Gull Watching from Beechey Head

Most people visit Beechey Head for the spectacular views out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca or the interesting botany. This viewpoint in East Sooke Regional Park is also an excellent place to view the turkey vulture and hawk migration in the fall. The Head represents one side of the narrowest gaps between Vancouver Island and Washington State. Raptors …

Stocking Creek Waterfall in Saltair, BC

Stocking Creek Waterfall with early summer water flow. If you’re looking for an easy forest walk with a beautiful waterfall as the main destination, Stocking Creek Park is an excellent choice. The park is located in the Cowichan Valley Regional District in the small community of Saltair, between Ladysmith and Chemainus on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Accessing Stocking Creek Waterfall …

Second Growth Forest Near Comox Lake

A short trail to Comox Lake Bluffs Eco-reserve winds through dark second growth forest. It can be a quiet and eery place, even on a sunny day. However, late in the day the shoulder of the Beaufort Range blocks sunlight. The setting sun illuminates the upper parts of the trees, while the understory is dark and gloomy with little vegetation. …

Rising Tide at Point Holmes

Point Holmes #1 A large boulder is slowly surrounded by the rising tide. Point Holmes in Comox, British Columbia is a fabulous place for landscape photography. The dynamic nature of the rising or falling tide can create very different compositions at the same location. Therefore, the challenge is to quickly adapt to changing water levels and find interesting combinations of …

Re-visting Comox Lake Bluffs Ecological Reserve

It has been a while since I’ve visited the Comox Lake Bluffs Ecological Reserve but this spring I had a chance to return to catch and photograph the early April bloom. It was truly spectacular and well worth the short hike. Wildflowers on the steep mossy slopes above Comox Lake. Approaching the steep slopes of the bluffs of the ecological …

Satinflower Search

Satinflower (Olsynium douglasii) blooms for a very short time in early spring on Vancouver Island. I finally experienced the delicate beauty of these wildflowers this March and the bloom was awe inspiring! The southern part of Vancouver Island is one of the few locations in British Columbia where there are reliable views of this beautiful member of the iris family. …

Lovekin Rock at Long Beach

Early in the sunset the sky over Lovekin Rock is a mix of pale blues and salmon. It gets better! There’s something about a wet beach at sunset that I just can’t get enough of. Over the course of the summer I check the tide tables and try to find days when the sunset coincides with a low or dropping tide. …

Awe Inspring Avatar Grove

The main attraction at Avatar Grove, an ancient gnarly western redcedar. Avatar Grove is an awe inspiring grove of old growth western redcedar and huge Douglas-fir trees. It’s hard to describe the feeling in this quiet forest near Port Renfrew. The trees are immense, towering over a forest floor covered with a chaotic jumble of fallen moss-covered wood, deer fern, …

Return to Rosewall Creek

I like the hike up Rosewall Creek—it’s fairly easy going and the walk doesn’t take much more than 45 minutes to get to the first view point of the main falls. At this time of year, the water levels are high and accessing good view points for photography is challenging. Rosewall Creek flows through lush west coast forest. Today I …

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 …