Best landscape photo locations in Banff/Lake Louise area....

[venchka]

I wish we could also give you more time.
Better idea: Go up there and SHOW you were to shoot.
Have a safe trip!

[ronocnikral]

you can't go wrong. 3 days and you could barely cover a little of the lake louise area. when we were there, we walked by lake louise and started walking up to a series of mountain lakes (away from the parking lots). finally made our way up to restaurant and a nice lake. can't remember the name. also went to the top of the high peak overlooking lake louise (on the left when standing at the hotel and looking at the glacier).

like many have, said, you can't go wrong. walk around. we had the moon travel guide.

restaurant recommendation: grizzly house on banff ave. the exotic plate...to die for (as is their tolberone dessert fondue). reminds me of the 70's. or how i would i have imagined the 70's.

oh, and they have that gov't building at the end of banff ave with beautiful gardens and excellent views to mt nordique (i think that's the name of it). have fun...

[vibhav]

just saw this thread... i did a 8 day trip to the Canadian rockies last year... PM me and I can give you details about what you could do... there are loads and loads of things.... :-))

[venchka]

Jeff should be back. Standing by for the results.

[jeffclow]

Originally Posted by venchka

Jeff should be back. Standing by for the results.

My wife and I did arrive back in DFW late last night from our three day jaunt to Banff National Park.

And to say I was impressed would be the world's biggest understatement. We must have said the word "Wow" a thousand times over three days.

If you've not been to Banff, then you've missed out on one of the most spectacular places on this globe. There is a reason why one of the big photo magazines named the road between Banff National Park and Jasper National Park as the "most beautiful road in the world".

I have always been a big fan of Teton National Park, but Banff is the Tetons on steroids. 100 miles of Teton like jagged mountains on both sides of the Bow River Valley road - both Canada Hwy 1 and the Icefield Parkway. You can shoot from early morning til late night and have good light the whole time because you are surrounded by landscapes that are breathtaking.

And don't forget the wildlife. We saw deer, moose and grizzlies. Here's one that was feeding on berries alongside the road about 2 miles from our cabin near Lake Louise. We were on the road to Moraine Lake and had an encounter from within our car where he was actually less than ten feet away. My wife and I both had our adrenaline pumping but he ignored us and we rolled down the window and photographed him for 15 minutes.

What a place....if it is not on your life list, it should be.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

[KKapple]

Thats an awesome shot Jeff.
Send me some details on the document I sent you and how it applies in real life.

I leave next week.

You think it is semi safe at night treking around doing night time photography in the park with bears and wolfs around?

I will be alone at night when I do this.

[jeffclow]

Originally Posted by KKapple

Thats an awesome shot Jeff.
Send me some details on the document I sent you and how it applies in real life.

I leave next week.

You think it is semi safe at night treking around doing night time photography in the park with bears and wolfs around?

I will be alone at night when I do this.

I've sent you over some stuff, Keith.

For everyone else, if you are headed to Banff this fall, you probably won't be able to hike solo much except near the lakes because there are signs EVERYWHERE saying that because of strong grizzly activity, groups of four or more are the only safe way to hike in this park - since that large of group will likely make enough noise to drive grizzlies away.

We saw grizzlies four different times on the Morraine Lake drive from Lake Louise - a distance of 11 kilometers. Not sure if it was the same grizzly or different ones, but there are definitely out this month gorging on berries.

[KKapple]

Welll, guess it would be a dumb idea to go solo at night doing photography... : (

[jeffclow]

I took over 30 gigs of photos in three days, so to say there are great photo locations everywhere would be absolutely true.

Here's a shot of the distinctive Mount Rundle - the jagged peak on the right - that towers over the town of Banff. This was taken at the Vermillion Lakes just outside of the city.

[KKapple]

Looks awesome Jeff.
Most places easy to find you think in the dark?
I am usually out and getting ready well before the sun comes up.

[venchka]

Don't beat around the bush, Jeff. Tell us what you think of the Canadian Rockies? Grinning.
Glad you liked it. What's not to like, hey?

[don peters]

I am going on a photo shoot in the banff area including the less traveled areas and would like to know about the best photo opps . I will be going on a 3 month visit to the mid west , us. and to glacier and to banff to jasper in 2011 in the spring early may. Any info would be great as this trip will be my first in that area.

[jeffclow]

Originally Posted by don peters

I am going on a photo shoot in the banff area including the less traveled areas and would like to know about the best photo opps . I will be going on a 3 month visit to the mid west , us. and to glacier and to banff to jasper in 2011 in the spring early may. Any info would be great as this trip will be my first in that area.

Places that should be on your "must visit" list:

1) Moraine Lake - shot from atop the Rockpile
2) Icefields Parkway - any of the pullouts north of Lake Louise
3) Peyto Lake - shot from the overlook
4) Mount Rundle - just outside the city of Banff
5) Lake Louise - shot from behind the hotel

There are dozens more great shots on both sides of the road from Banff to Jasper, but those are my top five.