Moonlight on Elizabeth Lake in Glacier National Park

photo of the week for Sunday, 2007, October 21
Photographer: Matt Carey

I love photos that show a slightly different perspective on the parks than we might traditionally see. I think this one from Glacier National Park is one those shots. Taken with a slow shutter with a bright moon, the effect is quite strange. There is so much light in the shot - from the moon, reflected in the clouds, and bouncing off the lake - my mind almost wants to believe this shot was taken in the daytime and then color adjusted in PhotoShop. But it's not. The faint stars are the tell-tale sign that it's at night, plus Matt has provided a pretty great setup of the photo -

This night time picture was taken at the foot of Elizabeth Lake on September 24 of this year. It was a full moon on that evening with a clear sky so I tried messing around with some slow shutter speed pics. No flash, 15 second shutter speed, 2.7 aperture value, 6 mm focal length. We had hiked down from the mountains in the background earlier that day. That picture was taken at midnight.

I'm always on the lookout for great photos of our National Parks to display for our 'Photo of the Week' feature. If you've got an exceptional shot, or you have seen one on the web that can't be missed, please drop me a line. The easiest way to get in contact with me is through the 'Contact Us' link on the navigation menu.

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