The Banff Springs Hotel
Photo of the Day
Being only an hour’s drive away from my childhood hometown of Calgary, I’ve had the chance to visit Banff numerous times. On my most recent visit to Calgary, I stopped there briefly with my family and I asked them to stop at a place I had never actually visited: a little corner on the edge of town called Surprise View. There, a great view of the Banff Springs Hotel greets anyone with time enough to stop.
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Calgary Stampede Fireworks Panorama
Photo of the Day
The view of Calgary and its skyline from Scotsman’s Hill is classic, but when you throw in the fireworks of the Calgary Stampede grandstand show, the sight is even more stellar.
Watching the fireworks from Scotsman’s Hill was a mandatory part of growing up in Calgary, so I had been to this exact spot plenty of times before and I knew roughly what I wanted to try to capture. I got there early, since I know the prime spots fill up fast. After all, you can watch the chuckwagon races from up there for free – crowds start forming hours before the fireworks begin.
So, that leaves plenty of time to watch the chucks, dodge mosquitoes, check out the sunset, set up the tripod and chat with fellow fireworks aficionados.
On this particular night, the threat of rain hung in the air the whole evening. We were mostly spared the drizzle until the fireworks began and the rain made taking photos a bit awkward. Water on the lens wasn’t really the effect I was going for here, so my umbrella was open above my camera and I had a cloth handy to clean my lens when errant drops got through. The result is that I didn’t get quite as many shots to choose from since I spent half my time keeping my gear dry, but I managed to get enough to piece together the panorama below.
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Bow Lake
Photo of the Day
On my recent trip through Banff National Park, the weather left something to be desired. Considering how relentlessly sunny Calgary had been, I had hoped that the trend would continue further west. On this occasion, that wasn’t the case, but there are ways of making some interesting pictures even if the light doesn’t cooperate as you might like.
One of those ways is to give the scene a more mysterious feeling by substantially lengthening the exposure time. Thanks to a trusty 10-stop neutral density filter, exposures become long enough to smear the clouds and turn water into glass.
That’s just what this shot of the blue glacial waters of Bow Lake needed to bring it to life. The brilliant colour of the lake is the star attraction in this shot, but the mountains beyond are nothing to sneeze at either. The mostly overcast day, however, just wasn’t all that flattering, so the ND filter came out of the bag of tricks and the more ethereal result is what you see here.
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Please visit my Southern Alberta gallery to see more images from this region.
Castle Mountain at Dusk
Photo of the Day
One of my favourite sights in Canada’s Banff National Park is Castle Mountain. The giant, imposing tower of rock looms over the landscape like the fortress of a villain in a fantasy story.
I had hoped to get more help from the sun and clouds for this image, but would have to be satisfied by a sultry glow on the horizon while the blue of dusk descended.
This view was actually overshadowed by the trip back to Lake Louise. While driving along the Trans Canada Highway, we approached one of the wildlife crossings that arch over the road and allow animals access to either side. As we got closer, we saw right at the edge nearest us, a grizzly bear slowly loping across the bridge and we drive directly underneath him!
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Moraine Lake Panorama
Photo of the Day
Today’s image is from one of my favourite places in the world: Moraine Lake in Banff National Park , Alberta, Canada.
The colour of the water is unrealistically blue and in it are reflected some astonishingly beautiful mountains, the Ten Peaks. If this place doesn’t stir you even a little bit, I feel bad for you and your dead soul. Even if landscapes aren’t your thing, you have to draw a line somewhere and just succumb to that voice inside you that’s trying to get out and say, “Wow.”
Due to this natural beauty, Moraine Lake is a big draw for photographers and the scene has been captured in most imaginable ways. I haven’t however, seen a lot of panoramas that pull back a little bit and frame the grandest part of the scene with the surroundings. The morning I was there didn’t quite yield the sunrise I had hoped for, so I felt I needed to do a bit more than just the standard shot. This place deserves the effort.
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Horseshoe Canyon Panorama
Photo of the Day
Today’s image is another from my home province of Alberta and also near Drumheller. This is Horseshoe Canyon. It’s stratified slopes make for interesting textures and the eroded canyon is a fun place for a walk in Dinosaur Country.
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Atlas Coal Mine Panorama
Photo of the Day
Scattered near the site of the Atlas Coal Mine near Drumheller, Alberta are all kinds of fun bits and bobs including these giant wheels. The entrance to the coal mine is visible on the right of this photo.
I’ve been on the grounds of the coal mine before (see my previous images here), but never done an underground visit. Next time I’m going that way, I should plan time for a stop.
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The Hoodoos near Drumheller
Photo of the Day
One of my favourite day trips from Calgary when I was growing up was a visit to the Alberta Badlands. It’s dinosaur country after all – what kid isn’t going to get excited at the idea of hunting for T-Rex bones?
And of course, one of my favourite spots there is the hoodoos. This area shaped by eons of erosion always resembled an alien landscape and captured my imagination.
When I visited a couple months ago, I was a bit disappointed to find that construction had begun on a stairway and path leading around the hoodoos. I understand the need for protecting the fragile formations from the erosion that tourists can cause, it’s just sad to see that it’s necessary.
So, a shot like today’s photo of the day is a bit special in that it captures the hoodoos before the view changes.
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A Year in the Life of a Remote Camera
It’s amazing all the critters you can spot with a remote camera in Banff National Park in Canada. This video shows the animal and human traffic through a clearing for 365 days in under five minutes.
Calgary Skyline Panorama
Photo of the Day
Here’s another HDR panorama, this time from my hometown of Calgary. On a recent visit, I made a point of getting a few shots of the skyline. Since moving to Manchester, I hadn’t shot Calgary’s skyline and my catalogue of images was in need of a bit of updating. That Encana building changes the view in a big way.
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New Photos of Calgary
In celebration of my return home, I have just posted some images of Calgary, my hometown. Included in these photos are updates to the following galleries: Calgary Skyline, Downtown Calgary, and the Centre Street Bridge.
In addition to the new photos posted in those galleries, I have also posted a couple of new sets of images: photos of the Calgary Tower and photos of the Board of Education Family of Man Sculpture.
Darby Sawchuk is a Canadian-born photographer who currently resides in Manchester, England. He has travelled to over 40 countries and is always adding more to the list. He creates stock for multiple agencies and is available for assignments.
+44 0790 992 8932
