The Prettiest

There’s so much to love about Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It could be the massive mountains, or the beautiful lakes, or the hundreds of glaciers that dot the horizon. Perhaps it’s the trees, the streams, the color of the water ... or even the delicious food and drink in downtown Banff. For me, though, it’s the lakes, with their turquoise blue water in front of the most stunning mountain backdrops. Moraine Lake instantly became my favorite of the easy-to-get-to lakes. The Canadian rockies have hundreds of lakes like this, but none as “easy” to get to as driving right here. In the winter you have to snowshoe or ski 7 miles in, but in the summer the only battle is finding parking and elbowing other tourists out of the way. Sammi and I drove straight here, hoping to catch the scene before the sun cast shadows into the scene. We were a smidge too late, but the paddle boarders were out and added a nice little element to this otherwise serene scene! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 14mm, f/11, 1/50 sec, ISO 100

Soaring to Resplendent Gold

There's quite a bit of backstory to this photo. I was in Montana to see the total solar eclipse when Andy mentioned to me that he was going to Albuquerque in October to see the Hot Air Balloon Festival. Sammi and I had wanted to go so I immediately hopped on and booked flights to join them. Unfortunately, Delta had other plans for us. A dent in our plane delayed us just long enough to miss our connection and we spent the night and morning in Salt Lake City, missing Saturday's balloon launch. After some more delays we finally arrived to a windy New Mexico. The balloons launched every single morning of the festival, except for the one day we were there! 😡 I think Sammi's dad must have felt bad for us because he treated us to an amazing present for Christmas: a Hot Air Balloon ride in Napa Valley! It was months away but we booked a hotel so we could make a wine weekend of it and we'd been super excited. As the weekend approached, the weather couldn't have been more perfect: no wind, clear skies, and warm 80°F temperatures! We woke up early (like 5am), met the balloon company, ate a light breakfast, and then hopped in our balloon. It was amazing how it just kinda floated off into the air before we knew it. Up and up and up we went. Balloons launched all around us. One even dipped into a river just to have a little fun with their passengers. About 20 minutes into our hour long flight the sun started to peak over the hills, lighting up a small layer of fog that had begun to form. Another balloon moved into the scene just as the fog and light all hit together. Luckily I had brought my camera with me and I knew I just had to capture the brilliant light and scene I was seeing. Nikon D850 w/24-70mm f/2.8: 70mm, f/10, 1/500 sec, ISO 500