Capturing Banff: My Week-Long Photography Adventure

Last November I spent a week in Banff, Canada on a photography workshop. I have wanted to do a week long photography workshop for quite some time, I did some research and spoke to fellow photographers who have been on workshops before. After speaking with a friend, she told me about the one workshop she attended in Banff. After looking at the web page and asking some questions I decided to sign up with Rachael Jones Ross of https://www.astralisphotography.com/photography.

Since the workshop was in early November, packing winter gear, I knew the Canadian Rockies get very cold and snowy. Having packed all my winter clothing and camera equipment I was ready to go. Arriving in Calgary the night before the workshop start date, I checked into the recommended hotel – Hotel 11 by Sonesta. This is close to the airport and offers a free pickup shuttle.

DAY 1 – Getting to Banff

After breakfast I went to the lobby to meet the group and wait for Rachael to pick us up, with her was fellow pro photographers and our teachers for the week world-renowned photographer, Dr. Kah-Wai Lin and Bryan Peters. We stopped in Canmore to do grocery shopping and had lunch at the Blake Restaurant. This was a great way to meet everyone in the group, there were nine of us. We arrived in Banff and settled into our hotel – Brewster and Mountain Lodge. As we waited for our rooms we gathered in the meeting room and went over our itinerary for the week. Our first session was a sunset at Vermillion Lake #2. We arrived early and photographed blue hour and were quite surprised when we realized that we had photographed a Chinook sunset. After a few hours we went to dinner at Shoku Izakaya which is a “Japanese Pub serving traditional and modern fare as well as offerings from other Asian destinations.” The food was delicious.

DAY 2 – Morrant’s Curve and Lake Minnewanka

After some breakfast, we headed to Morrant’s Curve. It is a scenic viewpoint near Lake Louise. There is a dramatic bend along the Bow River where trains pass through the Canadian Rockies heading eastward. This famous photo spot is along the Bow Valley Parkway. There is no train schedule for security reasons. Trains pass every hour or two during the day. Everyone just sets up cameras and waits. We arrived there and were fortunate. There was a dusting of snow on the ground. We photographed the train very shortly after our arrival. We had lunch on our own and then met up again for a sunset shoot at Lake Minnewanka. An incredible night of shooting stars and mountains. Rachael was watching the Aurora forecast. The preliminary forecast called for a high Kp index the next few days. We had our fingers crossed that we had clear skies. We headed back and agreed that we would skip sunrise in hopes of a late night of shooting the Aurora.

DAY 3 -Bow Lake

I joined a few others for a sunrise photo walk around the city of Banff – we ended up spending an incredible morning of getting to know each other while taking photos. There was no incredible sunrise but when the clouds finally cleared there was a wonderful blue sky. That morning was the Remembrance Day Parade on the mail street in Banff. We had a casual breakfast and later we met the group and headed to Maclab Bristro which is situated in the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

After lunch we headed to Bow Lake for a sunset/ Aurora shoot. I moved around to find my spot. We waited for the sunset and got some great shots. Then, as blue hour started, we see a faint red/green aurora starting. As the sky got darker we saw the lady Aurora make her appearance !! What an incredible sight. We usually look north to see the magic happen. This time, it was 360 degrees. We saw Aurora all around us !! I was speechless and took in the magical night start to unfold. We kept seeing corona after corona. It was crazy. Seeing the Aurora with the Rocky Mountains as the backdrop was a dream come true. After a few hours photographing the Aurora and freezing, I went to the van to eat my dinner. After warming up, I went back out. The clouds stared to roll in and it was getting late.

The Aurora was starting to fade. As a group, we had a decision to make. We drive further north to find some clearer skies. Alternatively, we head back to Banff, which is about an hour’s drive. We had an early morning planned to visit the Northern Lights Wolf centre. If we stayed out much later, we couldn’t return to the hotel. We would need to drive straight to the wolf centre. Most of the group including myself decided to go back to Banff. Rachael and a few others went hunting for clearer skies. I was very pleased with my photos of the aurora. The group didn’t find any clear skies (happy I decided not to go).

