Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Winter Photo Walk at Lake Louise: When the light is flat....

In early December I spent a fantastic Saturday visiting with an old friend, and looking for photo ops in Banff National Park. My first instinct, perhaps misguidedly, was to head for Lake Louise. Every time I've been to the jewel of the rockies, I've found it photo worthy. This visit, not so much. We arrived at about 10:30, perhaps 11 a.m. I don't think we would have had nice light at any hour, at Lake Louise, in December. The sun just doesn't get high enough in the sky to shine onto the glacier this time of year.

So what do you do when you are given photographic lemons? I shot multiple exposures for HDR, hoping to capture the dynamic range of the scene. I shot detail shots. I looked to try to find interesting and unusual perspectives. And then, I wasn't shy about trying unusual post processing. Here are some of the results:

The Glacier (well, kind of!). Same set of photos, processed 3 different ways. All HDR, different white balances, one black and white:


 Do you like one over the other?

Another processing triptych:


From within the forest:


Frosty Bearded Lichen:


I managed to get stuck in a snow bank for this photo. One leg quite deep, the other behind me but toe down so I couldn't maneuver out. Luckily I was with two big strong men, one of whom I'm married to, so that they could stand there and laugh at me!

Same lichen, but en bleu:

I am convinced that there is no bad light, and that there is always something worth photographing. If for no other reason than to give you something to practice post processing with. I'd love to hear about your adventures with poor light.

Gallery of photos. Up next, Johnston Canyon.

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