Jasper August 2007

Well I couldn't wait to get out of the city and back into the Northern Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park.
Stayed at the usual, i.e., Sunwapta Falls Resort about 53Km out of Jasper townsite.
Nice location as it is between the Columbia Icefields and Mt. Edith Cavell.
Hit the road shortly after class Friday afternoon. Sunny and hot about 31 celcius, but by the time we arrived at our digs ominous cloud and later some rain greeted us and the temperature was around 11 C - about 9 C at the icefield. Oh well, Dave and I were glad for the change of scenery, air and atmosphere in general ... we really needed a break.
After settling in and a nice dinner we retired for the evening with the hope that Saturday would bring us blue skies with some cloud textures and sunshine.
Well, no sun for Saturday ... just solid cloud cover with the odd tinge of blue sky and ever-so brief appearances from the sun.
Sun or no sun, blue sky or grey ... we set out for a day of photography in the Cdn Rockies ... Mt. Edith Cavell was our first stop.
Lots of smooth sculptured ice chunks in a large pool of water ... perhaps better defined as a small lake ... at the base of Angel Glacier which has consistently been shrinking probably since the effects of the Industrial Revolution reached this area of the world.
No sun did not mean no photography ... we just retrained our perferred perspectives from the macro to the micro scenic. I mean, there is nothing to say that we always need to capture a huge mountain with tongues of ice radiating from it. Indeed, we found that there was plenty to photograph regardless of the weather and/or lighting conditions. Mildly surprised I was, I began to appreciate what I had ... what was rather than what I had anticipated or hoped for. We were able to capture a certain type of image that we might have missed under different lighting conditions. So, perhaps the odd grey day is not so bad after all for photography.
Next, we visited Medicine Lake.
It surprised us both because last time we visited the locale, the water was considerably lower showing a lot of exposed boulders. This time the water was quite high even covering over a road. Here again despite the overcast and being rained on a little (I sought shelter under trees, Dave was smart and remained in the truck), I was out there like a dirty shirt. I didn't come all this way to be thwarted in my photographic endeavours. As before, looking at the situation from a different perspective rather than becoming frustrated produced some wonderful photographic opportunities with nice softbox type lighting. Like the old saying, "... miss the forest for the trees.", well I didn't want to miss either.
It may be awhile before I have anything posted here as I will probably hang onto my film till I return to Victoria and begin processing the 4x5 black & white. I shot primarily with my Toyo and used Dave's Pentax MX with the really cool 17mm lens he's got on it. I was not amused with the camera this time out as the loading mechanism is not as easy or secure as that of my Nikon FM3A's, I am really glad I've got the Nikon.
Sunday morning time to check out and head for home to beat the holiday traffic that would plague us had we stayed and returned on Monday - clouds had broken and blue sky was showing through - a day of mixed light and softness as the sunlight appeared to move in and out of the cloud cover. Mt. Columbia basked in slightly oblique lighting before 11:00am proved to be a real lovely subject from a roadside pullout. The icefields were a brief stop this time as was Parker Ridge - just couldn't get the mountain top out of the clouds. Closer to home I found a neat perspective and angle from which to photograph Numa Falls.
Some details:
4 Aug. 2007
Mt. Edith Cavell - Jasper Nat'l Park - Overcast
Bergy bits in the water
Toyo 45 AII with 90mm lens, Acros 100, Metre: Sekonic L-608
Metre: 1/4 @ 45; Exp. 1/2 @ 45; 1/2 & 1/4 @ 45
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Lake-bergy bits-Angel Wings-Water fall
Metre: 1/2 @ 45; Exp. 1/2 & 1s @ 45











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Berg w/ pieces of rock on it
Metre: 1/4 @ 45 - 1 degree spot on dark stone
Exp. 1/4 & 1/2 @ 45














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Berg with 150mm & Acros
Metre: 1/2 @ 64
Exp. 1/2 & 1s @ 64
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Wood bridge with small log in water cascade
90mm
Metre: 1/2 @ 45
Exp. 1/2 & 1/4 @ 45
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Medicine Lake, 90mm, Acros 100, Toyo 45 AII
Per bulb on metre - 1/8 @ 45
Lake & rock in lake: 1/4 @ 45
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Due to the overcast conditions, the lighting did not vary that much. However, to insure I have negatives with sufficient information for proper contrast - I bracket a little.
Dave uses digital ... I think his exposures at Medicine Lake were around 1/90 @ f/8 if I recall correctly.
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5th August 2007
Mt. Columbia w/ Toyo & a 210mm Nikon lens
Exp. 1/8 & 1/4 @ 64
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Brook-bridge-Bow glacier at one of our stops on the way home - Bow Lake
Acros 100, Toyo w/ 150mm
1/2 & 1s @ 64














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Numa Falls, 90mm on Toyo 45 with Acros 100 film
1/4 & 1/2 @ 45 in shade
1/8 & 1/15 @ 45 in sunlight

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