Show Case: Winter Photo Trip

We have packed our camper and moved on from the Okanagan Valley to spend winter along the west coast of the US and Canada. First leg of that journey is on Vancouver Island where we have encountered much of what makes this area a rainforest. Cold wet weather but amazing pockets of beauty. We have traveled through Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and then started back and are currently in Arizona again heading towards South California coast. The trip is not over yet, keep an eye here and click on any picture to see larger versions of the shots in this gallery.

Spanish moss...oh and a Great horned owl

Photography on the Road - Part 1 - Osoyoos to Vancouver Island

We are off on an extended photography trip through the west of Canada and the US. The first portion of this trip is in British Columbia, at least until the weather turns on us and we head south.

Cox bay beach from a lookout that was a muddy trek to get to. Click on the image to go to the blog post for the first leg of our trip.

Meet the neighbours

We have been hiking around the Okanagan valley and the Kootenays for the last year looking for any interesting nature we can find. Pika and bats are two that are new to me in terms of getting shots.

Pika sunning on the rocks — Pika warming up in the sunlight in Kokanee Glacier park

A rare find. Daylight hunting for what is likely a little brown bat.

The Sky at Night

After the wildfires settled down around the Okanagan valley, the sky at night has been relatively clear more often that not. This has given me a chance to get out and experiment with some night photography. Using everything from a fisheye out to 1000mm I can get some very different perspectives. Next step is to look deeper into the stars, galaxies and nebulas once I get more used to using the star tracker.

Milky way over the cherry farm. Canon R5, 8-15mm f/4 at 8mm, f/4, 30 seconds, ISO 3200

Moon descending behind the trees in the Okanagan Valley. Canon R5, 500mm at F/4, 1/200s, ISO 200

No Fixed Plans

Salwa was very busy editing this fourth installment of our winter trip. In this episode I find an owl in some really big trees. Salwa spends quality time with a sea otter and we both get hit by rain and sand on the same dunes.

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Salwa uploaded our latest video, the fifth installment of our west coast trip. Valley of fire in Nevada and Joshua Tree in California are two very different and beautiful desert like landscapes. Fantastic hiking and scrambling up rocks to find amazing photographic landscapes.

latest shots

Beach landing

Pileated Woodpecker landing on some deadwood on the beach near Parksville, BC.

Flicker flight

I was actually ready for the take off this time….usually I turn away for just a second and miss it.

Secret, not so much.

Referred to as Secret falls, it was difficult to get a few moments with no one in the shot. Will have to come back at a better time when I can play with composition a bit more.

My first bison

A quick trip (11 hours of driving) up past Edmonton, Alberta to see some Bison.

Reacing into the sea

Bald eagle just about to grab a fish along the eastern coast of Vancouver Island

Chestnut Backed

Chestnut backed chickadee with a tasty morsel for the young.

Ready for a nap

A river otter curling up for a nap along the Vancouver Island shoreline.

A little nest material

Osprey bringing some twigs back to the nest in the Kootenays

A waterfalls back there

Coming through a small slot canyon to the so called secret falls on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Storm to the left, blue skies to the right

A very windy day with little storms cells blowing through made for some interesting skies and shadows across the landscape.

Fisheye and milky way

full view of the milky way over the cherry farm in the Okanagan Valley

Got it

The Osprey with the yellow perch and me with a shot I’ve been wanting for quite a while.

Two Loonies

The equivalent of two bucks, but only in Canada eh!

In one talon

Osprey with a single talon on this unfortunate perch.

Look at that felt rack

Mule deer turning to take a look at me just as the sun drops behind the mountain.

Spotted

Spotted Sandpiper along the shores of Mahoney lake in the Okanagan valley.

Mist or Smoke?

Fire season has started early this year after a week of record temperatures in the Okanagan Valley. Not sure if that is changing the light at sunset or just a bit of haze from the heat.

Finally in the clear

Male Bullock’s Oriole. I have been trying to get a clear shot of one of these for months.

Got lunch

Bald eagle trying to return to the nest with something leftover. The winds were making for a difficult landing.

Well isn't that adorable

I thought it was a little chipmunk but have been told this is a golden mantled ground squirrel….still adorable.

Change on the menu

Osprey taking a run across the field and going after a few smaller birds on the edge of the marsh. Maybe osprey are not exclusively fish hawks.

Long grass

Good place to hide but we could see those big ears even before you looked at us. Mule deer resting near the river.

