Nightscapes

Celestial Cinema

Oh man it was cold. It was also amazing, and kinda scary. Those are the first thoughts that come to mind when I see this image.

It was winter of 2016 and we were in Northern Canada. I had taken my wife here for our "baby moon" before Nico was born. My wife was about 7 months pregnant and she was game to explore these frigid landscapes right alongside me.

For this one, we had hiked through an old trail that probably gets some traffic in the summer and spring months, but absolutely none during the winter. In fact, there probably wasn't another person for 50 miles in all directions from where we were at this spot.

Anyway, we followed this trail for a couple miles until we found this frozen waterfall. I knew we had to get to it as I saw this tiny cave formed by icicles from the water and could tell it was worth risking my safety for in order to get this shot.

Of course, I forbade my wife from joining me as I gently stepped onto a frozen river and slowly made my way towards the mountain housing the waterfall. As I climbed up the slippery slope I began to realize how dangerous this was. It was a good thing I had crampons on my boots to get over the ice!

As I crawled into this cave, which was only about 3' tall and about the same in depth, I knew it was going to be a difficult shot. But I also knew it was lent itself to being such an incredible landscape photograph that it was worth the effort.

I setup my Gitzo tripod and attached my Nikon D800e camera with Nikkor 14mm lens. I fired off a few shots and then waited. Eventually night set in, and as it started getting dark the Milky Way came into view in just the most perfect spot!

It was a long walk back in the dark and with the sounds only of our own thoughts (bears, mountain lions, etc ) but finally we made it back to our rental truck and headed back to the cabin we were renting.

Thankfully, the judges at the International Photographic Competition were as impressed with the shot as I was and this took home honors from the prestigious competition!

2016Canadanightscapessnowaward winnerAlberta

From Winter