I thought I was over HDR. I used to use it quite a bit around 5 years ago when it was all the fad. Like many photographers, I went through the overblown HDR look and slowly made my way to more realistic HDR photos. But then camera sensors improved to the point where they could handle most of the high dynamic range situations I encountered. Even if I took bracketed shots, I … [Read more...]
Grizzly Bear Photography in Khutzeymateen British Columbia
"Hello Bear," I said. He looked up. "I see you," I said. And he saw me. I felt him look into my eyes. Not scared, not worried, not concerned, just curious. The same way I felt. The words “I see you” echoed back. Then... he simply looked away and went back to eating grass. How often do these simple but profound things happen in life? Not so often that a person doesn't … [Read more...]
Reasons to Love Vancouver Island in Summer: #4 Dolphins
Are you noticing a trend here? Yes, I love my wildlife photography in summer here in British Columbia. My favourite thing to do is go out in my little boat Snoopy and photograph the marine wildlife, should they choose to visit me. You can't just chase them down. Usually I'll see them off in the distance and go towards the general vicinity, cut the motor, and watch from … [Read more...]
Reasons to Love Vancouver Island in Summer: #3 Bald Eagles
We have a bald eagle nest in the estuary behind our campsite in Campbell River, British Columbia. It's too far away to photograph (for me), but with a spotting scope, we can watch over the eaglets. In spring when we arrive here, we see the adults coming and going with sticks. Once I saw and heard one of the adults break a branch off of a neighbouring tree! There was a great … [Read more...]
Reasons to Love Vancouver Island in Summer: #2 Humpback Whales
Another one of my favourite photography subjects in summertime is seen during my frequent boating trips: Humpback Whales. In fact, I'm seeing more and more of them all the time. They are returning to British Columbia in increasingly higher numbers every year. Commercial whaling in British Columbia ended 50 years ago (the year I was born actually). Since that time, the … [Read more...]
Reasons to Love Vancouver Island in Summer: #1 Orcas
Ahhhh, summertime in BC. It’s truly spectacular. The long summer nights, the mountains, the lakes, the ocean, the waterfalls, the beaches, the trees, the wildlife, and did I mention the boating? Even though Ray and I live a nomadic lifestyle now and have the freedom to go anywhere we want, we return to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, every summer because there is no place … [Read more...]
Return Trip to Alabama Hills California
As we stepped out of the RV in the darkness, we were but two lights and a jingle. Me with my headlamp, Ray with his flashlight, and Angie with her dog tags jingling along beside us. We bumbled our way down the dusty dirt road, shaking the night-time cobwebs from our minds, towards our first-light destination: Mobius Arch in Alabama Hills. We first visited this place 3 … [Read more...]
Cormorant Fishermen in Guilin, China
During my trip to China, one of the photo opportunities I had most been looking forward to finally arrived. Coming from a fishing family myself, I was eager to discover and photograph the ancient art of cormorant fishing on the Li River. I left my hotel at 0’dark thirty, drove for half an hour or so, and then took a little ferry across the river to be on the spot long before … [Read more...]