PHOTOGRAPHER'S PERSPECTIVE ON LOCATION SERIES: ALBERTA
INDEX
ELK
ISLAND NATIONAL PARK, FORT SASKATCHEWAN
JASPER NATIONAL PARK, JASPER
ELK
ISLAND NATIONAL PARK
FORT SASKATCHEWAN, ALBERTA
Text and image copyright Paul Skoczylas, all rights reserved
ACCESS
The park is accessible every day of the year. There is a park entry fee
(currently $5 CDN for one adult, or $12.50 CDN for a group), although
the National Park Pass, which gives access to 27 parks across Canada,
is also accepted. All visitors should be aware that feeding, approaching,
or even calling wildlife is illegal in all of Canada’s National
Parks.
AREA
LAYOUT
Elk Island National Park is located less than an hour’s drive east
of central Edmonton, Alberta on Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway). The highway
bisects the park; most of the park’s facilities and trails are in
the part north of the highway. A road runs through the northern section,
from Hwy 16 to the town of Lamont, just north of the park. The park’s
facilities and trails are accessible from this road. South of Hwy 16 is
a parking area, just off the highway, and one longer trail. There is a
public campground located near Astotin Lake, and a group campground (by
reservation only) near Tawayik Lake.
Elk Island is not a traditional island surrounded by water. Rather, it is an island of forest and wilderness surrounded by farmland and prairie.
WHAT
YOU’LL FIND
Landscape photography opportunities abound in the park year-round. There
are numerous lakes and ponds within the park, the largest of which are
Astotin Lake and Tawayik Lake. Waterfowl can be seen and photographed
on any of these throughout most of the spring, summer, and fall. Over
200 species of birds can be seen within the park. In the winter, however,
few bird species are resident.
Larger mammals visible within the park are bison (wood bison south of Hwy 16, and plains bison north of the highway), moose, elk, deer, beaver, porcupines and coyotes. The bison are ubiquitous and virtually all visitors to the park will see them, even if only along Hwy 16. Moose are quite commonly seen, most easily in the evening hours, when they are most active, and in the winter, when visitors can see further into the forests. The elk in the park are quite numerous, but are less commonly seen than moose and bison. They also tend to be much more wary of humans, and will often bolt on sight of humans. (This behaviour is very different from that of their cousins to the west in Jasper.) Deer in the park are also nervous of humans and will prove more difficult to photograph.
The
bison, elk, and moose are confined in the park by a 2.2 meter fence encircling
the entire park boundary. Bison and elk are managed by the park staff,
and numbers are occasionally sold off to control the population, as there
are no large predators, such as wolves or bears, in the park. The moose
population is controlled mainly by disease. Deer are able to leap the
fence and so can come and go.
Beavers are easily seen summer evenings in the ponds near the Astotin Lake parking lots. While a visitor might see a porcupine at any time of the year, they are most easily seen in winter, when they typically stay high in the trees, and may not move from a small area for months on end. Coyotes are only seen occasionally in meadows, along the roadside, or crossing a frozen pond in winter.
LIGHT
Since there are so many different areas to photograph in the park, it’s
possible to take advantage of light from any direction. Sunset pictures
can be taken from the Astotin Lake parking lots with the sun over the
lake and its islands. Red-Necked Grebes nested in the summer of 2003 near
the Living Waters Boardwalk at Astotin Lake. These nests were best photographed
in the late afternoon, when the sun was at the photographer’s back.
MORE
INFORMATION
The Parks Canada official website for Elk Island National Park is http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/elkisland/index_E.asp.
Paul Skoczylas has resided in Edmonton since 1991 and visits Elk Island, and as many of western Canada’s other National Parks, as often as possible. Many of the shots on his website at http://www3.telus.net/avrsvr/ were taken in these parks.
JASPER NATIONAL PARK
JASPER, ALBERTA
Text and image copyright Paul Skoczylas, all rights reserved
ACCESS
The park is accessible every day of the year. There is a park entry fee
(currently $7 CDN per day for one adult, or $14 CDN for a group), The
National Park Pass, which gives access to 27 parks across Canada, is also
accepted. All visitors should be aware that feeding, approaching, or even
calling wildlife is illegal in all of Canada’s National Parks.
Only one major highway passes through the park; this is Hwy 16, the Yellowhead Highway. The Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93) joins Hwy 16 at the Jasper town site and heads southeast to Lake Louise in Banff National Park. Access to the park is normally either from Edmonton on the east (about three hours from the city to the park gate or four hours to the Jasper) or Calgary on the southeast. While it is theoretically possible to make it from Calgary to Jasper in a bit over four hours, this is normally not done in practice—there are too many reasons to stop on the Icefields Parkway. From Vancouver on the southwest, it is an eight- to twelve- hour drive (depending on various factors) up Hwy 5 to Hwy 16.
