sandstone

Broad-Leaved Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium)

Broad-Leaved Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium) flowers growing on the sandstone in Biggs Park near Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

Broad-Leaved Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium) growing on the sandstone in Biggs Park near Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

Blooming Broad-Leaved Stonecrop – Sedum spathulifolium (Purchase)

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   These Broad-Leaved Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium) certainly live in a relatively tough environment. In early June 2013 I found these individuals in Biggs Park near Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The sandstone surface on the beach creates lot of nooks and crannies for life – and the two plants in the bottom photo were taking advantage of that. The plant in the first photo was right out in the open, however. The ability to survive anchored on the rocks with only a small amount of soil is interesting. Stonecrop are a succulent plant, and store what water they can which makes them quite drought resistant. The thick tissue also help prevent water loss to the environment. I had seen succulents like this before, most likely stonecrop species, but never blooming as nicely as these ones.

Broad-Leaved Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium) growing on the sandstone in Biggs Park near Nanaimo

Broad-Leaved Stonecrop – Sedum spathulifolium (Purchase)

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Sunset from Biggs Park / Jack Point

Sunset over Nanaimo harbour and the Coast Mountain Range from Biggs Park in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

sunset over the coast mountain range and nanaimo harbour from biggs park at duke point in nanaimo british columbia

Sunset at Nanaimo’s Duke Point (Purchase)

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   I enjoyed the scenery and photographic possibilites at Biggs Park near Nanaimo so much that I shot there on back to back evenings. I remain a bit confused as to what to call the area. The very tip of the peninsula is “Jack Point”, the park is called “Biggs Park”, but the BC Ferries terminal that it is adjacent to is “Duke Point”. Regardless of what the area is called, I enjoyed the sunset I was able to witness – and the sandstone formations (tafoni) always make for interesting foregrounds.

   I also was reminded of what I thought was an already learned lesson in that walking back to the car along a trail in the dark is best done with a flashlight! 🙂

Larrabee State Park Sunset

Sunset over Lummi Island with some sandstone Tafoni at Clayton Beach in Larrabee State Park – Bellingham, Washington State, USA.

sunset over lummi island with some sandstone tafoni at clayton beach in larrabee state park

Clayton Beach at Larrabee State Park

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   In March I was lucky to have Alan Majchrowicz give me a tour of Larrabee State Park in Washington State. Thanks again Alan! We were lucky and had some good light at the end of the day. The rocky shores just south of Bellingham are not like the ones I’ve spent more time on around Vancouver – these are mostly sandstone. Much nicer to walk on the sandstone – its like built in grip for your shoes! The water has also eroded the rock surfaces into all sorts of interest shapes and patterns which makes choosing a composition a bit difficult – there are so many great possibilities! Sunsets like this are not something I have done a lot with in the past, and I even brought out the 6 stop ND filter for some of it. Waiting for a 116 second exposure is not something I am used to – but I quite like the results. I will have to do much more with that filter in the future!

For more photos of Washington State visit my Washington State Collection in my Image Library.