You Make Your Luck

Black Bear

That’s what my dad used to say to me. In other words, work hard and be prepared. Working with animals can be very unpredictable. There are things I do to better my chances of getting a shot. I preset the cameras, clear the cards everyday, charge the batteries and have the cameras out ready to grab in the van.

Stone Sheep Ram

There are other things I do. Anticipating and understanding animal behaviour are very important. If a bear is walking through the woods, chances are it will continue in the same direction. Move to a clearing and wait. Did I mention patience is important too?

Grizzly Bear

Pika

Woodland Caribou

Sometimes though, no matter how well prepared I am, I miss the shot. I saw this wolf at the side of the road. As I was positioning the van, it stopped and looked at me. It would have been a perfect shot. I missed it. This is the best I could do.

Gray Wolf

I guess that’s what keeps me going out here. I can always do better and learn more.

Happy New Year!

2012 was quite a year for us. I don’t think I have had a better year for photography. After weeks of editing and processing, I’ve finally made my way through the summer shoot. 60,000 images boiled down to 2100 worked images. This process is usually demoralizing and sometimes downright depressing but this year seemed different. I really enjoyed the marathon session of editing. Reliving this trip was wonderful. I was surprised with the number of panoramic images I did. If you would like to see more of the most recent images, check out our latest page (click).

Here are some my favourite images of the year:

Blue Jay - Click for larger

Female Black Bear - Click for larger

Common Loon - Click for larger

White-tailed Deer Leaping - Click for larger

Stormy Saskatchewan Dawn - Click for larger

Great Horned Owl - Click for larger

Pika - Click for larger

Upper Kananaskis Lake - Click for larger

Porcupine Caribou - Click for larger

Native Hunter - Click for larger

Tombstone Territorial Park, YT - Click for larger

Kluane Range, Yukon - Click for larger

Salmon Glacier, British Columbia - Click for larger

Maligne Lake Boathouse - Click for larger

Elk Island National Park, AB - Click for larger

The memory cards are cleared. The batteries are charged.

Next!

Our Own Bed

We are finally home. This has been one of the best summer trips we have ever had. However, it feels great to be home after travelling almost 27,000 km. I get to a point where I’m creatively spent and no longer productive. I wish I could just stop and rest along the way but it is so hard to not shoot when you are travelling in Canada.

Tombstone Territorial Park, YT - Click for larger

I thought it would be interesting to share my 5 favorite and least favorite moments of the trip. Let’s start with the negative so we can end this on an up note.

5 Least favorite things about our trip:

• Missing my mom’s surprise 85th birthday party. Sorry mom!
• Lori and I getting sick on the road. It’s never fun to be sick but when travelling it is especially hard.
• Problems and worries about the van. I worried everyday something would give out. It finally did resulting in a $700 repair bill and 2 nights in a motel.
• No decent photos of Grizzlies or northern lights.
• The incredibly long days of driving. Mind numbing really.

5 Favorite moments:

• The moment I photographed the barren land caribou north of the Arctic Circle. A dream come true.

Porcupine Caribou - Click for larger

• Celebrating our 30th anniversary in Jasper with friends.

American Pika - Click for larger

• Camping in Grasslands National Park during a thunderstorm. The light was fantastic and I howled and the coyotes answered!

Grasslands National Park - Click for larger

• Standing above the Salmon Glacier in BC.

Viewing the Salmon Glacier, BC - Click for larger

• Witnessing Bull Elk in rut in Jasper.

Bull Elk Bugling - Click for larger

As we rest up for our next adventure, we will work our way through the many thousands of new images. I will continue to share as we go.

Beaten by the Road

Ah, but not this time. We made it to the end of the Dempster Highway!

Igloo Church, Inuvik - Click for larger

Our last attempt at the Dempster Highway was in 2010. We almost made it to Eagle Plains but had to turn back because of bad weather. This time we faced a very different road. Dry, warm weather made for good but dusty driving. This has to be one of the most beautiful highways in the world!

Tombstone Territorial Park - Click for larger

Beaver - Click for larger

We drove all the way up to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. This is as far as the road goes in the summer. In the winter you can drive all the way up to Tuktoyaktuk on ice roads.

Crossing the Mackenzie River - Click for larger

On the way back south we decided to spend a few days at the Yukon/NWT border just inside the Arctic Circle. The Porcupine Caribou herd winters here and they are starting to move in. We spotted a small herd and waited by the side of the road. They walked quite close to us. I didn’t have much light but I did what I could. This was very exciting to see barren-land caribou!

Porcupine Caribou Herd - Click for larger

Porcupine Caribou Herd - Click for larger

Porcupine Caribou Herd - Click for larger

As we were shooting, hunters came by and started shooting, but in a very different way! I had the opportunity to help a local hunter gut and drag his kill off the tundra.

Native Hunter - Click for larger

Fred, a 70-year-old Gwich’in man was very worried about Grizzly Bears. Especially when Lori and I told him we had just seen 2 just south of where we were sitting. I now had blood all over me and I smelled like a caribou. He said he didn’t have a permit to shoot a bear. I said “But you would shoot one if it came at us?”
He smiled and said, “Yes, but we would need more firepower than this old gun” as he pointed to his old 303 British rifle.
“What have I gotten myself into?” I wondered.
He then said, “Every thing follows the caribou, men, wolves, ravens, bears and even photographers! Those bears can smell these guts for miles. Keep a close watch. Always stop what you are doing and have a good look around.”
Thankfully, we didn’t see any.
What a great experience this has been!

The Law of Diminishing Returns

Lori kayaking by an iceberg - Click for larger

I have been coast to coast in Canada many times over the past 20 years. We have travelled in planes, trains, boats and automobiles. We have also travelled in canoes, kayaks and on foot. Some places we have even revisited over the years. Usually the first time is the most exciting. This year, Newfoundland felt like it had lost a bit of its shine. Maybe the bad weather had something to do with my perception. Although I think anyplace would have a difficult time living up to my expectations the second time round if my first visit was spectacular. Our first trip there we kayaked around icebergs and had caribou run past us. We were wide-eyed and smitten.

Caribou Cow and Calf - Click for larger

Ice Floes at La Scie, NL - Click for larger

There are very few places that hold that magic of a first visit. Lake Superior however, has never disappointed me.

Gargantua Rocks - Click for larger

Regardless of the weather, I always enjoy the north shore.

Sandpiper - Click for larger

After braving one of the wettest summers on the east coast in memory, Lori and I loaded up the canoe and headed to Lake Superior Provincial Park. We wanted to enjoy a bit of summer before returning to the daily grind. Waves crashing on the shore was all we could hear. It was so loud, we had to yell to communicate if we were more than 10 feet from each other. It was a little rough for canoeing so we didn’t go far. With little ambition for not much more than reading, swimming, and eating, we somehow filled our day nicely.

Red Sky over Lake Superior - Click for larger

I didn’t pick up the camera much during the week - only if the light was too good to ignore. I did do a little light painting with a big Maglight flashlight. It’s always fun to play and just shoot for the joy of it.

Gargantua Rocks - Click for larger

All in all, it was a great summer! Hope you had a good one too.