Romeo Perched

These guys have the best perch spots around. They face the west and are exposed to that light. As a result,at sunset they get bathed in golden light.
Romeo went over to one of his favorite perch spots. The moss looks great too!

Sunset Snack

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Romeo

Flight

My shutter speed was too slow and blurred Romeo. However,my panning was good enough to keep him solid for a split second. Normally I throw these out,but on occasion I get one that works.

Landing

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Juliette perched on top of the north island.
At Deadman Island there are actually two islands. A north one (the nest is there) and the south one.
She was landing and the wind slowed her down. The wind is hard on me traveling,but great on the eagles for slowing them down.

Sunset Strike

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Last sequence of the night folks. After shooting this I left them alone for the night and went home myself.

Kayaks Coming Into Harbour

I got out later than normal.
I had gone to Virgin Falls today with some friends. We had a great day. The weather was perfect! We just hung around the falls and with nature.

The full moon was tonight.It came out from behind Meares Island. By the time it came up,the exposure was all off. I included a few shots anyways.
I came across some Blue Herons past Spittle point in Browning Pass. The tide was out,so they were looking for little fish in the eel grass.
I came across a Heron after sunset as well. I found him opposite Deadman island to the west in the shallows. My prop got wrapped up with eel grass twice and once with Bull Kelp.
Low tide can be difficult.
All in all it was a good night out.
These kayaks were coming into the harbour and I positioned myself so as to include the sail boat in the background.

The Mycia

This sailing vessel came into the harbour yesterday. It’s registered in Sitka Alaska.
Nice lines!

Two Blue Herons

One of them was spooked by me and it flew in front of the other.

Take Off

This guy took off after a few minutes.
They hunt by stealth. They remain motionless and wait for their prey to come within striking range.

Delilah

She came in and I got acouple shots off.
She did something tonight I have never seen her do before or any eagle as a matter of fact!
When she came in ,she did a complete 360 rotation! She looked like a plane prop! Amazing. I’ve never seen her do that before. I’ve seen her do 180’s before,but never a 360!
Unfortunately i didn’t get it! My lens hunted and I couldn’t grab her on the focus! I missed it,but am still glad that I saw it! It was something else,trust me!
From now on I’m going to lean towards her when it comes to paying attention! I want to capture that very rare maneuver!
However,on second thought…….because she’s going to be doing this very very fast.I’m probably only going to be getting two shots at most! I need a video camera to capture that!
I’m going to buy a helmet cam to record some of my adventures. I was looking at that new one “Oregon Scientific” is going to put out this October.It has everything I want!
Maybe if I come across something amazing like today,I’ll put it on my Blog!

Daredevil Coming In

Landing

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Strike

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Salad to Go

I think he eats too much meat and he thought a salad to go was needed!

He must of picked up some eel grass with his fish by accident.

Rear Pose

I managed to get a different pose from the Daredevil. As long as I can see it’s eyes………it works for me!

Paddle Boarding

I caught two of these guys paddling their surf boards across the Harbour. They are from that sailing boat “Mycia”.
They were heading back over to their boat. It looked like the guy was walking on water at a distance! Considering that he ‘s only dressed in street cloths,I figured he must be very good at doing this!

Strawberry Island’s Ferry With The Moon Rising Over Meares Island

You can see that the moon is blown out for the light and structure. I either expose for the surrounding scenery or for the moon! If I exposed for the moon,than everything in this shot would be black.Except the moon of course.
This is a good example of the moons transition from pale(when it rises) to bright. There is a small window of 20 minutes or so when the moon has a perfect exposure for the surrounding terrain. The “Goldilocks’s Zone”!
You can clearly see that this was shot “after” that Goldilock’s zone! You want the detail in the moon’s structure or it just looks like the sun!
Too early & the moon would be too pale! Too late & you loose all detail. The perfect exposure lasts only for a matter of minutes!

The Mycia and the Moon

Those two guys doing the stand up paddling had arrived (dry) to their sailing boat,Mycia. I wonder what (if any) is the reason for this name?