Yellow-breasted Chat

A rare bird even for the Okanagan valley now, but it does nest in a few places here

Keeping an eye out

Male bald eagle watching from above the nest as the female takes off to grab some food.

Wing cover

Yellow-headed blackbird showing off some beautiful white wing patches as it takes off from a cattail.

Got wings

Bald eagle chick figuring out what to do with those wings.

Fly softly and carry a big stick

Osprey taking a rather large twig up to the nest

Spotted

A Spotted Sandpiper flying over a tiny mountain lake.

A new song

I’m used to hearing red-winged blackbirds in the marsh but the song of the yellow-headed blackbird stands out even more.

Last shot

Just as I was heading home today a bald eagle came up river towards its nest.

At the nest

Great fun watching a pair of Osprey building their nest today.

Grey as a ghost

Male Northern Harrier wandered into the field as I was shooting a pair of Osprey.

Western Meadowlark

Singing the morning away

First Peregrine

First time to see Peregrine falcons and I’m lucky enough to watch them around their nest for about an hour. Most of the time they were not within shooting range but I managed a couple of shots.

A little backlight

A (not so) little backlit great horned owl.

Bird on a Wire

One of the prettiest birds and another new bird for me, the Mountain Bluebird is much more pure blue than the Western or Eastern Bluebirds.

Time to go

Bald eagle taking off from a dead branch

In a desert field

Say’s Phoebe taking off from a field in the South Okanagan Valley, Canada’s only desert.

Two is better than one

When you are talking about Great Horned Owls....especially if they are beside each other.

Nesting material

Bald eagle heading back to the nest with a bit of straw and grass.

Pretty under wing

A young dark morph hawk flying in the Okanagan Valley

Quick Turn

Male kingfisher turning to head back to a perch.

Two Blue

Pretty little pair of Western Bluebirds resting by the side of the river near Osoyoos Lake

Lovely blue

First good shots of a Western Bluebird on a cold winter day in the Okanagan Valley.

Snow and Harrier

Low light and with a bit of snow coming down and I was still able to track this harrier while hunting at 1000mm on the EOS R5

Mountain Goats

Found a small herd of mountain goat just off the side of the road today north of Summerland. They had found some patches of edible grass near the bottom of what seemed like mostly scree slope.

Harrier

Beautiful lighting just before the sun dropped behind the mountains. Female northern harrier hunting over the field.

Red tail

Lovely pattern underwing

Top of the hill

When looking at grand landscapes you often miss the interesting details. Having a telephoto lens gives you a chance to zoom into areas that may not grab your attention until seen through that view.

King perch

Nice to find a belted kingfisher that doesn't leave the moment I bring up the camera

Pygmy

It took a couple of weeks of looking but I managed to get a shot of a Pygmy owl. Definitely looking forward to getting to see more of these tiny hunters in better light and hopefully in flight but this is a good start.

As the clouds move

Out for a drive up the Slocan Valley this very cloudy morning. Happened upon a group of 6 bald eagles hanging out on the edge of the River. Shot at 840mm, f/9, 1/1000s, and ISO 4000.

Love the eyes of a Barred owl.

Those black eyes just look right through you.

Beautiful side view

Juvenile Red-tailed hawk hunting along the Niagara River

Reflections

Sometimes it is just about reflecting on the colours. A very calm sunset over the St. Lawrence River.

Is it still a water fall?

If there is almost no water…more leaves than water.

On a tiny perch

Hoping for a chance to see more Northern Hawk Owls this coming winter as we search out new areas.

Gentle Landing

Greater yellowlegs coming in for a landing.

Oxtongue Rapids

A couple of shots along the Oxtongue River as the clouds started to come in.

Jupiter, Saturn and the Milky Way

Out taking shots of Neowise in Haliburton and turned around to look at Jupiter and Saturn sitting just above the horizon to the left of the Milky Way. So nice to get back to where you can see dark skies at night.

Awkward landing

Juvenile Black crowned night heron looking awkward and kind of half dressed as it tries to land in Cranberry marsh.

My what big Talons you have

Checking out the Osprey perches along the Niagara river tonight and found a Merlin instead...I'm happy with that find.

Getting out of the way

Trying to capture the action of a pair of yellow legs fighting was a lot of fun.

Long Legs

Nice pants and long legs being shown off on taking off from the grass.

On the up swing

Short eared owl sweeping across the field, looking for anything that moves or makes a sound.