The colours of fall can be fleeting, but if you can make time to go out and venture with your camera, you can capture Western Canada’s amazing, colourful landscapes just before they shed their leaves and prepare for a long, cold winter.

A recent Thanksgiving trip to southeastern Alberta’s picturesque Cypress Hills provided a much-needed quiet escape from the city. And it gave me much to be thankful for.

Trees go from green to a bright, “highway dotted line” yellow.

 

Lakes serve as excellent mirrors to add detail to your shot or double your frame.

The wide open prairie gives you the biggest sky possible and photogenic clouds.

A dark-sky preserve, the colours of fall quickly disappear at sunset in the Cypress Hills. In a matter of moments, the sky turns from blue to black, the landscape fades to nothing and the night sky comes alive with the little Dipper, big Dipper, Milky Way, satellites and thousands of other constellations. Just don’t drop your car keys, or you might be out there for the night (don’t worry, I didn’t).

Read more about my visit to the Cypress Hills here.