The Moraine Lake boathouse, pictured here, houses the canoe rentals for Moraine Lake. It can get quite busy during the day, but during the early hours of the morning, it’s as still as the trees that surround it.
I’m standing on the rocks by the main walkway of Moraine Lake. But rather than taking the ever so familiar shot of the mountains and the lake, I turned my camera 90 degrees to capture the very familiar but not-so-often photographed, boathouse. I made a 30 second long exposure to get the reflection on the lake, and any loons blurred into oblivion as they crossed through my frame.
I always try and take photos in different ways than what others do in this situation, just to get that different viewpoint. What you don’t see in this photo are the many other photographers that came out to take photos of the sunrise. They were all around me, pointing their cameras to the mountains on the right. While I did my fair share of photos in that direction, I decided to add a few of these shots into the mix too, so that we can see how still this boathouse can be, contrasting it to how busy it will be in a matter of hours.
A little known fact about all the boat rentals in the area of Banff and Jasper National Parks, is that you likely won’t find any kayaks for rental! All rentals are for canoes only. Why? Well, they never said, but I would gather that canoes offer a more relaxing experience in these serene landscapes, and are more picturesque when thinking of the Canadian Rockies. That’s the only explanation I can come up with! If you happen to know the reason, feel free to let me know below in the comments!