Heart of the Arctic
October 11, 2011     1 comments

In September I had the opportunity to take part in Adventure Canada’s “Heart of the Arctic” tour to Greenland and Baffin Island. I received a last minute invitation (four days notice!) to join the arctic journey and jumped at the opportunity. The trip began with a flight from Toronto to Kangerlussuaq in western Greenland where we were met by the cruise ship, Ocean Nova – a converted Greenland ferry – our home for the next twelve days and 2004 nautical miles. We sailed out of Sondre Stomfjordfjord under a full moon and awoke the following morning in the spectacularly beautiful Eternity Fjord where we clambered aboard zodiacs to view the glaciers and bergy bits up close. We also visited the colourful Inuit village of Kangaamiut and Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. After three days in Greenland we crossed the Davis Strait to Baffin Island to cruise the coast looking for wildlife and visit the communities of Pangnirtung, Kimmirut, Cape Dorset and Iqaluit. On board lectures from archeologists, zoologists, Inuit art experts, gallery curators and filmmakers along with print making and carving demonstrations from two renowned Inuit artists, Andrew Qappik and Mattiusi Iyaituk, enriched the entire experience. It was a crash course in Inuit art and culture. Fortunately there was no test at the end, as I kept skipping out of the lectures to photograph the passing scenery. For this photographer, the jaw dropping beauty of Greenland’s coastal fjords was a rare treat, but the warm welcome we received from our Inuit hosts in every community left an impression I’ll not soon forget. Images top to bottom: 1, 2 – Glacial ice, Eternity Fjord, Greenland. 3 – Inuit elder Annie Ikkidluak, of Kimmirut, poses with a younger version of herself. 4 – Hamming it up for the camera outside Peter Pitseolak school in Cape Dorset. adventurecanada More images at Natural Traveller: naturaltraveler
The L.M. Montgomery Seashore
August 03, 2011     1 comments

Prince Edward Island’s L.M. Montgomery Land Trust (LMMLT) has launched a fundraising campaign to preserve one of the most scenic sections of the Island’s iconic coastline. In May, the LMMLT announced the purchase of the 125 acre “Ash” property near French River and a three year campaign to raise the $1.57 M to complete the purchase. A protective non-development covenant is attached to the deed effectively preserving the scenic integrity of the land in agricultural use for future generations. I took some of my workshop participants to photograph at the seashore property in July. We photographed a spectacular sunrise and breaking waves along the shore, then hiked along the cliff tops to enjoy the spectacular views in every direction. We all agreed it is one of the most beautiful locations in Prince Edward Island. Fort more information or to make a contribution to the LMMLT fundraising campaign visit: http://www.landtrust.ca/
Springtime in Butchart Gardens
May 20, 2011     2 comments

I'm just back from a short holiday in Vancouver Island which included a visit to the world famous Butchart Gardens. It was a rainy wet day, but the flowers, especially the tulips, were spectacular, as they always are here. I was traveling light with no tripod, just a camera and three lenses, so took advantage of Canon's IS feature on my 24-105 lens to capture the saturated colours of the rain soaked flowers. The garden designers at Butchart do a wonderful job combining shape and form with colour, making a photographer's job very easy. It's "eye-candy" everywhere you look. If you're planning a trip to Vancouver Island I highly recommend a visit to Butchart Gardens, even if you're not a gardener.
Flex Mussels – New York
April 12, 2011     1 comments

I was in New York City last week attending Canada Media Marketplace, an annual conference sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission that brings together North American media with Canadian tourism operators. An integral part of the event is the Northern Lights Awards (NLA), which celebrates excellence in travel journalism. I was fortunate to win my fourth NLA this year, second place in the photography category for the photo essay, “Winter Wonderland,” that appeared in the Dec/Jan 2011 issue of Coastal Living magazine. You can’t go to New York without taking in the sights, which included concerts, galleries and a fantastic meal at the new Flex Mussels restaurant in the West Village. Flex features Prince Edward Island mussels served up in an amazing variety of ways. Keeping with the PEI theme the restaurant decor features artwork by PEI artist, Lindsay Walker, and photography by yours truly. The entire back wall of the restaurant features one of my images on a nineteen foot long backlit panel. Ten more of my photos grace the side walls of the room. It was wonderful having dinner in a busy New York restaurant surrounded by my own photography. Kudos to owners, Bobby and Laura Shapiro, for the great food and decor. flexmusselsny
Signs of Climate Change?
March 30, 2011     0 comments

