A man and his Dog

I caught these two walking along Chesterman’s right at sunset. The sun is setting further and further north.

Sunset Jumping

These two girls were jumping together and I just lined them up with the sun,however the darkness of the beach cuts off some of their outline. I always try to keep my subjects in a high contrast. It forces the eye to be drawn to it more !

Sunset Walk

This couple and their dog were out for a sunset stroll on Chesterman’s Beach.

Sunset Kite Flying

These two guys were flying a kite at sunset on Chesterman’s beach.

Lighthouse Sunset

No matter how many times I shoot this,they all seem great!

Moon Flight (close up)

The reason why some planes leave a Con Trail,(condensation) is the temperature difference. Hot engine air ,hits the cold air outside air. Simple as that.(high humidity)
When you go out in the winter time ,you can see your breath in the air. Same thing. Warm air meets cold air.
When you see a plane and there is no Con trail behind it,it means that the surrounding air is warmer.(lower humidity)

I almost missed this. I was looking towards the western horizon and this guy was coming up from the SE behind me.
The full moon is coming up. I think the best opportunity to shoot the moon is going to be on April 26.(Monday) The moon rises at 6:57 pm and the sun sets at 8:33 pm. That gives you 96 minutes in between. The next day,Tuesday the 27th has the moon rising at 8:18pm and the sun sets 17 minutes later at 8:35pm. Thats too late to get anything. By the time the moon has cleared the horizon,the sun will be gone.
Remember that these times are for Tofino only. You have to calculate your Lat. and Long. Go to the “Farmers Almanac ” site and go to the Sun/Moon . You can plug in your location and figure it out. However,you know that the difference is only going to be a few minutes here or there.
Of course if it’s raining out,your screwed. There’s only 12 times a year that you can shoot the moon and half of those are usually no good because of inclement weather.
Take advantage of it if you can!
UPDATE: I’m writing this now on Tuesday the 27th. The clouds were out,so I wasn’t! This is another full moon that will have to wait for next month………

Cox Rainbow

I went out to the far side of Frank Island tonight.
A rain storm passed over from the west and proceeded to the east behind me. When it did this,from my vantage point the sunlight was able to hit these rain drops and split the light up into it’s individual wavelengths and thus a rainbow!
The gulls on the left hand side had a great view as well.

Lighthouse Storm

I’m a sucker for storms and big waves! I see some monsters sometimes!

Lighthouse Sunset

Lighthouse Sunset

You can see in the bottom right side a flat surface. This is a submarine flat ridge that seems to make the waves break just before it.

Cox Point Rainbow

It’s hard to see,but a second rainbow is just starting to form to the right of the main one. The second rainbow will have it’s colours reversed.
The rain drops must to be half the normal size, to get a second rainbow!

Lennard Island Lighthouse

I shot this from Cox Bay. The angle is different than what I normally shoot.
Waves were heading East and the wind was coming from the SE, making Horse tails out of the wave tops.

Paddle Surfing

I got lucky and the clouds were great. We call these kind of clouds “God Rays”. I’m sure you understand why!
The only foreground subject I could find was this Paddle Surfer. I didn’t have enough time to get over to the far south side of Frank island and shoot the Lighthouse with these Rays above it. I was too far north to get them over the Lighthouse.

Sunset Surf

These two were heading back in after a evenings surf. A paddle surfer is in the background.

Surfing at Sunset

I found a solitary surfer. I guess the waves were alittle large. A few guys at Cox Bay did nothing but stand looking at the waves for awhile.

Frank or Frieda ?

When they are by themselves,it is very hard to tell who it is! I would need to get alot closer and have a better look.
The last two nights they’ve had to stay in the lee of Frank Island. The winds were very strong from the NW. They have a perch tree in the lee that they can chill in while it’s ripping.

Lennard Island Lighthouse Sunset

This is as close as I got to getting those God Rays over the Lighthouse. I think I would of had to of been a lot further south to line the two up.

Paddle Surfing

I’m not even sure if this is called “Paddle Surfing”.
At any rate. He served as a subject. Better than nothing!

