fall

Random Photos Volume I

I thought I’d begin sharing more of my photos here that don’t have enough of a story to warrant a blog post all their own.

Fallen Leaves at Fortune Creek in Gatineau Park

When I stopped to photograph a roadside scene of some fall foliage along Dunlop Road in Québec’s Gatineau Park last fall I heard a small creek nearby. I walked down and made the photograph below of some fallen leaves and Fortune Creek. Still one of my favourite “small scenes” I photographed on that trip. You can see the rest of my photos from the park in the Gatineau Park Gallery.

fall fall leaves along fortune creek in gatineau park

Fallen Leaves along Fortune Creek in Gatineau Park (Purchase)

Love in the Rain

Love in the Rain is a sculpture created by Bruce Voyce and is currently located at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The sculpture is for the attachment of “love locks” which couples can attach and then dispose of the keys in a nearby receptacle. Previously the locks were becoming a problem on fences and other structures in the city. When I first set up to photograph this composition there was someone sitting along on the bench, which I liked in contrast to the two “lovers” in the foreground. Then they got up and left. I wasn’t willing to sit on the bench myself for this as being 20 feet away with my back to my equipment was a bit risky in a reasonably busy park, so I didn’t. Maybe having the bench empty is a happier photograph anyway? More of my Vancouver photographs can be found in the Vancouver gallery.

love in the rain sculpture in Queen Elizabeth Park

Love in the Rain Sculpture in Queen Elizabeth Park (Purchase)

Mount Blanshard – “The Golden Ears”

At this point I have a lot of photographs of the Golden Ears (Mount Blanshard) from various locations. This is one I made from the banks of the Pitt River (in the Pitt Addington/Smohk’wa Marsh) during a cool stretch of weather in February.

golden ears from pitt meadows

The Golden Ears from Pitt Meadows (Purchase)

Grass Seed Head in the Snow.

There are occasions in winter where I am essentially snowed in – more than a foot of snow or so on the road can make it tough for me to get my car out of the driveway. This year with balding all season tires and that much snow, I didn’t even attempt this. So what to do? I went in the backyard and instead of photographing my usual Chickadee photos from the rose bushes, I went for this grass seed head poking up through the snow. A bit more minimal than subjects I usually photograph.

grass seed stalk poking up through snow

Grass Seed Head in the Snow (Purchase)

More photos like these can be found within the New Images Gallery in my Image Library.

Autumn Scenes at Buntzen Lake

The boat house at Buntzen Lake just north of Port Moody and the Village of Anmore – British Columbia, Canada.

boat house at buntzen lake

The Boat House at Buntzen Lake (Purchase)

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   I was quite busy photographing last fall, and am only now catching up on some remaining blog post about those photographs. These photos were made at Buntzen Lake which is a BC Hydro recreation area situated just north of the Village of Anmore in Port Moody, BC. This was a great day of photography, with good results from my stops at Sasamat Lake, Rocky Point Park, Barnet Marine Park, and here at Buntzen Lake. The first photograph above shows about as “iconic” view of this lake as you can have – a shot of the boat house near the main beach. I had not been to Buntzen in many years so I don’t remember all the views from the loop trail around the lake, but I think the boat house is one of the more distinctly identifiable scenes.

fall foliage reflections at buntzen lake

Fall Foliage Reflections at Buntzen Lake (Purchase)

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   I did find some more interesting scenes at the south end of Buntzen Lake at the floating bridge that crosses the marshy area there. I always love good fall foliage reflections in lakes, and this was another opportunity to photograph that kind of scene. There is a variety of tree species in this photo but the colorful yellow leaves are most likely a Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera).

   As with the photographs I had made earlier in the afternoon at Sasamat Lake, there was some mist/fog around the south end of Buntzen Lake. This seemed to move around and change shape a lot, so I waited until it was in an orientation I liked the best and photographed this and a few other panoramas in order to try to get the nicest look to the scene I could. I shot a number of individual frames here but in the end I think the panorama (14 frames stitched together) show the area best.

mist over the marsh at the south end of buntzen lake

Mist at the South End of Buntzen Lake

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You can see more photographs like these in the Lakes & Rivers Gallery in my Image Library .

Mount Baker from Huntoon Point

Sunset light in the clouds above Mount Baker – photographed from Huntoon Point, Washington State.

mount baker fall foliage sunset from huntoon point washington

Mount Baker and Fall Foliage at Huntoon Point (Purchase)

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   As I have indicated in other posts, fall is the time of year I usually visit the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington State. I usually photograph Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan, and the other North Cascade peaks and ranges in the area. Sometimes I am there along with some great fall foliage as well, though it has a much different look than near sea level. Where I live this leaf color is usually dominated by Bigleaf Maples, Vine Maples, and a few other species. Up in the mountains near Mount Baker, much of the color comes from smaller trees and shrubs such as the Vaccinium species (Blueberries / Huckleberries etc) and Sitka Mountain Ash (Sorbus sitchensis) as shown in the first photograph here. There is always a lot to photograph in the area between Picture Lake, the Chain Lakes, and Huntoon Point on Kulshan Ridge, even if there isn’t a nice sunset. One of my favourite spots and I always find new compositions when I am there.

mount baker sunset from huntoon point washington

Sunset at Mount Baker (Purchase)

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   When there is a nice sunset sometimes it can be difficult to photograph Mount Baker in that light. From this area you are looking southwest towards Mt. Baker. This can be problematic if the clouds aren’t cooperating in lessening the bright to dark one finds in looking from west to east across that view. Luckily there was some thin cloud cover in most of the sky, but not far to the west where the sun was free to shine through. These were near perfect conditions for sunset there, which I have not seen before myself. There was even some great light over the mountains to the north (the Border Peaks, for example) as well as above Mount Shuksan to the east.

mount baker after sunset from huntoon point washington

Mount Baker after the sunset (Purchase)

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Visit my Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest gallery for more photographs from this evening as well as the surrounding area.

