I went out to Chestermans tonight. I wanted to go out in the boat,but the sky had too many clouds to make it worth while! There was a thin clearing to the west and decided to hit the beach for sunset.
The Fall bird migration is on in full force. These Geese flew by and were heading south for the winter.
The ocean was up and so was the wind.
The storm season has started! Can’t wait for the first big one to hit. I love a big storm!! I mean the kind of storm that knocks out the power and throws everything into the mix!
The occasional lightening strike would be great as well !! However,the west coast does not get much of that,unfortunately!
As a photographer I lean towards dramatic subjects that have sweeping vista’s!
They found a nice spot to marvel at the beautiful sunset!
He looked like he was explaining something to her or pointing something out?
The excellent light filled the entire beach! It didn’t last long. The sun was just coming out for a short while. The clouds to the west blocked most of it’s descent to the horizon.
This kite surfer and others decided to take advantage of the wind and big waves!
This is what happens when you try to get to Frank Island and you do not have tall rubber boots on! I wear them all the time in the winter!
Nice guy to pick her up so as she wouldn’t get wet feet!
They were going to the ocean side of the island for the sunset. I shot them while watching the sun setting.(above)
This little guy was searching in the water. I don’t know what he was eating,but he was certainly busy going into the water for something?
It was a piss poor day for light today and it was raining as well. Not exactly the best,but I went out anyways with a friend on the logging roads.
We went out to Salmon Beach .
We both haven’t been there in over 10 years. We were both amazed at how built up it was with small houses! It’s changed dramatically and the place didn’t seem to have people walking or a general community feeling! Just me.
Anyways,I saw these two up in a tree and took advantage of the opportunity.I’ve never seen these eagles before. I don’t get out to Toquart Bay very often.
I borrowed my friends 400mm lens and used his 2X teleconverter as well. That made the lens an effective focal length of 800 mm! I needed it because they were a long distance from me.
The female is on the right. Her beak is larger than the male and she’s further away. She’s just that much larger than the male!
I went out in the boat today with a friend from Portland.(Johnny Yun) He’s a photographer and a very good one at that!
As soon as we got out into the harbour,he spotted this Harbour Seal.I managed to get acouple of shots of this cutie!
The migration continues for our fine feathered friends. Heading south to the heat.
The rest of us will be following them soon!
The Daredevil perched onto this tree and his mate flew behind him and landed in the background. I just swung around and joined the dots. These shots are easy when they show themselves.
I got one of Romeo and Juliette with the moon later.
I found these guys near the Big Tree trail and had to ask a friend what they were.
Adrian Dorst is probably the best Birder on the west Coast and happens to me my neighbor! I asked him what they were and he told me that they were “Greater Scaup’s”.
I do not see this guy very often.
There are two couples on Meares Island(near the Big Tree Trail). One is at the north end and the other couple have a nest at the south end.
This is the male from the south end.
They seem to be more shy than the others!
The low tide was happening near sunset and the mudflats had hundreds of migratory birds out feeding!
Mr. or Mrs.Heron had lots of company for dinner tonight!
When I saw Atleo coming in and shot this,I didn’t appreciate the cosmic irony immediately of him coming in to land ,when this Cormorant was taking off !
The comings and goings of life in Tofino. It’s a mystery and has captivated me for decades!
Many birds like Cormorants,Ducks, etc run across the waters surface to help them get enough speed for flight.
They need the air to move over their wings sufficiently as to get the pressure difference needed for lift and thus flight!
By the time I got around to visiting Romeo and Juliette,the Moon was just rising over Meares Island and they both were the only ones I could find in the harbour to shoot with it!
The time window with the Moon is limited! There is a 20 minute window or so when the moon has a perfect exposure.The moon rises very pale at the eastern horizon and it will get brighter and brighter,until it’s as bright as it’s going to get .
It’s during this transition that you can find a 20 minute window where the moon will have a perfect exposure! Not too weak or pale and not too bright!
I arrived at Deadman Island near the end of that widow.
Notice in the shots below how the difference of a few minutes has made the moon brighter! The moon will continue to get brighter and brighter ,until it’s surrounded by the blackness of night.
It’s that 20 minute window that I’m always looking for!
The moon was hidden in behind Meares Island. It was further north than usual.
He took to the sky for a sunset flight. You can see a jets contrail ruining the background.
Romeo got a fish and was eating it above Juliette. Trying to find that sweet spot where the moon was behind them was hard. I could only pass through that “Sweet Spot” briefly!
I had maybe 2 or 3 secs at most and than the moon’s position is not lined up. I than take the boat back around and enter the Sweet Spot again and again!
I only had 10 minutes or so to get the shot. That Sweet Spot is right in the middle of a Marine Highway and I am constantly watching for boats coming at me. I have to move out of the way and wait for the wake to go by.
