A Piece of PEI

We have made several trips to Prince Edward Island over the years. It is a quaint and peaceful island however I have always struggled to capture the spirit of the place. This time, we did it a bit different. Thankfully, Lori and I rented a cottage for 7 nights rather than camping. Arriving a day early, we camped at Cedar Dunes Provincial Park for one night. The black flies and mosquitoes were thick.

West Point Lighthouse, PEI

The next day we checked out Thunder Cove. It was a bit late in the morning but I did get a couple of “safety shots” as we like to call them.

Looking through an archway at Teacup Rock, PEI

We stayed in the Malpeque Harbour area. It is central. PEI is not a big island. You can get to most places with little effort. We wanted to explore places close to our cottage and not spend our time in the car. This location was a convenient and a pleasant way to spend the week.

Malpeque Harbour, Prince Edward Island

We found this Silver Fox near our cottage one morning.

Silver Fox

There are so many beautiful beaches here. The increase in the number of jellyfish is a bit of a concern. They clogged many of the beaches some days.

Arctic Red Jellyfish

We wandered around and looked for images. The weather was great, sunny and warm for the most part.

Pilings, St Peters Harbour, PE

French River, PEI

Adrien Veczan joined us for one night and we shot Tea-Cup Rock. We had great light. There were may people there including other photographers. Some were very polite and considerate. Some hogged the rock. I was able to shoot around them without too much trouble.

Teacup Rock, PEI

We stayed until dark and did some light painting. Adrien used flash and stacked dozens of shots. I did it the old school way and used a flashlight to paint the rock. You can check out Adrien’s work on his website: http://www.veczan.com/ It is always fun to shoot with Adrien.

Teacup Rock, PEI at night

We also met up with another former student of mine. Alex Bruce and his wife Deborah have a summer place in Stanhope. We had a great visit. Alex shared some of his latest images from the island. You can check out Alex’s work at: http://www.alexbrucephotography.com/ This was our best trip to the island so far. We had oysters, good wine and we just slowed down enough to soak in the place. I feel very different about the province now. I guess I just missed it the first few visits.

PEI Potato Field

P.E. and I

Well, it’s not that it’s not beautiful. It is.

Prince Edward Island National Park - Click for larger

And it’s not that the people were not friendly, they were. I just don’t seem to get it. I try to get images. But they never seem to live up to my ideal of this place.

Malpeque Harbour - Click for larger

Prince Edward Island is not my favorite province in Canada. Maybe it’s just too gentle. Too tame and tidy. Although we did see many foxes on the island.

Red Fox Kit - Click for larger

I guess if I just wanted to eat oysters and lay on a beach it would be a great place to go.

Osprey in Flight - Click for larger

I even tried to photograph the bridge but the light just wasn’t there.

Confederation Bridge - Click for larger

Maybe we need to book a cottage in a quiet place on a beach. If we could mix a bit more with locals I think we would find more beautiful places. I know they are there. I have seen some beautiful images of this place over the years but I guess it’s just not my cup of tea. We did enjoy meeting up with Adrien Veczan again.

Adrien on PEI - Click for larger

We are slowly heading toward home. Time to acquaint myself with my own bed again.