hope

Eureka Falls and Silverhope Creek

New photograph from Eureka Falls and Silverhope Creek in the Skagit Valley near Hope, British Columbia, Canada.

eureka falls and silverhope creek in the skagit valley near hope british columbia

Eureka Falls and Silverhope Creek in the Skagit Valley near Hope (Purchase)

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   Last week I traveled to the Thompson Okanagan region of British Columbia, specifically the Vernon and Kelowna areas. I photographed a few waterfalls on my trip to the Okanagan, but the first one I want to share is actually much closer to home. On my way back I stopped at Eureka Falls near Hope, BC. Often this falls has low water levels (or is completely dry) but I think the conditions were just about right last week. I finally was able to make some wide angle shots of this falls without much foliage in the way. Silverhope Creek is in the foreground, and was flowing rather quickly so I did not get too close to it.

   You can find more of my photos of Eureka Falls and Silver Lake Provincial Park, in the Silver Lake Provincial Park gallery on my website.

Silver Lake Fall Reflections

Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) reflecting in the water of Silver Lake in Silver Lake Provincial Park near Hope, British Columbia, Canada.

reflection of maple trees fall colours in silver lake provincial park

Fall Colours at Silver Lake (Purchase)

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   Another photograph I made this Fall at Silver Lake Provincial Park in the Skagit Valley near Hope, British Columbia. I was fortunate on both of my trips here last Fall to have a near perfect reflection on the lake – I only wish I’d had even more hours of light to work with all the possibilities!

   I posted a panorama made on the same evening in a previous blog post. I also have a gallery in my newly organized image archive dedicated to Silver Lake Provincial Park you may enjoy.

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.

Fall at Silverhope Creek

fall along silverhope creek near silver lake provincial park
Silverhope Creek
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   Last year the Fraser Valley had some pretty bad Fall color. The Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) that dominate the color around here pretty much went from green to a bit of yellow with a lot of brown – not very photographically appealing. Last week I ventured out into the valley and found some great fall colors, though I need to scout some locations a bit better for next year so I spend more time photographing and less time searching.

   This is a photograph I made last week of Silverhope creek which lies just outside the border of Silver Lake Provincial Park in the Skagit Valley near Hope, British Columbia. There was not a lot of Fall colors in this particular spot, though I do like this shot. This area is a great one for photos of the creek with lots of moss covered rocks – and most of it is near the road for easy access.
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Eureka Falls in Detail

eureka falls in spring
Eureka Falls
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   This is a close up shot of Eureka Falls just outside Silver Lake Provincial Park near Hope, BC. A bit wider take on the panorama I posted earlier. These falls are pretty easy to get to – they are right on the side of the road. Unfortunately, (as you can see in my shots of this area last year) Silverhope Creek runs between the road and Eureka Falls. At this time of year the river is really roaring (or I presume, as I’ve not seen it any other time of year) and I have not been willing to go down the bank near it. The river is running fast enough, and the rocks large enough, that being swept away would mean I would not be coming back to this spot. I do hope to return later in the Summer or maybe Fall to see if the water levels are lower and the bank more accessible so I can get some different angles on the falls themselves. I am also hoping that Eureka Falls is not a seasonal waterfall and actually exists with lower water levels.

Eureka Falls Panorama

eureka falls near hope bc
Eureka Falls (click for larger version)

 
   Last May I traveled back from Kelowna through Manning Provincial Park. In Manning I was driving mostly through a rainstorm but it cleared just as I came down the mountains into Hope, BC. I decided to check out Silver Lake Provincial Park and shot some really nice post storm photos of Silver Lake itself. I spent much more time photographing Silver Creek though. Last winter did not produce much of a snow pack (remember the Olympics having troubles with snow on Cypress Mountain?) but 2011 has been very different. Consequently there is much more water in the creek this year – which I should probably have expected ahead of time considering how much snow still shows in the mountains.

   Last night I ventured out into this area again – this “panorama” of Eureka Falls is so far my favourite of the bunch, though my judgement is always questionable this soon after a shot is taken.

What do you think? Does this shot work for you?

Silver Lake Provincial Park in Spring

I had arrived at Silver Lake (in Silver Lake Provincial Park) just after passing through Manning Provincial Park on the way home from my trip to Kelowna. Earlier in the year I had visited there on a fairly rainy, bad weather day but noticed potential in Wells Peak to nicely reflect in the lake. So I thought I’d drive by having passed through the rain storms in Manning to see what I could find. I had not intended on staying long, as I’d done about 13 hours on the road that day after 14 the day before. I wound up spending a few hours in this area photographing both the lake, the peaks, and trying out my new ND filter on Silverhope Creek.

wells peak reflected in silver lake silver lake provincial park

wells peak silver lake provincial park