Sunset Walk

I was shooting anybody and everything while these clouds were out. I wasn’t too happy about my subject material,but you take what you can get!

Surfing

The two in the center were just coming out of the water. A paddle surfer can be seen in the back left and a normal surfer on the right hand side.

Gathering Weeds

This fellow must of been a gardener. He was picking up all the ell grass that had been ripped up by the recent winds. The stuff is suppose to be great for the garden!

Kite Surfing

Now,you need to know that I didn’t want to be here! I wanted to go out in the boat and go on a tour,but the wind was too strong! So,I made the best of the situation and went out to Chesterman’s.
Two Kite surfers were racing around and I was able to shoot them with the mountains in behind.
I took a pair of chest waders with me and was able to get over to Frank Island tonight at high tide without getting another soaker like last night! I was able to climb up to the highest point on Frank Island and see these mountains.
I simply waited for one or two of these Kite surfers to come into my scene. I wanted the mountains to be central to the shot and the surfers as icing to the cake!

Kite and Wind Surfers

The Kite surfer was heading to the right and the Wind surfer was going to the left and I couldn’t resist shooting them.
However,I would of preferred to of shot these guys with no houses in the background. It redirects the eye! I always like to use a background that is clear of man-made structures.
The only exception to this rule is the Lighthouse. Which I find more attractive anyways!

Long Beach Lodge

I saw a few rather large wave explosions from not only this point(Sunset Point),but also Cox Point.

Tonquin Sunset

I waited for the sun to be almost at the horizon and placed myself so that Tonquin Island was in the right spot. I was hoping that a eagle would fly over the sun at this moment,but they rarely are so obliging!
You can see the distortions of our atmosphere on the suns edge. Those are cold layers .

Tonquin Island Sunset

I was hoping for a flock of migrating geese to come by,but only got this lone Gull ! (I’m assuming it was a Gull)
At this moment, there is a migration on and Tofino is right in the middle of their route. Getting a big flock into a scene like this would of been perfect! Oh well,next time.

Kite Surfing

If you look directly above the kite ,you will see a small black dot. Thats a eagle at the far end of Chesterman’s beach.

Kite Surfing

You can see Long Beach Lodge in the background.

Kite Surfing

Because of my location up on a high spot on Frank Island,I couldn’t move around much. So,I basically had to wait for the Kite surfers to cross my composed scene.
I not only waited for them to cross but was hoping that a wave would crash onto Sunset Points rocks at the right moment……and it did in this shot and a few others.

Wind Surfer

I shot this guy right in front of the Long Beach Lodge when a wave crashed onto Sunset Point rocks.

Kite Surfers

I was able to get only two shots of these two guys in the same frame.
These Kites really clip along.

Sunset Flight

When I saw these clouds lighting up I knew that I had to find something for my foreground . The only thing on hand were a bunch of Gulls. Beggars can’t be choosy!
I had been paying attention to the rear end of that Frontal system that we’ve been in .(forever) I use the Sat/Radar site on the Weather Network. I had seen this clearing for two days . It was staying off shore because the system was tracking due north and was not going east ward.
It finally arrived and I was ready. It couldn’t have gone over Tofino at a better time. The cloud structure lite up when the sun was setting,…….perfect!
Well…………..almost perfect. If I had a nude in the foreground instead of these Gulls ,it would of been PERFECT!

Sunset Flight

Because I had wanted to get to Frank Island and the tide was still partially covering the beach,(but heading out)I ended up pushing it and got two soakers. I wanted to get out to Frank for the sunset.
It turned out that there wasn’t much going on. The sun has passed Frank Island and heading to the north. It’s now setting north of Lennard Island ,looking from the middle of Frank.
I like it when it sets right in front or behind the Lighthouse. That was about three weeks ago or so.

Wickaninnish Sunset

We had a bit of wind today and it lasted until sunset. The clouds lite up,but I was having trouble finding any foreground material. There were no people out either.
You can see the Wick on the far side of Chesterman’s with Lone Cone and Catsface in behind.

Storm at Sunset

During the winter,waves very much larger are hitting this rock face! It’s always a good spot to shoot.
Even better if a fishing boat is in the background . I think I have acouple of those somewhere?

