Into the Mountains – My First Visit to the Canadian Rockies

Take a piece of the Rockies home - view prints here

Mountains have long inspired a deep sense of awe in me. The scale and expanse of these massive structures is difficult to comprehend – and despite the many roads and trails we've carved through them, they remain largely unexplored and well beyond our control. Since I got into landscape photography, my fascination has only grown. Photographing mountains is rarely straightforward – the best viewpoints can prove challenging to reach, the weather is unpredictable, and the mood of a scene can change in minutes. Yet that dynamic and uncertainty is part of the appeal. The adventure of seeking out some of these extraordinary places – returning again and again, testing patience, skill, and a bit of luck in hopes of capturing fleeting light in a dramatic landscape – is what makes these places so compelling to photograph and share.

Shortly after my twenty-seventh birthday, I decided it was finally time to get out and experience one of the most iconic mountain ranges in the world – the Rocky Mountains. This decision came with the realization that I had spent most of my life living surprisingly close to this Canadian gem (just a four-hour flight away) without ever setting foot there.

Preparing for my first solo trip, I felt an equal mix of excitement and nerves. Reactions from family and friends ranged from enthusiastic encouragement to thinly veiled concern, often capped with the obligatory “don’t get eaten by a bear.” Despite the mixed emotions, I felt confident I wouldn’t regret going. Within days, my list of potential locations grew to several pages, with thousands of kilometres of driving mapped out. It quickly became overwhelming, so I narrowed my focus to a handful of key areas. This meant avoiding late nights sleeping in the car in the middle of nowhere and more opportunities to revisit locations, allowing me to slow down, soak in the landscape, and experiment with different light, compositions, and perspectives. This more meaningful approach would allow me to really experience and capture the beauty of the Canadian Rockies.

With international travel still restricted at the time, tourist numbers were noticeably lower, making it an ideal moment to explore closer to home. After weeks of research and days of preparation, I boarded an early Sunday morning flight. The airport was quieter than it had been before the pandemic. There was a shared sense of anticipation in the air – perhaps mixed with anxiety – as many of us were travelling for the first time in nearly two years.

Following a bumpy descent into a gloomy Calgary morning, I picked up the car and headed west without delay. The first stretch of highway felt familiar enough – I was still in Canada, after all. But after a quick McDonald’s stop – too eager to waste time on a proper meal – and a few winding turns along the Trans-Canada Highway, everything changed. The landscape around me transformed completely, and I found myself in an environment unlike anything I had experienced before. This part of the continent was wild, dramatic, and instantly captivating. I had arrived in the Canadian Rockies.

Years later, I’m still returning to these mountains, drawn back by the same sense of scale and wonder I felt on that first visit. You can see how my relationship with the Rockies has evolved – and view a curated collection of my best images – in my Iconic Canadian Rockies post.

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