fraser valley

Photographs from the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Named after the Fraser River, the Fraser Valley is home to communities such as Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, Agassiz, Mission, and Maple Ridge.

Hillkeep Regional Park Views – Mount Cheam and Mount Slesse

The peaks of the Mount Cheam Range above Fraser Valley farmland – from Hillkeep Regional Park in Chilliwack, BC.

mount cheam range peaks and chilliwack farmland

Mount Cheam Range Peaks (Cheam, Lady Peak, Knight Peak, Welch Peak) and Chilliwack Farmland from Hillkeep Regional Park (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

Hillkeep Regional Park in Chilliwack

A few years ago I photographed the view from Hillkeep Regional Park (link) in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The day was cloudy and rainy, and I could barely make out the Chilliwack Airport below. It was a nice walk with a lot of lush growth in many areas but some of the trails were a bit overgrown and underused. Earlier this year after a question from a client I wanted to get some newer photographs of Mount Cheam (Lhílheqey) from a new angle. Hillkeep Regional Park (on a nice day) seemed like the perfect place to start.

The view at Hillkeep Regional Park is quite nice, and the walk up to the viewing platform is short but does require a small amount of elevation gain to get there. During some times of the year you may want to reconsider wearing bare legs as the trail can be quite close to Stinging Nettles. The first photograph above is an image I made of Mount Cheam and the peaks behind it in the Cheam Range from the viewing platform. In the lower part of the photograph you can see a mixture of farmland and houses that make up much of this part of the Fraser Valley.

Mount Cheam’s Stó:lō name is Lhílheqey (“mother mountain”) and is a significant physical and cultural feature of the valley. The peak names from left to right are Cheam Peak, Lady Peak (Dog Face), Knight Peak, and Welch Peak. Mount Archibald is in front of the Cheam Range between Knight and Welch Peaks.

mount slesse, macfarlane, and crossover peak from hillkeep regional park

Mount MacFarlane, Crossover Peak, and Mount Slesse from Hillkeep Regional Park (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

Another noteworthy (though less prominent) peak you can see easily from Hillkeep Park and nearby parts of the Fraser Valley is Mount Slesse. At the end of a small range of peaks, Slesse is the most prominent and memorable. The photo above shows (from left to right) Mount MacFarlane, Crossover Peak, and Mount Slesse after some fresh, late winter snows. The word “Slesse” means “fang” in the Halq’eméylem language. Mount Slesse is also known as the site of the crash of Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 in 1956 which killed 62 people and remains the 6th deadliest in Canadian history.

From the Hillkeep lookout there is not just view of the surrounding mountains but also Highway 1 (Trans Canada Highway), the Chilliwack Municipal Airport (YCW), and a lot of housing developments and farmland. The photograph below shows a mix of all of these elements, with the airport in the foreground. The airport was fairly busy on the day I was at Hillkeep, and as a consequence many of my panoramas and photographs from this afternoon had multiple planes in them. One managed to get into almost every frame of a 10 frame panorama, which was a feat I think only a few (feathered) birds have accomplished in the past.

chilliwack airport and the trans canada highway from hillkeep regional park

Chilliwack Municipal Airport from Hillkeep Regional Park (Purchase)

Mount Cheam from Agassiz

Here is a “bonus” panorama of Mount Cheam/Lhílheqey I made later in the day from Agassiz near the Fraser River. I’d classify this as a “mountain portrait” as it doesn’t have any of the surrounding land in the photograph. While I’ve made a few of these in the past I still enjoy Cheam as a subject – it is a peak with character, especially with some fresh snow.

fresh snow on mount cheam

Fresh snow on Mount Cheam (Lhílheqey) as photographed from farmland in Agassiz, British Columbia (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

For more photographs of these areas of the Fraser Valley visit my Chilliwack and Agassiz/District of Kent Galleries.

