Canadian Rockies Winter – Great Landscape Photography!

Winter is a cold time in the Canadian Rockies with very short days. After all the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and – daylight hours are precious and short! At this time of year in Banff, there is just 8 hours of sunlight!

But – there is good news for Canadian Rocky Mountain Landscape Photography and Banff National Park Photography:

Sunrise and Sunset are much earlier/later Sunrise is around 8:30 – Sunset is around 4:30
The sun is always at a lower angle throughout the day, yielding interesting dynamic light.
The air can be so clear – no haze to deal with or work around
Right near Banff, there are several excellent subjects and locations to get a Winter Landscape shot
Fresh snowfalls make for a stunning atmosphere, bring a special light, and add to the scene so well

When is the BEST time to visit Banff? The short answer is anytime! As a landscape photographer in Banff National Park and the Canadian Rockies, I know winter is a premium time for capturing engaging landscape shots!

Landscape photography in Banff on a winter’s day can be both exciting and convenient. This sunrise shot ( Rise ‘n Shine ) was taken at 8:50 AM just outside Banff, and I was home with a Canadian Rockies Fine Art Landscape image for my website at 9:30. I enjoyed a late Breakfast and sat by the fire after an oh so satisfying day out in the Canadian Rockies Landscape that surrounds Banff.

Winter can be a fine time to experiment and work in black-and-white pictures of Banff and the Canadian Rockies. Black and White is co-joined with the Fine Art genre – due to the work of the revered Ansel Adams, as well as Edward Weston, and their contemporaries.

So winter, in the Canadian Rockies, provides a canvas slathered in snow, and the whole environment transforms with a new character – tress covered and dripping with snow, glistening peaks, shining glaciers and the sun dancing across the scene with maybe some Ice fog for added atmosphere.

Writing this post, as a Landscape Photographer based in Banff and working in the Canadian Rockies, I may be thought of as a wee bit biased ( which I most certainly am ! Banff and Banff National Park are my home and for me a wee bit of heaven on earth ! 🙂 )

However, this is a spell the Canadian Rockies casts on many ! – Read this quote from “Follow that Nerd” –

“It’s hard to pick a favorite season here in the Canadian Rockies. In spring, the skies get bluer, the days longer and ephemerals like orchids and glacier lilies make their fleeting appearance. In summer, everything’s lush, colorful wildflowers blanket the alpine meadows, and the glacial lakes are at their most vibrant. In fall, gilded larches bathe an otherwise stark landscape in various shades of bronze and gold. And then there’s winter. Winter in the Rockies has just got something magical about it. The mountains feel more epic under a fresh fall of snow, and everything seems to stand still… frozen in ice and in time. “

Iconic Castle Mountain catching the clouds! “Cloud Catcher “

So, the winter photography Bonus ( see points 1 & 2 ) for a Landscape Photographer working in Banff and the Canadian Rockies Landscape can summed up in my following thoughts::

“While I very much enjoy the early morning hours – it is a treat sometimes to sleep in and still get a shot, and be home for late breakfast, or to be back home close to the supper hour and a roaring fire”.

This same BONUS awaits you if you come to the Canadian Rockies and Banff, whether to take photos of the landscape or ski or just sight see.- Winter is a great time to visit!

Gita Photos, Banff Alberta – “Special Moments in the Rockies, Captured in a Print Forever”

Published by Ron Hallam

Gita Photos is a Landscape Photography Studio based in Banff, Alberta and Banff National Park a World Heritage Site. Hi, my name is Ron Hallam. I am truly blessed to be able to live in and work in this stunning location; Banff, Alberta. I closed in and renovated the deck of my condo to be an editing studio. The studio is paneled in Alberta cedar. The main part of the ‘studio’, though, is the Banff National Park and the Canadian Rockies! My work invloves hiking through the Park to find locations where the natural wonders of the Rockies are illuminated by the natural light of the moment. As one client testimonial put it, I want to offer you “ an instant escape to someplace magical” ( Jane Fedosoff, Toronto, Ontario) Another client commented “Ron's photographs are not just beautiful images of the Canadian Rockies. They are Ron himself – his life experiences, his love for this place and his eye for detail- that show a depth and unique understanding of this special place we are lucky to call home.” (Phil Monod, Banff Alberta) I’m in the second half of my life. I spent the first half running a ski shop and skiing and hiking in and around Banff National Park. I tinkered with photography for a long time - first with disposable cameras in the 70's. Needless to say the disposable left everything to be desired and I walked away wanting more, much more. Then, for one special hiking trip to Nepal, I purchased a proper SLR camera. The SLR provided better images, but I still needed time to learn and study and work at the craft of image making and film processing. Meanwhile, the time commitment necessary to run a shop (and my shop was a passion) meant work gave me limited spare time. That translated into playing when I could, took precedence over study of camera, technique and processing. So, upon retiring - for my second half, I wanted to stretch and work my “creative muscles”. I got down to focused and dedicated photographic endeavor. That started with a new DSLR. Then I began to study image making seriously. I learned about the digital way of image capture and developing (editing). The Rockies Landscape is so grand that larger Panorama shots are a favorite for me to create while, but as you can see from my work, everything in this magnificent place draws me to capture images of all kinds of landscapes. I like to work in both Color and Black and White and would love to hear which you prefer as your format of choice, and why. Every time I make an image, it is the direct result of letting the “something” inside me come up to the surface, and compel me to record that moment of what I’m seeing and feeling. I want to engage you to see the Rockies, and feel the Rockies exactly the way I do. I want to try to have you try to understand and engage with my perspective, and point you to the exquisite, intricate and profoundly intelligent designer - the God who created this natural world. Then, if you are awed by creation but also perturbed by economic disparities in the world, I hope you will browse the Art Battling Poverty Gallery dedicated to Poverty Relief and assistance for the marginalized. While you and I enjoy the beauty of the Rockies, many are struggling simply to survive. When you purchase my Art from the Art Battling Poverty Gallery (or indeed any image purchase) just tell me to donate to either of the NGO's I work with, at time of checkout. A portion of each sale, 15% – read the ABOUT Art Battling Poverty Tab) will be donated to in your name. Have a browse and find “ A special moment in the Rockies, captured in a print forever”. And when you purchase you won't only have a special print, but you will also be giving Hope to the marginalized. View more posts

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