Month: November 2013

ME

Tofino Wildlife

20101007-_MG_7287-220110216-_MLR767020081111-Wayne photographer-1-120100311-IMG_3141cNormally I show shots of the wildlife or land/seascapes. But because today is my birthday,I thought I’d come out from behind the lens!
The photographic gods do not seem to be smiling upon me this year folks! Doesn’t look like I’ll be getting out today to play!
No light…………….no play!

SOUTH CHESTERMAN’S SUNSET PANO

Chesterman's Beach, Panos

20131127-S.CHESTERMAN'S SUNSET PANO,NEOVENBER 27TH,2013The weather in one word……….SUCKS!
Large Fall Frontal systems keep lining up to come down upon us! I don’t think I’ll see any sunshine till next week?
So I went out to the beach when I saw a slight break in the clouds near sunset! Nothing to write home about but better than nothing!

GOODBYE MY FRIEND

Tofino Wildlife

20100620-IMG_538020120822-20120822-IMG_105220100620-IMG_539620120822-20120822-IMG_105520100620-IMG_5393A friend of mine has a Jack Russel called “Meron”. She got the name from a Japanese comic book character.
We would all go for walks,bike rides & paddling.
Last Friday late afternoon we went to Grice Bay road for a bike ride. We normally let Meron run for awhile. My friend had a small doggy trailer she pulled behind her. Meron seemed to love it!
We finished our ride after sunset & put the bikes up on the bike rack & headed back. My friend dropped me off & went home. When she got there,she let Meron out & she promptly ran down their pathway to the shoreline barking. She would do this very often,no doubt to warn away any interlopers!
About a hour later my friend realized Meron hadn’t come back from her own little walk? She went down to the waters edge & called for Meron but got no response. My friend was worried so she phoned me & explained what had happened. I rode over with my own flashlight & searched along the shore line for her but couldn’t find her. (I might add that she was 14 years old & her hearing was going)
I told my friend she would most likely find her way home as she always had & went back home for the night.

The next morning someone found Meron dead on the local bicycle path! I suspected she was hit by a car but couldn’t find any signs of trauma?
It simply looked like she had died of natural causes?
I dug her a grave later that day & we said our last goodbyes.

Meron & I had a great relationship! Whenever I came over to visit my friend,she would hear me & get up from her bed (that she seemed to use a lot) & come out to greet me! I would get down on all fours & talk to her. I’d scratch her while she was doing her downward dog stretch! She always liked that & would give me a kiss.
I will miss her very much!
Our pet friends mean so very much to each of us,don’t they! I will try to remember all the adventures we had & cherish those moments!
Goodbye my friend….

FRANK’S SUPER MOON

Moon

20110628-20110320-IMG_3523-220120407-IMG_3989I took the top shot on March 20th,2011 & the one directly above on April 07th,2012!
This eagle is one I call “Frank”. He lives on Frank island, so please pardon my uncreative moment.
These shots are almost a year apart. I got up early & rode my bike out to the beach. I rarely do this kind of ambitious shoot but when a “Super Moon” is involved I make a effort!
A “Super” moon simply means the moon’s orbit is closer to us & thus the moon appears larger!

TRANQUIL INLET

Tranquil Inlet

20131120-IMG_0769Today was a bitter sweet day for me. Sweet that the weather finally allowed me to go play,but bitter when I found out that all the salmon have spawned up in Tranquil! The party is over for them! I could only find one salmon in the entire system & I had to search for that too! It was high tide,so the bears weren’t hanging around either,but I did manage to find one! I saw it first & was able to only get off one shot before it saw me & ran off into the forest!
I yelled out “COWARD” at the top of my lungs! One bear & one salmon does not a photo shoot make!
Tranquil is all over for another year! I always feel melancholy saying goodbye to her for another year! I did get some great video this year! I finally figured out where the sweet spot was & when for salmon! I’ll be back next year bigger & badder!

The bears are beginning to den for the winter. Bears btw do not hibernate. They do go into a deep sleep, but do not hibernate.
I was told that they go to sleep for a month or so & than get up to go get a bite along the shore & than go back to sleep. They repeat this several times during the winter………or so I was told, but suspect something is rotten in Denmark?
In all my years I have never ever seen a bear along the shore line at low tide overturning rocks for a winter’s snack during the winter time!
I suspect that they basically den like all bears?
In the rest of Canada,there is so much snow covering all the food that the bears (& others) are forced to den,but why the coastal bears have to is beyond my understanding?? On the coast here there is tons of food around,so I really don’t know why they even bother to den in the first place?
At any rate,I sadly headed back out of Tranquil.
The sun is setting so early know that it seems I can never get back into the harbour for the sunset anymore & that’s exactly what happened again tonight. I had enough time to visit Maggie briefly & than hurry over to visit Romeo/Juliette before I lost the sunset. Romeo saw me & came over to greet me as per usual! He always makes me smile when he greets me! Juliette always plays it cool with me. (Woman tend to do that with me anyways)

I almost forgot to metion that I went to Cannery bay to see if the Sea Lions were back yet? I do see some of them swimming around in the inlet!
Turns out no they weren’t! However the Trumpeter swans have moved back into Tranquil’s bay for the winter!
Didn’t get much tonight,but just being able to get out was all I wanted & needed big time!