Mount Cheam and Agassiz Farmland

A flowering Cherry or Plum tree along a dike next to the Fraser River in Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada. Mount Cheam, Mount Archibald (right), and Hopyard Hill are in the background.

agassiz farmland and dike road near the fraser river with mount cheam

Mount Cheam and a Flowering Cherry Tree (or Plum) along a Fraser River Dike (Purchase)

A few years ago I found a new spot to photograph Mount Cheam in the farmland near Agassiz, BC. In the spring of 2018 I revisited the spot during the spring, in the hopes of photographing a different look to the surroundings and maybe more snow on Mount Cheam. The first photograph shows the view along a dike road next to the Fraser River to the west of Agassiz, with a flowering cherry or plum tree next to the farmland with Mount Cheam in the background.

It is pretty rare in this area to find a single tree not surrounded by other trees or bush so I made a photograph of this Maple in the farm field. When they aren’t challenged by other tree species in their immediate vicinity they seem to grow to be quite symmetrical. This does not appear to be a Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) but could be a Douglas Maple (Acer glabrum).

maple tree farm field agassiz

A Solitary Maple Tree in a Farm Field in Agassiz (Purchase)

After the afternoon photos above I scouted for some more photography locations in the area, and made a few photographs near the Agassiz-Rosedale Bridge next to the Fraser River. I returned to my original location in the hopes of some good evening light on the mountains but it didn’t materialize. This photograph was made after the sun had fully set. When I was making this last photograph a small airplane flew overhead, but very low, probably only 150′ or so. It turned above my head, flew over the farmland to the north, then came back and flew very close to Hopyard Hill before it banked sharply and again followed the Fraser River heading upstream. I’d have a photograph, but this is not the sort of situation where I was able to change lenses and settings in the 30 seconds of availability of the subject! I’m mostly just happy it didn’t run into the hill, which from my perspective certainly looked possible!

fraser river and mount cheam agassiz evening

Mount Cheam and the Fraser River in Agassiz (Purchase)

For more photographs of the Agassiz area visit my Agassiz – District of Kent Gallery.

Bee Hives in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley

Bee hives in an Abbotsford, British Columbia apiary.

bee hives in a fraser valley abbotsford apiary

Bee Hives in Abbotsford (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   I was photographing a scene with farmland and Mount Baker the other day in Abbotsford, BC. This was to be my first stop of many on the way through Mission, the Harrison area and Agassiz. Some horses came over to the fence to say hello, but wandered off after they realized I didn’t have any treats or anything for them. With the horses came the flies, which was annoying. I made this photograph of the bee hives in the field (probably 60 feet away from me) soon after. I made 3 exposures. The first two were like this, and the third is very blurry. As I was making the 3rd exposure a bee flew partly up my nose (I thought it was a fly). After a failed “one nostril push” maneuver to get it out I grabbed it with my fingers. The result of this was a bee stinger lodged in that space between my upper lip and my recently invaded nostril.

   I had not been stung by a bee since I was a kid, and it is still the unpleasant experience that I recall. It felt a bit like I’d been hit in the teeth with something. I quickly got in my car (I’d been standing next to it) and looked in the rear view mirror. Sure enough, there was a bee stinger in my face. I tried to flick it out with a fingernail but it stayed put. I then remembered reading that you can get them out with a credit card or something flat like that. If you grab a stinger with your fingers, the round part above the surface will act a bit like a turkey baster – and you’ll inject all the venom into the wound. I wished to avoid this, and a quick flick with a credit card got the stinger out of my face. All in all it was probably only in there for 10-15 seconds. Not having had a sting for 25+ years, I wasn’t sure how my body was going to react. Things like this can swell quit a bit, so I cut my trip short (after only about 25 minutes) to go home and endure whatever messy aftermath was to befall me rather than it playing out in public. I didn’t want a golf ball sized swelling on my face when I was trying to photograph either. So I grabbed the freezer pack from my cooler, stuck it on my face, and drove home. As it turned out I only had some minor swelling and it all settled down after about 30 minutes (the ice probably helped). I went out again to shoot a local park after dinner. I guess it was a relatively good outcome that the worst of this was that I had to postpone my trip one day. I’m also glad that I managed to complete shooting Mount Baker and the farmland successfully so I won’t have to return to that spot!

