Mt Rundle & Vermillion Lake

Another day, another sunset. Autumn really does provide some great sunrise and sunset opportunities. It's not that these things don't happen in the summertime but the timing is far less convenient.  After all who really wants to crawl out of bed at 3am to get into the mountains and set up for sunrise, or stay in the mountains until 11pm for sunset? 

The image below comes from one of the most photographed locations in Banff National Park, at a far more acceptable hour.  Mt Rundle seen from the east side of Vermillion Lake as the sun sets is a beautiful sight. The golden light strikes the tips of this stunning monolith and, if we're lucky, the lake water calms and an almost perfect arrowhead is created.  

It's a sight every tour company is familiar with so if you want a good spot here for your tripod, you should arrive early and get set up.  The tourists can be relentless in their pursuit of the perfect selfie and will often pester you to take shots for them with their phone or camera.  Please try to remember that they are visiting for a short time only and really want to get this shot, so patience is a virtue. 

Along with your patience, a pocket wizard or similar type of remote trigger will allow you to continue making images whilst helping out our visitors.  A graduated ND filter is also a must have and will help you make the most of the light available by balancing the contrasting light.  

The distance to the mountain across the lake is quite significant so make sure you have more than your 16mm lens with you.  For this location I tend to have the 16-35mm, 24-70mm and the 70-200mm, which gives me all the coverage I could need here. 

Additionally, you will very often find liquid water in Vermillion Lake when all else are fully frozen so you can still find some reflections, even in the depths of winter.