Waskesiu Lake in Prince Albert National Park is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Saskatchewan, and Canada. (Julia Pelish/Vacay.ca)
Photo by Julia Pelish
Vacay.ca Visuals Editor
WASKESIU LAKE, SASKATCHEWAN — To pick just one nature photo from Canada to represent the Vacay.ca Photo of the Week in honour of Earth Day is, as you might guess, impossible to do. Canada is a varied natural wonderland; vast, magnificent, and stretching the breadth of a continent from the Pacific to the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans.
Last summer, I spent a week travelling through the huge open expanse of Saskatchewan. My last stop on the itinerary was to Waskesiu Lake in Prince Albert National Park. I arrived in the late afternoon and to my surprise realized I had unscheduled free time just to relax. Better yet, I was in that WiFi no zone, so it was off to the beach to do what people used to do: sit and talk.
And what a perfect summer evening to find myself parked on a bench at the edge of the lake: The air smelled so fresh, the warm colours of the setting sun rippled on the lake’s surface and the peacefulness of the moment seemed to compel a whisper to enter my ear, Where is my camera?
I knew that I really should have been taking a photo. I did, and I am glad, too. The result of that moment of inspiration is this image above, which allows me to vividly recall the experience of being there. Using a Nikon D7000, I set the camera at ISO 500 and the aperture at F-32, with the shutter speed at 1/80th of a second, to capture the image of this glorious lake, which is ranked fifth on the Vacay.ca list of 20 Best Places to Travel in Canada in 2013.
I often envision the natural world as diligently trying to attract our attention, displaying its wonders to us, hoping to win our devotion even as more and more new things get in the way. As the population expands, the earth is especially dependent on us humans for its survival. Being so busy we often overlook what is right in front of us, what is really essential. Earth Day is a good time to sit by the edge of the lake and really reflect on this one place we all call home. Our future depends on it.
WIN A PRIZE — AND GET YOUR TRAVEL PHOTO PUBLISHED!
Do you want to be a Photo of the Week winner? Simply email your submission to photos@vacay.ca (images should be sent as high-resolution JPEGs) and your travel photo could get chosen and publicized — and you could win a great travel prize!
