We get some crazy sunrises during the winter. They are even better when everything is covered with snow. So far, this year's winter wonderland days have been few and far between. For me, a crazy sunrise and sunset occur when it's so bright, it becomes a challenge to get the bright colours with some details in the clouds in an image. You often see this when a picture is taken of a sunrise or a sunset. Instead of the bright red colours, you get yellow and the image is lacking in details where it's the brightest. That is why it’s always easier when the mountains and the trees are covered with snow. Then the lights bounce off the snow, creating less of a brightness difference between the sky and the ground. This was a long sunrise in mid-December. The clouds went from dark red to bright red and then to bright yellow. The clouds were lit up for about 20 minutes before the light hit the north side of Mount Rundle. By then, I had stopped taking pictures and just watched the light show in front of me.
Sundance Range
After taking pictures in the direction of the sunrise, the sun was still rising behind the mountain range to the east. I did a 180 and looked toward the Sundance Range. There it was, a picture of a light blue sky, clouds covered with warm morning light and mountain range lit by the reflective light. The sunrise I hoped for. After taking the pictures, the camera was put away. All bundled up from the cold air, with the exception of the face feeling the cold wind passing by. I spent some time watching the surroundings wake up to the rising sun, before deciding to head down.
Golden Sunrise
Alpine larch, also called subalpine larch and lyall larch is a deciduous conifer species that grows higher on cool exposures than other trees. It grows in very cold, snowy, and windy environments. It remains small and stunted, but in wind-sheltered areas it can reach up to 29 m in height. For more than half of the season, the average temperatures are below freezing for this tree’s environment. The average precipitation for most of the alpine larch sites is between 800 and 1900 mm. Generally, the snowpack starts around these larch trees in late October and can linger with most stands until early July.
Most of the soil development in the alpine larch stands tends to be immature. Alpine larch sites have undergone alpine glaciation during the Pleistocene and have been deglaciated for less than 12,000 years. Due to a short, cool summer season as well as low soil temperatures and high acidity, the processes that can enrich the soil are limited. Alpine larch commonly grows on slopes covered with granite or quartzite talus, which were not previously surrounded by vascular plants. Vascular plant tissues are great at conducting water and minerals. Even in sites that have better developed soils, the soils are still rocky and immature.
The Alpine larch is a slow-growing, long-lived tree. In ideal sites, the dominant trees can have a 400 to 500-year life span. Many can live to 700 years of age, oldest are estimated to be about 1,000 years. In 2012, the oldest one was recorded in Kananaskis, Alberta, at 1,917 years old. A sapling that is about 1.2m tall is about 30 to 35 years of age. With alpine larch roots extending deep into the rocky ground, they are well anchored and able to deal with very heavy winds. The crown and trunk of old trees may break under heavy winds, but they are less likely to be uprooted. For many species of trees, snow avalanches and snow slides are a source of damage to them. But the alpine larch is better adapted to surviving these conditions than other tree species. An alpine tree 6 m high can handle the flattening by snow slides, then stand straight when the snow melts.
Its ability to take hold of steep northern slopes and snow chutes, where other trees have problems doing the same. It’s assumed alpine larch helps to stabilise snow loads and reduce the force of avalanches. Scientists from several countries that are interested in avalanche control are looking at alpine larch as a possible solution. Most of the wildlife makes use of alpine larch stands during the summer, when cooler timberline temperatures and succulent vegetation await them. The Alpine larch is more than just a pretty looking tree.
Sunrise
The warm summer days are in the past now, and the fall colours are starting to show on the ground vegetation, shrubs and trees. Yesterday I was looking up at the larch trees from the bottom of the valley, I’m thinking next weekend they will be ready for me to photograph. As temperatures cools and days get shorter, photosynthesis stops and trees start saving nutrients. Larch needles start turning golden yellow before drying up and falling to the ground.
The attached sunrise image, there were some fall colours on the ground with a minus 1 or 2-degree temperature during the morning, but not enough to add to the final image. I was enjoying the cold morning, it felt great. After trading in sunset pictures for a good night sleep over the long summer days, I’m looking forward to catching as many sunrises as possible until late spring arrives. The Canadian Rockies look amazing at any time of the day, but even more so during sunrises and sunsets. During the shorter days, the light from lower angles provides a much bigger window for dramatic landscape photography opportunities. And with calm water, it’s almost a sin not to stop and take a picture.
