Banff River

Banff River                                     Banff, AB, Canada.  2009

Banff River.  The water in this river was amazing.  Kayakers and rafters seemed to have an amazing time on this river; we just didn't get time.

Sulfur Mountain Vistas

Banff from Sulfur Mountain                                                            Banff, AB, Canada. 2009

Feeling overly enthusiastic & energetic one day while travelling with one of my best mates, we hiked Sulfur Mountain at Banff.  It's a trail of switchbacks that regularly pass under the gondola that most (normal) people take up the mountain.  The sign at the bottom warns hikers that this hike takes between 2 and 5 hours depending on conditions.  We hiked for about 3 hours and finally reached the sumit (2451m), of which we'd climbed over 600m, and some amazing vistas.  The gondola ride down was a well deserved rest.

I took this shot from the top, overlooking the Fairmont hotel (Banff), Banff golf club and Banff river.  On a clear day you can see over 145km from the sumit.  The temperature drops by 3degrees with every 1000 foot rise in elevation.

Sulfur Mountain Gondola.  2009

Othello Tunnels

Othello Tunnels path                     Coquihalla Canyon, AB, Canada, 2009

Othello Tunnels are converted train tunnels running through mountains and winding along the pristine river.  The tunnels were a part of a line connecting Kootenay with the British Columbian coast.  The line was built across three mountain ranges.  The Coquihalla Gorge river was at the bottom of 300 feet of solid granite.  The engineer, Andrew McCullough, a straight line of tunnels crossing this gorge and named stations after Shakspearean characters as he was an avid reader of Shakespearean literature.

Fading Bloom

Fading Bloom                                                                       Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2009

Spring was a nice time to live in Canada.  Flowers blooming, long sunny days and relativelty clear weather.  I started to take more interest in photography around this time, and started to notice the little things in life.

Photography makes you stop and appreciate, and to me it makes you see things from a different perspective.

Kickinghorse River

Kickinghorse River                                                         Yoho National Park, AB, Canada, 2009 

This is the mighty Kickinghorse River in Yoho National Park (I think).  It's clarity and colour is amazing, the blue is entirely natural, created from suspended particles from glacial flow.  This region is surrounded by enormous peaks, roads cutting through them to form a path for tourists and Canadians alike.

Clarity

Clarity                                                                 Johnson Canyon, Banff, AB, Canada, 2009

Johnson Canyon was one spectacular place.  It was rainforesty, there was a stream running the entire length of the wooden boardwalk.  The boardwalk was at times 20m above the ground level, bolted precariously to the edge of a cliff, sometimes under a shelf so you had to duck as you passed.  It is somewhere that could not be properly explored in the time we spent there, I would say it would be an all day job, at the least.

Twilight in Vancouver

Twilight in Vancouver                                                                Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2009

Twilight in Vancouver was a magical time.  Whether you were walking through the city, strolling along False Creek, or taking a run over one of the many bridges in the Downtown area; it was magical.  Lights everywhere, making everything twinkle.

Burrard bridge was one of those things/places for me that sort of tied everything together.  After I got off work I would walk my sister to hers then run back after a coffee.  Burrard bridge was how you got to Granville Island.  Burrard Bridge was extremely photographic.