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 …
Water
Stopping at the Kennedy River Canyon on the Way to Ucluelet
The long winding drive from Port Alberni to Ucluelet is demanding and I usually try to make at least one stop along the way to take a break and do some photography. The challenge is to find new locations along the Kennedy River where the river has carved channels through the rock and then smoothed the stone. Steep cliffs line …
Bravery Needed at Bonnell Creek
Two of the three main drops at Bonnell Creek Falls. Some waterfalls are challenging to get to—Ammonite Falls and the Trent River Falls are two good examples. Both of these require a rope assisted descent down a fairly steep slope. I’m not fond of heights and have visited both of these locations several times without problem. Bonnell Creek Falls are just a …
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 …
Twin Falls in Olallie State Park
Even in the wet drizzle of a grey day, Olallie State Park is a special place. The South Fork of the Snoqualmie River tumbles over boulders as it makes its way down through the Cascades towards Everett and ultimately, Puget Sound. I stopped in on my way south to Seattle back in December, 2013 when the trail was still in …
Wallace Falls State Park
On a recent road trip through Washington and Oregon, I decided to stop and check out Wallace Falls State Park. It was fairly late in the day, but the walk didn’t look too far or too strenuous so I figured I could do it before it got dark. The beginning part of the trail isn’t too appealing as it follows …
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 …
Sandstone and Water
I returned to the Oyster River this week with a small group from the Comox Valley Camera Club “Slow Photographers SIG” to photograph the surreal landscape of rock and water on this part of the river. Again, I was limited by the fixed focal length of my Fuji X1oos (Nikon D600 still in the shop for a second servicing for …
Ice and Sandstone on the Oyster River
When I’m photographing landscapes, my tendency is to anchor the scene with a foreground object and then go wide to show the expansiveness of the land. Last weekend I was without my full-frame Nikon D600 (still with Nikon Canada being serviced a second time for oil and dust problems—looks like I’ll be without it for at least another week or …
Oyster River Bowls
Photographing moving water has been a theme for me this year and I’ve really been enjoying experimenting with neutral density filters to slow down the shutter speed and blur the flowing water. It’s also been a good excuse to get out and visit new locations. Sandstone Abstract #2 This weekend I followed up a suggestion by George Bowron and checked …