Blue Heron at Sunset

The afterglow was fantastic and I was looking for anything to shoot against it!
I found this Heron. He was in the shallows to the west of Deadman Island. There is a sand spit there that shows up more predominantly at low tide.

Blue Heron Hunting

I noticed something about this shot that I found interesting.
The water the Heron is hunting in is calm and as a result,gives a very nice reflection! I think the reason this is happening is because of the shallows. Specifically the eel grass!
If you look in the background you can see open water and the surface is disturbed by the wind. That makes the surface darker and the Heron would be absorbed.
The Eel grass is dampening the wind and holding the water calm,thus giving a great reflection and showing the Heron’s structure most excellently!
Thanks eel grass………..even if you wrapped up my prop twice tonight!

Heron Profile

I was mindful to always capture him/her with a profile. If he was looking at me,you would not see the entire structure! As a silhouette,a profile is the best.

Hunting

Sunset Point and Long Beach Lodge

I didn’t go out tonight in my boat. There were too many clouds. However,it did get nice a hour or so before sunset. The sun came out of a large cloud and it got sunny gold all over.
I did see it was going to happen and had enough time to ride out to Chesterman’s Beach.
The moon did come up in the east,but there was too many clouds blocking it near the horizon. It came out from the clouds well up into the sky.
I got a few shots tonight,but nothing remarkable.

Eastern End of Frank Island

Frank can be seen up on top of their favorite perch tree. I zoomed in on the next shot .

Man on Bike with Dog

I shot this fellow near sunset on Chesterman’s Beach. You can see the Wickaninnish Inn in the background and Cats Face Mountain range in behind that.

Fishing Boat at Sunset

I noticed a fishing boat off of the southern end of Wickaninnish Island. He was moving to the south and I waited for him to get close to Lennard Island. I wanted to shoot him with the Lighthouse,but had to do it when the boat was against the ocean and not in front of the island.

Lennard Island Lighthouse and a Fishing Boat at Sunset

I had to shoot the boat at this point because if I shot it with the island in behind,you wouldn’t be able to see it.

Sunset Ride

I saw these bicyclists coming down the beach and waited for them to come into my scene. I always like to use the Lighthouse as background material.

Cox Bay Moon

The moon came out over Cox Bay. You can see Long Beach Lodge Resort in the background,as well as a photographer in the foreground.

Sunset Watch

I got out tonight and the weather was great. NO Clouds,or at least ,not alot. The almost full moon was obscured by some clouds on the eastern horizon,but thats it.
I may get up early tomorrow to try and get the “Moonset/Sun rise out at the Lighthouse. If I want to get that I will have to get up around 4:30am or so. The moon sets around 5:30am! Glad I don’t have to do this all the time. The only thing thats bugging me is that there might be fog! I can check from Cox Bay to see what the cloud structure is like. There is a camera out there on Long Beach Lodge. I use it all the time to see whats going on out there. I just looked at it and yes it did show the moon!
I always use the Lighthouse as my secondary subject,with the moon being the primary. I basically line the two up! I never know where that spot is and have to shoot from the hip when I arrive.
On todays shoot,it was good. I basically went out to Tsappee and than Deadman.
I missed a great opportunity. Romeo flew in front of the moon and I missed it! Dam.
Other than that,it was a good night out

Juliette Coming In

She gave me her profile as she was coming in. The wind had died down and she came in on a good angle. If the wind is blowing,she would be heading into it for the strike. When the wind is blowing,I can tell what angle they may come in at! However,tonight was a toss up. When theres no wind….all bets are off.

Sunset Strike

I got lucky on this one. I only got one shot,but it was the most important one!

Romeo’s Moon

Because the moon was out,I always try to shoot these guys…or for that matter,anybody! I looked around the entire harbour with my binocs,but nobody was home except these guys. They do not have a exposed perch at Deadman. The best spots are Strawberry Island and Lovekin Point. They both have what I would call “tree spires”. Trees that are basically poles and nothing is around them to obscure the eagle or moon!