For more photographs of bees and other critters take a look at my Animals and Wildlife Gallery.

View of Glen Valley Farmland and the Fraser River

View of Glen Valley farmland, the Fraser River, and Coquitlam/Burnaby Mountain from Bradner Road in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.

panorama of glen valley farmland and the fraser river in langley abbotsford

View of Glen Valley Farmland in Langley and Abbotsford (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   This view of Glen Valley’s farmland is one that I had forgotten about for many years. I remember looking out the car window and seeing this view as a kid from the backseat of my parents’ car. On a rare, non rainy day last fall I remembered the viewpoint when I was nearby, and decided to drive up to Bradner Road to see if it was still there. I was happy to find it hadn’t been overgrown by trees and still offered good views of Glen Valley below. It wasn’t the clearest day but I think I will be back there in the spring to see if sunset offers any interesting light from this vantage point.

view of glen valley farms in abbotsford and langley

View of Glen Valley (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   One of the common crops farmed in Glen Valley are cranberries and blueberries. The bottom left of the above photograph shows one of the many partially flooded cranberry field after harvest. The fields are flooded in the fall so that the berries float to the surface (after a bit of a beating) for easy collection.

glen valley farmland and the fraser river

Glen Valley Farmland and the Fraser River (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   The third photo here shows Glen Valley, The Fraser River, Macmillan Island, Coquitlam, and Burnaby Mountain beyond. I was a bit surprised how far I could see from this elevation. The top of the Port Mann Bridge and many taller buildings in Surrey were also visible.

For more photos of Glen Valley and the surrounding region please visit my Fraser Valley Gallery.

Rainbow over Hatzic Lake

A rainbow over Hatzic Lake and Hatzic Island near Mission, British Columbia, Canada. Photographed from Neilson Regional Park in Mission.

rainbow over hatzic lake in the fraser valley of british columbia

Rainbow over Hatzic Lake and Hatzic Island (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   This fall has been really wet. This October we’ve had 28 days with rain (26 was the old record) – the dreariest on record. While it is “only” the 12th wettest by volume, the frequency has made it difficult to photograph what fall foliage colours there are out there right now. This year doesn’t appear to have been an overall great year for color in the Fraser Valley anyway. Just as with photographing wildflowers, however, it just takes one good spot – you don’t need a whole forest. So even when the conditions aren’t great or the fall foliage is more of a rotten brown colour, it is always worth it to get out and look for individual trees/shrubs with a better display.

   On Tuesday I drove through the farmland in the northern part of Abbotsford to see if I could find some new farm scenes with fall foliage. I found a few new locations, but one I had been planning to shoot was a movie set on that day. This blocked me from trying to shoot there – the movie set people don’t exactly like people hanging around with a camera and tripod! I eventually crossed over the Abbotsford-Mission Bridge and found my way to Neilson Regional Park in Mission. I haven’t been to this park in probably 25 years, so I was curious if anything would feel familiar about it. I recalled walking down to the shoreline with my parents and seeing schools of carp (or a similar species) near the shore. On Tuesday I found only a brief rainstorm (and no fish), but some direct sunlight gave me the opportunity to photograph this rainbow in rather scenic surroundings. Hatzic Lake is in the foreground here, and some of the fall foliage on Hatzic Island provided some nice colours. The mountain in the background is Mcnab Peak (I believe). I think this is the first rainbow I have photographed while not standing in my backyard. I’ve seen many, but often not in a photogenic location. Happy to have been at Hatzic Lake for the 10 or so minutes this one was in view!

For more of my photographs of this area visit my Fraser Valley Gallery.

