January 4th, 2019 brought a huge snowfall to Banff National Park. The 80+ cm (31.5 inches) of fresh snow made travel impossible on the mountain roads and in fact, the famous Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93) was closed for several days. At the first notice of the reopening of the Icefields Parkway, I headed for Banff National Park, knowing full well that the huge snowfall would present some wonderful photo opportunities.

My first stop was just before sunrise near the spot where the Trans-Canada Highway meets Hwy 93 South, about half-way between the townsites of Banff and Lake Louise. The intersection is known as Castle Junction, that is so named for the nearby iconic Castle Mountain.

The Bow River cuts in front of the mountain base and creates great views of the multiple peaks of Castle Mountain. As I knew I wanted to create a high-resolution VAST photo and knowing that such an undertaking would require considerable time, I set up all my special equipment and started photographing the foreground well before the sun reached the horizon. By the time the sun was kissing the peaks of Castle Mountain, I was ready to capture those parts of the image. But before I was done, I quickly returned to the foreground and re-photographed the reflection pool now that it presented the wonderfully illuminated grandeur of Castle Mountain.

This image presented considerable technical challenges that tested my skill set like never before. As most of the foreground was very close to my telephoto lens, special techniques were used to ensure everything in the photo is in focus and tack sharp. This image was created by combining over 980 individual images, all of which were captured for the sole purpose of high-resolution with incredible depth of focus. I encourage you to explore the image and see for yourself the vast amount of detail that can be found within.

Scott is an award-winning photographer, world-renowned teacher of specialty imaging techniques, and computer scientist. His images have appeared in magazines and books around the world and his fine art prints adorn the walls of homes and businesses alike. In 2015, Scott received the prestigious international award of “Panoramic Photographer of the Year” by Kolor for his pioneering work in the field of high-resolution image-making.

Living next to the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Banff National Park, Scott spent many years focusing his photography purely on their natural beauty.