Sailing Boats in Harbour

I didn’t think that I was going to be able to get out tonight! The day was overcast and the cloud structure looked poor.
However,a clearing started in the north and continued down the island. I got my gear together and went out.
Some clouds did snuff some of the light near sunset ,but I did get the lions share of the light at least!
These two sailing boats were in the harbour.
I noticed something that was a bit odd about these boats. Normally when a boat is anchored ,it is allowed to swing with the tide. That means the bow is always cutting into the current of the tide.
In this shot the two sailing boats are facing each other! I know that the tide was going out,so the boat on the left is facing into the tide,but the other is ass backwards?
It must be double anchored? One off of the bow and one off of the stern.

Coming In

The Daredevil came in on a different angle. He came across the channel and I was able to get a profile pose out of him.

Looking

I can still see his eye,so it’s all good!
Sometimes my shot speed (per second)is the same speed as their wing beat. What that means for me is that whatever position their wings are when I start to shoot……..they stay in the same position in every shot! If you start shooting and the wings happen to be in a position where they are covering their face………..your screwed for every shot unfortunately!!

Delilah

I got a good profile of her in this shot. You can see how warm the light is . Having that warm light for me is very important!
It’s icing to my cake!
and I like cake……..alot!

Rear End (Best Shot of the Night)

I like the angle of the pose and the spray from the strike as well!
Yes,the rear end is between my eyes and his eyes,but the pose overcomes that Golden rule of mine. It’s a general rule of thumb and not set in stone.

Perching

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This is not a normal perch spot for them. I have no idea why he perched here? You can see the thin top bending under his weight!
They only weight about 14 lbs or so.

Anchored for the Night

You can see the type of clouds that snuffed the light near sunset. I saw it coming and took advantage of the good light while I could!
If you look just to the left of the sailing boat on the left,you will see the sunset light being bright at that spot. In the next shot of a Heron,I used that as my backdrop. I didn’t get as close to the Heron as I wanted,but it still worked.

Sunset Heron

After shooting those two sailing boats,I continued into the harbour and found this Heron on that rock out in the harbour. Theres only one rock out there and is easly seen,except at a really high tide! I positioned myself so as to get that interesting sunset light behind him. I tried drifting into him,but the tide swung me to far to the left. I only got a few. I started the motor up again,and as I expected………….he bolted!
When I go by this rock I am always looking to see if he is around.

Sunset Heron

This shows me starting to drift too far to the left and after restarting the motor,thats all she wrote for Mr. Heron(or Ms.)

Heron Over Head

After taking off,he flew over top of me. I thought he might try to drop something rude on me for disturbing him,but it was just a fly by.(dodged a bullet there)Blue Herons are a large bird!

Fishing Boat at Sunset

I normally wouldn’t of included this shot,but I wanted to show what happens if you shoot a boat anywhere on the inside.
The islands in behind absorb the structure of the boat. The only spot you can get away with shooting a boat ,is out by the Lighthouse,or out front where there is nothing in behind.
If I was shooting from a higher vantage point,yes I probably would be able to get away with shooting boats on the inside.
1st St.dock is a good spot for that,but the boats have to come to me at this spot.

Crabbing Boat in Harbour

This is a crabbing boat and he was checking his traps in the harbour. You can see Lone Cone in the background with a cloud around it’s top.

Atleo Air Coming In

I saw the plane coming in and was lucky enough to get him with the mountains in behind .
I heard the weather is going to change,so I got out while I could. The sky was perfectly clear and the light near sunset was going to be good. The sun is setting earlier and earlier . I prefer the winters myself. The day ends sooner and I have time to work on my blog. The light is also better.

Atleo Air Landing with Sailing Boat

I panned as he was coming in and got a few of him with some sailing boats in the foreground. There must of been three sailing boats in the harbour for the night today. They come and go like the tides.

Classic Pose Sequence

It’s right about at this time that I’m trying to hang on for dear life! Once I get the focus,I have to track him perfectly. It’s very hard to do! Trying to duplicate it’s movement accurately is alot harder than you think!
You know generally what they are going to do,but each strike is different! I try to get close and hang on. If I were to zoom back and track him,that would be very easy. It’s when you try to track the eagle up close and personal. Go try it yourself.
Go down to the shore or lake where there are some birds . Zoom in on your camera to get it as close as you can. Than when you see one flying,try to track it.
I do the same thing from a moving boat. You get use to it,but it takes many mistakes to understand what exactly is going on here!
I also track with both eyes open. That way I can see whats going on around me and keep a eye on my subject.

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I never will tire of seeing a eagle come in on a strike run! The sound alone is amazing!
I’m going to buy a helmet camera. It’ll be shooting video all the time while I’m out. I’ve seen some amazing sites and it would be great to have both stills and video .

Stretch

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I like this sequence because of the last shot.
It shows him stretching. From the water splash to the tip of his wings has to be 10 feet. He’s really at the maxium point of stretching .
It’s a great moment!

Coming In

He caught me off guard. He came in and I was able to grab him,but my horizon is off. If you look at the waters lines,you will notice that the level is off.
If I corrected it,I would lose some of his wing. I already screwed up on the framing,so I don’t want to subtract anything else from his wing.
So I’m leaving it.
In theory you obviously want him front and centre. It happens but not as often as what I would like or admit.

Up Close and Personal

He continued on past me from his strike run and I got a good shot of him up close.
However my level was off on this one as well. You can see that from the background. If I corrected it,I would loose more of his left wing! I want to keep as much of the wing as possible! Even at the cost of being level.

