Banff at Night

From the photographer: “My first time shooting the northern hemisphere Milky Way, from the Rocky Mountains in Canada (51 degrees north). On a trip to Canada last year, I was hoping to capture the northern skies at least once. So when I saw the forecast clearing into the evening, I knew I had to head out somewhere dark and try my luck. I was staying the night in Banff, so I decided to drive out to the nearby Lake Minnewanka to catch the Milky Way, although the lake was still completely frozen over/snowed in.

I walked out as far onto the lake as I felt was safe, and set up my camera, capturing this panorama taken at 14mm on a Canon 6D. Right after I finished up, I began hearing twigs snapping in the trees behind me. Being from New Zealand, wildlife is not something I spend any time thinking about while out shooting at night, but in Canada that was not the case at all. I decided to pack my things and get out of there before I found out what was hiding in the woods, taking just this sole panorama for the night.”