Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, is perhaps the most photographed lake in the park. With limited parking available, we arrived at 4:30 a.m., only to find that the parking lot was almost full. Climbing to the top of the rock pile north of the parking area provided us with an incredible view of the brilliant blue water of this glacier-fed lake. The unique color is due to the refraction of light off the rock flour—fine particles of rock—that glaciers surrounding the lake have deposited.

We took a few images before sunrise and spent some time waiting for the sun to illuminate the Valley of the Ten Peaks, which was well worth it. In Canada, this view is known as the "twenty-dollar view," as the ten peaks and Moraine Lake appeared on the back of the Canadian $20 bill from the late 1960s through the 1970s. Be sure to walk the trail in front of the lodge down to the docks; the bright red canoes create a striking contrast against the turquoise water and offer a unique perspective of the surrounding mountains.

Watching the sunrise reflect off the mountains felt like witnessing a painting come to life. Although this location is iconic, it never loses its charm and should be on the bucket list of nearly all landscape photographers traveling through the Canadian Rockies.