Sunset Flight

These four Black Brant geese went by and I managed to pan with them and got the Lighthouse in the background. Lucky.

Delilah

She came around and had a go at trying to get a fish.
The light was coming at her almost horizontal! It really produced great texture with her feathers.
I love shots like this. I do not get too many like this!
Each eagle has about 7000 feathers and molts from the head to tail.

Romeo’s Butter Talons

Romeo missed this fish. I back lite it, because the sun’s intensity was diminished considerably. The Cirrus clouds are the best for filtering the sun’s intense light. Kind of like Mother Nature’s own sexy Vail !

Romeo Profile

Romeo came in after a fish. The shot above was taken a second after this one. When the sun is at this position,you only have minutes to shoot . If you don’t have a subject lined up for the sunset,your screwed! A sunset is great,but it’s only part of a great picture. It cannot on it’s own be better than a shot with a subject in the foreground!
and not all subjects are created equal either! Some are better than others.
About the only thing that I don’t like about this shot,is that the top of the wing tip disappears into the darkness. If I had of stood up and shot,I probably would of gotten a brighter background behind his entire body!

Motion

This is what happens when your shutter speed is too slow. Normally I delete these,but I like this one on the abstract basis!
Sometimes mistakes can be good!

Strathcona Eagle

This is Maggie.
I caught her going by and was lucky enough to not only get her with Strathcona in behind,but she also decided to look to her left. It gives a better profile.
The light was warm and put a nice shade on her wings.

Daredevil Gets A Fish

The Daredevil got a fish with one Talon! The light was perfect and he looked as if he was posing for me.

Delilah’s About Face!

This is the last shot I got before she took off! It was a great sequence!

Moe Misses

Moe missed this fish and went to bed hungry,I assume.

Daredevil’s Sequence

This shot shows how great their wing span is. Which is anywhere between 70-90 inches.(6 feet -7 1/2 feet)
The males wing span would be smaller than the females. Thats why there’s such a difference!
You can tell the angle of the sun by the shadow of his head on his right wing. I try to get the light when it’s almost horizontal.
I do not go out in the boat until 6 pm these days. The sun sets around 8:15pm or so right now and gives me tons of time now. In the winter it can set rather quickly!
You can see how they lower their head after they grab a fish! I really don’t know why they do this? There is a reason and it may be for the aerodynamics. Maybe it’s like the Concord when it was taking off! You remember the supersonic plane called the Concord? I hope?? Their entire nose where the pilots sat articulated .
Maybe they got the idea from these guys! We often times observe Nature and than try to duplicate it.

Daredevil

I’ve started under exposing my shots and find that the whites have better structure to them! Specifically the head and tail feathers.

Daredevil

A matured eagle can lift about 4 lbs, and yes that’s about the same weight of your kitty or small dog! I haven’t heard of a eagle grabbing one however!
As long as they have a good steady supply of food,I doubt if they would take “Fluffy”!

Daredevil Skimming!

This shot shows how they do at times lean back on their Tail feathers and skim across the water on them! The tail can be used as a way of feeling and controlling the distance to the waters surface when they are coming in.

Cormorants Sunset

These Cormorants always seem to like this perch!
I have never seen it vacant.
I couldn’t resist silhouetting these guys. I always try to have a foreground with my sunsets.
Vargas island is to the west and is about to swallow the sun. I would photographically like to have no islands to the west of Tofino’s harbour. Than I would get some great silhouettes! However,the storm force in the harbour would be much greater. The islands provide protection for the harbour against the winters storms!

Romeo’s Sunset

Romeo went by and I managed to get him at the right spot.
His outline has a really nice contrast value. It makes him seem three dimensional!
I wonder if the Cormorants in the background were nervous with Romeo being around ? I would be!
I have never seen either one going after another bird. They seem to have fish as the main staple in their diet.
However,I wouldn’t be so naive as to think that they don’t get take out from KFC from time to time!
Juliette should be getting her clutch soon. They always have eaglets.
I’ll know when they are when I see Juliette on the nest and not moving. I’ll keep you posted when they are expecting!