Silverhope Creek Fall Colors

Fall foliage colours along Silverhope Creek near Hope, British Columbia, Canada.

silverhope creek fall foliage colours

Silverhope Creek (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   Having just written a post about great fall colour at Whatcom Falls, here is one trip where colour was a bit more of a challenge to find. Fall is one of my favourite times to photograph but finding good fall colour in the Fraser Valley can be difficult depending on the year. In the fall of 2015 colour was hard to find, as it was when these photographs were made – back in 2011. However, as I’ve probably said here before in terms of fall colours (and wildflowers) you often just need one to make a scene work. These photographs show just one Vine Maple (Acer circinatum along Silverhope Creek in Hope, BC. This is one of several good spots for photography along Silverhope Creek on the way to Silver Lake Provincial Park.

silverhope creek fall foliage colours from a vine maple tree

Vine Maple along Silverhope Creek (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

For more photographs of this region please visit my Fraser Valley Gallery.

My Top 10 Photos of 2014

   I tend to consider this list more of a top 10 favourite photographs of 2014 than the “best”. Choosing the images for my Nature Calendars always helps me narrow these things down a bit ahead of making my final list below. Once again, I am making this post so I can be a part of Jim Goldstein’s annual Your Best Photos project. Look for his post early in the new year with all the entries from a wide variety of photographers. Always a great place to find new photographers and their work.

   I hope you enjoy the following photographs and I am curious if you have a favourite. Clicking on each photograph takes you to my Image Archive but below you’ll also find links to corresponding blog posts. In no specific order here are my top 10 photographs of 2014:

trout lake creek moss and rocks
Trout Lake Creek flows through the rainforest in Sasquatch Provincial Park
(Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia)
Blog post: Sasquatch Provincial Park

lions gate bridge and downtown vancouver from ambleside beach
The Lions Gate Bridge and downtown Vancouver
(West Vancouver, British Columbia)
Blog post: Lions Gate Bridge from Ambleside Park

Read more

Fall at Rolley Lake Provincial Park

   Rolley Lake Provincial Park in Misson, British Columbia is a place I started exploring again last fall having visited it many times as a kid. Last year I was able to find some fall colours in individual trees and went back again last week to hopefully find the same.

vine maples on the rolley lake trail in rolley lake provincial park

Vine Maples on the Rolley Lake Trail (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   This is not Eastern Canada, so we don’t have the large deciduous forests that provide great fall foliage displays. Usually we have to rely on Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophylum) and Vine Maples (Acer circinatum) for our fall colours in the Fraser Valley, and they don’t always show very well. This year appears to be one of those years where environmental conditions dictated a turn from green to orange/brown rather than a wide array of reds, oranges and yellows. Still, even in a bad year for fall foliage all you need is to find one tree in a photogenic place. The Vine Maple trees were hanging over this spot along the Rolley Lake Trail on the north side of the lake. You can see one is a nice yellow colour, while just a few feet away its cohort is still perfectly green.

fallen tree becomes a nurse log over a creek

A fallen tree becomes a nurse log (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   Further along the trail you run into a small bridge crossing a creek (that I believe is unnamed) running into the north west side of the lake. Just upstream from the bridge (I did some exploring) I found this tree that had fallen over the creek and was now home to a lot of mosses and some fern species. A textbook definition of a nurse log if you remember that from science class.

boardwalk on the rolley lake trail

Boardwalk on the Rolley Lake Trail (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   On the western side of the lake there is a marshy area filled with a lot of low shrubs (especially Spirea) and this bridge spanning one of the small streams that drain through into the lake. While these shrubs were not exactly showing off a nice fall colour display, I did like their reflection on the lake with the background forest and mist higher up the hillside.

unnamed creek flowing into rolley lake

Unnamed Creek Running into Rolley Lake (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   This is one of the two main creeks (also unnamed I believe) that run into Rolley Lake along the north side. I followed this one up the hill for a ways and found this spot that had a few nice, mini waterfalls and mosses and ferns. You can tell in times of higher water that this creek can carry some power – as shown by all the boulders, stumps and other debris in the creek. Not a neat and tidy area, but I thought I’d show the randomness of nature with this one.

You can see more of my Rolley Lake photography in the Rolley Lake Provincial Park Gallery in my Image Archive.