Morant’s Curve is an iconic photography spot in Banff National Park, where freight trains wind through the Rocky Mountain backdrop. It’s so iconic, it was once featured on the Canadian . On the bank note, the train shown is actually the Rocky Mountaineer, a more picturesque passenger train.

I was aiming for a freight train instead because it’s much longer, which makes the timelapse effect more dynamic. Like a snake slithering along the river.

There’s one problem though… there’s no official train schedule.

I tried to reverse-engineer the problem. I followed the train tracks by car until I found a suitable vantage point. I waited there for four hours until a train finally came by. Then I drove back to Morant’s Curve as fast as legally permitted… and waited again.

Why not just wait it out like everyone else? Because I wanted the train to enter the frame naturally, instead of starting the shot with it already in view.

When I jumped out of my car in a hurry, the people already waiting knew I was onto something.

A few minutes later, we all heard the train whistle just as it began turning the curve.

In reality, the train was moving quite slowly, but in the final shot, I love how the timelapse makes it look like it’s charging full speed through the S-curve. Fun times!