There's something about reflections in nature, especially in the mountains,that is quite magical. Maybe it's the short lived moments of calm found in between the usually harsh and turbulent conditions. The yin and yang of the Earth creating peace from dusk until dawn and chaos during the day. Maybe they remind us to reflect on our own lives and remind us of the paths we've taken. Maybe it's just because they are pretty to look at...
In any case perfect, glassy reflections in nature can be hard to come by, but when I do get to experience them I pause to take them in, because such fleeting moments are truly special.
Anyways, enough about why I love them... Here are some of my favorite reflections I've captured in the Canadian Rockies over the years
Prince of Wales
The Prince of Whales Hotel seen here is beautifully situated in the middle of the mountains in Waterton Lakes National Park. It was built and opened in the late 1920's for the Great Northern Railway company and is a whopping 37 meters tall! 😲
We spent 5 days in late spring this year exploring the park. Waterton Lakes National Park is notoriously windy. During those 5 days we had a brief moment of tranquility for a few hours one afternoon where the choppy waters of the upper Waterton Lakes transformed into a smooth, glass-like surface. This scene unfolded before me and it was as if I was standing in a postcard.
Vermillion Lakes
The ever popular Vermillion Lakes, sits just outside of the town of Banff, Alberta. This shot was taken with my first DSLR EVER, a Nikon d5300 and an 18-55mm kit lens. This area is where my photography journey began and it will always hold a special place for me. The reflection of Mount Rundle at sunrise with a bit of wildfire haze, made for a really cool effect here on this particular morning. No matter how many photos I see of this spot, it never gets old.
Leach Lake, Jasper National Park
This moody reflection was captured on a Spur of the moment trip through Jasper National Park a few years ago. Jasper is one of my favorite places on the planet. It is a little bit more removed and quieter than Banff, but the scenery is just as beautiful. It's also a great place to experience a wide variety of wildlife, including bears, elk, mountain goats and many more. If you need a break from the epic views and want to relax with some great food, pick up a delicious pastry from the Bear's Paw Bakery or a pizza from Jasper Pizza Place, you'll thank me later! 😀
Canmore, Alberta
The town of Canmore, Alberta is an absolute dream for landscape photographers. You can drive 5 minutes for epic views like this, or you could just look out of your window. Pictured here on the far right is Ha Ling peak, the most popular hike in the area. In the Summer there is a steady flow of people from top to bottom of the short, but steep trail. On the left of the frame are the Three Sisters is the distance. Known respectively as Faith, Charity and Hope. These 3 peaks loom above the town and are THE icons of the area.
Rainbow Pebbles
These brightly colored rainbow pebbles are also found at Waterton Lakes National Park. Again, to truly appreciate them, the lake has to perfectly still. For this shot I actually had to turn my tripod upside down to get my camera as close as possible to the water, so I could capture the rocks beneath as well as the mountains and sky above. I was lying on my stomach, hovering over my camera like a ninja, in case it decided to topple over on me into the lake.
Paddling on Moraine Lake
Every Canadian knows this classic view, it used to be on our $20 bill after all. Moraine lake is one of the most picturesque views in the World. A dark blue glacial lake, surrounded by 10 mountain peaks, with lush coniferous forest surrounding it. Once upon a time, about 9 years ago now, I lived and worked in Lake Louise. At the time one could visit both Lake Louise and Moraine lake at any time of the day. Sure they were busy, but at least you could always find a parking spot. Today, during peak season, if you want a spot at Moraine lake for sunrise you have to be there at around 2:30-3:00 AM in the morning. Oh how the times have changed. I'm glad I got to experience it the way I did in the past. That being said it is popular for a reason. It truly is a spectacular, timeless place. For me, as a photographer, it's always a challenge to get a unique perspective on locations such as this. I quite enjoyed watching these Kayakers cruise across the lake and they didn't mind that I snapped a few shots of them either, Plus I ended up with a different shot rather than the same old rock pile view.