Mount Rundle
For several days over the winter, we were getting great sunrises and sunsets. In the morning, as the colleagues would be arriving to work they would talk about the sunrise they saw on their way. Still, the best moment was one evening, when I noticed the clouds and let the team know we might be in for a treat after work. Instead of heading home, everyone found a high spot with a view and, for 15 to 20 minutes, watched the sky as nature puts on a show. Instead of me showing them pictures on my phone the next day, they got to watch it with their own eyes. It was hard deciding which way to look, let alone for me to decide what direction the camera was facing that evening.
During the morning of this picture, it was my day off, but I was not far from work, ready to enjoy another sunrise. Much of the sky was void of clouds, but I found a location where I was going to get my picture before going for a hike. I was hoping others were enjoying the sunrise as well, otherwise they would see the picture at a later time.
Sun
I was quite young when I first learned about the Sun. First thing was not to stare at it, then how our favorite star is important to life on Earth. If Earth was closer or further from the Sun, life would be vastly different. Our 4.6 billion years old Sun is about 150 million kilometers from Earth. One of the reasons it has a powerful effect on Earth from this great distance is its size. We would need 332, 946 Earths to equal the mass of the Sun, and 1.3 million Earths to fill the volume the Sun occupies. Like everything else in our universe, if you study it long enough, you start seeing patterns. One of my favorites is the solar maximum that will be reached in a few years. It occurs every eleven years. It when Sun activities increase, resulting in a better chance of seeing aurora lights in Banff.
But also when looking toward the Sun and thinking about the heat waves, wildfires, floods and more occurring throughout the world. It’s not hard to have climate change on the mind. For many of us, with the time we spend outside and all the reports that have come out in the past. There was no surprise when the 3949 page long assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change came out. This report cites some 14,000 studies, put together by some of the most brilliant minds from Canada and around the world. I have always listened to those who are specialists in their field of study. What I eat, how I sleep and being active is based on that. With 97 percent of climate scientists agreeing and this third major report by the IPCC, it is clear that we are having a major impact on climate change.
I for one still have hope. Just as our scientists put their heads together and built on what they had learned about previous coronavirus, they were able to come up with a solution for COVID-19. My role was much simpler, listening to the experts, dealing with few inconveniences and taking two jabs for my and my community’s well being. Climate change is a much bigger issue, but it’s still possible for future generations to enjoy what was available a few decades ago. The Sun will continue doing its thing for another 5 billion years, we just have to help Earth get back in shape.
Crowfoot Mtn
It was toward the end of the winter, I was on my second day off, enjoying another winter morning as I drove north in the darkness. I was an hour away from the sunrise, looking at my rear view mirror, I could see the clouds were going to light up that morning. While coming around a turn, I saw what looked like wildlife on the side of the road, it was a lynx. I slowed down as it crossed the road and hopped onto the plowed snow that was about a meter and half high. Not enough light to get any good pictures, I watched it for a few seconds and took a picture of it with my phone and I was off. I got to the lake with plenty of time. I knew where I needed to go, with snowshoes I got there in a few minutes. During that time of the year, there is not that much traffic in the morning on the 93 North. With no wind, it was this beautiful quiet sunrise. The only sound was being caused by me taking the pictures. For fifteen to twenty minutes, I enjoyed the sights as the sky got brighter and brighter. Once the bright warm light had passed, I packed up and stood there for a few minutes before starting the walk back to my car. These are the types of connection that keeps me addicted to nature.
Mount Ishbel
Sunrise along the Bow River, looking toward Mount Ishbel.
Fairholme Range
Having patience is a big part of nature photography, but staying composed while dealing with the elements also plays a big role. That was the case when I got this sunrise picture. It was a cold morning with heavy winds blowing snow over the frozen lake. I was taking small steps on the open ice so as not to slip and I tried not to face the wind to keep warm. After being out there for half an hour and after the bright part of the sunrise, the light was getting softer but I still wanted to take one more picture. The hands were cold and the toes were making their way in that direction as I searched for a different foreground. I noticed the tracks in the snow, they belonged to the wolf pack, they were about a week old. The light was fading, so quickly I set up the equipment and then composed the shot. Another sunrise was enjoyed, followed by a walk to the warmth of the car.
Mount Rundle
Originally I started taking pictures like most people, to remind me of the hike I had done and what I saw. Not much effort was made, the goal was to get a few quick pictures of the place and of friends I was hiking with. When it became a hobby, it was to motivate me to get out more. That was a big success, it's now harder to be inside, no matter the season. As I worked toward getting better and better pictures, I realized it was more likely to happen when I was out there on my own. No talking, just letting the mind wander until I saw a picture in front of me to take. From that I quickly figured out it was a great way to mentally relax. Nature photography not only provides me physical good health but also for mental health. I can even feel the difference when it's just for a few minutes. For example, watching a kinglet move from branch to branch in search of food. The world becomes small, it’s just about the bird, how it moves to find food.