The Georgia Prince

This fishing boat was coming into the harbour after sunset. I did a few shots,but the moon had gone past that sweet point in time. It was too bright to get any structure from it!

Black Bear

I found this fellow on the west side of Ducking Island. I couldn’t get any closer because the tide was out and the mud flats where exposed.
I’ll be getting much closer shots of bears in a month or so.

Harbour Seal

These guys come by to take a look from time to time. The young ones are even more curious.

Blue Heron

The current from the tide is always strong here. There are weed beds close by as well during the summer,so I have to watch myself when I go through here. I drifted by him and did a series of shots.
That haystack hill in the background is right where a small lake is on Meares island. Locally it is called Iron Cap Lake. During the summer a few people go up there when it gets hot,for a swim. Great spot.I came across this fellow on the north side of Strawberry Island. There is a small rocky island there that gives them protection. They seem to like hanging out here.
I was on my way out of the harbour and always check this spot for these guys. In the winter and when there are no clouds in the background,you can get a really nice background with Strathcona’s Mountains . They are always full of snow and look great !
I didn’t think I’d be going out today! It rained and I thought the light was gone for the day. The cloud structure however had different ideas. I checked the Sat/Radar site and it showed the system leaving. It looked good for sunset! So I got my gear together and off I went.
Had a good night out.

Daredevil and His Mate

They both like this tree as a perch. The female is in front.

Delilah

I got a shot of her coming in,but I wasn’t as close as what I would like.

Delilah Landing

She landed at this perch tree and I got a shot of her just about to touch down. The wind was up alittle. I like it when the wind is like that. The eagles always have to come in against the wind to control their strike run. It also slows them down alittle and I get better shots. They are easier to grab with my focus.

About to Hit

I almost missed this shot. She came out of nowhere and caught me off guard!

Flying Away

She flew across the channel and I got a shot of her with some darkness in behind her. It just gives a better shot because of the contrasting nature of it.

Heading Out

The clouds did move in and I headed back into the harbour. I could see a few breaks in the clouds,and I knew that the sun would come out before sunset,so I decided to go out to the Lighthouse.
On my way through the harbour I found this sailing boat heading out. It looked like he was going north. I zoomed in on the boat,but could not find a name?
You can see the village “Opitshat” on Meares Island in the background.

Wickaninnish Inn and Whale Watching Zodiac

I saw a Zodiac from Jamies Whale Watching and got a shot of them passing in front of the Wick. The sun had come out and was giving some good light.
Orcas have been seen out in this area in the past week and I’m sure these guys passed through looking to see if anyone was home!

Frieda Perched

I could see her flying from their perch tree at the far end of Frank island to their nest tree. I got some shots of her landing,but the shots didn’t work. The focus was soft unfortunately! I also was not as close as I would of liked.

Lennard Island Lighthouse at Sunset (Best Shot of the Night)

The sun did come out in all it’s glory,but a low cloud was about to swallow it up.
I got a few of the Lighthouse before the sun said goodnight.

Lennard Island Lighthouse

After the sun was swallowed by that low cloud,I waited for birds to fly into my frame. They were heading out to islands to sleep for the night. That way they can rest with no ground predators around.

Moon Rainstorm

I was mindful that the moon should be out,but this cloud was blocking it and I couldn’t see it while I was out there. It finally came out right around sunset and the light was gorgeous!
A small rainstorm was happening and so was the light! I was looking around for some birds to fly in front,but couldn’t get lucky.
You can see that the wind was moving this cloud structure strongly. I’m looking SE and the clouds were moving from the west to the east. In the shot that would be from right to left. Thats why the cloud is curved. The top is moving and the rain is constantly being dropped ,forming a long curve.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get anymore moon shots in this cycle? It’s rising later and later.

Cox Point and MoonRainstorm

This was shot looking to the SE from my position. Cox Point had this rain storm just south of it and the last rays of the sunset lite it up,plus the moon came out!
Thats a win,win!