Great Blue HeronHappy to announce that today my photo of a Great Blue Heron is featured on the photobotos.com blog! Click the link below to check out a larger version and a bit more about how I made this photograph. Thanks to Charlie and Tom from the photobotos.com website!
http://www.photobotos.com/capilano-river-great-blue-heron/
Calendars are 25% off until January 2nd – just enter the code AMPLIUS at checkout!
My 2013 wall calendar is now available! I have put together some of my favourite images made this year into this 11″x17″ (28cm x 43cm) calendar. Included are 12 photographs of landscape and nature scenes from British Columbia and Washington State. There are two versions of this calendar – one with Canadian holidays and one with US holidays.
You can view a full preview and purchase this calendar through the links below (be sure to choose the correct version!)
Englishman River Falls in Englishman River Falls Provincial Park near Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.
My trip to Vancouver Island was successful in many ways. I not only discovered some great Provincial Parks to explore, I managed some photos of these places that I quite like. I was also pretty lucky with the weather. The 3 photos here are all from Englishman River Falls Provincial Park. I should point out this park differs quite a bit from Englishman River Regional Park if someone uhm, confused the signs on the way in. Not that I would do this of course.
The first photo here shows the main Englishman River Falls. This is a much different sort of waterfall from what I am used to seeing. The drop from top to bottom is approximately 100 feet (31 meters) but this is pretty hard to tell from the bridge vantage point. The Falls flows into the side of a slot canyon (only about 10 feet wide), not directly in the end of it. The sideways slant to this falls makes it a bit difficult to photograph as well as determine exactly how deep the canyon is.
The second photo here shows the Lower Englishman River Falls. Not quite what I was expecting, but there were some nice fall leaves above the falls and some interesting swirling patterns made by the bubbles in the water. During higher water levels the lower falls flows over top of the rock you see here which probably makes it a big more exciting, and look a bit more like a waterfall from this perspective.
The last photo here is one just outside of the parking lot. I would be surprised if these were a natural occurrence, but I still liked the symmetry of these tree trunks. Not sure what species of tree this is, however.
I hope to go back to photograph this park in the Spring!
From now through January 15th, 2013 all of my Fine Art Prints and Giclée Canvas Wraps are 20% off! Just use the code FALL20 at checkout.
Most of my images can be purchased directly from my Gallery. Details on this can be found on the Purchase page in the menu above or if you have any questions just send me an email.
If you are interested in a photo that is not yet in my gallery but instead found here on my photoblog or on a social media site, please send me an email indicating which photograph you are interested in and what size/product you wish to order – the discount will still apply!
My 2013 Calendar is now also available: 2013 Nature Calendar
The photo above is a Japanese Maple (Acer japonica) I found last week while looking for Fall colour. I had been looking for some native Maples, but I really liked the red in this against the green Cedars and the dark trunk.
A few weeks ago I made a weekend trip to Vancouver Island in British Columbia Canada. One of the parks on my list to visit was Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park – and it did not disappoint. The main falls (top photo) – officially named Little Qualicum Falls is certainly much more spectacular than the Lower Falls (bottom) but both are nice.
I had initially thought that the best Fall colours might have already faded on Vancouver Island – at least judging from what I’d been seeing around Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. The colours turned out to be perfect. There wasn’t much in the way of Vine Maple colour, but the Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) had great colour – yellow and even some orange. It didn’t look like any of them had turned slightly then gone straight to brown which was common this year in some places.
I was also extremely fortunate with the weather. The entire weekend was forecast for rain, at times heavy. In the three Provincial Parks that I visited there was absolutely no rain. All the plastic bags and camera/lens coverings I had prepared were not necessary. While I’d intended on photographing mostly rivers and waterfalls – great subjects in the rain, I was still happy to not have to deal with the possibility of wet equipment and clothing.
More photos from Vancouver Island coming soon!
In late September I went to Silver Lake Provincial Park near Hope, British Columbia. The Fall colours had just started to appear. A few weeks later, however, they were almost in full swing. The above panorama was made about 3 weeks after my previous shot – how quickly things change! Again I was very lucky to have a near perfect reflection on Silver Lake – I’ve been there a few times when there were almost waves due to the wind. The majority of the Fall colours here are provided by Bigleaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) and Vine Maples (Acer circinatum).
Both of these photos were made at Silver Falls on the Ohanapecosh River in Mount Rainier National Park this past August.
Over the years I have often avoided having people in any of my photos. After all – I am usually there to photograph nature, not a bunch of people! Often in busy locations there was some waiting while the other visitors walked out of my composition. Now, however, I tend to include those people in a photograph for a few reasons (and then photograph it again when they’ve left). First, I may potentially like the composition more with the people than without later when I edit my photos. Secondly, certain locations don’t show the scale of the scene very well, and including people can give the view a better sense of overall size.
I had viewed other photographer’s photos of Silver Falls before my late Summer trip to Mount Rainier, but really didn’t understand how large the falls actually was. The vertical photo at the top of this post is not only more interesting because of the hiker standing there looking at the Falls, his presence helps show you how large the rocks and surrounding area really are. I am not sure that could be accomplished without him in the composition. The second photo here I like a lot – but I do think the scale could be shown a bit better had that hiker still been there!
In my previous post I showed a few images of people enjoying the wildflowers at Tipsoo Lake (also in Mount Rainier National Park) – and I think the people there help the photos a lot as well, though for different reasons than above.
Almost 2 months ago I went down to Mount Rainier National Park to view the wildflowers. Last week I posted some photos I made at Tipsoo Lake. Even on a weekday a National Park will be a busy place, so there were a lot of people hiking the trails and taking photos. For some compositions I waited for the people to be clear of my frame, but for others I tried to photograph what the people were doing on the trails. There was a lot of pointing and photographing this great display of wildflowers.
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In mid August I went to Mount Rainier National Park to view what was promising to be an impressive display of wildflowers. As the weather at the Paradise area generally did not allow for viewing of the mountain itself, I headed to Tipsoo Lake to see the display there. I was not disappointed! While I have not seen a full display at Paradise, which is rumored to be a bit better, I was quite impressed with what I saw at Tipsoo Lake. The first photograph here is of some Pasque Flowers or Western Anemone (Anemone occidentalis) seed heads that were nicely backlit by the setting sun near Upper Tipsoo Lake. There are also a few Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), Broadleaf Lupines (Lupinus latifolius), Alpine Aster (Aster alpigenus), and Broadleaf Arnica (Arnica latifolia) in that photo.
Here are a few more wildflower photographs made around Tipsoo and Upper Tipsoo Lakes:
I have put together some of my favourite images made in the last year into this 11"x17" (28cm x 43cm) calendar. Included are 12 photographs of landscape and nature scenes from British Columbia and Washington State. There are two versions of this calendar - one with Canadian holidays and one with US holidays.
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About Michael Russell Photography
I am a landscape and nature photographer based in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. Most of my subjects are in Southwestern British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of Washington State. My photography is available for licensing as stock, fine art prints, and giclée canvas wraps.
The best way to contact me is through the Contact Form. I will respond as soon as possible.
Email: michael@mrussellphotography.com
Cell: (778) 878-9074