So when life seems to be out of control, I head toward nature for balance. The more I do the better I feel. I have yet to overdose on this natural drug, I have come close with chocolate though. I tend to smile and laugh a lot, this makes for an easier life. Benefit of a healthy mind. This is the reason why I fully control where I take pictures, how I take pictures and why I take pictures. For me now, nature photography is a passion and I think we should all have a passion to keep us on a strong foundation.
When I took this image, it was a very cold windy morning. Holding onto the tripod with the camera on it, wandering on the frozen lake until I came across an image. I took the picture and repeated the process a few more times. The hands got a bit cold after I was done, but the rest of me felt great.
Fairholme Range
As beautiful as the morning was, I did not have any time to enjoy watching the sunrise, just wanted to take the pictures and run. I was in the middle of swarm of mosquitoes, it has been their summer to flourish. Before I would take any picture, I would first wave my had front of the lens and then take the picture. After the last picture taken, I packed up, looked up at the hundreds of mosquitoes and then made a quick exit.
Mount Massive
You think by now I would chill when seeing a sunrise, I’m starting to understand that may never happen. Even on mornings when I can’t be outside, I’ll have a look to see what I’m missing. A few weeks back I stepped outside and can see the sky was going to light up. No vehicle was involved, I needed to get to a spot by foot that would get me an acceptable image. When walking around town, there’s always a chance I’m going to meet people I know and thankfully they are understanding when I tell them I trying to get a picture. That was the case that morning as one was going to work another walking her dog and others who I know less getting a quick nod. I reached spot one, the clouds were red, but I did not like the foreground. I walked another 300 meters, with no open water in sight I focused on the trees, mountains and the beautiful sky. Another great start to the day.
Sulphur Mtn
It was back in October, after having breakfast, I looked outside and it looked as if there was going to be bright sunrise, I changed and headed out. It was a windy morning as I looked for calm water. I found some and even better I had the place to myself. The clouds started to light up and I started to take pictures. A car stopped nearby and out came a friend with a warm beverage in his hand. It was his day off and he was out looking for birds. As we chatted the sky got brighter and not far from us two Hooded Mergansers landed. They were causing small ripples in the water as they dove for food. I have seen way too many landscape photographers scare the birds away, sometimes by throwing rocks at them. My thoughts are simple on this topic, They are eating to survive and I’m taking a picture. So the birds did their thing just out of the frame and we got rewarded when the light scattered across the clouds. A great start to the day.
Fairview Mountain
During the early days of the larch season, we were hiking in the Lake Louise area before the sunrise. Half way into our hike the sky started to light up, I was not expecting it but a nice surprise. We found some open space through the trees, looking toward Fairview Mountain. Quickly took few pictures and up we went.
Mount Rundle
Back in September I looked out before the sunrise and saw what was coming, a bright sunrise. Grabbed what I needed and headed out. Found a location next to the river, the water was calm, I was ready and waited for the sunrise. For several minutes it kept getting brighter and brighter and I kept busy taking pictures. Once done, it was time to go to work.
Cascade Mountain
In the morning we did not get bright sunrise, too many clouds in the sky put a stop to that. But not long after the warm light started to come through. The snow from yesterday and the light snow from last night added to the winter feel of the morning. And even with cold nights there were some fall colours to remind us we are middle of the fall season. All added to the beautiful morning.
Massive Range
Always Like to give myself some extra time in the morning when heading for work, never know when i might have to stop to take pictures.
Mount Rundle
This is why I like walking to work.
Bow Lake
It did not look like there was going to be a bright sunrise, but as I was getting closer to Bow Lake, I could see the colours through my rear view mirror. I decided to pull into the lake’s parking lot and quickly made my way to the shore. It was November, I was able to find some open water, then started taking pictures.
Mount Rundle
Many who see me regularly, will see a pack on my back, does not matter if I'm working or on my days off. Does not matter if it's a cold day middle of the winter or the warm day in the summer, there's a pack on my back. Does not matter if it's raining or minus 30, snowing and wind howling, there's a pack on my back. It does not snow contain my lunch or full of chocolates. It's easier to get around without a pack, it's an easier hike with less weight on my back. But not wanting to miss an opportunity when a moment comes and I need the camera. Few weeks back giving myself lot of time to get to work, with the camera in the pack, I was able to stop and enjoy the sunrise and take pictures.
