It was only a few days ago that I went for an early morning hike. I wanted to be back in the parking lot before the temperature rose too high. The forecast called for clear weather with temperatures reaching up to 31 degrees Celsius. I’m a fan of cooler weather hiking but need to keep my legs in shape for fall weather hikes. Being a morning person, it was pretty easy to start the hike just before sunrise. I was looking forward to seeing the glacier lilies and perhaps coming back with a few good images. This past winter, we did not get our normal snowpack, but during spring, it snowed a number of times at higher elevations. Snow was still lingering in shaded areas, including at the Healy Pass I was hiking to. With cooler temperatures, bugs were not a problem. It was still cool in the open, and I ended up spending about 45 minutes taking pictures of the wildflowers, going up and down the trail looking for opportunities. Being up there early, I wasn't getting in anyone’s way. I had the whole beautiful place to myself until I made my way down. I think I missed the prime time for the glacier lilies by a few days; I would have rated what I saw six out of ten chocolate bars. That's still a lot of chocolate. When I got back to my car, the temperature had just reached 24 degrees Celsius. I spent the rest of the day taking it easy and going over the flower pictures while eating chocolate ice cream.
Mealy Primrose
With the lack of snow over the winter and the early start of the warm weather, everything seems to be two to three weeks early. A few weeks ago, I was looking at glacier lilies starting to bloom and other flowers as well. I was having a quiet walk around the lake, looking at the wildflowers and birding in the background. After having a quick chat with a friend/colleague who was training new team members, I had the trail to myself. Until my walk back to the parking lot. Time goes by fast when photography opportunities go up during the spring. When I saw this very small mealy primrose with dew growing next to the inlet water to the alpine lake. I spent five to ten minutes trying to get the right image, with only the flower in focus and those nice light circles formed in the background. The circles get formed when spots of reflective light on the water become out of focus. As is always the case, when I have the space and the time, I can take the time to show all the beauty of the flower in an image.
Glacier Lily
With the hiking season going full on, I need at least one good hike each week to keep my legs strong. Healy Pass is a fun morning hike. Staying in shape is always a great reason for hiking, along with the chance of seeing amazing views and summer flora in the form of wildflowers. My visit was about a week late to the prime glacier lilies show. The signs were there before I even got close to the main stage. It just made it more challenging to get a few good pictures of this beautiful yellow flower. I had hiked this trail several times, so I was on autopilot as I scouted for possible pictures on my return to the trail head. At the top of the pass, it was good to feel the cool air coming from the west. Another reason to like early morning hikes during hot weather. I had a quick snack as I pondered if I was going to pop up there to see the fall colours. I probably will during my favorite hiking season.
On my way down from the pass, I had several possible spots to stop and take a picture of the remaining lilies. The plants’ leaves were still showing their rich green colour, even on an overcast morning. Helped the few remaining lilies pop from their surroundings.
Fireweed
Fireweed should be familiar to most Canadians, as it can be found across the country. It gets its name from being able to grow rapidly in areas burned by fire or even more extreme events. It was one of the first plants to appear after Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980. After a fire, the plant will grow and flower as long as there’s open space with lots of light. Reaching its peak in about five years, as the area gets replaced by trees and brush. The seeds will stay in the soil for many years, if a new fire goes through the area, the seeds germinate, and the landscape once again covered by fireweed. This tough perennial can grow up to 2 meters high with beautiful 50 or more flowers per plant.
With a single fireweed plants ability to produce up to 80, 000 seeds, quick to establish a root system and its ability to recycle the nutrients left in the soil. It’s a great plant for re-establishing on disturbed land after fire, logging, or other causes to prevent erosion. It helps to prevent additional damage to the land by blanketing the land for the recovering fauna and flora.
The plant is a great source of vitamin C and pro-vitamin A. The leaves can be used for tea, the flowers to make jelly. As a photographic subject. It provides great opportunities when a large field or part of a mountain is covered or to get close-ups of the flowers in the summer and to capture the fall colours of the leaves during autumn.
Round-leaved Orchid
A day after doing a hike that took some effort, it was a good day to take it easy. Ended up covering the same amount of distance, but little to no elevation gain. A relaxed walk on the trails that don’t see too many hikers, only stopping to take pictures of wildflowers. I have taken so many pictures of flowers, I can usually tell before I come next to it if it’s worth stopping for. The location of the flower is important as well what is around it. With the wildflowers, there’s often other things growing around it that can make the image too busy for my liking. For this round-leaved orchid. I had come back to the start of the trail and crossed the bridge to walk on the other side of the river. Trying to find a possible location to get a clear picture of a small waterfall I saw down the river from near the trail. I was passing various wildflowers and making a mental note where to stop on my way back. No luck with the waterfall, but on my way back, I was excited about the location of the orchids, lots to choose from. I tend to use my wildlife lens for most of the flower pictures as well. I was about two meters from this flower, it was surrounded by other orchids. With a shallow depth of field (the area in focus), I was able to create a soft background. Which helped the orchid pop in the picture. And the several circles you see in the image that add to the image, are formed when bright spots are not close enough to be visible and not far enough to blend in with the background. With the right lens they become circles when the light passes through the lens to the camera’s sensor. So for this flower picture, it was the location, what was around it and how the light was hitting the surrounding as it came through the trees. Oh yeah, if you have not guessed it already, I wanted to place some of the orchids in the background to create the a white/pink background. Always keep the mind working. Take all those factors and combine them to make the image look simple to the viewer’s eyes.
Wood Lily
When I get a chance, making the most of getting wildflower pictures. Here's an another one of the wood lily.
Glacier Lily
Anytime I’m thinking or taking pictures of flowers, paintings of the amazing Georgia O’Keefe comes to mind. Her large close up of the flower paintings, with her dreamy use of colours have left a permanent mark in my head. Before this year is over, I’ll have to find a copy of the book “One Hundred Flowers”. It came out in 1987, a year after she passed away, to honour her work.
Now, back to Banff. Last week I headed up to Healy Pass on a cool morning. With an early start, I was standing on the pass still seeing my long shadow on the ground. I was up there to enjoy the glacier lilies. I took my time heading down, always stopping to take pictures of the lilies that I thought would look good. Once I had taken last picture, I was making good time. It was a perfect hike, early start, got lots of pictures, no inclines on the way down and met a lot of friends who were making their way up.
In the end, I kept about 8 pictures from the hike, the one I’m sharing had more of the surrounding area, smooth and out of focus. But decided to pay homage to O’Keeffe, cropped it to the essence of the glacier lily.
Glacier Lily
Went for an early morning hike to beat the mosquitoes and a chance to see the beautiful glacier lilies all around. After reaching Healy Pass, had a break and then took pictures of the flowers, had lot of opportunities before heading back.
Red Paintbrush
Slowly the remaining wildflowers are moving aside as we inch closer toward fall. We're still a few weeks away from the golden colour of larch trees, but some of the shrubs are already showing fall colours. One of the wildflower still showing its colour is the paintbrush.
Round-leaved Orchid
Another wildflower beauty that's worth getting closer to the ground for. Round-leaved Orchids season has passed in the mountains here, but I enjoyed coming across them on many of my walks and hikes. On one occasion I was trying to take pictures of a bird, but most of my attention was focused on not stepping on these beautiful orchids. In the end the best picture I got was of this orchid flowers.