AREA
LAYOUT
Jasper is the fifth largest of Canada’s national parks. It sits
aside the eastern edge of the Continental Divide bordering Banff National
Park on the south (at the divide between the Athabasca and North Saskatchewan
watersheds) and Alberta’s Willmore Wilderness Provincial Park in
the north. Two British Columbia provincial parks (Mount Robson and Hamber)
abut Jasper on the west side. A significant point is located on the southern
border of Jasper: from the summit of the Columbia Icefield, water drains
into three oceans. The waters of the Athabasca flow north into the Arctic
Ocean, the waters of the North Saskatchewan flow east into the Atlantic
Ocean via Hudson Bay, and the waters of the Columbia flow west into the
Pacific Ocean. The Icefields Centre is a major tourist attraction located
on the Parkway at the foot of the Athabasca Glacier.
The town of Jasper is the center of activity in the park. Hwys 16 and 93 meet here; the vast majority of the accommodations and services in the park are located here. Hwy 93A parallels Hwy 93 from just south of Jasper about 20 km south to Athabasca Falls.
The Maligne Lake Road starts near the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (formerly a Canadian Pacific Railway hotel) and heads up the Maligne valley past Medicine Lake to Maligne Lake.
The road to Mount Edith Cavell (open June-November, depending on weather conditions) leaves Hwy 93A and heads up the Astoria valley to the base of the mountain. Angel Glacier is a scenic view from either a short trail to the lake at its base, or a longer hike up to the alpine Cavell Meadows (open only in mid- to late summer).
WHAT
YOU’LL FIND
Photographers will be able to find opportunities to capture scenic landscapes,
wildlife, and human activity all over the park.
Bighorn sheep are known to frequent several locations along Hwy 16, and also can be seen on the Icefields Parkway. A midsummer hike to Wilcox Pass in the southern part of the park will likely find a herd of rams. Nearer Jasper, an evening or early morning hike up Old Fort Point may also yield bighorn encounters. Moose are most likely found along the Maligne Lake Road or Hwy 93A (the southern, flatter, part). Black bears can be seen in many places in the summer months, but are most likely seen along Hwy 93A. (Grizzly bears outnumber the black bears in Jasper, but are very rarely seen from the park’s roads, preferring to stay in the high country.) Elk can be found anywhere, but most often on Hwy 16 for a short distance east ofJasper, or Hwy 93 just south of the town. White-tailed deer are most likely seen near the east park gate, while mule deer are most often seen on the Maligne Lake Road. Assorted waterfowl can be found on just about any body of water in the park, though not in vast numbers. Ravens and magpies are ubiquitous, as are the campsite-robbing grey jays and Clark’s nutcrackers. Some visitors may see bald eagles or ospreys.
Commonly photographed scenic locations include Pyramid Mountain (just behindJasper), Angel Glacier and Mount Edith Cavell, Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, Medicine Lake, and Spirit Island (accessed only by boat on Maligne Lake). On a clear day, a trip up the gondola to The Whistlers with its fine view of much of Jasper National Park is very much worthwhile. If possible, catch the first ride up in the morning to maximize the possibility of seeing birds and wildlife at the summit.
Human activity, including hiking, kayaking and rock climbing (ice climbing in winter) can be photographed anywhere in the park where there are people. Rock climbers frequent an area just down from Maligne Canyon (specific directions can be found at some of the outdoor supply stores in town) and Ice Climbers like areas actually in Maligne Canyon, and also at Tangle Creek just north of the Icefields Centre. Hikers can be found everywhere in the park. Whitewater kayakers may be found on various rivers in the park, but you are not likely to find them by chance—you may be able to make arrangements with staff at one of the rafting companies to meet some.
LIGHT
The park is huge, and whatever the light may be, you will likely be able
to make use of it somewhere. If warm morning light is expected, the shores
of Pyramid Lake (or Patricia Lake) are a good place to photograph Pyramid
Mountain. Angel Glacier and nearby Cavell Lake are also well photographed
in sunrise light, as are various scenes around Medicine Lake. Medicine
Lake also offers evening light opportunities.
MORE
INFORMATION
The Parks Canada official website for Jasper National Park is: http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/index_E.asp.
Paul Skoczylas has resided in Edmonton since 1991. He visits Jasper and as many of western Canada’s other national parks as often as possible. Many of the shots on his website at http://www3.telus.net/avrsvr/ were taken in these parks.
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