File#: 1913164 Nikon D5, 24-70mm f/2.8, f/8.0, 1/250sec, ISO 400 __________ One of my favorite roads in Jasper National Park, is the road to Maligne Lake. I love it because the scenery is beautiful in so many ways. There are towering mountains, sharp ridges, wonderful lakes, flowing rivers, and endless forests. It has so many things to offer. I just captured this image a little while ago. It was made during my first visit in ten years to the road to Maligne Lake. I planned this trip to be mostly about wildlife in winter landscapes. Except for a few fleeting glimpses of large mammals, I haven't hardly pointed a camera at anything that moves. Instead of shooting mammals, this whole trip has been about abstract landscape studies. The weather has been warm, much warmer than normal. While not necessarily bad, it's not normal for this time of the year. Part of what comes with warm weather is clouds, which I've seen a lot on this trip. In this case, it's been a steady, day-long, snow squall. Instead of bemoaning the photography gods for lack of awesome light, I've tried to captures the abstract essence of the terrain as much as I could. In this case, it's mostly dry Medicine Lake the skirts the road to Maligne Lake. This lake empties during the winter and only leaves the vestiges of the Maligne River, which is what you see in the foreground. This is a seven image pano that was stitched in PT Gui and finished in Photoshop. Except for a few tone adjustments, I didn't modify anything. The view was very black-n-white because of the light falling snow. That you can see the snow underlying the trees on the opposite hill, is because the trees are leftovers from a huge forest fire from a few years ago. With the snow, overcast sky, and burned forest, this image is a truly study in black-n-white without any de-coloring conversion. Cheers Tom
