Not Far From My Home

I am surrounded by some incredibly beautiful scenery where I live in the Okanagan Valley and I feel very fortunate to live here not to mention that being a landscape photographer I think I am in heaven. One area that I have been exploring lately is Pincushion Ridge, a hiking area near Peachland , about a 15 minute drive from my home, this area has characterized Ponderosa Pine trees and a wonderful sweeping view of Okanagan Lake as it makes it's bend at about the half way point of the 111 km ( 69 mi ) long lake. I love just meandering through the woods with my camera taking in the fine scenery and making images like this one of a Ponderosa Pine tree.

Natural Formations

I love looking for natural formations in nature like these sandstone cliffs that make up many of the gulf Islands in southern B.C., these sandstone cliffs make for fascinating artistic studies of the wind and water sculpted seashore. I made this image from Dionisio Point Provincial Park on Galiano Island in May of 1990 with my 4 x 5 view camera and a 120mm lens.

Photographic Beach Combing

I enjoy meandering along the seashore of the Pacific Ocean, especially when the tide is out to see what the tide has brought in, usually its just piles of kelp, seaweed or driftwood. The ultimate beach combing prize is to find a Japanese glass fish float, even if I don't find a glass fish float ( which I never have ), when I make pictures with with my camera of various beach scenes and flotsam, at the end of the day I often end up with a few photographic keepers, which is just a good as finding a glass fish float. In this image from Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park even the kelp and seaweed made for interesting subject matter with a little help of a sunburst of light on a cloudy day. The photograph was made with my Tachihara 4 x 5 view camera and a 270mm lens.

The Silent Keys

The organ is silent now in this old abandoned church near Vernon, B.C., even though the church appeared not to be used for many years, I felt a spiritual presence while making pictures inside the old building and although the organ has long been retired, I can almost hear the music being played and can only imagine who might have played the instrument as the faithful sang hymns. The image was made with my Tachihara 4 x 5 view camera and a Schneider 120mm lens.

Reflecting Upon Lake Agnes

Lake Agnes is a wonderful spot to while away the hours while meditating and reflecting on life, its not too far off the beaten track, just an hour or so away from the crowds hanging around Lake Louise. I made this image in 1987 on a fine September day when the Larch trees were starting to change to shades of gold, it was one of my first attempts at making landscape images in the Rocky mountains with my 4 x 5 view camera.

In The Beginning

This is one of my first ever efforts with a 4 x 5 view camera and 150mm lens taken at a frozen pond in Sutherland hills Park in Kelowna in December of 1985, having used a 35mm format camera up until that time I was awed by the amount of detail that a 20 square inch negative contained. After using a view camera it made me think what previous generations of photographers had to go through in their everyday picture taking situations as I found that the view camera was not the easiest camera in the world to use. I found it made me slow down and think about my subject a lot more, I had to take a Zen like approach to making pictures, which was fine with me because it allowed me to appreciate nature on different level.

Thunder Storm Unleashed

While enjoying a peaceful afternoon on a sunny Summer day around my home earlier this afternoon, a thunder storm was unleashed that came cracking and flashing through the Okanagan area, what amazed me was how loud the rumbling thunder was as it shook my house and the the ground beneath my feet, along with that came darkened skies and a down pour of rain interspersed with flashes of lightening. It was all over in a about half and hour, Mother Nature has some awesome powers as the skies are some of the most spectacular shows that that one can witness with out having to buy a ticket. This image of stormy clouds was taken a number of years ago near Vernon, B.C. in April of 1990 with my Tachihara 4 x 5 view camera and a 300mm lens.

Delicate Winter Shadows

While working on my photographs of winter scenes during these hot summer days my mind drifts back to one of my favourite "cool" winter activities and that is to go snow shoeing, usually with my camera. There are numerous areas to snow shoe in the B.C.'s Okanagan Valley, Silver Star near Vernon is one area that I love to gallivant around the wooded trails and frozen lakes filled with wonderful powdered snow, which on a sunny day sparkles like millions of diamonds. Another nice spot that I frequent quite often is the K-9 Trail just 8 km from my home where the above picture was made with my 4 x 5 view camera in February of this year.

Combers Beach, Pacific Rim National Park

I made this image this past March with my 8 x 10 view camera, in rather challenging conditions with periods of wind and rain, when the rain would stop and the wind would die down I took the opportunity to set up the big camera and wouldn't you know it just as I get my camera set up another rain squall would hit, between the inclement weather I managed to make a few images that I was happy with.

My Magnificent Canada

I have had the good fortune to be able to reside in what I feel is one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in the world, that is Canada, a place that I dearly love. I also have had the double good fortune to reside in Western Canada where there is ample photographic landscape nourishment to feed my view cameras, even when I am not making pictures just to be able to take in the abundant views that surround me on my daily journey through life is something else. My home is located in the Okanagan in the south central part of British Columbia and from here I am within a one day drive or less to some incredible scenery , the Pacific Ocean coastal areas to the west or the Rocky Mountains to the east. The image posted is one that I made with my Tachihara 4 x 5 view camera and a 120mm lens from Abbott Ridge looking towards Mount Sir Donald at 3,277 meters ( or 7145 feet ) in Glacier National park in September of 1988.