I like calm water when I shoot from a boat.
She stayed perched on this limb and I couldn’t resist trying to get the moon behind her. She was staying still so well and posing for me………..how couldn’t I?
Humpty went up onto the bridge and spooked all the people! He only wanted to get across the bridge to look for Mom,but a large bear was coming his way and he was stopped in his tracks!
I think his Mom(Veronica) wanted them to become familiar with other bears and thats the reason why she left them alone.
If I were the photographer ,I think I’d be doing some shots instead of watching him!
Got a few shots of bears today. The light and tide was great and we had alittle rain which brought in some new volunteers!
Lazyboy was wading through this pool and came up with a dieing Coho. The bears search for the dead bodies on the bottom of the creek. I call it”Pickled Salmon”!
This fish was on it’s last legs and was easy to catch .
The rain we got brought more of them in and all the bears new it.
The bears were checking all the pools for fresh salmon !(and any dieing salmon as well)
This is the Mother of that cub on the log. She left the cubs all by themselves and it was a good distance between them. I don’t think I’ve seen a Sow leave her cubs alone like that before! They normally have them within eyesight. I saw Dumpty several hundred meters away on the other side of the bridge walking along the shore all by herself! A male could of killed her!
However,I think it would never happen. They all seem to respect each others space.
Her brother was trying to cross the bridge because he was looking for mom. I think she must be a new mother and is learning all the in’s and out’s of being a mother!
I just have never seen a mother leave her cubs for so long and not even be able to see them!
You can tell this salmon was already dead. They pick them off of the bottom of the creek. This is a large Chinook or Chum,not sure because it looks fairly beaten up!
I decided to put in a sequence of her pulling this salmon out of the water below.
The salmon run feeds the bears and many more smaller animals. This Jay flew in to see if there were any eggs around to gobble up!
All bears have the same colour eyes,Brown. They have beautiful Chestnut brown eyes and Chubby was showing them off in this shot.
Something got her attention and it wasn’t me!
A few fish moved into the river system and Mini managed to grab this fresh Chinook. There were two other bears around and it caused her to hang around with the fish. She wasn’t sure if either of them would charge at her! They allowed her to keep her prize!
You can’t see what she was looking at,but it was Lazyboy. He was very close to her when she grabbed this fish and was concerned if he was going to charge her! He didn’t. He’s a very calm bear and does not act like a bully.
Bullying happens in Nature as well!
Mini couldn’t move through the pool because of other bears and had to go over the top to get away with her prize!
The one on the left is a male and the one on the right is a female. I think the male was testing this female for receptiveness! You can see her shying away from this male.
He grabbed a salmon beside her and went across the creek with it.
Humpty came down to the water while Mom was fishing on the other side of the bridge.He was turning around to look at his sister.
He had alittle water coming out of his mouth when I shot this.
She came down to the creeks edge and had a drink herself.
She rejoined her cubs after filling her belly.
They both said there hellos and joined Mom walking along the shore.
Even at such a early age,you can see the difference between them in size.
Humpty is on the left(male) and Dumpty is his little sister.
He sat down by a spillway while a photographer walked closer for a shot.
I’m surprised his butt has any fur on it with all the sitting he does!!
Lazyboy found this already dead salmon by the creek and carried it over into the forest. That photographer stopped and watched Lazyboy cross the estuary.
My friend(Stuart) and I went out to Virgin Falls today.
The light was poor by the time we got to the falls and it didn’t inspire me enough to get my camera out!
I did take a few panoramics however. We went to check out the bears ,but the light by that time had failed totally!
Technically speaking ,Deer bay is on the far right in the back a few klicks.
I had to climb up onto a small rocky cliff to get this view. I wanted to get the trees in the foreground ,out of the foreground .
This is Tofino Inlet and as you can see , a very beautiful spot. I’ve always like this angle of the Inlet. At the end of the Inlet is Deer Bay. There is a logging road that runs along the south side of Tofino Inlet to the falls.
This valley was carved out by the last Glaciation,about 10,000 years ago.
On the way out to Virgin falls we stopped at 2nd bridge and I shot this panoramic. There was a thin layer of cloud making the light to whitish!
I was hoping to get better blues out of the sky and off the water.
This is a good view of Deer Bay from the west.
I heard that when Orcas’s give birth,they prefer these fjord like inlets.
We were driving along the road when I spotted this eagle.I’ve seen this eagle before and I know that they are both skittish. I managed to get my safety shot and tried to get closer,but we spooked him and only got our safety shots,hence the reason why I call them “Safety Shots”!
I found him down towards the old prospectors cabin later.
I liked the mountains in behind.
Bears do not like their ears getting wet and Lazyboy was no exception to that rule!
Tofino Photography 