We are just back from our annual end-of-summer stay in the mountains. This tradition is such a treat. We have a timeshare in the Rocky Mountains Banff area, not super posh, but chalets that let us spend a week there – 6 of us: husband and myself and my daughter and family.
Banff is in a national park, and though most of that park is wilderness, the part most of us visit and have very easy access to is definitely more like a city park with a lovely townsite. I am quite reconciled to this non-wilderness national park adventure.
In this mountain area, there are deer, moose, long-horn sheep and many little creatures*. But we don’t get to see them very often, these wild animals know about keeping away from the human visitors. But there are also bears. There is a bear warning at our resort. I am a bit apprehensive about the bears, they can be deadly to us upright two-legged folk, so I am a bit cautious about the walk in the woods. I do set out, with a bear bell, chatting loudly to my fellow walkers to let them bears know we are around. The bears are not interested in dealing with us unless they have to, especially if we surprise them with their young.
All that aside, Banff, like any self-respecting tourist destination has some really neat shops and stores. And because the scenery is so spectacular we would love to take a bit of it home. And this we can do with paintings and photographs. And this is where the new kid comes in – as in what I think is a new photo printing technique. At least new to me and it is in many galleries this summer and I did not see it last year. It is beautiful art photography, they are beautiful, clear, wonderful colours and shiny! The process is heat printing on white aluminum and the results are fantastic. The first gallery we went into in Banff was for the work of Jeff Walker. Astounding photos of nature scenes: landscapes, animals, night skies. We were just enchanted and very impressed. They are limited editions but you can order the size you want, with a corresponding price. The smallest are still quite large, and you can go larger if you have a wall that would fit a 1-metre by close 3-metre piece.
After visiting that gallery and all filled with these wonderful images, we wandered further down Banff Avenue and then we saw more of this style of picture, smaller and not so unique. This is obviously a printing technique that has been adopted by many other photographers. However, for my money (which I am not putting on the table at this point,) I think Jeff Walker’s are the most wonderful. (No kickback for me for saying this).
Just a further note about the Banff townsite: they have done a wonderful job of making it such a beautiful destination – not wild, but so beautiful: gardens with flowers, recreation, picnic and play parks, the river banks with brave swimmers in the glacial waters, footpaths with outdoor art, cycle routes, pedestrian bridges crisscrossing the river, and benches at lookout points. Public transport and free buses shuttle visitors from the parking outside the centre to downtown.
*A further note about the little wee wild creatures: the ground squirrel is a major source of food for predatory animals in the park….. So be it so small, it has a firm place in the food chain and an important status in the national park! Awww…