DAY 4 – Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre

We met in the lobby at 5:15 am and started our day at 5:30 am. We arrived in Golden BC at the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre. With a quick breakfast stop at Tim Horton’s we arrived. The wolves were all in their cages. We waited for instructions. We were going to go for a walk with Flora for 1.5 hours.

We had to follow a set of instructions from the owner. We were told that our walk was on “wolf terms.” This means the session is canceled when the safety of the humans or wolves is a concern. We drove in groups to get to the area for our walk. A stunning backdrop with the Rocky and Purcell Mountains. We did have one strange incident. People were walking their dog close by. Flora was put on her leash. One of the girls went to talk to the dog owners. She informed them that a wolf was in the area off leash. As a dog owner, I would have leashed up my dog and left. But NO, these people pretended to leave but then circled back and hid so they could “see” the wolf. If Flora caught the dogs scent she could have taken off and who knows what could have happened. Again the people were told to leave the area – finally they left. Our walk was almost aborted because of some silly people not listening.

We found a spot to sit down so we can take some photos with Flora. Laurie and I were the first to sit down. It felt strange just letting Flora walk around us. She sniffed. Then, all of a sudden, she came in close to me and licked my cheek! WOW what a shock that was, I started to laugh. How would you react to being licked by a wolf?

On our way back we stopped for lunch at Papa Bear’s Kitchen in Golden BC. Such a quaint cafe with amazing food.

We got back to Banff and were told that we had another great night of Aurora shooting. We had planned to meet at 11 pm. After walking around and grabbing something to eat I decided to get some sleep. My phone went off and message said meet in the lobby at 6:15 as aurora is high. Getting myself together quickly I went down. We got in the van and went to Vermillion Lakes #3. We set up, and the Aurora quickly showed her colours. What a spectacular night of shooting Aurora again ! Have you seen or shot the Aurora before?

DAY 5 – Two Jack Lake

We met up for a sunrise shoot at Two Jack Lake. It is such a beautiful spot. Unfortunately, there was no real sunrise as it was quite cloudy. It started to drizzle just as we were packing up to leave. We had breakfast and dinner at Bluebird Woodfired Steak house. It rained all day so I walked around Banff and had an early night.

DAY 6 – Peyto Lake

We set out early to shoot a sunrise at Peyto Lake, which is shaped like a fox. Snow fell overnight and our drive out there was harrowing at times. Once we arrived we hiked up to our spot. The fresh snow was deep and it was hard walking up the mountain, especially with all our gear. Once the tripods were set, we waited for sunrise. It was very cloudy again. There was no sun to be found, but we did get some amazing views and shots.

After a few hours of hiking and dealing with frozen fingers, we made our way back down the mountain. We then headed towards Preachers Point at Abraham Lake. The drive through the Rocky Mountains was beautiful. We even saw some wild horses on the side of the road. We stopped at various spots to take photos. We had lunch at Miners Cafe in Nordegg -another wonderful spot to eat. On our way back we stopped at the Cline River Bridge for a sunset shoot. I just couldn’t find the right spot to shoot. Unfortunately, my photos were not so great that night. Arg! Creativity just not there !

DAY 7 – Emerald Lake Lodge

Wow can’t believe it’s our last day! Another early morning – we set off for a blue hour/sunrise shoot at Emerald Lake Lodge. This has been on my bucket list for so long. I was so thrilled to learn we would be going there. The lake was not frozen and yes it there is an emerald green colour to the water.

Such a picturesque spot. We had breakfast in the lodge restaurant where there was wi-fi, as there is no cell service in the area. I got a message from my son. He was asking if I was ok because my location showed I was in a lake 😂😂. I thought this was so funny. I let him know I was fine and not in a lake but having the best breakfast ever!! At least one of my kids was checking in on me. 😂 On our way back to Banff, we stopped at Castle Cliffs on the Bow River. This was for a final shoot. I used one of the techniques I learned. I got down low with my tripod and used a small body of water. This created a reflection of the mountain in my shot.