Waxwing alert!!

I was happy to see a pair of cedar waxwings in my yard...until I realized they were after my haskcap berries!! I netted the berries, hoping it will slow them down, if not stop them.

Posing Pretty

I had about two seconds to get this shot, then the little guy dashed into the high grass where I lost sight of it.

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Take the Long Way Home

I was out for a drive and decided to take a different route home, not really knowing what I would see, but always up for something new. Lots of twists and turns in the road, but those led me to multiple families of Lewis' Woodpeckers. I drove past them, slowed down, saw that they were in fact Lewis' Woodpeckers and found a safe spot to turn around so I could pull off the highway and photograph them. There were so many of them, I have never seen them like that before, I was so happy. Only my second time seeing and photographing them.

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Sea Wolf Among the Sand Flea Stars

I shared an evening with this gentle old sea wolf. This was the first time I saw him, but not the last. I was hunkered down and scouting for wolves among the sea grass and driftwood on an extremely remote west coast shoreline. Suddenly this old coastal wolf appeared in the distance, I almost missed him as he camouflaged perfectly among the mountains of washed up seaweed, sand and beach stones. I was upwind so he noticed me and lay down behind some seaweed to watch, smell, observe and assess me, and decide if I was dangerous. If I hadn't spotted his subtle movement before he lay down, he would have been basically invisible but for two distant ear tufts, his forehead and two eyes. After a while he deemed me safe, got up and softly continued his journey which just happened to be towards me. He stopped suddenly, went up into the brushes, found a dead and decomposing mink and ate it in a few gulps. Then he continued ahead and stopped a respectful distance in front of me. Here he stood. I witnessed something amazing which I tried to capture in this photograph. The sea wolf stood in front of me and watched the golden sun setting as it came to rest upon the ocean horizon. I realize many people believe there are feelings and experiences that belong solely to humans. But watching this coastal wolf stand in front of me and appear to be appreciating the beautiful light and... just being alive... it's difficult to explain how rare and precious this is. I hope my photograph shares this with you. I have spent years working as a sea wolf guide in the far coastal wilderness, wolf and photography guiding and photographing the lives of these amazing animals. I document their world of intricate ecology, interwoven wildlife, water and landscapes. There are so many incredible stories and photographs to share. I hope this photo inspires you to protect and respect our precious and essential wolves.

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The Herring Spawn Feast

The herring spawn is one of the most inexplicably incredible coastal sea-life gatherings to witness and participate in. It's the initial massive influx of protein and nutrients (and life) from the ocean deep as winter ends and transitions into spring. All the animals gather to feast on the herring and roe as the herring return to spawn. The water turns to azure turquoise, bears wake up to slurp eggs, people and wolves, mink, eagles, seals, sea otters, gulls, grey whales and more... are gathering at the feast. It's truly incredible and ancient. There is so much life to photograph during the herring spawn that it's almost overwhelming to decide how to capture and tell the stories. I love the explosion and massive up-swell of gulls as they gorge on eggs in the waves. I hope we can keep a balance and protect this essential marine life with more awareness this time. We have something to celebrate and protect as the herring runs begin to return in numbers to the west coast of Canada. I've spent years working as a sea wolf and coastal wilderness photography guide in remote islands and regions. It's incredible to photograph and live in a world of intricate ecology, interwoven wildlife, water and landscapes. There are wondrous stories and photographs to share.

The Human Footprint at Lake Ontario

Two Mute Swans pause along the Lake Ontario shoreline as dark storm clouds gather overhead. I composed this image from a low perspective to emphasize their presence, capturing a discarded plastic bottle in the foreground as a reminder that even familiar urban wildlife must share their habitat with the traces of human activity.

Pollen

If I have to pick a favourite insect to photograph, these guys would be it! I just love going out and trying to find them, because when I see the metallic flash, I get very excited. They are fast moving little things, which makes them a bit of a challenge and such a thrill to photograph, because when you get the shot, it's an amazing feeling. Clinton BC

Sea Otter

This west coast sea otter was not aware how beautiful the evening light was on it's handsome face. I appreciated when it waved at me and threw watery diamonds in the air. The return of sea otters to our coast is something to celebrate, although some folks think otherwise. After their extirpation from almost the entire coast during the fur trade, the ocean lost a predator which is essential for the balance and health of the marine ecosystem and kelp forests. There are some who mourn their return, as sea otters eat shellfish and sea urchins which are monetarily valuable harvests to some. And yes, sea otters do eat sea urchins but this is necessary in order to have abundant fish, crabs, salmon and more. To put things way more simply than is deserved... they are protectors of the underwater kelp forests which are rich and essential ecosystems that are vital for biodiversity and abundant sea and fish life. But it is all a balance. We then need the coastal wolves and other predators to keep the sea otter population in check. I've spent years working as a sea wolf and wilderness photography guide in far coastal wilderness regions. It's incredible to photograph and live in a world of intricate ecology, interwoven wildlife, water and landscapes. There are wondrous stories and photographs to share. This sea otter was oblivious to any of this. It was lovely to photograph with the emerald green ripples in the evening light.

