Iconic Moraine - Moraine Lake, Banff National Park

Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Moraine Lake is a great photo destination that every photographer should visit. The lake is 16 kilometers from Lake Louise, which is more well known, but, in my humble opinion, it can't hold a candle to Moraine. One of the reasons is that Moraine is located in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, which tower around it.

As a photographer, there are four things that you wish for when shooting there: 1) great light; 2) still water for a reflection of the mountains in the lake; 3) enough clouds in the sky to add interest to it; and 4) a good foreground element. On my trip to Banff last month, despite visiting several times, I never got to shoot with all four elements present. The one I missed every day was the still water. I think the photography gods were not smiling down on me, as on the last day of my stay in Banff, I got to the lake and all four were there. I quickly hiked the trail to the top of the "rock pile", and, in the short 10 minutes it took to get there, ripples appeared across the lake.

Although dismayed, I composed this image and minimized the lake's surface. I took advantage (as so many photographers have before me), and used the great color of the canoes to anchor the shot.