Nanaimo’s Ammonite Falls

When I first visited Ammonite Falls ten years ago things were different. At the time, the waterfall was “off the beaten track.” There was no established parking area, which meant that hikers left their cars on the shoulder of the road. Locals put up signs to prevent people from blocking access to their driveways. It was tricky to find the …

Beautifully Desolate Comber’s Beach

At Comber’s Beach sand flows around driftwood at the mouth of Sandhill Creek in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. There is something beautifully desolate about Comber’s Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The wind constantly moves the sand to form ripples and low dunes. Large pieces of driftwood block sand movement and hollows form in the lee of the …

Radar Hill Beach

Remote Radar Hill Beach is a challenging destination in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. It’s definitely off the beaten track in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and takes a little effort to get to but the Radar Hill Beaches are spectacular. The trail down to the beach is not maintained by Parks Canada and the going is fairly rough—there are …

Serene Schooner Cove Sunset

Looking west at the setting sun at Schooner Cove in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Yellow Sand-verbena (Abronia latifolia) in the foreground amongst the drift logs. Schooner Cove in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is one of my favourite places on the west coast of Vancouver Island to visit. It takes a little longer to get to (about 30 to …

Point Holmes Moonrise

The first night I went down to Point Holmes, the moonrise was relatively close to sunset so there was still some very interesting colour in the sky. The beach at Point Holmes is fabulous to photograph and particularly good on a falling tide since the dropping water reveals a set of very interesting boulders. Over the last month I’ve been down …

Spectacular Sidney Pier

The pier near the end of Beacon Avenue in Sidney, British Columbia is a spectacular place to photograph the sunrise. If you happen to be visiting Victoria, British Columbia, consider a stop in Sidney. At sunset or sunrise the long pier at the end of Beacon Avenue is exceptional to photograph, and at low tide it’s possible to include some …

Cattle Point Sunrise

Long lines of logs at Cattle Point in Victoria, British Columbia. I’m trying to be a little more disciplined over the last month or two and am making an effort to get up earlier to catch the first morning light—such was a case late last month when I was down in Victoria to pick up a long awaited Fuji X-T1 and …

Finally Finding Benham and Dillon Falls

I got an early start with the idea to check out Tumalo Falls, figuring to get there while the light was still good. On the way back into Bend, Oregon a side trip out to Benham and Dillon Falls on the Deschutes River looked like it would be fairly straightforward. On paper it looked pretty simple. However, the day didn’t …

A Slow Morning Down at Little Qualicum River

The grey days of winter on Vancouver Island can be excellent for photographing rivers and waterfalls. With the cloud cover, the light is even and flat so you don’t get the high zones of contrast between the dark sides of the river bottoms and the sunlit trees on the ridge above. I’ve organized a “Slow Photographers SIG” within the Comox …

Rainforest Trail Ramble

I try to walk the Rainforest Trail in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve before 9:00 am. At that time of day I usually have the place to myself and can soak in the huge red cedars and western hemlocks, some of which are 1,000 years old. Last week I was trying some forest photography when I heard the sound of …