East Range of the Rocky Mountains

Photograph

The Rocky Mountains consist of many ranges that span from the Yukon to the middle of the U.S. The many mountains are not made of the same materials. This scene, north of the Lake Louis area, shows very tall mountains of quartzite. This material is harder than steel, it is a sediment of containing small quartz crystals.It weathers very well, but shatters and crumbles under stress. It makes for tall, very steep mountains.

The scale of this picture is deceiving, it was made with a 20mm lens onto 35mm film. It is a much wider angle of view than most people are familiar with. The left side of the picture is south, the left side is a little bit north of west. The variation of the sky is a clue that a very wide lens was used. This lens also has a huge depth of field, so that everything here is sharp. The aperture and shutter were not recorded, however Fuji Velvia was used.