It's always sunrise somewhere. Rocks and trees waiting in eager shadow for the first light to arrive and give them colour again while the moon keeps slipping away in secret.
Old-Growth Coastal Douglas-fir Forest
This photo is a tribute to the great old-growth Coastal Douglas-fir forests that once covered most of eastern Vancouver Island. Now ranked as the 4th most endangered ecosystem in all of Canada and home to many rare plant and animal species, I hope the last remaining stands will be preserved in more that just photographs. Knowing that, the chances of capturing this image are very slim. First, you need to find an intact old-growth area and with less than 1% of that remaining, it is sadly quite difficult. Since forests are not typically neat and tidy places you'll rarely have a lovely bed of ferns perfectly set in front of giant trees as well. Asking for the sun to then set over the whole scene would be over-the-top but somehow it all came together for this moment in Metchosin. Magic in the woods.
Winter Sunrise in Metchosin
Winter is a lovely time to photograph sunrise, the best part being that it occurs at nearly 8am instead of 4:30am. The view from Tower Point at the end of Duke Rd. in Metchosin never fails to impress. Here's a look through an old Oak tree from this cool winter morning. The second shot is from exact same view but was made by swinging the camera during the long exposure :)
"Seeing the Forest for the Trees" - Photo Exhibit 2011
My joint photo exhibit Seeing the Forest for the Trees has just come to a close after two great weeks on display at Dales Gallery in Victoria's Chinatown. The show, featuring forest themed images from myself and local photographer Don Denton, saw hundreds of people come through and was even featured on Shaw TV's "The Daily". This was my first full gallery showing and I'm stoked to do it again! Below are some shots from the exhibit and the opening night launch. Thanks to everyone who came by to take a look and to those who purchased prints! Full proceeds from my images are going to the Ancient Forest Alliance.
Thank you to Alison at Dales Gallery for hosting the show!
A big thanks also goes to Toby Trembath from Newport Reality for sponsoring the costs of the large canvas prints and to Terry from ArtBox for doing the actual printing.
Opening night reception - what an awesome evening!
The opening night also featured the launch of the new Ancient Brown Ale - a beer custom made for the Ancient Forest Alliance after winning the Phillips 2011 "Benefit Brew" contest!
Don Denton's photographs on display. Click here to see his blog post on the exhibit!
My image of "Canada's Gnarliest Tree" in the Avatar Grove.
An Evening with David Suzuki and Elizabeth May
Last Saturday, November 12th, I had the exciting opportunity to photograph an inspiring evening with Dr. David Suzuki and MP Elizabeth May at Claremont Secondary school. The event started off with the screening of Dr. Suzuki's biographical film, Force of Nature, and was followed up by a great speech from Suzuki himself.
A big thanks goes out to the Green Party of Canada for hosting the event, teacher Mark Neufeld of Claremont for his great environmental work with students, Ken Wu for Emceeing, and David and Elizabeth for their lifetime legacies of advocating for a better planet.
Getting my copy of David Suzuki's autobiography signed!
WestShore Magazine Cover - Fall/Winter 2011
The 2011 Fall/Winter edition of WestShore Magazine was just released this week. I was fortunate enough to shoot the cover photo for the feature story on the Goldstream River's salmon run, the fish hatchery volunteers, and the environmental effects of the recent fuel spill. It was an interesting challenge setting up to shoot in the river - especially with a fisheye lens like the second angle below which wasn't used in the end. Grab a copy if you live out this way and take a read through!
Holy Wood
An awesome book just arrived in my mailbox titled Holy Wood. The book, published in Germany, focuses on the relationship between forests and people and is filled with incredible paintings, sculptures, photos, and words about trees. I was excited to see one of my clearcut shots made the centerfold spread. With the amount on time spent online these days there's nothing like holding a well made book in your hand that's rich in thought and creativity. Looking forward to flipping the pages.
Lens Creek Cedar Snag
in Forests, Uncategorized
On a recent bushwhack through some second-growth forest along Lens Creek in the San Juan Valley, I stumbled upon this giant cedar snag. Originally, the San Juan Valley would have been home to some of the most impressive stands of old-growth forest on Vancouver Island but sadly, very little remains. Within the last remaining fragments however, you still have the world's largest Douglas-fir as well as Canada's largest spruce tree. One can only imagine what other giants might have grown there in the past.
A determined hemlock tree pushes its way through the wall of cedar peppered with woodpecker holes.
Location of the tree: 48.59369, -124.23470