acer circinatum

Rolley Creek Fall Colours

Vine Maple Fall colour foliage along Rolley Creek at Rolley Lake Provincial Park in Mission, British Columbia, Canada

rolley creek in mission bc

Fall foliage along Rolley Creek (Purchase)

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   Some years are great for Fall colours, and some not as much. This appears to be a year in the Southwest corner of British Columbia that is not so great. Our dry Summer seems to have allowed powdery mildew (a fungus) to grow on the leaves of the Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) and as a consequence has impacted the Fall colour display. So instead of great yellows and some orange, many trees are turning from green to a orange tinged brown. Not nearly as photogenic!

   While the Fraser Valley does not have a wide variety of plants that make great Fall colours, there is always the Vine Maple (Acer circinatum) to the rescue. This tree, while not as nearly large as the Bigleaf Maple, seems to always come through with at least decent Fall foliage colours in some locations. Just like looking for wildflowers, sometimes all you need is one! While hunting for what turned out to be the elusive Rolley Falls (more on that in my next blog post) I was able to find this Vine Maple along Rolley Creek on the way to the falls.

Silver Lake Fall Colours Panorama

Panorama of Vine and Bigleaf Maples showing some fall foliage colours along Silver Lake in Silver Lake Provincial Park near Hope, British Columbia, Canada.

panorama of fall colours reflecting in silver lake in silver lake provincial park

Silver Lake Provincial Park Panorama with Fall Foliage (Purchase)

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In late September I went to Silver Lake Provincial Park in the Skagit Valley near Hope, British Columbia. The Fall colours had just started to appear. A few weeks later, however, they were almost in full swing. The above panorama was made about 3 weeks after my previous shot – how quickly things change! Again I was very lucky to have a near perfect reflection – I’ve been there a few times when there were almost waves due to the wind. The majority of the Fall colours here are provided by Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) and Vine Maples (Acer circinatum).

Fall Colours at Silver Lake

Vine and Bigleaf Maples start to change into their Fall colours along the edge of Silver Lake in Silver Lake Provincial Park near Hope, British Columbia, Canada.

maple trees reflecting in silver lake in silver lake provincial park

Fall at Silver Lake Provincial Park

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   Last night I was in the Eastern Fraser Valley near Hope, British Columbia. My destination was Silver Lake Provincial Park. Years ago I stopped here after a storm had rolled through and managed to photograph a great reflection on the lake. Last night I was hoping that conditions would let me try this again, with a bit more exploration of the area. I was not disappointed, though there weren’t many clouds to make the sky a bit more interesting. The reflections were great, though the amount of fish jumping occasionally messed up the stillness of the water! The trees reflected in Silver Lake are Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) and Vine Maples (Acer circinatum). It is a bit early for such Fall colours, but with the amount of dry weather this area has had for the last few months, it seems some of the trees are packing it in early.

More of my photos from this park can be found in my Silver Lake Provincial Park Gallery.

Campbell Valley Regional Park Photos

A Vine Maple (Acer circinatum) with a bed of Pacific Bleeding Heart flowers (Dicentra formosa) – at Campbell Valley Park in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.

vine maple and pacific bleeding hearts in campbell valley park, langley, british columbia

Vine Maple and Pacific Bleeding Heart in Campbell Valley Park (Purchase)

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   Today I have two photos from Campbell Valley Regional Park in Langley, British Columbia. One of the things I have been working on with my photography is to improve the photos I make of scenes inside the forest. There can often be so many competing elements all heading in different directions that a pleasing, non cluttered composition can be difficult. So I decided to work on that, and am getting results that I think are an improvement and more compelling than previous efforts. This photo (left) of a Vine Maple (Acer circinatum) with a bed of Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa) growing below it is one example.

walking path in campbell valley park in langley - british columbia

Walking path in Campbell Valley Regional Park (Purchase)

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   I’ve recently been editing and key wording all the photos I’ve made in this park over the last few years. Many were already processed, but there was still a lot of work to be done. I’ll place them all in their own gallery on my website soon – right now they are scattered over a few different categories. Campbell Valley Park is only about a 15 minute drive for me, so I will likely be spending even more time there as a lot of the park I have yet to explore.

For all my photographs of this park visit my Campbell Valley Regional Park Gallery.

Vine Maples and Silverhope Creek

spring leaves on the vine maples - acer circinatum - above silverhope creek near hope - british columbia

Vine Maples (Acer circinatum) &
Silverhope Creek
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   Silverhope Creek (in the Skagit Valley near Hope, British Columbia) is one of my favourite spots to photograph fast water and foliage in the Fraser Valley. I have not spent enough time exploring upper parts of the Chillwack River though, and that area also looks pretty promising too. This creek runs along the road to Silver Lake Provincial Park. The creek itself offers many photography opportunities though the area around the lake itself is also quite nice. I really like this scene with the fresh leaves of Vine Maples (Acer circinatum) and the Western Red Cedars (Thuja plicata) growing just above the fast flowing water. I plan to head out to Silverhope Creek again this Spring. I have a few ideas on better compositions than I managed last year. I also hope to be there when the wind isn’t blowing the leaves around so much! I tried many exposures before this one had the leaves at least somewhat well behaved. Next time I will try a few exposures where I leave the shutter open for a long period of time to show the trees moving as well.

Ohanapecosh Campground in Mt. Rainier National Park

In 2006 Mt. Rainier National Park received 18 inches (45cm) of rain in 36 hours. Flooding damaged roads, infrastructure and changed the course of rivers. A 5000 ft (1524 meters) landslide below Stevens Canyon Road dumped into the Ohanapecosh River near the Ohanapecosh Campground.

I would not have wanted to be here when this came down.

slide at ohanapecosh campground

slide at ohanapecosh campground ohanapecosh river at ohanapecosh campground

Vine Maple (Acer circinatum) at the campground.

vine maple acer circinatum at ohanapecosh campground vine maple acer circinatum at ohanapecosh campground vine maple acer circinatum at ohanapecosh campground