I had a plan. This plan was to reduce the amount of time I spend working in my real job (I am a physicist who migrated to the financial world to build computer software and systems for mathematical modeling). If I did this right I would be able to take some long trips to do the types of photography I love in new places for extended periods.
My plan has come to fruition, but of course not everything goes to plan the way you think it will. I have been working on contracts that last about 18 months and then I take 6 months to do other things. The first of these “sabbaticals” was during the pandemic and we moved ourselves from southern Ontario (where we landed for a job in Buffalo, NY) to south central British Columbia. This in itself was a challenge as we had hoped to buy a small acreage and look towards building a tiny house as a base. Housing and land prices skyrocketed during the pandemic so that part of the plan turned into a long term rental in the Okanagan Valley and a second 18 month contract working from home.
With the pandemic slowing (not entirely) and travel being allowed again into the United States we decided to prepare for our next 6 month excursion by purchasing a camping trailer and a pickup truck and set out to photograph the west coasts of both British Columbia and the United States.
Ford Ranger and Arkto trailer, ready for our photo excursion.
Our journey started one month after my contract completed and we were able to close out our lease and pack everything we own into a storage container and our little trailer. Of course the weather had plans for us that would change our well laid out plans completely.
One thing I had to learn quickly on these trips is to change the way I think about photography. When you are shooting nature or landscapes close to home (within about 6 hours driving) you have time to understand the habitat you are in, including where you are likely to see animals or birds and the best place to be to get the shot both without disturbing the subject and ensuring an interesting photo. You do not have that luxury when you are on the road unless you are with a guide that has that knowledge. In most cases we are only in a location for 2 or maybe 3 days. This usually means doing some work beforehand on the internet to see if we can figure out some good locations and then the first day is mostly about hiking the area to see for ourselves what is around and when and where we might come back for some shots. For the landscape shots we take this can be enough to get a good location but we need to get lucky for the weather to be just right to get some good shots the next morning or evening. For nature photography we have much the same conditions we would like to have but now we also need to get lucky and have something show up. Often we also need to choose whether we are going to do landscape or nature since the best times of day are sunrise and sunset for both. Although, some birds of prey are best shot in bright daylight, and that is one of my favorite things to shoot.
A pair of red-tailed hawks fighting over a hunting area.
What we do try to do is to make notes where we go, just in case we do manage to get back to those locations so that we might be able to capitalize on that knowledge when the conditions are looking good.
All that being said, when you are out each evening and morning you do still get some pretty fantastic shots. I guess what is different is if you can come back regularly you can refine you compositions until you get what you picture in your mind, whereas currently I try to take a number of different shots relatively quickly while the light is good so that I can look at them later to decide what composition was better.
We have also been doing significantly more video in the last couple of years. Some of this is to document our trip, but also just because video is one of the best ways to get yourself known out here on the internet, and there is so much potential in that medium.
This poses other issues, as we are shooting video while we are trying to take shots, looking at getting “B roll” that is interesting and trying to story board a cohesive video that we hope others may find interesting. That, of course, is not just twice the work but significantly more than just trying to get out there and produce some compelling photos as I’m sure many of the YouTubers that do these type of videos will attest.
The last thing that we always need to remember is to take some time to just enjoy the trip. Not everything has to be around getting a good photo and we do need time to relax or to do regular daily things. Since we do love taking photos it is sometimes difficult to remember to just relax.
Back to the trip.
The first leg of our journey was to be a month in British Columbia, starting from the Okanagan Valley to Vancouver and then over to Vancouver Island for what is usually a wet but mild November. We were looking forward to exploring the west coast of the Island along with some treks north to check out some smaller islands and the north west coast.
Sunlight tries to penetrate the canopy
Our first stop was near Vancouver in Golden Ears Provincial Park. The campsite was nestled under a canopy of huge evergreens with that typical west coast rainforest feel. Beautiful mountains surrounding us, a very large creek just below feeding into a long valley lake. In the summer this place would be completely full with campers and day hikers in from the city, but in November there was only a half dozen other people in the campground that had basic amenities of a pit toilet and not much else this time of year.
Plenty of water rushing down from the mountain in Golden Ears Provincial park.
