February Desktop Inspiration

The hike to Tews Falls is one that I try to do at least once a year, but to do it justice twice is better and a winter excursion is always rewarding.This year due to the cold weather and good amount of snow the ice build up near the base is larger than usual. An archway of icicles almost encompasses the one side of the falls and this actually helps for getting closer to take photographs as the archway cuts down on the spray. Unless you wipe off the camera constantly in these cold temperatures you will find that your camera becomes encrusted with a fine layer of ice. A few people had trudged out a trail along and on top of the frozen the creek the day before and as the temperature had fallen overnight I was fairly confident stepping on the ice above the creek. This is a bit disconcerting at times due to the fact that you can hear and feel the water running beneath your feet. During my last winter trip to these waterfalls I was rewarded with the sound and sight of large chunks of ice breaking off the cliff edges. No such luck this time which is both good and bad, good because it's a bit safer knowing that a ton of ice isn't going to hit you on the head - but bad because witnessing these huge icicles giving way is a truly awesome sight and the sound of them crashing down the cliff face is like a thunderclap during a summer storm.

January 2011 Desktop Inspiration

Greetings all!! First post for the New Year and I wish you all the very best in 2011!!

Another winter themed shot for this month. We have not had the vast amounts of snow that have fallen around us to the north and the west - so I settled for ice.

December Desktop Inspiration

Now that winter seems to be decidedly on the way I chose to use a winter based theme for this months image. I guess this one could be titled "Fire and Ice".

Again, another example of where the light just before sunset can start having a magical effect on an otherwise ordinary scene. Here the warm red tones in the water are coming from the setting sun reflecting off an old red barn that was on the other side of the stream. The glow from the reflected light intensified about 10 minutes before the sun dropped below the horizon.

November Desktop Inspiration

Already into November and I want to hang onto every nice day that is left. To keep things on the warm side I decided to post one more Inspiration shot from our summer trip out West. This one was taken on Rialto Beach in Washington State. We were fortunate to spend about 5 hours there - including a fantastic sunset - but there is also enough to keep one there for days. There were a number of birds out on a spit past all the washed up logs on the beach. Here hundreds if not thousands of birds were gathered - mostly gulls - but in amongst them were a small group of pelicans. I photographed this one as he was heading out into the soon to be setting sun.

Fall at the Falls

Tews Falls is always an impressive sight. Getting there early in the morning one is rewarded with light on the face of the falls - something that usually lasts from 30 minutes after sunrise until 10 or 10:30 - depending on the time of year. At this time of the year I usually venture to the base of the falls and photograph the play of light and the rainbow in the mist at the base. This time I stayed at the top and captured the morning light just before the water drops over the edge. The tree cover at the top is still in full colour and the light coming in from the rising sun bathed everything in an intense golden light.

October Desktop Inspiration

It is well into October and time for a new Desktop Inspiration. The image this month comes from our trip out West - this time the image is actually one that Irena took and it is one of my current favorites. The tide pools at Shi Shi Beach were awesome - some quiet and peaceful where you could see all manner of colourful ...starfish while others were in constant flux from the incoming tide. As we ventured out onto the clam encrusted rock we always had to be mindful that the incoming tide didn't cut us off from the main beach. Although we could have stayed until sunset we had to head back to the car well before dark as it was an hour long trek through old growth rain forest just to get to the parking lot. We visited Rialto Beach the next evening and witnessed an amazing sunset and didn't have tyo worry about a trek back to the car - the parking lot was two minutes away!

September Desktop Inspiration

Back from 3 weeks out West - two which were spent in Washington State - what a fabulous place for scenery!!

 Washington has it all - beaches of all types, incredible tide pools, old growth rain forests, mountains, prairies, badlands, bald eagles, and volcanic canyons that aside from the lack of giant cactus would make you think you are in Arizona or Nevada. I'll be posting more images soon - with links to some image galleries - once we go through the 6000+ images we took. For now - the Desktop Inspiration for September - an image from Hurricane Ridge - possibly one of the most memorable hikes I have ever been on.