They Ask Me Why I Do This (Banff National Park)

            Whether it's hiking in a wilderness or a national park, there's something to be said for the beauty and wildness of nature all around. Sometimes it's the mountain views. Other times it's an open area next to a forest, and one comes across a moose. Sometimes it's a raven soaring above on a wind current. And then there's this...an overcast morning with a misting rain in the Canadian Rockies, but the sun seems to be trying to break through the clouds above. You see a hint of a rainbow, but the desire is really just to hike up part of a mountainside seen a year prior...then you clear some nearby evergreen trees, and you behold a sight that just takes your breath away...because it's so freaking beautiful! Mountains all around and a glacial valley stretching on to the far off horizon...with a freaking rainbow going from end to end! So the question is: why do I do it? It's a little bit of knowing you can physically hike or trek through or to a location. But the real part, which others might not appreciate, is just how wondrous and beautiful the places are once you get there.

To the image itself, this was a little ways from the main overlook for Peyto Lake. There just happened to be a clearing while on a hike I was enjoying a little ways up the side of Mount Jimmy Simpson. I did the main processing for the image in Capture NX2 and then exported a TIFF image to do some final adjustment work with Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Taken in: Canada / Alberta / Alberta (show map)

Taken on: September 10, 2016

Tags:

Nikon D800E

Day 4

Icefields Parkway

Banff National Park

Peyto Lake

Lake

Looking North

Caldron Peak

Mount Patterson

Looking NNW

Silverhorn Mountain

Mount Weed

Mount Noyes

Overcast

Ausgezeichnet

Capture NX2 Edited

Color Efex Pro

Outside

Nature

Landscape

Mostly Cloudy

Rocky Mountains

Canadian Rockies

Mountains

Mountains in Distance

Mountains off in Distance

Trees

Evergreens

Hillside of Trees

Rainbow

Glacial Flour

Glacial Lake

Glacial Valley

Valley

Snowcapped

Highway 93

Walk to Peyto Lake Overlook

Mountain Valley

Traveling Icefields Parkway

Traveling the Icefields Parkway

Continental Divide

Looking to Continental Divide

Looking to Mountains of the Continental Divide

Central Main Ranges

Waputik Mountains

North Waputik Mountains

Central Front Ranges

Murchison Group

Spreading Peak

Peyto Lake Overlook

Project365

Portfolio

Canvas

Eccezionale

Alberta

Canada « less

Sets appears in: • Most Commented Images • Banff National Park more » • Canada • Ausgezeichnet • Eccezionale • Canvas • Portfolio • 365 • Nature & Landscapes « less

Groups appears in: • Beautiful Scenery & Landscapes • Water... Oceans, Lakes, Rivers, Creeks more » • Mountains • rainbow • GeoTagging Flickr • Alberta no 30/60 limit • National Parks of Canada • Lonely Planet • Landscape photography • FlickrToday (only 1 pic per day) • Canadian Rockies • Project 365 • Canada Landscapes • All things beautiful in Nature (no humans or man made objects) • Banff National Park No 30/60 limit • Nikon Capture NX Users Group • Super Shots - Post 1 - Award 2 • Sierra Club's Daily Ray of Hope • My Favorite Forest Photo ┊☛ Post 1 ↔ Award 2 ☚┊ • We travel the World • Amazing Alberta • Your Visions • The 4 Elements © • Beautiful Mother Nature • Nik Software Photo Share • ***SCREAM OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER*** • Rocky Mountains Landscape & Wildlife Photos • Wonderful World! • Natural Landscape & Wildlife Photos • Landscape Beauty ! • NATURE'S PRIME (P1/A4) • Geo-Tagging the Planet one Photo at a Time • The Nikon Capture NX Resource Group • living in harmony with nature • Breathtaking Landscapes B&W and Color • *~ Rock .. Paper - No Scissors: Moderated & Curated • Nikon D800-D850 and Nikon Z7-Z9 Users Group • GEOPARKS & GEOTOURISM Worldwide • Nikon D800/D800E CLUB • THE LOOK level 1 RED • THE LOOK level 2 YELLOW • THE LOOK level 3 ORANGE • flickr (unofficial) • PLANET EARTH MOUNTAINS • AMAZING IMPRESSIONS OF NATURE Post 1 / Award 4 • Travelling Vicariously • **Optical Excellence Level 1 ~ Admin Moderated • Only ᒪandscapes • Great Landscapes/Cityscapes Taken with NIKON CAMERAS!!!! • The New**Perfection In Pictures** ( Sweeper) • World Photographers' Photos WPP • BAT'S LAIR ( P 1 X A 3 ) SWEEPER IN OPERATION • Optical Excellence ~ The Very Best Level 2 • Grand Vistas • TRAVEL&LANDESCAPE • Creative Commons Nature • illumination focus • My time behind the lens No 30/60 limits • Forests - All types, from landscape to macro • ♥ CANADA Ⓞ CANADA ♥ pls Award | Commenter svp • TOURISM magazine • Photography with a Story • (A) MOUNTAIN VISTA • Alberta Bound (AB) • Everything & Everyone • Today's Flickr • World's Pictures • Art of Exploration • NATURE'S KALEIDOSCOPE P1 X A1 • Land Of Landscapes Magazine • Natur und Tierfotos • All Free Pictures (Creative Commons and Public Domain) • Geolocations - Geotagged photographs • A NATIONAL PARK • Mountains and Forests of the U.S. and Canada • ALBERTA CANADA DREAMS. • Canada 156 years celebration « less

Camera: Nikon D800E, f/5.6, 1/640 sec, 40mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D800E
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/640)
Focal Length:	40mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Landscape
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Capture NX 2.4.7 M
Show full info

Stats: 9,439 views / 161 comments