Tongue Out

We have our first beehive and honey bees this year, which is really exciting! The bees are slowly making their way around our property, which have many wildflowers all over. It is a lot of fun tacking the bees down and taking some photos of them in action and seeing how they are with the hive. I had to keep adjusting my settings on my camera on this evening, the sun was always going behind the clouds, so the bees wings are blurred, but I love that it was sticking its tongue out.

European Fire Ants

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Little Skipper

I was walking around the top of our property, looking for pollinators, as the field is full of wildflowers right now. That's when I found this Skipper, what a beautiful butterfly they are. I have photographed them before, but could never really capture the wings like I wanted to. This time, I saw it sitting on a piece of grass and knelt down in front of it. This butterfly didn't fly away, so I decided to start trying to take some photos, which I instantly got a vision in mind. My macro lens, on the other hand, was not really wanting to cooperate in auto focus, so I had to switch it to manual focus. I was constantly adjusting the focus, it was windy, so it proved to be a challenge to keep my subject in focus. Lucky for me, this butterfly was really patient with me and allowed me to take some photos. Clinton BC

The Predator hiding in between Herbivores

The Insect catcher in between Grasses attracting insect to eat

Purseweb Spider

During a recent camping trip near Turkey Point that I went on with a friend of mine, we stopped at a sandy parking lot for some trails that I has visited in the previous year. We were hoping to get some nice photos of the tiger beetles which I had seen on my first visit there but they were too active so luck wasn't on our side with them. I started to search around the edges of the sandy lot where it transitioned to forest. I spotted this black spider running across the sand and while it was pretty quick, it stopped for a brief moment. I was able to take this top down image stack of the spider before it took off again.

Fox cubs playing

Fox cubs playing

Waxwing alert!!

I was happy to see a pair of cedar waxwings in my yard...until I realized they were after my haskcap berries!! I netted the berries, hoping it will slow them down, if not stop them.

Posing Pretty

I had about two seconds to get this shot, then the little guy dashed into the high grass where I lost sight of it.

User Avatar

Take the Long Way Home

I was out for a drive and decided to take a different route home, not really knowing what I would see, but always up for something new. Lots of twists and turns in the road, but those led me to multiple families of Lewis' Woodpeckers. I drove past them, slowed down, saw that they were in fact Lewis' Woodpeckers and found a safe spot to turn around so I could pull off the highway and photograph them. There were so many of them, I have never seen them like that before, I was so happy. Only my second time seeing and photographing them.

User Avatar

User Avatar

User Avatar

Sea Wolf Among the Sand Flea Stars

I shared an evening with this gentle old sea wolf. This was the first time I saw him, but not the last. I was hunkered down and scouting for wolves among the sea grass and driftwood on an extremely remote west coast shoreline. Suddenly this old coastal wolf appeared in the distance, I almost missed him as he camouflaged perfectly among the mountains of washed up seaweed, sand and beach stones. I was upwind so he noticed me and lay down behind some seaweed to watch, smell, observe and assess me, and decide if I was dangerous. If I hadn't spotted his subtle movement before he lay down, he would have been basically invisible but for two distant ear tufts, his forehead and two eyes. After a while he deemed me safe, got up and softly continued his journey which just happened to be towards me. He stopped suddenly, went up into the brushes, found a dead and decomposing mink and ate it in a few gulps. Then he continued ahead and stopped a respectful distance in front of me. Here he stood. I witnessed something amazing which I tried to capture in this photograph. The sea wolf stood in front of me and watched the golden sun setting as it came to rest upon the ocean horizon. I realize many people believe there are feelings and experiences that belong solely to humans. But watching this coastal wolf stand in front of me and appear to be appreciating the beautiful light and... just being alive... it's difficult to explain how rare and precious this is. I hope my photograph shares this with you. I have spent years working as a sea wolf guide in the far coastal wilderness, wolf and photography guiding and photographing the lives of these amazing animals. I document their world of intricate ecology, interwoven wildlife, water and landscapes. There are so many incredible stories and photographs to share. I hope this photo inspires you to protect and respect our precious and essential wolves.