‘NOT GOING TO HAPPEN”!

Bears

20091211-20081027-20081027-20081027-IMG_7207-1-2This shot requires alittle explanation.
The bear on the left is a female & the one on the right is a lovelorn male!
The female walked past this male. It happened on the righthand side of this shot. She was approached by him but made it clear she wasn’t in the mood to party! She than walked across this log (right to left). She was almost across when she noticed a rather large bear close by! She became alarmed & turned around to go back. That’s when she noticed the other male had followed her across & was now blocking her path back!
So……….. she now had a large male bear behind her & another very close to her face!
So whats a girl to do??
She smacked the attentive male in the face!

Bears are not very different from us!

ASSBACKWARDS!

Surfing

20130827-20040803-surf pooch-2I shot this on August 4rth,2004. Today was yet another disappointing day for photography folks! Tuesday forward looks promising!
I came across this woman who was surfing out at South Chestermans! Her dog was watching from the shore. She called for it & the obedient pooch ran out to her in the shallows. It hopped up onto the board & she gently pulled the board out into deeper water. When a wave came she pushed the board forward! Thats why the dog was looking backwards……..it was watching it’s master!

HARBOUR HERON

Blue Heron, Tofino Wildlife

20131114-IMG_052820131114-IMG_0536IT’S BEEN 16 DAYS SINCE I LAST GOT OUT!! The sky’s cleared today & nobody needed to tell me twice! I headed out as early as I could! The sun is setting much earlier these days! So I need to head out now around noon or 1pm!
I rushed as fast as I could & still the earliest I could be in Tranquil was 3pm! The tide was dropping & that was bad news for me!
You see,the reason why I haven’t been able to get out is because of poor weather,specifically RAIN! All the rain drains down the watershed of Tranquil (& many others) & increases the flow rate of the stream! I knew it was going to be flowing strongly! I took my chestwaders with me & changed into them!
Remember it’s been two weeks plus since I was last down here. I noticed two things that were different………..no salmon out front in the estuary & two bears walking along the stream bank,no doubt looking for salmon! Seeing bears walking along the bank out front tells me that there are few salmon left upstream! They are beginning to scrounge for leftovers! I saw 6 bears today & they were cruising the banks!
I pulled/dragged my boat upstream. It was very hard pulling against the strong current! I got to a fast moving spot where I had to put the motor down & start it before hopping back in. I had to accelerate to get away from being swept into & under a huge tree’s root ball! Very dangerous!
I chewed up my prop too! I finally got into the system after much work & headed towards my goal. (Up where the old bridge use to be.)
Unfortunately I had to tie up along the bank becasue it was too shallow. I had to walk the rest of the way upstream. The tide was dropping,so I didn’t want to ground out. Because the bears were actively cruising the banks,I was afraid one of the buggers would rip through all my gear while I was gone!
No sooner had I left my boat & began to head upstream when I spotted a bear not 50 feet away & coming my way! I waited for it to see me & took a few shots. It was VERY surprised to see me there! It turned & ran off into the forest. If one of them came across my boat It would surely tear apart my gear looking for food!
So with the very strong current,many bears walking along the bank,I suspected very few salmon where upstream,later in the day than what I wanted & a big desire not to slip/submerge my camera………I called off the shoot! I was within 400 meters of the sweet spot!
I cursed at wasting all my hard work to get this far & I could literally see the spot where I wanted to go!!
Knowing ones limits can only be found out by trial & error. Just hope your error is recoverable! If it’s not,your dead!
I take risks every time I go out & do not need to raise that bar any higher thank you very much!
So I called off the shoot! I simply untied my boat & drifted downstream very very quietly! I had my treat & relaxed. I needed to let go of all the angst I had gathered getting into the system!
I started back & noticed the clouds were shaping up nicely for the sunset! Some nice Horse tails. I also noticed the moon had already risen low in the east!
I stopped at Tsapee Narrows but the Daredevil & Delilah were not home,so I continued on. The sun was close to setting & I wanted to get into the harbour before it was gone! I did stop at Morpheus island to visit with either Moe or Maggie. Only Moe was around tonight. (all the lady’s were out shopping I guess?) Moe was hiding on me! I couldn’t see him or Maggie anywhere! He actually caught me off guard! I only got a few shots of him & had to leave. I wanted to get to Deadman island to visit with Romeo & Juliette. The clouds looked spectacular & I wanted to take advantage of them!
Romeo didn’t come over to greet me right away? He waited a few minutes & than came over! The wind was up a bit too & that always darkens the water. I saw a area of shallow water with Ell grass in it. The Ell grass calmed the waters surface & made it like a mirror! I used this small area for my sunset shots with Romeo. Juliette wasn’t around,just the boys tonight!
I got some great sunset shots tonight! It started off poorly because of the disaster at Tranquil but ended on a great note because of the great sunset!

