Beach Bike Ride

I saw these people riding down the beach and waited for them to come in front of the Lighthouse. The Crows looked like they were digging for a meal.(probably blood worms)

Frieda

I was out at Frank island and looked up to see Frieda coming towards me. She was going to the east side of Frank where their other perch tree is.

Oystercatchers

These guys went by me and seemed to be playing.
Maybe,”catch me if you can”!

Tug and Barge

This tug and empty barge was heading north to load up another forest from Clayoquot Sound.

Oystercatcher

I liked how the white of the wave gave a better contrast with the Oystercatcher.

Beach Ride

I caught her with Sunset Point/ Long Beach Lodge Resort in behind her.
More and more people are using these “Beach Cruising “bikes.
I remember bikes like this when I was a kid. The new ones are half the weight and easier to ride!

First Beach Walk

Both Mum and Dad were taking lots of pictures of their little girl. Probably her first beach walk?
A real cutie.

Eik St. Rainbow

A small rain shower came through and made this Rainbow over top of the Eik St. tree. It’s a very large Red Cedar.
This tree was saved from being cut down.A well known land developer(CL) tried to cut it down.Two local lads camped up into the tree to stop them from cutting it down. He cut down the Millennium tree across the road and it was bigger! This tree is over 1000 years old and probably will out last everyone that is alive today!
RAGE ON MOTHER NATURE

Resting Gulls

These Gulls were resting on the Breakwater down at the 4th St.Dock. You can see the Ferry on Strawberry Island in behind them.

Herons on Top of Strawberry Island

I shot these from a distance. Over a Klick away. They all were just resting on top of Strawberry Island.
For whatever reason,they all were facing in the same direction and it had to be away from me! Something had their collective attention.

God Rays at Sunset

The harbour had some nice God rays happening and I waited for this boat to come by in the foreground.

Cats Face Clouds

These clouds were on top of Cats Face Mountain. I believe it is a Lenticular cloud. The wind moves right through it and so it stays stationary.
They are also called Cap Clouds and occur around mountain tops. Sometimes they can look like flying saucers!

Crab Dock Sunset

The clouds were starting to turn. This shows a nice harbour scene at sunset.

Frieda Perched

This is where Frieda likes to perch and watch for her next meal. This tree is on the eastern end of Frank Island.

Paddle Surfing

Their were clouds most of the day blocking the sun,so I went out to Chesterman’s Beach.
I came across this Paddle Surfer at South Chesterman’s and was lucky enough to capture a wave hitting the front of Sunset Point.

Sailing Boat and Lennard Island Lighthouse

I couldn’t read the name of this sailing vessel. It’s all metal and the name begins with “P”. Thats all I know.
I waited for it to cross in front of the Lighthouse.
Post Note: I saw this boat the next day and the name was “Pangaea”.As a X geologist I recognize this term. Pangaea comes from the “Plate Tectonics”theory.(which is considered fact now.) The earth use to have all land masses as one at one point.(250 million years ago) All the land use to be just one super continent! Think of it as if it was made of taffy. You take it and smack it on the table and it would break apart into smaller pieces, and than start drifting apart! This basically describes how our land masses use to be ,is and will continue to be.

Lighthouse and Bikes

These two guys were out on their bikes and I waited for them to come into the scene.
After shooting these I decided to head back in to town. The light kept getting better and better. I didn’t plan it,but I decided on the way back into town to go out in the boat! The light was getting better and better. The clouds were clearing and I could have 1 1/2 hrs out shooting.However it was much later. I normally am out on the water at 7pm. It was 8pm tonight.
Not only did I go out and get some great eagle shots ,but I decided to head out to the Lighthouse for sunset. I’m glad I did! I got some good shots of the Lighthouse at sunset as well!

Monas Island Gang

The male was cruising by and I got some good shots of him.I like how the light is coming from behind him. I normally like it the other way. Looking into the light. Better detail.

Monas Island Gang

The male was going by and he looked to his right just enough to help this pose work.

Best Shot Sequence of the Night

The male from Monas Island turned and started a run to come in. They are always easy targets when they do this. They are moving much slower than normal.
I like the pose. You can see the feathers lifting on top of the wing from the low pressure turbulence.

Tucking

It almost looked like he was tucking in this shot! Poised for action.

Talon Shot (Cc)

I love it when I get one of these shots.
This is a great pose in even greater light, which really shows off their powerful form so well. It happens so fast ,that it’s just a blur to my eye.
I have a habit of using my digital camera like a film camera! What I mean by that is that I don’t check my screen to see what I got. I figure with eagles ,that if I got it,I got it and if I didn’t,I didn’t. So why bother checking?
Notice how the talons form the letter “C”. The head to his talons in it’s self also forms the letter “C” as well ! Small “c” and a capital “C”.
Just an observation.

Peeking Pose

I just liked this shot because of the way he was looking over to his right. It really makes a big difference which way he looks. I always like him to look towards the camera. I have to be able to see the eye. Eye contact is critical with wildlife no matter what kind of animal!

Coming In

He was coming from behind me and the only light he got was from the waters surface below him. It fills in the bottom of his wings nicely.
I thought it was a different pose.

Moe Grabs One

Moe got a fish by the head right in front of the old cemetery beach on Morpheus Island. The light turned out to be really alot better than what I thought it would be!

