canada

Spring Wildflowers at Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo

A grove of Garry Oaks (Quercus garryana) and Woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum) growing along the shore of Pipers Lagoon Park in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

pipers lagoon near nanaimo bc garry oaks and wildflowers

Pipers Lagoon near Nanaimo, BC

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   Pipers Lagoon Park is a great park to visit if you are near Nanaimo, British Collumbia. While not very large, this park packs a lot of interesting plants, trees, and wildlife into a small area. When I was there in June of 2013 I saw a wide variety of marine birds, large numbers of shore crabs, wildflowers, and even some Garry Oak groves. You can see some Garry Oaks on the left hand side of the photograph above, and some Woolly sunflower plants growing in the foreground. Not an easy location to photograph wildflowers though, being right on the water there is always a bit of wind.

You can view more photographs from Vancouver Island in my Vancouver Island Gallery.

Skutz Falls on the Cowichan River

Skutz Falls along the Cowichan River at Cowichan River Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada

skutz falls along the cowichan river in cowichan river provincial park

The Cowichan River’s Skutz Falls in Cowichan River Provincial Park (Purchase)

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   A panorama photograph of Skutz Falls I made last spring during a visit to Cowichan River Provincial Park. Judging from other photographs I have seen it would appear this day had rather high water levels in the Cowichan River. I suspect a return trip some fall when there is nice autumn colours will be in order. I bet the water levels will be about right at that time of year.

You can view more photographs from Vancouver Island in my Vancouver Island Gallery.

Harrison Hot Springs and the Mount Cheam Range

Late evening light on the Mount Cheam Range and the beachfront condominiums at Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada.

harrison hot springs beachfront condos with mount cheam in the background

Mount Cheam Range and the beachfront condominiums at Harrison Hot Springs (Purchase)

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This past week I drove out to Harrison Hot Springs area to photograph sunset light on Mount Cheam. I had a number of locations in mind, and did some hiking, but it turned out my favourite photo from the day was this one. Photographed from Harrison Lagoon, these are some beachfront condominiums with the Cheam Range behind. The peaks visible in this photo are (from left to right) Stewart, Baby Munday, Knight, Lady and Cheam Peaks. Mount Archibald is the peak on the far right, but is not part of the Cheam Range. I have photographed Mount Cheam many different times of the year, but I think winter is my favourite. Cheam just takes on a different personality in the winter when there is a lot of snow.

You can view more photographs from this area in my Fraser Valley Gallery.

Frozen Eureka Falls

A frozen Eureka Falls “flows” into Silverhope Creek near Hope, British Columbia, Canada

frozen eureka falls and silverhope creek near hope british columbia canada

Eureka Falls frozen in a recent cold snap (Purchase)

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   I visit Eureka Falls several times a year on my way to Silver Lake Provincial Park near Hope, British Columbia. This was the first time I had been there in winter, however, and the place looked much different than I am used to. Normally I visit Eureka Falls in early spring when the water levels are higher and of course the foliage is green. The ice on the waterfall was quite thick, but you could still see water flowing underneath the ice. The lower water levels on Silverhope creek at this time of year also allowed me to try some new angles and get closer to the water than I normally am able. Now that I have some more appropriate cold weather clothing I have many locations I want to photograph this winter now that hypothermia is less of an issue! Now all we need is to get some actual snow…

Downtown Vancouver and Earth’s Shadow

Earth’s shadow (the Belt of Venus) behind downtown Vancouver’s Canada Place and the Trade and Convention Center building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

earths shadow belt of venus behind canada place in vancouver british columbia

Vancouver’s Canada Place and the Belt of Venus (Purchase)

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   A few weeks ago I was in Stanly Park again photographing downtown Vancouver near sunset. There wasn’t great light for sunset, and the blue hour photos I made that night were okay, but didn’t surpass my previous photos of downtown Vancouver in those conditions. I was able to photograph what I had only previously seen over mountains much further East – the Belt of Venus (aka the Earth’s Shadow) over downtown Vancouver. I enjoy this photograph because it is not quite like other photographs I’ve seen of Vancouver, and I like the soft colours in the sky.

   About an hour earlier I was watching the float planes land in Coal Harbour and decided to switch up from a wide angle lens to my 70-200 to try to catch one landing. As Canada Place seems to be well represented in a panoramic format, I stitched two exposures together to make the photograph below. This is a Whistler Air floatplane landing in Coal Harbour on its way to the Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base).

tatoosh range and wildflower sunset panorama in mount rainier national park

A Whistler Air floatplane lands in the water of Coal Harbour next to Canada Place in Vancouver (Purchase)

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Peachland and Okanagan Lake

Beachfront condos and shops along Beach Avenue on Okanakan Lake in Peachland, British Columbia, Canada

beach at peachland in british columbias okanagan

Beachfront Property at Peachland, British Columbia (Purchase)

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   During my May trip to the Thompson Okanagan I stopped to photograph along Beach avenue in Peachland, British Columbia. The benches along the beach proved a good place to eat lunch and watch some storm clouds come up from the south and up towards Kelowna.

   I also visited Hardy Falls in Peachland, which is a small waterfall along Deep Creek on the south end of the town. A quick 10 minute or so walk along a trail next to Deep Creek and I was at the falls. The area had changed much since the scouting images I looked at were made. A rockfall has blocked view of the lower part of the waterfall from the trail, and closed the end of the trail itself. I had briefly considered a way to get a better angle on the falls, but a rock rattled down the hillside into the water and I decided the photo below would suffice!

hardy falls near peachland british columbia

Hardy Falls in Peachland, BC (Purchase)

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Visit my Image Archive for an entire gallery of photographs I have made in the Thompson Okanagan region of British Columbia.

Okanagan Beaches – Shorts Point Beach in Fintry

Beach at Short’s Point in Fintry Provincial Park on the shore of Okanagan Lake in Fintry, British Columbia, Canada.

sailboat at shorts point in fintry provincial park in the okanagan

Beach at Short’s Point at Okanagan Lake (Purchase)

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   This beach scene from the Short’s Point area of Fintry Provincial Park would have been rather mundane if someone hadn’t left their catamaran sailboat on the shore for me to photograph. I spent some time walking along the beach at Fintry looking for compositions but didn’t walk all of it – the Fintry beach is 2km long!

View more of my photos from the Thompson Okanagan.

Okanagan Beaches – Otter Bay Beach in Vernon

Otter Bay Beach on the shores of Okanagan Lake at Ellison Provincial Park in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada

otter bay beach on the shores of okanagan lake at ellison provincial park in vernon, british columbia

Otter Bay Beach on Okanagan Lake

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   As I pointed out in my previous Okanagan beach post, I am not much of a beach goer. However, last year while at Ellison Provincial Park I photographed Otter Bay Beach during a sunny spring day. On my trip this year I went back to this location, but the conditions were not quite right for photography, unfortunately. I will probably be back to try again this fall or in spring 2014.

otter bay beach on okanagan lake at ellison provincial park in vernon, british columbia

Otter Bay Beach on the shore of Okanagan Lake

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   View more of my photos from the Thompson Okanagan.