waterfalls

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, BC (Purchase)

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)

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

Chase River Falls in Colliery Dam Park

Chase River Falls in Colliery Dam Park in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

chase river falls at colliery dam park in nanaimo

Chase River Falls in Nanaimo (Purchase)

I had already walked around Colliery Dam Park in Nanaimo on two separate occasions before someone asked me if I had seen the waterfall. I had thought they meant the two spillway waterfalls from each of the two dams in the park, but apparently there was a natural waterfall just a minute or two walk from where I stood. I am rather fortunate that this was pointed out to me, as research of the area and my own exploration had failed to discover Chase River Falls.

moss covered fallen trees at colliery dam park in nanaimo

Fallen Trees Covered in Moss at Colliery Dam Park in Nanaimo (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

Another reason I feel I was fortunate to be pointed to these falls at that time is that Colliery Dam Park itself will largely cease to exist due to removal of the two small dams. This will create large holes where the two small lakes now sit. I do not know if access to the Chase River Falls will change, but either way, strolling through a nice forest next to a lake is certainly more picturesque when compared to a construction site or open pit.

See more of my photos from this area in my Nanaimo gallery.

Millstone River Falls at Bowen Park in Nanaimo, British Columbia

Millstone River Falls along the Millstone River at Bowen Park in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

millstone river falls at bowen park in nanaimo, british columbia

Millstone River Falls at Bowen Park (Purchase)

When researching an area I am in or a place I plan to visit, I’ve often just skipped the green squares and rectangles on the google map indicating a city park. Usually what I am going to find there is a playing field or some trees and a picnic table. A better place to eat lunch than the strip mall, but not the kind of photography subjects I am usually after. Bowen Park in Nanaimo is not one of these parks. Yes, it is in the city, but just like Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham, Washington this park has some great waterfalls and subjects for photography despite being right in the middle of civilization.

millstone river waterfall at bowen park in nanaimo, british columbia

Waterfall along the Millstone River in Nanaimo’s Bowen Park (Purchase)

During my trip to Nanaimo I was not able to get as much cloud cover as I wanted for these sorts of waterfall and river photos, so I did the majority of my photography in Bowen Park in the evenings. For the most part this allowed me to have even light across my compositions with only the odd brighter spot in the sky. This worked quite well due to the density of the surrounding forest. Evening was also a nice time to be in the park with cooler temperatures, though the mosquitoes felt the same way. There is an extensive trail system in Bowen Park, and you are able to walk along the Millstone River for much of its run through the park. Just remember to bring some bug repellent!

Eureka Falls and Silverhope Creek

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)

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.

Fall in Queen Elizabeth Park

Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver

fall maple foliage in queen elizabeth park in vancouver british columbia

Bloedel Conservatory in the Fall at Queen Elizabeth Park(Purchase)

In October I made another trip into Vancouver to photograph Queen Elizabeth Park displaying some Fall foliage. Most of the colour was provided by various Japanese Maples (Acer Japonica) in the gardens there. I will probably return this Spring to photograph the Magnolia trees in bloom, as well as the tulips and other Spring bulbs.

Fall Maple and Ginkgo foliage and the waterfall at Queen Elizabeth Park

waterfall in queen elizabeth park in vancouver british columbia

Waterfall at Queen Elizabeth Park (Purchase)

Another one of the photographs I made in October at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I liked the look of this waterfall (enough water, but not too much) along with the fallen leaves and some fall foliage in the Japanese Maple and Ginkgo trees hanging over the pathway.

More of my photography from Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park can be found in my Garden Photos Gallery.

Englishman River Fall Colors

Fall Color and Englishman River Falls in Englishman River Falls Provincial Park near Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

fall color englishman river falls in the englishman river falls provincial park in the nanaimo regional district british columbia canada

Englishman River Falls (Purchase)

My trip to Vancouver Island was successful in many ways. I not only discovered some great Provincial Parks to explore, I managed some photos of these places that I quite like. I was also pretty lucky with the weather. The 3 photos here are all from Englishman River Falls Provincial Park. I should point out this park differs quite a bit from Englishman River Regional Park if someone uhm, confused the signs on the way in. Not that I would do this of course.

fall color englishman river falls in the englishman river falls provincial park in the nanaimo regional district british columbia canada

Lower Englishman River Falls

The first photo here shows the main Englishman River Falls. This is a much different sort of waterfall from what I am used to seeing. The drop from top to bottom is approximately 100 feet (31 meters) but this is pretty hard to tell from the bridge vantage point. The Falls flows into the side of a slot canyon (only about 10 feet wide), not directly in the end of it. The sideways slant to this falls makes it a bit difficult to photograph as well as determine exactly how deep the canyon is.

