A Visit to Goldstream Park

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Yesterday I dropped by Goldstream Park to shoot some photos during a beautiful morning visit. With 500+ year old redcedar and Douglas-fir trees, towering waterfalls, and a salmon spawning river, Goldstream is a natural gem.

The delicate river is however still recovering from a fuel spill that leaked 40,000 litres of gasoline and diesel into the water after a tanker crashed on the nearby Malahat Highway.

A raven soars through the bigleaf maples with a chunk of meat in its beak.

Giant old-growth redcedars all in a row.

Cover Photo - Common Ground Magazine

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My shot of Canada's largest tree, the Cheewhat Giant, made the cover the August 2011 Common Ground! This massive ancient redcedar is over 6 meters (20 feet) wide, 56 meters (182 feet) tall, and 450 cubic meters in timber volume (or 450 regular telephone poles worth of wood). Thankfully, it grows just within the boundaries of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve near Nitinat Lake on Vancouver Island.

To read the feature article inside follow this link: www.commonground.ca/iss/241/cg241_biggesttree.shtml

Sign the petition to help protect BC's endangered old-growth forests here: www.ancientforestpetition.com

World Oceans Day 2011 - Basking Shark

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On June 8th 2011 I photographed over 1,000 children formed in the shape of a basking shark in celebration of World Oceans Day at École Victor-Brodeur in Esquimalt. The basking shark is the second largest fish in the world and Canada’s most endangered marine fish. The Oceans Day Festival Society hosted the event and the aerial art image was created by Daniel Dancer of Art For The Sky.

Apparently these SkyLifts are hard to flip over. It doesn't feel like that when you are up there.

How it's all planned out!

Combing the Coast - Flores Island

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Three of my photographs of Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound have been featured online with a project titled Combing the Coast. The initiative, brought together by Surfrider Foundation Vancouver Island Chapter (South Island) in partnership with BC Parks, will see a remote beach clean up take place on Flores to promote conservation and awareness on how we impact our coastal areas. They will also be keeping track of what types of debris is found and then recycling it back in Tofino. We need more projects like this!

www.combingthecoast.com

Metchosin in the Snow

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Metchosin truly turns into a winter wonderland when its hills are blanketed with snow. Mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and forests turn into a real life world from Narnia. The soft powder muffles all sound to an almost deafening quiet while the forest creatures silently reveal their hidden presence through sets of delicate tracks in the snow.



















Metchosin's Largest Tree

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On the weekend I paid a visit to Metchosin's largest tree - a massive old-growth Douglas-fir measuring 28.5ft in circumference (9ft in diameter) growing near Matheson Lake. It's an incredible reminder of the forest giants that once covered most of Vancouver Island. In the woods and hills of the CRD you can still find a few "veteran trees"  like this one that escaped the saw's for one reason or another.

Afterwards I wandered further along the foggy mountainside and marveled at the old lichen covered forests that remain mostly intact around the lake.

1st place - 'Human Impact' Contest - Outdoor Photography Canada

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Outdoor Photography Canada magazine hosted a "Human Impact" themed photo contest in 2010 and I was super excited when I found 0ut that my image of an old-growth clearcut on southern Vancouver Island took 1st place! (see original blog post here)

Of the tens of thousands of images I've shot over the years trying to capture the devastation happening to BC's temperate rainforests, I feel that this one sums it up best. Without experiencing these clearcuts first hand, it's nearly impossible to convey the scale, destruction and feeling involved with the loss of such amazing areas.

Aside from being featured as a winner in this contest the image will also be used on the cover of a new environmental documentary film coming out of New York, be featured in a book by a German artist working on forest conservation in Europe, used in a TV show on CBC and be published in a host of other online and print media sources. I hope this image continues to travel the visual world conveying the need to protect BC's last remaining ancient temperate rainforests. Sign the online petition here.

Photo Prints ON SALE For Holidays!

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After having quite a few requests for prints I would like to let everyone know that all the photos from my website and blog are available for purchase as holiday gifts! Be it for yourself or someone else, photographs make an excellent present that everyone can appreciate and won't be thrown away a month later! Plus, there's the added bonus that they are all shot right here on Vancouver Island.

The majority of images were taken with a Canon 1D Mark II professional DSLR camera using a variety of Canon's pro lenses. This insures that prints will turn out beautifully with crisp detail and rich color even up to 24x36 inches.

The are many styles of images to choose from on my website  -www.utopiaphoto.ca - such as:

LANDSCAPES

FORESTS

ENVIRONMENTAL

AVATAR GROVE

NIGHTIME

SKATE

BLOG

The blog archive (http://utopiaphoto.ca/blog/?page_id=24http://utopiaphoto.ca/blog/archive) is filled with lots of different images from an aray of places.

OTHERS

If you don't see quite the photo you're looking for, chances are I have something in my archives! Just send a quick note to info@utopiaphoto.ca with the type of image you are thinking of. I have a giant stock of Westcoast imagery.

BIG TREE GALLERIES

If wilderness is your thing, check out the photo galleries at http://www.ancientforestalliance.org/galleries.php for my big tree and big stump galleries!

ORDERING/SHIPPING

*Photos can typically be ready for pickup within 2-3 days of ordering*

To order, send and email to info@utopiaphoto.ca with the image name/number, quantity, size, and finish (matte/glossy).  Be sure to say hi as well :) !!!

For Victoria residents, local pickup and drop off should be possible to arrange.

For people residing elsewhere in Canada, please contact me at info@utopiaphoto.ca with your order info and location so I can send an invoice that includes shipping to your area.

PAYMENT

Photo prices are as follows

  • 8x12 = $35
  • 11x14 = $55
  • 12x18 = $75
  • 16x20 = $95
  • 18x24 = $115
  • 24x36 = $155

Payments can be made with cash or by credit card through PayPal once the order is complete.

*** If you have any other questions don't hesitate to contact me!***