Moss and ferns make the scene into a flood of greens
Our next stop was a campground near central Vancouver. We were here to meet some friends, do some shopping and eat at some nice restaurants before our ferry trip across to the island. It was also during this stay that we started to understand that we had a few leaking issues on the camper as one of those atmospheric rivers decided to descend on Vancouver. Despite the rain is was a good layover with good friends including one I had not seen in about 40 years. Not much in the way of photography was to be done here, other that the quick shot of the Lion’s Gate Bridge as we had our morning coffee.
Lion’s Gate bridge in Vancouver with a good bit of flare from shooting into the sun.
I love ferry rides, usually I stay out on the top deck with cameras looking for coastal shots and maybe even a whale or some dolphins. This trip was indicative of much of our time on the island as it was cold, wet, and overall uninviting. It didn’t stop me from getting on deck for a bit to get a few shots off.
View from the ferry on our crossing to Vancouver Island.
The eastern coast of Vancouver Island is a very interesting landscape. You can nearly always see the coast of the mainland with white capped mountains but in between there are many smaller islands. Many of these island are worth a trip in themselves as we have found out on previous trips. Wildlife is more abundant on the island and especially on the coast. The first place we camped was near Parksville where a number of resident bald eagles could be heard at any given point and the seals and sea lions are constantly poking their heads up as I try taking pictures of some of the shore birds coming in for what is left as the tide recedes. These are some reasons that we would love to come back to some of these areas not just for photography but to find that little piece of land so that we can explore the area much more.
Bald Eagle watching the shoreline as the tide goes out in Rathtrevor Provincial park, Parksville, BC.
Great Blue heron fishing along the coast with the BC mainland in the background.
shorebirds taking off as a wave disturbs their feeding.
Seal keeping an eye on us two legged things on the shore.
Our next trip was directly across the island to an area that has always been on my list of places to go. Ucuelet and Tofino are rather remote but definitely a tourist destination not just for the beautiful scenery but also for the surf as a choice destination for many surfers in almost any weather. As you can see by many of the photos this area is rich in coastal scenery and fantastic if you enjoy “long walks on a beach” with a significant other.
View from the lookout of Cox bay. The hike up to this point is quite a muddy climb but well worth it.
We stayed at the Surf Grove campground, which as the name suggests was filled with surfers waiting for the November storms to bring in the big waves. This was a great campsite for a base but can be rather expensive. This time of year the choices were few and there are not really any places to camp that are off grid on this part of the coast. Be sure to make plans ahead of time to stay in the area.
Lone surfer getting the last waves before the sun finally sets on Cox Bay beach.
Foggy morning as we walked through the trees to get to the beach, Cox Bay.
Just after sunset on Cox Bay beach, the surf was still rolling in with the rain heading our way.
Surfer getting a little air. Good practice for when I might get to see some dolphins riding the waves.
The hikes in Ucuelet should be high on any list, but the beaches along the coast especially Cox beach shouldn’t be missed. If you are there during tourist season, there are many boat tours for marine and coastal life. I will definitely go back hopefully with a boat at some point.
Panoramic view from Ucuelet. Looks like a fantastic area to explore by boat.
Sunset looking out to the west from Ucuelet near the lighthouse.
Our time on Vancouver Island was cut short by a weather forecast that showed not just a ton of rain but one of the coldest and snowiest Novembers on record. With a 3 season camper we were not at all prepared for that.
Pine martin in Goldstream provincial park just outside of Victoria.
We ended up camping in the city near Victoria, mostly a parking lot but with a great view of the harbour and our neighbours were a collection of boathouses that looked very inviting.
Our little camper trailer and the house boats on the harbour in Victoria, BC
Our best choice was to head down to Victoria, spend a bit of time again with some friends and then take the ferry to Port Angeles to start the next stage of our tour through Washington and Oregon. Our first few weeks was definitely high on the learning curve. Figuring out the ins and outs of the trailer, dealing with plenty of rain and wind, and just learning what it means to try to do photography on the road. I am finding that flexibility is going to be the key. Take the shot even if you aren’t sure it is the one. When I have been looking back at my pictures it the shot I finally decide to work on is often not the one that I thought was my best one when I was out there.
waiting for the Port Angeles ferry to start the next leg of our journey.
Go to No.fixed.plans on Youtube for our trip vlogs and a bit more footage of Vancouver Island. Hopefully we will get back to this area in the summer.