Glassy Mornings at Bow Lake
This photo was taken on an early morning drive through the Icefields Parkway. Honestly early mornings are my favorite. It's quiet. It's calm. As a bonus, sometimes you get lucky and get to experience moments like this. As a landscape photographer, I'll speak for us collectively when I say we live for early mornings, late evenings and the middle of the night. That's usually when all of the magic happens. Not much goes on in the middle of the day unless it's a moody day or it's stormy out. My favorite of the three is the morning though. I know it's not scientific, but I just feel like the morning air adds a crispness to your photos you don't otherwise get.
Sunrise at Sunburst Lake
Assiniboine Provincial Park is one of, in my opinion, the most beautiful places on the planet. The park is located deep within the backcountry. It can be accessed by helicopter or by foot. On this trip we chose the latter option. After two days of hiking with an exceedingly heavy backpack, getting up for sunrise was the last thing my body wanted me to do. The alarm on my watch sounded and woke me from the comfort of my sleeping bag. I quietly unzipped the tent and headed out to Sunburst Lake which was a few kilometers from the campsite. By the glow of my headlamp I hoofed it up the trail past the meadows and through the forest. I had the whole place to myself. As I got to the Lake I could see the glow of the morning sun lighting up the horizon and starting to illuminate the peaks towering above. The lake that had been wild and wavy, from the intense winds the day before, was now as calm as could be. The water was so still, it was quite literally like a mirror reflecting the scene in front of me. Moments like this don’t come often and I basked in the stillness as long as I could, pondering all of life's big questions.
As always if you enjoyed these photos and stories feel free to follow me on my social media channels 👇
Damn, these reflections are spectacular Vince!
I'm planning on coming up to Banff this winter and hopefully next summer too!
Gotta convince my wife to make the trip with me so I'm gonna show her these photos. 😃
you will love is up here Casey! Let me know when you come up, i'd be happy to show you a spot of two!
Spectacular shots @vincentschnabl
Every reflection is a rhyme of nature written before our eyes...
Thank you so much Alsan!
Amazing photography, this pictures give me so much peaceful and are so beautiful. Congratulations for your work!
glad that my photos could give you that feeling, my job here is done :)
These are beautiful photos.
The reflections on those calm waters are so clear.
Awesome photography
thanks you so much, I get lucky with the conditions from time to time!
Gorgeous photographs of gorgeous Nature! I loved your simile for reflections being the yin and yang of the Earth. All the landscapes are breathtaking but I gotta say that my favorite picture was the one Jasper nation park. There's something so groovy about pine tree reflections ! Wonderful photography @vincentschnabl , thanks for sharing these shots with us :)
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and enjoy the photos. Jasper really is one of my favorite places on the planet. You're very welcome :)
Awesome Shot's!
The Quality is like 4k Ultra.. have seen those places only in windows wallpaper. Lucky to be there in such lovely place and vibes.
Thank you so much for saying that! Maybe one day you'll be able to get out there!
Wunderful pictures!! Chapeau!
Wow! Your captures of reflections took me on an amazing journey 😍 No wonder that your NFT’s sell so well. I love how you adjusted the price of this one to 0.6969 and then it sold! NFT folks are obsessed with 69 😂💙
hahaha the NFT community does have a thing for 420 and 69 😂
Who doesn’t like a good 420 to chill and draw inspiration? Ok, some people don’t 😂
Congratulations @vincentschnabl! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):
Your next target is to reach 6000 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPSupport the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
You really nailed that with your photos! they are just soo magical, the reflect is really good, almost like a mirror... good job man!
Incredibly amazing pictures, brilliant.
!LUV
Posted using Hive Images
thank you so much!
Welcome, Glass-like indeed. Amazing is used alot , but those shots are Amazing. Perfection personified.
amazing is one of my favorite verbs, nouns and adjectives 😉
Unreal reflections. Killer shots.
Are you still shooting with Nikon?
I am indeed still shooting with a Nikon d850 :)
~~~ embed:1591979338840551425 twitter metadata:MzI5MjI1NjR8fGh0dHBzOi8vdHdpdHRlci5jb20vMzI5MjI1NjQvc3RhdHVzLzE1OTE5NzkzMzg4NDA1NTE0MjV8 ~~~
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the people( @rubencress, @daveks, @steemadi ) sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.
