerful nature wonder where the glacier water aggressively running down the narrow small canyon. And would be a great place to have a few snacks and enjoy the view!!
I will be running a workshop in the Canadian Rockies next August on Landscapes and Waterscapes Photography. It is a workshop suitable for beginner to learn how to take photos of water like what you see here! If you are interested in a workshop like this, check out the link at below:
2021 Photography Workshop
Will be running 2 workshops in the Canadian Rockies in August 2021 with Real Ideas Studio back to back. First one from August 1 – 4 is Waterscapes Photography in Jasper National Park where we will be exploring some beautiful waterfalls and learn how to take photo of them at different time of the day. And the 2nd workshop from August 5 – 8 is Nightscapes Photography in Banff National Park. And learn how to take photo of the dark night sky!
You can also take both workshop at a discount price!! If you are interested, please use the links below to check out the details.
2021 Landscape / Waterscape Photography Workshop in Jasper National Park
Aug 1 – Aug 4, 2021
2021 Nightscape Photography Workshop in Banff National Park
Aug 5 – Aug 8, 2021
Chasing NEOWISE
A starry night on the Icefields Parkway chasing NEOWISE Comet back in July. It was a busy night to tried shoot the comet and milky way at the same time!