OH OH!…………..WHO, OR “WHAT” ARE YOU?

Bears, Tofino Wildlife

20131114-IMG_057420131114-IMG_0575This is the bear that came right towards me after I tied up my boat! If I hadn’t of been there,I can guarantee you 100% it would of been ripping through my gear looking for food! Not many salmon left in the system makes them scrounge around like beggars! I have emergency food in my pack in case I have to stay out overnight. After he ran away from me,I called the shoot off! Too many problems! Too risky all around! It was a tough call to make but I sided on safety!
Besides,in a few days I’ll still be able to get in with the higher tide & check things out!
No point in pushing it!

REMEMBER WHERE WE PARKED!

Tofino Wildlife

20131113-OVERTURNED TRUCK PANO20131113-OVERTURNED TRUCK,NOVEMBER13TH,2013-320131113-IMG_050620131113-IMG_0516A semi truck loaed with dirty fish farm nets overturned at the Tin-Wis corner in Tofino today! That corner is sharper than others & always seems to catch a poor driver from time to time! The guy is a professional driver & he still managed to overturn his load! He had to of been going too fast as per normal! This corner has had several accidents in the past. There’s never any problem as long as your not speeding!
This time the power was knocked out for 6 hours or so. Pain in the ass!
That driver better not go to the local bar for a beer! He won’t be very popular with the locals!

On a another note,it’s been 15 days now since I was last out on a shoot! It’s either been cloudy/rainy or just plain too cloudy! This time of the year is always trying! The thing is that the salmon down in Tranquil don’t care if it’s raining out or not! They’ll still keep spawning & dieing! I need to get back down there before the spawning is all done,but I need the light before I can go!
I hate this part………..waiting!

THE DAREDEVIL GETTING PISSED OFF!

Crows, Eagles, Tofino Wildlife

20100605-IMG_3499I took this on June 5th,2010.
Crows & Eagles are like cats & dogs! However…….. I have never seen a eagle attacking a Crow! Crows are far too fast & maneuverable! So,what do the eagles do…………..they attack their nests & eat their eggs!
Crow’s are very sociable creatures & as a result,part of their strength comes from their numbers! They work together!
Crow’s when they see a eagle,will automatically pester it! One will swoop down on the eagle & try to hit it’s backside with it’s razor sharp talons! The eagle uses it’s very large wind as a shield & simply raises it to protect it’s self! That Crow will than fly up high again & repeat the process again & again & again!
When said Crow is tired,it’ll perch near by,while another fellow member takes it’s turn at pestering! This goes on & on until the eagle says “I’ve had enough of this CRAP” & fly’s off!
That’s what happening here!
This is the Daredevil & he simply got tired of being pestered. He “jumped” & scared the hell out of the Crows!

Many people (usually males) have asked me how long it took me to photoshop this shot?
First of all I do not do that sort of thing & secondly I do not know how,nor do I want to know!
Besides,……why would I when Mother Nature does a much better job!

THE DAREDEVIL

Eagles, Tofino Eagles

20120624-20120624-IMG_2324The Daredevil lives with Delilah (his beautiful partner) about a mile east of Tofino at Tsapee Narrows.
I call him the Daredevil because he shows absolutely no fear of anything,not even of me! His wing clipped my boat’s bow once while he was hitting a fish! Scared the hell out of me & because he was so close,I missed the shot! I was yelling obscenities at him for that little trick!! Romeo would never do something like that!
Delilah is almost always a bit standoffish with me. (No accounting for taste sometimes!)

They have the only location where I can photograph a eagle with a dark background in behind! I find this darkness helps focus the eye forward on the subject,which gives it a 3D quality! I can only do these shots during the Summer. When the sun swings further south for the Winter,that shadow disappears.
(I originally shot this on June 24rth of 12)