Smoke in the Valley

It all started with a lightning strike. That is how the Kenow wildfire in Southeastern British Columbia came to be and that is how my need to get down to Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, Canada) became more urgent. I have a list of locations that I think will be particularly well suited as subjects for an ultra-high-resolution photo and of course, the decision is always where to go next.

Photographing all the images needed to assemble an ultra-high-resolution photo is a time-consuming task that can take hours to shoot. There is always the high risk of sudden changes in the light falling on the scene that can completely ruin any possibility of producing an acceptable final image. Smoke is one element that can reduce the risk of such changes in lighting. So with the many wildfires burning in British Columbia, all of southern Alberta was covered with thick smoke for days and weeks at a time. It was these conditions that convinced me that now was the time to get down to Waterton National Park and create the ultra-high-resolution photo I had in my mind’s eye.

This image was actually produced on my second attempt. The day before, I had risen early and arrived on location well before sunrise to set up the special equipment I needed and to start the process. But about an hour into shooting, the wind came up and destroyed any possibility of pulling off a successful image. With a 500mm lens and relatively long exposure times, even a light breeze is enough to cause camera shake that ruins the shot. As the wind was blowing directly into the camera, windshields were not an option and I had to pack it in.

The next morning, I repeated the process and had much better luck with there being very little wind. The valley was full of smoke and it looked very promising. As I started shooting in the faint light before sunrise, my first subject was the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel while it still had its lights on. I knew that they would be off by the time I finished shooting hours later. I then captured images of the lake and foreground leaving the mountains and sky to the end, with the hope that some early morning sunlight from the east would provide some color. In the end, it all worked out well and I’m very happy with this exceptionally ultra-high-resolution photo.

As I was taking in all this beauty at Waterton and creating this photograph, I never dreamt that it was in any way at risk. The Kenow fire in particular had shown no signs of moving east up the Akamina Valley and risking Waterton and I really had no understanding of how unpredictable and uncontrollable such fires can be. But that all changed because, sadly, in just a few days, the entire western slopes along the lake were ravaged by wildfire. Fire departments did an exceptional job protecting the town site and the Prince of Wales Hotel but when it was all said and done, after destroying over 38,100 hectares, the fire was not considered under control until early October.

It may take almost a century before the area returns to its pre-fire condition, so I’m immensely thankful I was able to capture this high-resolution image of Waterton Lakes National Park in all its splendour when I did.