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Planning Banff/Jasper Canada Trip

Hey Guys, some updates. I am now renting a minivan and will be sleeping in that. That will allow me to camp right next to the spots I wanna shoot, and have some privacy. Should be quite the adventure. My photographer friend, Kevin McNeal, from Washington is gonna drive up and meet me a few days into my trip. I'm starting to really polish up the itinerary and prioritize all the spots I wanna hit.

Here's my schedule, rough so far... And subject to change as weather and other conditions change... Lemme know what you think...

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MG1RfkOTaKtbdbSjsPPTDfZzgI6i9165cy2lXSIeIBE/edit?hl=en_US

Just so you are aware, you will not be able to just pull off the road and camp right next to the spots that you want to shoot. That is the quickest way to get an introduction to a local Park Warden or one of our famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police :lol:. Because most of what you are visiting is in a National Parks, you will only be allowed to camp in designated camp sites. In a lot of cases, these are not far from some of the sites that you may want to photograph, but don't count on it, as after Labour Day, September 5, 2011, a lot of the smaller, out of the way campsites are closed because there are just not the staff to service them all, as most of the summer staff are students who go back to school in September.

Regardless, it should be quite the adventure and a minivan is a great way to do it. It is late now, so I will try and grab a look at your schedule tomorrow.

Cheers,

WesternGuy
 
Just so you are aware, you will not be able to just pull off the road and camp right next to the spots that you want to shoot. That is the quickest way to get an introduction to a local Park Warden or one of our famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police :lol:. Because most of what you are visiting is in a National Parks, you will only be allowed to camp in designated camp sites. In a lot of cases, these are not far from some of the sites that you may want to photograph, but don't count on it, as after Labour Day, September 5, 2011, a lot of the smaller, out of the way campsites are closed because there are just not the staff to service them all, as most of the summer staff are students who go back to school in September.

thanks. yeah i figure we'll just have to play it by ear. i'm not setting up a tent, just sleeping IN the minivan. i'll be using a jetboil to cook backpacking food, or finding a restaurant to eat at when closer to the towns. i'm hoping i can find parking lots or something where it's ok to just park and sleep, but i've never been there. we'll see.
 
You may want to check out the Ebook series "How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies" - I picked up the series a couple weeks ago. It includes information on locations, including mileage and GPS data. All of the locations he covers are easily accessible by roads or highways.

How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies
 
I'll echo what WesternGuy said. You won't be able to camp/park at any of the scenic spots in the National Parks unless they have designated overnight camping, and then you'll need a site....which will likely run you $30 a night. They might even be fully booked up already, but they do leave a few extra sites open and some will have 'overflow', which would be fine if you are just sleeping in your van.

You might be able to find a few safer spots where you could crash for the night (for free)...but you may still run into the wardens or the RCMP. For example, you might be able to find a parking spot in the town of Banff (good luck though, it's really crowded)...and as long as you're not parked as to get a parking ticket, you could probably crash there for the night. Might be easier in the town of Canmore, which is about 30 minutes to the East of Banff...but outside the National Park.

You might even be able to sleep at a roadside turn off. If the authorities come by, just tell them that you were very tired and you didn't think it was safe to drive any more. One spot may be at Saskatchewan Crossing, which is on the Icefields Parkway, about halfway between Banff & Jasper. It's also about the only place to get gas & food between Banff & Jasper.

On your itinerary;
Keep in mind that Sept 5th is Labor Day and thus it's a 'long weekend'....which means that the tourists will be at a maximum. Sometimes it can be annoying to try to photograph the scenery when there are 4 tour buses full of tourists wandering around. That's why it's great when you can 'get off the beaten path'.
A good example is at Peto lake. There is a viewing platform where all the tourists go...and it has a great view, but if you hike to the left for a few minutes, there is a great/better view and probably no people.

Note that in the mountains, the 'sunrise' is usually later than it is out in the flatland. For example, if you try to shoot Lake Louise or Moraine Lake at 6:00am....there may not be any light on the mountains that you'll want to shoot. You have to wait for the sun to rise above the mountains in the east, so you can shoot the mountains to the east. And bad for you, by September, that might not be until 10:00am (just a guess). Although, you can still get great looking skies early in the morning....and there is that magical, fleeting moment when the first rays of sun hit the tops of the mountains....and you might get 'Alpine Glow'.

Late Night shot of Mt. Temple from the Lake Louise Camp Ground
IMG_5376-FR-web.jpg


But the trouble with having to wait until 10:00 for the best light, is that by then...there will probably be 20 tour buses and 300 cars up at Lake Louise.
For any of the lake shots, the water is most likely to be calm in the early morning...usually because there is less wind, but also because some places (Lake Louise and Moraine) will have tourists in canoes if the weather is nice.

I don't want to put a damper on it though...even with tons of tourists and bad weather...these are still amazing, awe inspiring sites to see. You just have to keep in mind that you won't always get a chance for that post card photo that you want.

So if the weather/clouds aren't cooperating, you could easily do Lake Louise and Moraine Lake in one morning, or you could spread it out if you want to do some hiking. There is a nice tea house (or two) up above Lake Louise.
I didn't get great light for Moraine (cloudy) but I did get lucky for t his shot when some sun broke through for a few minutes.
IMG_5514-FR-web.jpg


I think that Peto Lake is more of a mid day shot, you don't need to be there early or late...the main attraction here is the shape and color of the lake, not the light on the mountains.