Strike

This is a good shot for timing,framing and pose. I didn’t cut off anything of his wing,but than again,I’m not as close as I what I would like to be either!

Low Cruising

He was coming in low on a run that went right by me. He was going into the light,because the wind was coming from the west. They always have to go into the wind. I have seen some go cross wind before,but thats the exception and not the rule.

Stone Eagle

I found this eagle on Stone Island. I watch acouple perch spots on Stone as I go by every night and this guy was perched on one of them. The light was hitting just his head. It highlighted it nicely.
He had turned his head to keep a eye on me and see what I was up to?

Juliette and Romeo

They both were closely perched. (from my perspective)The light was soft and golden. Perfect.
Romeo is in the back.I got a better profile of their perch spot in the shot below.

The Happy Couple

Juliette is on the left,with Romeo in the back.
They were just chilling tonight. Not much going on. I think they may be heading out in a few weeks . They always head off to the river systems further inland around mid-September? The salmon spawn will be happening soon and all the forest animals will be having a party!
The salmon too ,if they aren’t caught?

The Miss Karen

The Miss Karen was coming back into the harbour after sunset. The structure on the left is a old fish processing plant.

Blue Herons

These guys were the first subjects for the nights shoot. I came across them by the Meares trail entrance. There is a small island just north of the trail entrance and theres a gap between it and Meares. Thats where these guys were.
I slowly puttered towards them all the while shooting. Trying to steer and shoot is a talent learned,trust me!
I liked this setting because of not only the framing by the trees,but also because the background was brighter than the birds. This made a high contrast to their structure and thus they stand out much better!
The one on the right was the first to blink. He/she took off ,and you can see it taking off behind the other one. They are such skittish birds. The best time to shoot these guys is when they are busy looking in the shallows for fish. They are preoccupied. If they are just standing there……….good luck!

Daredevil

Daredevil

The Daredevil

Profile of the Daredevil

Turning

Got It

Coming In

Harbour Sunset

Coast Guard Rescue

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I didn’t get out tonight in the boat. The clouds were all wrong,too iffy.
I went out to Chesterman’s Beach with some friends visiting from England. They love Tofino as much as I do.
We went over to Frank Island to watch the sunset.
My friends noticed these Jet Ski’s coming out of Cox Bay. I’m not too sure,but I think the red and white Jet Ski is being towed! They continued around Frank Island and were heading back into town. I also noticed after they passed Frank Island that the Coast Guard Vessel”Cape Ann” came over to them. They must of been called by these guys. They came together and talked . The Coast Guard than turned around and escorted them back into the harbour.
Much to do about nothing I’m afraid!

Lennard Island Lighthouse Sunset

I couldn’t resist shooting the Lighthouse. It’s always a favorite of mine!
The sun will be setting behind the Lighthouse soon. It’s on it’s way to the south for the winter. I prefer a winters sun myself. It’s more filtered and alittle softer.

Lennard Island Lighthouse

The clouds were starting to move in for the night.

Tofino Air Beaver Taking Off

The wind was up a bit tonight. I do like it when it’s like that. It gives more hang-time with the eagles! They always go into the wind for a strike and it’ll slow them down as a result.
Had a good night out. The moon unfortunately is rising way too late now. The other side of that coin is that it’s setting later in the morning. I would of liked to of shot it yesterday morning,but the fog was in too much!Next month?

As soon as I got out,Tofino Air’s Beaver took off. I didn’t even have time to put my lens hood on. Not more than 30 seconds later ,their other plane(Cessna) landed in the harbour.

Lift Off

The wind was coming from the west today,so this is the direction the plane is taking off in. Beavers need very little runway to take off,especially if there is a brisk wind!

Tofino Air Cessna Landing

This plane landed within seconds of the other taking off ! August is a busy month for everybody in Tofino.

The Nerela 1 and Jamies Zodiac(Riptide)

The sailing boat Nerela 1 can be seen coming into the harbour from the north here. You can also see the Zodiac “Riptide”from Jamies zipping by. I saw the Zodiac coming into the harbour from the west and just waited for it to cross with the sailing boat.
The village Opitsat on Meares Island can be seen in the background as well.

The Nerela 1

He started to head further into the harbour and was looking for a spot to anchor for the night . In the winter time,these mountains in the background have snow on them sometimes.

Nerela 1

I zoomed in on the name,but wasn’t able to get a clear view of it? I think “Nerela 1” is the name? Not sure what kind of name that is? It’s from the States however. She’s flying a American flag.
This boat came into the harbour from the north.

Kayaks and The Mycia

Up Close

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The Daredevil will come in close to me. He doesn’t seem to mind me being around. If he is eating …….he does,but than don’t we all?

Looking

Because the wind was blowing even stronger down at Tsappee Narrows,she was able to hover above me!
Coming back into town was interesting!! The tide was going out(to the west) and the wind was heading to the east. When these two forces meet they produce standing waves and these waves can be bigger if the channel is relatively shallow…..which is what Browning Pass is!
On the way back ,my boat got air many times!I did the old standing vertical boat crashing back into the ocean thingy. Dangerous!! I had to stop several times to get through the big ones. The channels fetch was getting me. I stayed close to the shore to reduce the impact on me. It does get violent with the crashing! That extra hang time I like with my eagle friends can be costly. It takes longer to travel and I was watching the sun setting.
I only shoot at sunset and as a result every minute literally counts!

Overhead

Strike Run

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Strike Sequence

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Romeo at Sunset

You can see how soft and golden the light is right now. The sun is about two sun widths high from the horizon . Thats the best time. If there is alot of moisture in the air,it’ll reduce the amount of light getting through.