Month: December 2016

TRANQUIL SPOT

Boat, Snow, Tofino Wildlife, Tranquil Creek

20161231-img_7276I was up in Tranquil creek camping.I was going to stay for four days but Mother Nature had other plans for me.The inlet started to freeze over,so I had to get out! The way it froze I found strange too? Normally a inlet or bay will begin to freeze first in the shallows at the far end & expand outwards down the inlet.It didn’t do that in Tranquil! It froze at the mouth first in deep water & expanded down the inlet!

I decided on New Years Eve morning to head over to another bay close by.(Rankin Cove)It use to be a logging camp but has long since been abandoned.On my way over I encountered the ice sheet covering the mouth! It was expansive! I would never of seen it from down at the end of the inlet.If I hadn’t of gone for that ride over to Rankin I would of been locked inside.I would had to of called the Coast Guard to come break a route out for me.An embarrassing situation to say the least.

I took this shot as I was heading out.A snow storm had just passed & coated the trees.It took me the better part of a hour to break through the ice to get out.Being in an inflatable boat & breaking through the ice is not for the faint of heart! I now am officially a “Ice Breaker” boat!

ADVECTION FOG

Eagles, Fog, Snow, Strathcona, Tofino Birds, Tofino Eagles, Tofino Wildlife

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I’ve noticed this localized geographic phenomenon before. Notice the mist & where it lays.I’ve seen the same phenomenon occur in the same spot many times. The mist is over a very large area.

Warm air is coming off of the ocean full of moisture.This warm moist air meets the cold mountains,the air chills,dew point is reached & fog happens.The contour of the mountain must focus the air mass. I’d like to see some time lapse.I bet it would move like water.

btw…..thats Ethel singing a song.

 

 

THE “NEW WHITE CLIFF”

Boat, Fishing Boat, Snow, Tofino Wildlife

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The weather couldn’t be any better today for getting out! Mind you a tad cool for zipping around in my boat!

I was down at the boat shed getting things organized to head when a local Native boat driver told me he had seen a Grey whale hanging around the NE corner of Vargas island! He suspected it might be a female & she could be giving birth? I had already planned to go all the way down Tofino inlet to the very end (Deer Bay) to visit with the local Trumpeters but decided to venture out to Vargas instead to see If I could find this whale?

It was perfect conditions for whale searching! It was calm on the water with no wind.Trying to find a whale isn’t the easiest thing to do.You never know where they are? When they surface,they exhale & breath in.This blowing produces a vapour cloud.If there was even a bit of wind,this vapour cloud would dissipate quickly.Making it hard to spot. But when there is no wind,these blows hang in the air.So If I’m looking somewhere else I can see these blows when I turn to look. I also shut the boat off & stand up.Keeping quiet is another good thing to do.You can hear these blows at a great distance & standing up gives me a better vantage point.

I gave myself 30 minutes time for searching.I did move around a bit to search the entire northern area of Vargas but alas could not find the Grey.

I returned to Tofino to visit with my fine feathered friends Maggie/Moe & Romeo/Juliette! I wished them well for the holidays after taking some great shots!

Merry Christmas to every single one of you! Romeo also says a Merry Christmas as well!

MAGGIE & MOE SHOPPING AT THE SUPERMARKET

Eagles, Lemmens Inlet, Mud Flats, Snow, Tofino Birds, Tofino Eagles, Tofino Wildlife

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Maggie & Moe always check out the mud flats during low tide for tasty treats.The high tide always brings fresh food in & leaves it during low tide.Moe seemed to be content with just standing around while Maggie was more active!

ROMEO LEAVES HIS JULIETTE TO VISIT WITH ME

Eagles, Snow, Tofino Birds, Tofino Eagles, Tofino Wildlife

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Romeo really does act silly sometimes.With them both being together (because it’s mating season) I wanted to get the snowy mountains in the background.So I had to back off about 500 feet or so.Any time I do that Romeo doesn’t like me being too far away & he always ruins the shot by taking off & coming over to see what I’m doing.This time I got the shots before he took off,but I still scolded him anyways.Juliette was content with just hanging around on their throne.

WINTER PERCHING

Eagles, Snow, Sunset, Tofino Birds, Tofino Eagles, Tofino Wildlife

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This is Ernie perching upon a tree on Strawberry island.Those mountains are in Strathcona park,22 miles north.

Ethel joins him in the third shot.Ernie was singing a welcoming song for her from above.

I love this kind of light! As you know light is composed of many different colours. This  is the last colour you’ll see at the end of a sunset. However not every sunset will display it.This colour only lasts a very short period of time & also has low contrast making it the most delicate of colours! I search for this colour all the time! I cannot get enough of it because I really do not see it very often & remember that when it does happen,you have to be in the right spot with your equipment handy! No time to run around looking for a great background to take advantage of it……..It only lasts a few minutes!

WALLPAPER

Chesterman's Beach, Tofino Wildlife

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Whenever I go out to the beach,I’m always mindful of the clouds.I’ve found that a good photograph will almost always have good clouds. I say “almost” because a good photograph needs more than clouds to be successful. A photograph should be layered,so that the eye is baited & drawn in.A photograph that does not invite the eye in,is not successful. To invite the eye in, good bait is required. To bait the eye,there must be a central subject.I like a subject in either the fore or mid-ground position.

If there is no subject in the foreground basically all you have is “wallpaper”.A good background with no subject presented. I often times will find a great background & simply wait for someone or something to walk/fly into my scene.I like to call it “Spider/fly”.I wait for someone to come into my photographic web. I wanted a surfer in this shot but couldn’t find a one about & none were surfing.I sometimes wait for a volunteer  to come out of the water. Not tonight,there wasn’t a single one out there.So I hung around the public pathway waiting for one to show up. Unfortunately none did.

So I ended up with nice looking wallpaper.

 

MAGGIE GIRL SHOWING OFF

Eagles, Snow, Tofino Birds, Tofino Eagles, Tofino Wildlife

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The reason why I say showing off is because two boats of tourists happen to come by just as Maggie & I began our visit.One of the boats had a dog standing on the bow.A well trained dog (Sitka) that didn’t bark at Maggie! I did notice however that she did ward off from coming over once when I was too close to the boat.I moved a tad further away & she came over.She put a show on for the folks at any rate.They seemed underwhelmed to be honest.City folk eh?