The one 'for sure' early morning shot that I remember, is Patrica Lake / Pyramid Lake up by Jasper.
6109-FR-web.jpg


Also around Jasper, I'd recommend Athabasca Falls, Mt. Edith Cavell and Maligne Lake.

The falls are usually pretty crowed but it's a great site to see.
IMG_5972-FR-web.jpg


Mt. Edith Cavell is pretty close to the Jasper Townsite...well, the turn off to it is just south of it. From there, you drive up, up, up a twisty road and eventually up to the parking lot where it's a short hike up for an amazing view. Air is thin up there.

Maligne Lake is accesses via Maligne Lake Rd (spectacular drive), which is north of Jasper Townsite. You could take a boat to the far end to see Spirit Island, but I'd recommend doing the hike through Maligne Canyon...or at least part of it.

Since you really can't predict the weather, it's hard to know when & where photo opportunities will pop up. Back in 2007, we had a TPF meet up and we were driving around aimlessly because it was cloudy.
We stopped along the road to do the TPF solute
IMG_5635-FR-web.jpg


and then the clouds parted to give us this view.
IMG_5636-FR-web.jpg


Another good stop on the Parkway, closer to Banff than Jasper (I think), is Tangle Falls. It's worth a few minutes and it's right on the road so it can be a quick stop.
IMG_5692-FR-web.jpg


Things like waterfalls are great to shoot on days when the clouds won't cooperate for mountain shots. On that topic, don't let 'less than perfect' light hinder your photographic enthusiasm. If the sky looks bland, then compose shots without the sky or maybe go for more 'moody' shots.
IMG_5588-FR-web.jpg

IMG_5359-FR-web.jpg
 
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wow, thanks for the huge reply mike. yeah, now i'm worried about finding a place to stay at night. guess i'll just have to do my best :(

thanks for all the specific tips. i'll do what i can to make it work. i chose to go in september to avoid the huge crowds of july/august, as well as to maybe catch some of the trees changing colors. we'll see what i come with. i figure going there for 9 days i should at least get a few really good shots, hoping for at least one amazing shot. if people are in the way, i'll just multiple exposures and clone them out, and if the water isnt totally still, i'll do a longer exposure.

i'm guessing since a lot of these sunrise shots are later in the morning, i can camp further away, wake up and drive there. so you're saying most spots won't have good light til 10am? i can probably wake up around 6-7 and get to wherever i need to be by 8-9 or so.
 
You may want to check out the Ebook series "How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies" - I picked up the series a couple weeks ago. It includes information on locations, including mileage and GPS data. All of the locations he covers are easily accessible by roads or highways.

How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies

thanks! just bought 4 of em :)
 
i'm guessing since a lot of these sunrise shots are later in the morning, i can camp further away, wake up and drive there. so you're saying most spots won't have good light til 10am? i can probably wake up around 6-7 and get to wherever i need to be by 8-9 or so.
Each spot will be different...but I'd guess that that will probably be the case. You could probably look up the sunrise times for that location & time of year, but I still think those will be 'flat land' times and you may have to wait a bit longer when up in the mountains. But keep in mind that I'm talking about getting light on the whole face of the mountains that you're shooting. You still need to be there early to get colorful skies and Alpine Glow.

yeah, now i'm worried about finding a place to stay at night. guess i'll just have to do my best
Ya, you have to consider that if it were easy to just park and sleep, everyone would be doing it. And if everyone with a car or van was doing it, then everyone with an RV would be doing it...pretty soon the whole area would be littered with people Camping and making a mess etc.

You could probably find a few spots if you're sneaky, but I'd guess they are pretty strict about it. And if you get caught more than once, they be less lenient.

One possible idea, might be to make friends with someone who does have a camping spot. Most camp sites will have room for an RV and a vehicle or two. So since you just need room for a van, you could sneak onto a site. Maybe talk to people you meet at the touristy sights, or maybe even wander into a campground and look for friendly looking people who have room to spare. Maybe offer them $10 or $20 to share the site.
Techincally, this wouldn't be allowed. Most campgrounds say 'No visitors after 11:00pm"...so you would have to say that you're camping with the people who rented the site...and they may charge you extra for that.
Some people (maybe most) would be shy about doing that, but it would certainly be a good opportunity to meet people.
 
wow, thanks for the huge reply mike. yeah, now i'm worried about finding a place to stay at night. guess i'll just have to do my best :(

thanks for all the specific tips. i'll do what i can to make it work. i chose to go in september to avoid the huge crowds of july/august, as well as to maybe catch some of the trees changing colors. we'll see what i come with. i figure going there for 9 days i should at least get a few really good shots, hoping for at least one amazing shot. if people are in the way, i'll just multiple exposures and clone them out, and if the water isnt totally still, i'll do a longer exposure.

i'm guessing since a lot of these sunrise shots are later in the morning, i can camp further away, wake up and drive there. so you're saying most spots won't have good light til 10am? i can probably wake up around 6-7 and get to wherever i need to be by 8-9 or so.

Here is a link to a page that has all the Jasper park campsites and their opening and closing dates for this year...

Parks Canada - Jasper National Park - Where to Stay

This one is for Banff National Park...

Parks Canada - Banff National Park - Camping

Wasn't sure if you had seen these, but thought I would let you know and you would be able to plan accordingly...

Happy Camping...

WesternGuy
 
Just giving this a quick bump, would love to see how your photos turned out mate. I'm heading there in July next year and would love to snap some great photos.
 

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