This young harp seal is one of hundreds that washed up on the north shore of Prince Edward Island in the last week of March. Yet another warm winter in Atlantic Canada has forced some seals to give birth on land due to the lack of sea ice. Environment Canada reports below average ice coverage in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the last seventeen years, with the last two years being the worst on record. Harp seals normally give birth on ice floes in the Gulf. Storms in the last week have also broken up the what little ice there is. This young seal, and many others like it, will likely succumb to predators such as coyotes or bald eagles, or it could drown on the incoming tide. There were several dead seals along the beach the night I made this image. The controversial seal hunt is a non-starter this year and the future of the harp seal population in this region is an environmental story worth following.
Sunrise and Sea Ice
March 07, 2011     0 comments

Prince Edward Island National Park is only a twenty minute drive from my home, and winter is one of my favorite seasons for photography in the park. By mid-January sea ice is usually beginning to form in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and by mid-February the Island is surrounded by ice. The ice pans, constantly shifted by wind and tide, provide a graphically interesting and ever changing foreground for images. While I’m not usually enthusiastic about “sunset photography,” I love to photograph sunrise and sunset over the sea ice. In addition to the visual appeal of the shifting ice, there is an atmosphere of silence and tranquility that you won’t experience at any other time of year. The simple technique I used to balance foreground and sky in this image is to place a Singh-Ray two-stop split neutral density filter on my wide angle lens (16-35 mm set at 27 mm) aligning the filter line with the horizon. While the same result can be achieved by making a couple of exposures and merging them in Photoshop, I still prefer to capture my images “in-camera” whenever possible, so I can spend less time in front of a computer and more time in nature.
The passing of an old friend
January 06, 2011     0 comments

On December 30, the last roll of Kodachrome film was processed at Dwayne’s Photo lab in Kansas. Kodak stopped manufacturing the film in 2009 and Dwayne’s was the last remaining lab in the world still processing the iconic film. Like many photographers of my generation, I cut my teeth on Kodachrome. For years it was THE colour film for stock and magazine photographers. I eventually switched to Fujichrome film in the early 1990’s, then to digital capture in recent years, but like a first girlfriend, I have special place in my heart for Kodachrome 64, which had the most accurate colour palette of any film I have ever used. And if today’s camera manufacturers could calibrate their sensors to match Kodachrome’s ”nice bright colours” they’d make a lot of photographers very happy. This image, taken for a magazine feature on the Hant’s County Fair in Windsor, Nova Scotia is one of the last images I made with Kodachrome film. It’s still a favorite.
Wild Island Wins 2010 PEI Book Award
December 01, 2010     0 comments

I was surprised and delighted to learn that my book "Wild Island – Prince Edward Island's Hidden Wilderness" was awarded the 2010 Prince Edward Island Book Award for non-fiction. The awards were presented by PEI Tourism Minister, Robert Vessey, at a ceremony held at the Confederation Centre Library, Nov 24. Books in the categories of fiction, non-fiction and poetry were chosen by a panel of judges comprised of poet Hugh MacDonald, author Katherine Edwards and historian Boyd Beck. I hope the recognition will help to raise the book's profile and increase interest in Prince Edward Island's natural areas and conservation. One dollar from the sale of every book goes to the Island Nature Trust. In addition to the prize money and an engraved pottery plate the winners received a huge roll of gold "PEI Book Award" labels. I have to go now and put stickers on books!
Workshop in the rain
November 10, 2010     0 comments

I gave three weekend workshops this past summer and fall at the urging of Stephen Desroches of the PEI Photography Club (credit where credit is due). It was a wonderful experience and I learned as much from the students as they did from me. While the weather was excellent for the July and one of the September weekends, the first group in September spent most of Saturday in the rain. But they endured and came away with some beautifully creative images. Sometimes you have to work a little harder when the conditions aren’t ideal. I’ll be offering at least two more weekend workshops in 2011, June 24-26 and July 24-26. Details will be posted on a separate “Workshop” page on this site soon.
Polar bear, Torngat Mountains
September 02, 2010     0 comments

I’ve just returned from a remarkable trip to Labrador’s Torngat Mountains with Cruise North Expeditions. The weather was good, the scenery spectacular – including the highest mountains east of the Rockies, icebergs aplenty and abundant wildlife: polar bears, black bears, seals, minke whales, arctic hare and countless arctic char. I think I’ve now eaten arctic char in every possible way – raw, smoked, dried, fried and baked on an open fire. However, what set this trip apart from any other I’ve taken in Canada’s wilderness was the close interaction we had with our Inuit guides, especially Eli and Jacko Merkuratsuk, who introduced us to the land they know so well. Polar bear numbers are increasing along the northern Labrador coast, and although I’d seen polar bears before in Churchill, Manitoba, it was a thrill to see them again along this rugged coastline, fat and healthy from a diet of seals and char.