Moe About To Hit

I screwed up the order on this one. It was taken just before the one above and shows Moe adjusting his angle alittle . Notice how he was leaning to the left

Flying Away

I liked this setting.
It adds a three dimensional feel. It was low tide so you can see the kelp bed as well.

Romeo’s Sunset

The light started to decrease and Romeo came in. I only got acouple of him. He actually surprised me. I didn’t see him on a lower limb on Deadman Island. He came out of the darkness.

Lighthouse Sunset Transition Sequence

I went out to the Lighthouse and waited for the sun to come out. I had seen this thin clearing between the clouds and new that the Sun was going to cross it.
Following are 6 shots showing the transition of the sun across this clearing and the affect the light has.
Watch how the changing light makes the same subject look so different!
The sun came through finally and it was glorious out there. The swell and waves were keeping me busy trying to keep the lens trained onto the Lighthouse. It wasn’t easy by any means.

Middle Beach Lodge After Sunset

On my way back in I stopped to shoot the resort,Middle Beach Lodge. I liked the pink in the background.

Suckered!

I got suckered tonight.
The afternoon’s light was great and the Satellite/radar site looked good as well.
But by the time I got out,the clouds started to move in and I lost the light within minutes! I was very disappointed and decided to just motor around ,looking here and there. Hoping that something would happen!!
I went up to Monas Island and the two eagles were there. This is one of them,the male I believe.

Cape Ann and Cape Calvert

I’ve never seen two of these guys tied up together.
The bright colours added alittle zest to the drab light.

Monas Island Male

He was flying around the island and came over top of me. The best I could do was to silhouette him.

Best Shot of the Night Sequence

I caught Romeo coming in and thought the only thing I could do was to back lite him! I normally do not like shooting from the rear of a animal. It works if the background is semi interesting!
I did manage a good small sequence as well.

Miss Danielle

The Miss Danielle was heading out and I got these God rays in the background behind her.
To get God rays you basically need clouds that are very close together. Small holes in between the clouds allow sunlight to get through and than you need the projection screen.
Which is moisture! You need high humidity,or alot of dust suspension. This beams will come through and the projection screen of moisture lights up!

The Browning Passage

The Browning Passage was coming into the harbour at sunset and I got these God rays in behind.
You need to be creative when you don’t get the light you want!

Kayaking Past Deadman Island

These two kayakers were going over the mudflats beside Deadman Island.
You can see either Romeo or Juliette perched up on top of the island.
It’s the tiny white dot .
I shot this from the 4th St. dock point,which is over one Kilometer away.

Kayakers and Tug Boat

The tug boat “Come Along” was towing a barge through the harbour. It’s own by a local Aquaculture company(Mainstream).
The kayakers were heading out rather late I thought.

Busy Harbour

The Tofino harbour seems to be busy with boats coming and going ,more and more.

Miss Danielle and Tofino Air

The water taxi,Miss Danielle was heading out just as a Beaver from Tofino Air was heading in.
The plane is passing by the end of Stubbs Island ,or Clayoquot Island.

Deadman Island and the “Come Along”

The tug boat,Come Along,was just coming into the harbour with a barge.
I waited for him to come between the two islands of Deadman.
If you look closely on top of the island,you can see either Romeo or Juliette perched.

Oystercatcher and Lennard Island Lighthouse

I was out at Chesterman’s and came across this Oystercatcher. I found just the right spot to line up both the catcher and lighthouse together.
I’m always mindful of my background. It’s probably just as important as the subject.
Without either,you have much less .

Lighthouse and Crabbing Boat

I was out at Chestermans beach today and acouple of boats went by.
This one is a crabbing boat and was heading back into harbour.
Happy Summer Solstice!
We are getting lots of day light ,but poor quality light to say the least and thats the way it’s going to stay for awhile too by the looks of the Sat/Radar site!

BC Valour and Lennard Lighthouse

I am always trying to shoot boats when they cross in front of the Lighthouse. This boat is called the BC Valour.
Unfortunately the light could of been alot better. If it’s not there,it’s not there.

Osprey

This Osprey was cruising the surf line for small fish.

Poppy

I was out in front of the Tofino Botanical Gardens and the poppy’s were on their last legs.

Botanical Flowers

Poppy’s

These two poppy’s were at their peak.

Mixed Flowers

I just liked the different colours of these flowers.

Morpheus Island Cemetery

I went out today with a friend to Meares Island and Morpheus Island ,cemetery.
This is a shot of the clearing where the cemetery is on Morpheus. The undergrowth was too thick to see the tombstones.
There are 44 people buried there. They stopped burying people there when they had a “unfortunate” accident.
It went like this.
A fishermen had died and they took him over to Morpheus island on top of paddles that had been placed across the top of the gunnels of the boat. This made the center of gravity too high and when they hit the swirling water near the island( a well known and tricky spot because of the strong tides),the boat overturned and the coffin was lost in the water. The body even fell out and they had to drag for the body.
That was the last burial on the island. They all decided that they had better get a cemetery on the main land for safety’s sake!
Fred Tibbs is also buried there as well. A well known local who died himself at a early age of 35 years old on July 5th,1921. I took this shot from his grave side.
I talk about him in my blog.
Look under cemetery.