Paul Zizka’s photo of Banff National Park is the Signature Image of 50th Annual Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and World Tour.
The Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival signature image showcases some of the best mountain adventure photography from around the world. For our 50th anniversary in 2025, we selected Paul Zizka’s stunning photo of two celebrated local climbers, Michele Pratt and Quentin Roberts, in Banff National Park to represent the Festival in Banff and in over 40 countries on the 2024-2025 World Tour. This image is annually featured on the poster, guide, and other promotional materials worldwide.
With mountaineering deeply rooted in the history of the Festival since 1976, we knew this majestic image set in our own backyard would be the perfect representation of this milestone, celebrating half a century of mountain culture, sport, adventure, teamwork, and the beauty of the Rockies.
This stellar photo was taken on Saddle Mountain in Banff National Park. Says Paul, “It was the product of a creative shoot with friends who shared a similar vision to go into the mountains to have a good time and see what we could come up with. It turned out to be a memorable night!”
Paul had the idea to photograph this rock face on Saddle Mountain set against the backdrop of the Milky Way at night for some time, however he knew he wanted to get the variables just right. “I’d say the composition was 60-70% predetermined prior to the shoot – I just needed all the conditions to come together in order to fully execute it.”
Paul had met climber Quentin Roberts around 2007 when they were both staff working at Num-Ti-Jah lodge, now known as the Lodge at Bow Lake – where they did some mountain adventures together before Quentin established himself as a very well-known and proficient climber in the Bow Valley. “Once I had this image in mind I got in touch with him, and he was up for it! He was the one who recruited Michele Pratt to belay.”
Paul and the climbers set off in July, 2018 just after sunset. “It was an absolutely beautiful summer night out in the mountains. I remember it was pretty much wind-less and we could communicate clearly and easily. The stars overhead were just phenomenal.”
They arrived at the base of the climb as it was getting dark. “Then it was a matter of getting the climbers into position in time to catch the Milky Way, as well as the planet Mars above the North Face of iconic Mount Temple.”
Paul said he had a good feeling about the image and he hoped it would have all the elements of magic that they were after.
“As is the case for all of those long-exposure night shots that featured the human element, you’re never sure about the sharpness until you can enlarge the image on a big screen. This is a 30-second exposure, so the two climbers had to stay perfectly still for some time in order for me to retain sharpness in the shot – so from a technical standpoint, I wasn’t sure if we would get good results,” he said.
Paul knew he was pushing his camera settings to the limit, while also asking a lot of the climbers as the three of them worked in pitch-black darkness. “In the end, all the elements came together, and the shot I’d had in my mind was captured by the camera.”
Biography:
Paul Zizka is an award-winning landscape and adventure photographer based in Banff, Canada. A prolific adventurer, Paul’s journey to capture the “under-documented” has taken him to all seven continents, as well as to each of Canada’s provinces and territories. He is frequently published in some of North America’s top magazines, including National Geographic, Alpinist, Maclean’s, Canadian Geographic, Islands, and Outdoor Photographer, and has four coffee-table photography books, one of which won the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition – Mountain Image category. His client list includes leading national and global brands such as Canon, Apple, Dell, Arc’Teryx, Panasonic and NHL. In his latest project, Cryophilia, Paul is documenting vanishing ice around the world to showcase its beauty and raise awareness of our changing landscapes. Paul enjoys life in the mountains with his wife Meghan J. Ward and their two daughters.
Visit Paul’s website at zizka.ca, online store at shoppaulzizkaphoto.com, and newsletter at paulzizkaphoto.substack.com.
instagram.com/paulzizkaphoto
facebook.com/paulzizkaphoto
This article was written by Nicky Lynch, from the Banff Mountain Centre Film and Book Festival
Get your tickets here for the Australian Tour of the 2025 Banff Mountain Film Festival- touring in May 2026
