Herbert Lake Canada

Herbert Lake in Banff National Park Alberta. It’s a small, unassuming pond along the Icefields Parkway, but one that can be magic at sunrise with the right conditions. This is where I should have been photographing in July 2021. But since the border with Canada is still closed, here is one from July 2015 instead. It was raining when I arrived here 45 minutes before sunrise, but the Photo Gods decided to smile upon me that morning…

There was too much wind for a good reflection, so I decided to include only enough of the lake to define the shoreline.

My wife and I were staying at the Deer Lodge adjacent to the Chateau Lake Louise. My wife decided to sleep in on this morning, and did not join me as I ventured out onto the Icefields Parkway. But when I returned back to the lodge for breakfast, my wife had cell phone shots of this same rainbow over Lake Louise, with the rainbow coming right down to the Victoria Glacier at the back of the lake. A win / win morning for us.

Specific Feedback Requested

any critique or comments are welcome

Technical Details

Is this a composite: Yes
Manual exposure blend of brackets for dynamic range, using TK Luminosity Masks.

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Wow… spectacular image Ed. I am wondering how many different exposures it took to make this HDR. I have started to experiment with this.

Wow, there’s so much going on in this image! The clouds parting, the rainbow, the sun shining on part of the mountains! And then the still lines of pines and quiet lake. It must have been an amazing experience to be there. You really captured all this action and stillness so well!

I really like this image Ed. Although you did not get a calm reflection on the lake I like how the reflected light adds interest to the bottom of the frame. Of course the real show is the light on the peaks and the sky. This is beautiful!

Real pretty scene. A lot of dynamic elements that come together quite well.

I love the drama and storm light you captured here Ed.

Ed, what a great moment in time and working together with your wife.I love the image and especially those colors !

@Mario_Cornacchione @Harley_Goldman @Vanessa_Hill @Brian_Schrayer @Ben_van_der_Sande @Eva_McDermott

Thank you all for your comments and thoughts. Moments like these are pretty rare, I was very fortunate to be there that morning. As we move into July 2021 I got a little wistful about a trip that will not happen this year thanks to Covid, and posting this image from years past cheered me up a bit.

Mario, this was a 3 image bracket manually blended for exposure, using TK luminosity masks. One for the sky, one for the mountain, and one for the trees/lake in shadow. There is a steep learning curve to doing it manually with luminosity masks. An easier introduction to blending is Lightroom HDR merge. It gives you 80% of the benefit of manual blends for less than 20% of the effort. For lots of folks thats’ good enough. If you are fussy and want lots of control over blends then go manual, but you need to invest significantly more time and effort into it.

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Ok many thanks for the information Ed. Ill go with LR HDR for now.

Very nice image. I like the layers of elements and the way the rainbow keeps the eye focused in the center of the frame.

This is lovely Ed.
Love the composition and the beautiful light you get there.
(I am always very jealous every time I see a grand landscape like this so clean)

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