B L O G
A sincere thanks to those who have supported my work in 2022, whether by purchasing prints, joining me on a workshop, or sharing your kind words on social media! I’m very grateful for another year of memorable experiences in the outdoors.
Below are a handful of my favourite images from this year. I’ve also included an accompanying tip for any photographers out there who are interested in learning more about my approach.
Early this autumn, I began exploring a watershed just outside the city of Vancouver, with these big cats in mind. More and more, I find that narrowing my focus in hopes of seeing through the eyes of a given animal brings about new perspectives on an environment, no matter how familiar it may have already felt. A feature of the landscape suddenly becomes more relevant and exciting, given its importance to the species of interest. Tracking here in this largely snow-free area comes with its challenges, however…
Setting off before first light, plodding upwards, I thought about the rattlesnakes I’d seen here last fall. They’d spent the winter tucked within the talus, just as I was experiencing a hibernation of my own – daydreaming and planning for spring. A Chukar interrupted my wandering mind when she flushed from some rabbitbrush next to my feet. I kept my head down and chipped away at the 500m I needed to gain before the sun came up…
Through the heat haze, I eventually found that same scrappy tree, where just shy of a year prior, on a hot afternoon, a male Prairie stared back quizzically at the enormous, noisy red bird with numbers on its tail. The next day, I shouldered my pack and hiked the few kilometres through the sage until the terrain pitched up, gaining several hundred metres. A steep ridge led into a labyrinth of spires and gullies, that while beautiful, remained rather uninviting for a creature woefully ill-equipped for such a place…
Needless to say, 2020 has been a very different and challenging year for us all. With that said, never have I felt more fortunate to live in British Columbia than during a time like this. I spent much of the spring isolated by myself in quiet pockets of nature, seeking out wildlife.
How is it that a creature weighing just ten grams can cross the world and back each year? How can something so tough be simultaneously so delicate and beautiful? Spending time with songbirds is an annual highlight for me, and for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, there’s no better time than right now to get out and enjoy the spring migration.
Here are some tips that I hope will assist you in capturing better images of your local songbirds…
“…in my experience, what often results in a truly memorable photograph that goes above and beyond the ordinary, is using that very important knowledge about how to create a textbook image, then pushing the envelope, getting creative, and accepting some risk. Incorporating dynamic elements of your subject’s surroundings, or better showcasing its movement or interesting behaviours through motion is one such way to do this.”
Success as a nature photographer can be attributed to many things. Knowing your camera system front-to-back, intimately understanding the behaviours of wildlife, scrutinizing weather reports to predict amazing light - the list goes on. You might be surprised to know however, that from my experience, one of the main things that holds a considerable percentage of photographers back is simply the absence of a system that keeps themselves prepared and organized.
Hard to believe another year has come and gone!
The past twelve months were again packed with travel. I’m pleased with how a handful of images turned out! I hope you’ll enjoy the following selection. Let me know if you have a favourite!
I hope these insights will prove to be helpful, and taken in the context of wanting to share what I’ve experienced as an instructor, and during my own personal photography pursuits. Differences in opinion as to the approach and style from one photographer to the next, are of course inevitable, but for anyone hoping to increase their knowledge and skill surrounding the subtleties of nature photography, hopefully you can draw from this while forming your own conclusions surrounding what works best for you. It’s all about gathering more tools for your tool box, and knowing when to take each one out.