User Avatar

The Herring Spawn Feast

The herring spawn is one of the most inexplicably incredible coastal sea-life gatherings to witness and participate in. It's the initial massive influx of protein and nutrients (and life) from the ocean deep as winter ends and transitions into spring. All the animals gather to feast on the herring and roe as the herring return to spawn. The water turns to azure turquoise, bears wake up to slurp eggs, people and wolves, mink, eagles, seals, sea otters, gulls, grey whales and more... are gathering at the feast. It's truly incredible and ancient. There is so much life to photograph during the herring spawn that it's almost overwhelming to decide how to capture and tell the stories. I love the explosion and massive up-swell of gulls as they gorge on eggs in the waves. I hope we can keep a balance and protect this essential marine life with more awareness this time. We have something to celebrate and protect as the herring runs begin to return in numbers to the west coast of Canada. I've spent years working as a sea wolf and coastal wilderness photography guide in remote islands and regions. It's incredible to photograph and live in a world of intricate ecology, interwoven wildlife, water and landscapes. There are wondrous stories and photographs to share.

The Human Footprint at Lake Ontario

Two Mute Swans pause along the Lake Ontario shoreline as dark storm clouds gather overhead. I composed this image from a low perspective to emphasize their presence, capturing a discarded plastic bottle in the foreground as a reminder that even familiar urban wildlife must share their habitat with the traces of human activity.

Pollen

If I have to pick a favourite insect to photograph, these guys would be it! I just love going out and trying to find them, because when I see the metallic flash, I get very excited. They are fast moving little things, which makes them a bit of a challenge and such a thrill to photograph, because when you get the shot, it's an amazing feeling. Clinton BC

Sea Otter

This west coast sea otter was not aware how beautiful the evening light was on it's handsome face. I appreciated when it waved at me and threw watery diamonds in the air. The return of sea otters to our coast is something to celebrate, although some folks think otherwise. After their extirpation from almost the entire coast during the fur trade, the ocean lost a predator which is essential for the balance and health of the marine ecosystem and kelp forests. There are some who mourn their return, as sea otters eat shellfish and sea urchins which are monetarily valuable harvests to some. And yes, sea otters do eat sea urchins but this is necessary in order to have abundant fish, crabs, salmon and more. To put things way more simply than is deserved... they are protectors of the underwater kelp forests which are rich and essential ecosystems that are vital for biodiversity and abundant sea and fish life. But it is all a balance. We then need the coastal wolves and other predators to keep the sea otter population in check. I've spent years working as a sea wolf and wilderness photography guide in far coastal wilderness regions. It's incredible to photograph and live in a world of intricate ecology, interwoven wildlife, water and landscapes. There are wondrous stories and photographs to share. This sea otter was oblivious to any of this. It was lovely to photograph with the emerald green ripples in the evening light.

Tongue Out

We have our first beehive and honey bees this year, which is really exciting! The bees are slowly making their way around our property, which have many wildflowers all over. It is a lot of fun tacking the bees down and taking some photos of them in action and seeing how they are with the hive. I had to keep adjusting my settings on my camera on this evening, the sun was always going behind the clouds, so the bees wings are blurred, but I love that it was sticking its tongue out.

European Fire Ants

User Avatar

Little Skipper

I was walking around the top of our property, looking for pollinators, as the field is full of wildflowers right now. That's when I found this Skipper, what a beautiful butterfly they are. I have photographed them before, but could never really capture the wings like I wanted to. This time, I saw it sitting on a piece of grass and knelt down in front of it. This butterfly didn't fly away, so I decided to start trying to take some photos, which I instantly got a vision in mind. My macro lens, on the other hand, was not really wanting to cooperate in auto focus, so I had to switch it to manual focus. I was constantly adjusting the focus, it was windy, so it proved to be a challenge to keep my subject in focus. Lucky for me, this butterfly was really patient with me and allowed me to take some photos. Clinton BC

The Predator hiding in between Herbivores

The Insect catcher in between Grasses attracting insect to eat

Purseweb Spider

During a recent camping trip near Turkey Point that I went on with a friend of mine, we stopped at a sandy parking lot for some trails that I has visited in the previous year. We were hoping to get some nice photos of the tiger beetles which I had seen on my first visit there but they were too active so luck wasn't on our side with them. I started to search around the edges of the sandy lot where it transitioned to forest. I spotted this black spider running across the sand and while it was pretty quick, it stopped for a brief moment. I was able to take this top down image stack of the spider before it took off again.

Fox cubs playing

Fox cubs playing