Island Lake Abstract

Since I'm posting primarily my.....alternative pictures over here lately I thought I'd include this weird one and see if it works for anyone. What the heck is this you ask? Good question. Well, I was standing on the top of an 8000 foot ridge adjacent to Glacier National Park's Mount Meritt. I was roughly 20 miles from the trailhead and 6 miles off trail. I had been completely alone for days and was busy taking in one of the most dramatic landscapes I had ever seen. At the edge of the ridge, overlooking a valley nestled three thousand feet below and lined by sheer vertical cliffs on either side, lies a series of chain lakes fed by glacier water. When sunlight hits the silty glacier water, it turns a very unusual shade of vibrant turquoise. By carefully moving myself in position to look over the cliff edge, I captured this image with a long lens which features an island in a lake of glacial water with a pond inside the island holding fresh water (hence the huge color difference). I wish I had time to have captured the grandeur surrounding this deep glacial valley, but the light was never right and I was camped far below.

Thanks for looking. Sorry, long story. I wish there had been a Moose standing in that water.

5D, 70-200 at 200mm, 1/200 at F/4.

I totally dig this one - can't comment on the technicals but just the vibrant colors and the aerial perspective keep me asking for more. A very nice shot Marc.

Maec,

Moose? HOW ABOUT A TIGER! I am totally not into golf, nor do I claim to know a lot about it but I think Tiger Woods would nail a put on this green in 2!!

All kidding aside, this looks like it could have been shot in Hawaii, ( green water etc). I can only imagine your amazement in discovering this scene amidst the area you were in. Again you have captured something in Glacier that I've never seen


JG

PS Good luck on your ventures this weekend & beyond.

I think this is really unique. The color and lighting and differences in water would fit perfectly into a large scale book on Montana. Not something you see everyday and it's really unique. Totally dig it.

Looks like an aerial and, in a sense, I guess it was. The color of the fall foliage mixed in with the blues and greens is a nice touch. I'ld lose the black area in the LR.

Very very cool. Margaret Lake is one of the prettiest, imho, in the backcountry. Great scenery around that area - the falls coming out of the lake are one of the more impressive in the park. How's that climb from Paiota Falls up to the summit of Pyramid (I'm guessing that was your route)? I'd be curious to see Sue Lake myself. Gonna try to get into those parts in a couple years.

I'm loving this Marc!

Bryan, I see you're very familiar with the area. The hike up to Sue Lake was dense brush down low, followed by sub-alpine forest and huckleberries. The avy paths were tough going. The hardest parts were overcoming near-vertical cliff bands below and above the lake, which took some backtracking and route scouting at times. Sue lake is gorgeous, right at timberline and sparkling blue. There were grizzly diggings absolutely everywhere!

Wow! This is very weird!

Marc, yeah, I know a little of the area. Its hard to get a grasp on the terrain just from looking at maps though, thanks to those dang 80 foot contours. Good to know its at least possible.

Very neat shot Marc. I envy your freedom to discover gems like this in the deep backcountry!! Thanks for sharing a different view of Glacier.

I'm really diggin this one. It almost looks like it was taken from an airplane. The colors and unique composition makes it a real cool shot!

really, really wicked cool. Nice one, Marc!