Cloud reflections create feather canyons on Rocky Mountaineer train

We took a Rocky Mountaineer trip eastbound from Vancouver to Banff via Kamloops, called the “First Passage to the West.” Then we drove up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, where we returned on the journey called “Rainforest to Gold Rush” from Jasper via Quesnel and Whistler back to Vancouver. Along the way, you are awed by spectacular mountain peaks, expansive forests in multiple tones of green, and wildlife splashing in creeks beside the train. All spectacular. All making quite the “oooooo-worthy” photo.
The subject: We had boarded the train in Quesnel, a rather small and quaint homespun town smack in the central interior of British Columbia. We traveled westward toward Whistler – making a real contrast to small-town Quesnel with its trendy cafes, perfectly coiffed streetscapes and ski and mountain bike bums loitering over an espresso. And it is those kinds of contrasts you get to submerge yourself in for a day or more during a Rocky Mountaineer trip that also makes the journey so enjoyable.
The inspiration: Sometimes after ooo’ing and aaaahh’ing at majestic peaks you find yourself looking down, up, and sideways at the stuff in between. Not that you get bored with splendid sweeping scenery, but sometimes the bigness of it all makes you look for something smaller. We were getting closer to our destination for the evening in Whistler and passing glorious high-mountain lakes. But instead of shooting up and out at the mountains, I decided to shoot down at the unimaginably beautiful cloud reflections in the water, thus creating my own “feather canyons” as Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” song calls clouds.
Artist’s tools: My Nikon D90 served me well for many an adventure (I shoot a Sony mirrorless now), as did the 18-105mm lens f/3.5-5.6, both of which I got when I returned to photography after about 25 years! The range of this zoom was frankly perfect for the trip, allowing me to move quickly from landscapes to closer creeks and wildlife. The Rocky Mountaineer train moves too quickly to fiddle with changing lens or to juggle multiple cameras! And the train’s constant movement also makes photography quite the challenge. It was late afternoon in Western Canada on a late summer evening, far enough north to still have enough light to shoot these cloud reflections. I was set at 1/1250th of a second (to compensate for the train’s movement at f/5 (to grab a little extra light) with a focal length of 58mm. I also try to avoid over-processing so this has only the simplest of touches, as well as a little cropping. This was taken in August 2014.
Our Most Recent Travel Stories
What do you do with lots of lemons? Make super zesty French Lemon Cake!
If you are swimming in lemons during harvest, the question arises: What to do with so many lemons? What I call my “French Lemon Cake” comes to the rescue. I enjoyed this cake in France, but had to develop the recipe myself, of course using lots of juice and lemon zest.
Grass Valley travel bloggers win multiple gold medals for photojournalism
For the fifth consecutive year, the HI Travel Tales team of Michael Hodgson and Therese Iknoian earned top honors for their photography and photojournalism skills, taking home four gold medals and one bronze in the 31st annual NATJA awards competition.
My tips to keep your hands warm during cold weather photography
Photography is my passion. But I also have something called Reynaud’s that makes me more susceptible to the cold, especially my hands. So I had to come up with ways to keep my hands warm for cold weather photography. Here are my DIY tips to keep shooting and staying warm, too.
What do you do with lots of lemons? Make super zesty French Lemon Cake!
If you are swimming in lemons during harvest, the question arises: What to do with so many lemons? What I call my “French Lemon Cake” comes to the rescue. I enjoyed this cake in France, but had to develop the recipe myself, of course using lots of juice and lemon zest.
Grass Valley travel bloggers win multiple gold medals for photojournalism
For the fifth consecutive year, the HI Travel Tales team of Michael Hodgson and Therese Iknoian earned top honors for their photography and photojournalism skills, taking home four gold medals and one bronze in the 31st annual NATJA awards competition.
My tips to keep your hands warm during cold weather photography
Photography is my passion. But I also have something called Reynaud’s that makes me more susceptible to the cold, especially my hands. So I had to come up with ways to keep my hands warm for cold weather photography. Here are my DIY tips to keep shooting and staying warm, too.

As an affiliate for Get Your Guide, Amazon.com, iVisa, Global Rescue, Think Tank, 5.11, Kuhl, Adorama, and others, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you should you choose to purchase through the links in our posts. It is essential to mention that we only endorse products we believe in and personally use. Your support for HI Travel Tales through these purchases allows us to maintain a sustainable platform for creating valuable and relevant content for you.