Come Fly With Me

July 12, 2008
Last year I had the opportunity to fly in a float plane over Mount Washington on Vancouver Island near Courtenay, BC, you can check out a couple of the photos on my web site under Animals and Nature. I was afraid to go up in this little plane but the opportunity to take pictures overruled my fear.

This past weekend I was out in Richmond, BC, having lunch at the Flying Beaver Pub which is situated on the middle arm of the Fraser River. The float planes take off and land at this location and you can watch them as you eat and drink in the pub. I took along my camera so after lunch I could get a few shots. Unfortunately, I guess this wasn’t the right time of the day as only a couple planes took off and none landed while I waited.

I only got this one photo of a float plane that was half way decent but I did spot a nice cloud formation. I always take photos of clouds. I especially like how cloud formations look in black and white photography.

I then headed over to this little park where you can watch airplanes take off and land from the south terminal of the Vancouver Airport. You can sit in the park and have the jets fly right over top of you as they’re about to land. I lived 5 years in Richmond and never once went to check out the planes landing. There are definitely a number of airplane enthusiasts watching planes and taking photos at this park. I got there at a good time when there were lots of planes landing.

For fun I created this little stop-motion video of the planes landing.

Birds of a Feather

May 4, 2008
I’ve been out to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta, BC. I like to go with some photographer friends when I get the chance. I’m just getting to know some of the regular types of birds but I like to go with a more experienced bird watcher/photographer in order to get the names right. They offer guided tours with experts on the weekends and they know were the recent sightings of the more elusive birds have been.

The first spot of the day was a young immature bald eagle. He had a piece of fish he was eating on top of this dead tree and was keeping an eye out for anything that wanted to snatch it from him.

I must have photographed hundreds of ducks and geese by now but I’ve never been able to find the sandhill cranes until this day. There were a pair of them eating near a pond and luckily they were in a good mood. They have been known to attack cameras on tripods, they do look like alien 3 legged birds to sandhill cranes, and the occasional photographer.

I love Great Blue Herons and I found this one having lunch. He wasn’t paying any attention to the crowd that was gathering to look at him and was more intent on catching his meal. This was the first time I’ve seen the GBH walk through the shallow water while catching fish. He looked like a figure skater gliding on ice, so smooth that he barely made a ripple in the water.

Look closely and you'll see the small fish in his beak.

He then flicks the fish up, catches it, and swallows.

I put together a little video of him getting his meal.

Tiptoe Through The Tulips

April 26, 2008
This year the tulips were a month late due to the many cold days we had in the beginning of spring. I went out with a few people to photograph the tulip festival in Agassiz, BC. I've never been to this festival before and I had a wonderful time

It was a beautiful day for it, it had been dry for a few days so we weren't slogging around in the mud. Mount Baker was clear and beautiful still with snow on top. It's rare to get a clear shot of this mountain.

Can you see anything that stands out in the shot of the bike with the flowers? I thought I'd use my photoshop skills on this one but I haven't gotten around to it. I did a little experimenting with my shots. These outings are mainly to try different techniques and just have fun.

On the way home we took the scenic route along the #7 highway and then the Albion ferry to Fort Langley. I did a little antiquing in Fort Langley but didn't take any photos. I'll go back one day and take photos there as it's such a quaint place to visit.