I had discussed a day outing down to the Kinsol Trestle with my good friend Rick. We saw that good weather was coming for the weekend and Sunday worked best for us. We headed out on a chilly Sunday morning for the hour and a half drive down the Island. The Kinsol Trestle is the largest trestle on the Island and one of the tallest wooden trestles in the world. It is about 100 years old, has been refurbished and is now part of the trail system. We hiked from the south parking lot, to the trestle, made it across, down to the bottom, wandered along looking for some white water too. A number of the shots were taken with my iPhone; I'm becoming more and more impressed with the quality of these images. IMG_3416 IMG_3420 IMG_3422 IMG_3426 _JBH1473 _JBH1643-HDR _JBH1600-HDR _JBH1597-HDR
I was up visiting our younger son, Kevin, over 9 days in mid October. My good friend, John, had never been to the Yukon and hadn't seen my son in over 20 years so it gave him a couple of reasons to go. We're both photographers and planned the trip to include Dawson City, the Top of the World Highway, Tombstone Park, the Kluane Park region and the Carcross and Whitehorse areas.
One big surprise for us was the quality of the images that came from the cameras in our phones. The following samples are some of the shots taken on our outings.
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We made a short trip over near Port Alberni to check the water flow through the hole in the rock face and to see all the inukshuks. Managed a few shots and kept all the visitors at a distance
I was invited back to see the eaglets this year and I've been waiting for a day when the weather would finally clear; we've had a lot of rain over the past month. It was the second time I've had my camera out in over 4 months and the first time I'm getting to try a new lens that I plan on using for wildlife. The focusing system on the Sony camera is totally different than what I became used to with my older Canon gear. It was a learning experience and I keep on telling myself that it's always fun to have a challenge. It seems that motion shots are much easier to get and the 'portraits' are more difficult than with the Canon.
The eaglets are getting big and they are occupying different positions in the nest this year; they rarely show more than their heads and they are usually on different sides of a tree. I was able to get a couple of shots. I hope to get back out in a few weeks and check on how much they've grown.
I was out for a hike and photos with Boyd McLaren. Boyd and his wife are visiting the area and us for a few weeks. I took him to the big city, Nanaimo, and we wandered through Colliery Dam Park, starting at the lower parking lot and working our way up to the highway and the culvert with graffiti. A local who likely lives in the woods mentioned that there was water in the falls, "Best since before summer". We made our way to the falls and wandered back after both getting a lot of photos
I spent a week up in Whitehorse and surrounding areas. Got to visit with Kevin after too long an absence and had a thoroughly enjoyable week. As the temps began to drop a couple days before I left, I really appreciated the heated steering wheel in the rental car. I did manage to exceed the allotted 1,400 kms for the car. I went up to Lake Labarge camping area and other spots during the day to check out shooting locations. I headed back up at night for possible auroras and this forecast was pretty good. I had scouted out Kathleen Lake near Kulanee Park and the auroras didn't appear when I went back. The night before I left, they did appear and my only regret is that I didn't stay until 3AM. Here's my favourites!
Shelley and i started out early to get down to Victoria for the pride parade. There were a few showers along the way but the sky always looked lighter in the distance. We made our way into downtown and found a spot on the street. The only way to get to a washroom was to stop in a place where coffee / liquids were being served and the cycle would carry on. We found spots on opposite sides of the street, really had a great time and got a bunch of shots. Later, we met up with our good friend Vivienne, saw her new condo and went for a tasty pizza lunch. The rain was kind enough to hold off until we were having lunch. A great day all round...
Our very good friend Randi called up to let us know about an eagle nest on a friend's property. Her friend was willing to let a couple of people come over to see the nest and do some photography. We were delighted to have the opportunity and headed up the Island for an early morning visit. The mature garden we wandered through is beautiful and worthy of a visit just to photograph all the varied plants. We did get to a viewing area and got glimpses of two youngsters in the nest. One of the adults appeared after a while and we got our chance. Here's a group of photos from the outing. Maybe we'll be invited back for the garden.
We went on a three day break to the Sooke area with John and Andrea. The plan for the guys was to get out for night shooting, trek to Avatar Grove to see the "Gnarliest Tree in Canada" and check out a couple of the beaches. The settings were right for astrophotography - a new moon, clear skies and a great boardwalk out over the water, however, a fog bank moved in together with a really strong wind that disrupted tripods. The outing in search of Avatar Grove north of Port Renfrew went really well in spite of the tough hike. The work of the Ancient Forest Alliance to protect areas like this from logging is wonderful. The cloudy skies returned as we neared the beaches and cut into photo opportunities. In all, a great few days for all four of us.
Every year, Quality Foods hosts a fireworks show on the beach in Qualicum. Every year it's different and this year the skies seemed really brighter than past years. I sat down on the beach and spoke with a fellow from the mainland who thought this was the best town he had ever visited. He had some questions about photos but since he didn't bring his tripod, there wasn't a lot he could do. Here's a few of my favs. Plan on returning next year.
I made it out to the newest bridge in Edmonton, the Walterdale. It was opened in 2017 and I've wanted to get some shots on my last visit, however, there was still a lot of construction in the way. It was a cloudy night with some rain but I made my way along. There's no parking nearby so I did get my steps in; I'll be back again on another visit and hopefully have clear skies.
The Snowbirds team were back in Comox for their annual Spring training. It's a real treat for us to head up and watch these great pilots. I was up two mornings with John Kinos when the skies were clear and we wondered how we might find higher shooting places to get better shots of the action.
I made it over to Ground Zero to listen to Kevin Mitchell from Denman. He's a non stop performer and was excellent, his songs are stories and memories of growing up in western Canada. The crowd was small and I had the freedom to easily move about the lounge for shooting. Hope to see him on his return.
We were in a group of 8 out for an afternoon in the Salish Sea for whales, eagles and other critters with Mt. Baker as a backdrop. The weather was great, the waters were calm; it was fun to get out with a group. There is a new 200 metre rule in effect for approaching whales. You have to stay back unless they come near, however, it's great to see them in the distance, but, it's just too far for getting detail in images. Shelley managed a great shot with an orca spyhopping and Mt Baker. Not certain when I'll want to go again.