These are all stunning, Vince! Truly breathtaking shots and amazing work as always! It really makes me yearn for a visit to Canada. Still on my bucket list!
Thanks so much Jess! You should definitely make it out to the rockies sometime! You would absolutely love it, not many storms though 😅
I'm a mountain girl at heart, so I would be more than thrilled to come visit one day!
Excellent reflection on extremely calm water! Well done
thank you so much :) means a lot
I have never seen such beautiful reflection! Thanks for sharing this!
$WINE
Cheers~
Congratulations, @theguruasia You Successfully Shared 0.300 WINEX With @vincentschnabl.
You Earned 0.300 WINEX As Curation Reward.
You Utilized 3/4 Successful Calls.
Contact Us : WINEX Token Discord Channel
WINEX Current Market Price : 0.200
Swap Your Hive <=> Swap.Hive With Industry Lowest Fee (0.1%) : Click This Link
Read Latest Updates Or Contact Us
So beautiful photos!
thank you very much :)
Undoubtedly Canada has great landscapes perfect for making photographic postcards, regardless of the weather season there are always good reasons for good photographs in those places.
Beautiful Pictures 😍😍😍
Congratulations, @vincentschnabl Your Post Got 100% Boost.
@theguruasia Burnt 3.654 WINEX & We Followed That Lead.
Contact Us : CORE / VAULT Token Discord Channel
Nature is beautiful
When my life has no sweetness and when I feel I'm alone in this world, I go to interact and admire nature like the river banks and mountains there I receive strength to keep moving.
Thanks for the impact the photos have created in me I love them all.
Awesome landscapes
!PGM
!LUV
!LOLZ
@rocinanteprimo, sorry! You need more $LUV to use this command.
The minimum requirement is 10.0 LUV in your liquid wallet.
More LUV is available from Hive-Engine or Tribaldex
BUY AND STAKE THE PGM TO SEND A LOT OF TOKENS!
The tokens that the command sends are: 0.1 PGM-0.1 LVL-0.1 THGAMING-0.05 DEC-15 SBT-1 STARBITS-[0.00000001 BTC (SWAP.BTC) only if you have 2500 PGM in stake or more ]
5000 PGM IN STAKE = 2x rewards!
Discord
Support the curation account @ pgm-curator with a delegation 10 HP - 50 HP - 100 HP - 500 HP - 1000 HP
Get potential votes from @ pgm-curator by paying in PGM, here is a guide
I'm a bot, if you want a hand ask @ zottone444
Wow those photos are masterpiece @vincentschnabl
Thank you very much for sharing such a beautiful place and stunning photos.
these photos are really beautiful they convey so many emotions
The picture with the Rainbow Pebbles conquered my heart entirely even though I've been a Canada fan for quite a few years, but gosh, the landscapes shared by nature are the real proof of how beautiful this world is! Really hope to get to visit Canada one day :)
Beyond words to describe. I absolutely love all of them!
Beautiful pictures, I love British Columbia
I am thrilled😮😮😮
Unreal
Bookmarking to inspire the budding young photographer in the family
Really gorgeous work here. 👏
Stunning in every way @vincentschnabl 😊😎 the landscape, the reflections. Love the colourful pebbles.
That area is definitely on my list to visit one day.
Have a great week and thanks for sharing your beautiful captures with us.
Oh... MY God. That photo, "Rainbow Pebbles" is amazing. I mean, they're all awesome, but that one, because of the size of the photo you uploaded and the size of my screen, the rainbow coloured pebbles were only revealed as I scrolled. It was awesome to experience. Thank you!
@new.things, check these out.
thank you very much! That is one of my favorite photos from the set as well!
Love the photos, I wanted to ask if the photo was done with a professional camera or a phone?
I really think it was made by a professional camera but just interest.
Amazing photos, as so they say as above so below. Beautiful reflections
thank you so much Yidneth!!
Sin palabras, los lugares más hermoso que he visto en imágenes. Súper super