Snow. Ever-changing. Renewing. Purifying. Persistent.
The Kananaskis region of the Canadian Rocky Mountains near Calgary is home to some of the most spectacular winter landscapes anywhere. Roughly six months long, winter is harsh and occasionally punctuated with a warm Chinook wind. It’s a time of tranquility, renewal and incredible beauty.
Moist warm Pacific air moves through British Columbia before reaching the prairies clashing with frigid arctic air near the continental divide west of the Kananaskis region. Massive amounts of snow accumulate in a snow zone about about 35 kilometres south of Canmore along the Smith Dorrien trunk road.
Powerful forces of wind, temperature and gravity continuously change the condition of the snow. Because of this, the snow has many and varying characteristics and makes a fantastic photographic subject.
This page is a meditation on snow. The images depict the tranquility of the season, the awesome power that shapes the land and it offers a reflection about how snow improves an already dramatic landscape.
Why no people? Simply put, nature needs its quiet time. I'm simply visiting for a moment and then I'm gone.
All images were taken in the Kananaskis region over the past 11 winters.
ABOUT SCOTT CRESSMAN
Scott Cressman is a photographer from Calgary, Alberta. His first love is the Canadian Rocky Mountains in winter and snowshoeing deep into the valleys of Kananaskis and Banff in search of snow in its many forms and conditions. His subjects aren't grand vistas but more, the intimate experiences, less visited, less seen and less considered.
Scott is also Chair, School of Communication Design at Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, Alberta.
ABOUT THE REGION PHOTOGRAPHED
The areas photographed for this website extend from Rummel Lake near Mount Engadine Lodge along the Smith Dorrien Road south through Rawson Lake near Upper Kananaskis Lake and to the Alberta/BC border at Elk Pass.
Scott Cressman is a photographer from Calgary, Alberta. His first love is the Canadian Rocky Mountains in winter and snowshoeing deep into the valleys of Kananaskis and Banff in search of snow in its many forms and conditions. His subjects aren't grand vistas but more, the intimate experiences, less visited, less seen and less considered.
Scott is also Chair, School of Communication Design at Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, Alberta.
ABOUT THE REGION PHOTOGRAPHED
The areas photographed for this website extend from Rummel Lake near Mount Engadine Lodge along the Smith Dorrien Road south through Rawson Lake near Upper Kananaskis Lake and to the Alberta/BC border at Elk Pass.