The second photo here shows the Lower Englishman River Falls. Not quite what I was expecting, but there were some nice fall leaves above the falls and some interesting swirling patterns made by the bubbles in the water. During higher water levels the lower falls flows over top of the rock you see here which probably makes it a big more exciting, and look a bit more like a waterfall from this perspective.

symmetrical grove of trees at englishman river falls provincial park in the nanaimo regional district british columbia canada

Symmetrical Grove of Trees

The last photo here is one just outside of the parking lot. I would be surprised if these were a natural occurrence, but I still liked the symmetry of these tree trunks. Not sure what species of tree this is, however.

I hope to go back to photograph this park in the Spring!

For more photographs of this park visit my Englishman River Falls Provincial Park Gallery.

Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park Fall Colour

Little Qualicum Falls at Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park near Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada.

little qualicum falls at little qualicum falls provincial park near qualicum beach parksville british columbia

Little Qualicum Falls (Purchase)

A few weeks ago I made a weekend trip to Vancouver Island in British Columbia Canada. One of the parks on my list to visit was Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park – and it did not disappoint. The main falls (top photo) – officially named Little Qualicum Falls is certainly much more spectacular than the Lower Falls (bottom) but both are nice.

fall colours and the little qualicum river below the lower falls in little qualicum falls provincial near qualicum beach parksville

Little Qualicum River below Lower Little Qualicum Falls (Purchase)

I had initially thought that the best Fall colours might have already faded on Vancouver Island – at least judging from what I’d been seeing around Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. The colours turned out to be perfect. There wasn’t much in the way of Vine Maple colour, but the Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) had great colour – yellow and even some orange. It didn’t look like any of them had turned slightly then gone straight to brown which was common this year in some places.

I was also extremely fortunate with the weather. The entire weekend was forecast for rain, at times heavy. In the three Provincial Parks that I visited there was absolutely no rain. All the plastic bags and camera/lens coverings I had prepared were not necessary. While I’d intended on photographing mostly rivers and waterfalls – great subjects in the rain, I was still happy to not have to deal with the possibility of wet equipment and clothing.

fall colours little qualicum falls at little qualicum falls provincial park near qualicum beach parksville british columbia

Lower Little Qualicum Falls (Purchase)

More photos from this area can be found in my Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park Gallery

Silver Falls (and including People in your Photos)

Silver Falls on the Ohanapecosh River at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State, USA.

silver falls on the ohanapecosh river at mount rainier national park in washington state usa

Silver Falls on the Ohanapecosh River in Mount Rainier National Park

Both of these photos were made at Silver Falls on the Ohanapecosh River in Mount Rainier National Park this past August.

Over the years I have often avoided having people in any of my photos. After all – I am usually there to photograph nature, not a bunch of people! Often in busy locations there was some waiting while the other visitors walked out of my composition. Now, however, I tend to include those people in a photograph for a few reasons (and then photograph it again when they’ve left). First, I may potentially like the composition more with the people than without later when I edit my photos. Secondly, certain locations don’t show the scale of the scene very well, and including people can give the view a better sense of overall size.

a hiker looks at silver falls on the ohanapecosh river at mount rainier national park in washington state usa

Hiker at Silver Falls

I had viewed other photographer’s photos of Silver Falls before my late Summer trip to Mount Rainier, but really didn’t understand how large the falls actually are. The vertical photo above is not only more interesting because of the hiker standing there looking at the Falls, his presence helps show you how large the rocks and surrounding area really are. I am not sure that could be accomplished to the same effect without him in the composition.

In my previous post I showed a few images of people enjoying the wildflowers at Tipsoo Lake (also in Mount Rainier National Park) – and I think the people there help the photos a lot as well, though for different reasons than above.