Silent Serenity

It was early fall, in the Canadian Rockies. The weather had been less than ideal for photography, due to clouds and rain much of the time. Since the sharp, jagged peaks of the Canadian Rockies were so spectacular, we were hoping to capture them on film without a boring white sky. In addition, the cloudy skies prevented us getting good sunset or sunrise pictures; this did not stop us from getting up early and staying up late to try to get these shots. However being good nature photographers, we adapted to Mother Nature and looked for the images that were there.

In the mountains, the photographer needs to be prepared for rapid changes in the weather. One day the temperatures can be mild and you can be out in shirtsleeves; the next day you can wake up to snow on the ground. This is what happened here, at Lake Louise. We had been here the day before, with sunshine and fairly warm weather. We wanted to get a sunrise shot of Lake Louise, so we got up early in the morning to get there in time.

When we woke up, there was snow on the ground; we still hoped for a sunrise, so we donned the proper cold-weather clothing and made our way to the Lake. When we got there, to our disappointment, a low layer of clouds hid the mountain peaks that were visible the day before. I started to put my gear away, when I noticed this boathouse next to the lake. There was a light dusting of snow on the evergreen trees, the boathouse was aglow with lighting, and the lake was still; I knew this would be a shot. I moved to a position to highlight the warmth of the boathouse, in the cold, snowing scene. I was careful to include the reflection of the boathouse in the water. Because of the early morning low light, I knew a long shutter speed would be necessary. To minimize vibration, I mounted the camera on the tripod, locked the camera mirror up, and used a cable release to fire the shutter.

Because of the bad weather, we were the only people here to enjoy the Silent Serenity of this early morning winter scene.