Mill Pond Reflections in Mission, British Columbia

Fall foliage and Birch trees reflected on Mill Pond in Mission, British Columbia, Canada.

fall foilage reflection on mill pond in mission bc silverdale

Fall Foliage in Mission at Mill Pond (Purchase)

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   I have visited Mill Pond on Dewdney Trunk Road in Mission, BC a number of times, but not usually for photographs. Fall is one of my favourite times of year to photograph and so I try to get out as much as possible during the fleeting time fall foliage is available. Last year had nearly constant fall rain (600 mm/23.6 in during October/November) and was dubbed the “dreariest on record” by Environment Canada’s weather forecasters. 2016 had relatively poor fall foliage colours too, so I didn’t always find what I was looking for in spots I’d targeted. I was heading back from a “failed” trip one afternoon and stopped at Mill Pond to see if there were any interesting reflections on its surface. I was not disappointed – there were a few trees and shrubs that had some decent foliage colors and the lack of wind made for some good reflections. The first photograph here of the pond is actually the last one I put together from 4 separate exposures. These had to be a bit longer in duration (15 seconds) than those earlier as it was almost dark when I made this photograph. I am not sure what species make up most of the colours in the first photo but the second is primarily from Vine Maple (Acer circinatum) leaves.

fall foilage on mill pond in mission bc silverdale

Fall Foliage Reflected in Mill Pond (Purchase)

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For a few more photographs from Mission’s Mill Pond please visit my Lakes & Rivers gallery in the Image Library.

Stanley Park Pavilion

Wisteria and other plants around the Stanley Park Pavilion and Stanley’s Bar and Grill at Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

stanley park pavilion in vancouvers stanley park

The Stanley Park Dining Pavilion (Purchase)

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   Among many other park features, I enjoy the architecture/design of the historic buildings in Stanley Park. These include the Vancouver Rowing Club, Rose Garden Cottage and the Stanley Park Dining Pavilion shown above. The Stanley Park Pavilion was built in 1911 and features the Lord Stanley Ballroom, the Rose Garden Tea Room, and Stanley’s Bar and Grill. The Stanley Park Ecology Society also has it’s offices in the Pavilion.

For more photographs of Stanley Park visit my (new!) Stanley Park Gallery.

Historic Longmire Area of Mount Rainier

   I have been catching up on editing some older images I made in 2010 at Mount Rainier National Park. Below are two images of historic buildings in the Longmire Historic District. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ve been to Longmire since I made these photos back in 2010. I tend to enter the park from the Stevens Canyon entrance now due to its proximity to Tipsoo Lake, Sunrise and relatively quick access to the Paradise area. Sadly, Longmire gets left out most of the time now.

   This is the entrance to the historic Longmire Administration Building built in 1928.

the historic longmire administration building at longmire in mount rainier national park

Historic Longmire Administration Building

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   This is the Longmire Service Station which was built in 1927.

lower falls and gold creek with a flowering streambank arnica

Longmire Service Station

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   Between Longmire and Paradise lies a small loop road at Ricksecker Point. I have photographed many of the views from Ricksecker Point including this telephoto image of the peak of Mount Rainier itself. The glacier on the right hand side of this photo is the Kautz Glacier, which in part forms Kautz Creek many will be familiar with crossing if entering the park from the Nisqually entrance.

rocky snow and ice on the peak of mount rainier

Snow and Ice on the Peak of Mount Rainier

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You can find over 200 photographs from Mount Rainier in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.

Silver Lake and Hope Mountain

Sunset Light on Hope Mountain at Silver Lake Provincial Park near Hope, British Columbia, Canada

alpenglow on hope mountain by silver lake provincial park

Sunset Light on Hope Mountain from Silver Lake (Purchase)

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   Approximately 10km up the Silver Skagit road from Hope, British Columbia you’ll find the entrance to Silver Lake Provincial Park. The park contains a boat launch and a 25 spot campground, but as I live within an hour away in Langley I have mainly visited here on the way back from the Thompson Okanagan or as a day trip. The photograph above was made on an evening where I was lucky to have a near perfect reflection and some great fall foliage colors. Fall color is somewhat hit and miss in the Fraser Valley, but in 2013 there were some pretty great colors in the foliage of the Vine and Bigleaf Maples. Silver Lake is a great fall destination at all times of the year, but my favourite time here is in the fall. After turning up Silver Skagit road you will see several great views of Silverhope Creek, as well as Eureka Falls just before the turnoff to the park.

For more photographs from this area please take a look at my Silver Lake Provincial Park Gallery.

Harrison Lake Waterfront Property

A large house on the shore of Harrison Lake near Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada

waterfront house on harrison lake

Harrison Lake Waterfront Property and Fall Foliage (Purchase)

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   I have been editing some more of my photo backlog and came across this photograph of Harrison Lake from 2009. This was one of those years with great fall foliage colours in the Fraser Valley. The leaves you see here are mostly Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) which often turn a yellowish brown but on this occasion had great oranges and yellows (somewhat accentuated by the sunset light). I made this image in the Green Point Day Use Area of Sasquatch Provincial Park on the shore of Harrison Lake just outside Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia. I don’t know anything about this particular waterfront property, but it does appear they have a great view!

For more of my photography from this area visit my Fraser Valley Gallery in the Image Library.