Typically, I try to shy away from areas that are busy with other photographers. I generally prefer my own solitude when I am out in the mountains rather than being shoulder to shoulder with other people. In the fall, that’s not the easiest to do. It seems there are far more people willing to get out early to capture the autumn colour than any other time of year. Just to the right of this image is a well-known local mountain known as the three sisters. Noted for the prominent triple peaks, this mountain is a magnet for landscape photographers. By the time I arrived after feeding the kid, stopping for the kid to have a pee break, and then feeding the kid after she was hungry again, then stopping several more times for the dog to have his poo and pee breaks we were the last ones there and had the least desirable spot to capture the three sisters. Being late for the sunrise, I didn’t have much for options to head to a new location so I thought I’d make the best of it. As the sun started to rise, I instantly saw the main feature shot was not going to be the best one of the day. The clouds in the east were starting to ignite with the telltale signs of an epic sunrise. Conversely, there was nothing but empty sky over the three sisters which doesn’t bode well for a landscape photo. Instead I decided to change my direction of shooting and capture the silhouette of the trees with the sunrise. Instantly I had the best seat in the house, lucky me. The best part was that everyone else was so engrossed in capturing the three sisters, not one of them decided to look around and I was the only one who ended up capturing this. I remember some people looking in confusion at all the cameras pointing in one direction and me shooting the completely opposite way. I guess it pays to always look around. It worked for me at least.
The first light of the day is cast upon Mt. Lyautey on Upper Kananaskis Lake.
As the warm sun rises it begins to melt the late-night dusting of snow that fell over the higher altitudes of the Canadian Rockies. This tug of war will soon end as the cooler temperatures win the battle over the coming weeks and set this scene under a deep freeze for half the year.
