One of the many things I love about living on Vancouver Island is how I am surrounded by trees. When I hike or just wander in the woods I get a relaxing, calm feeling and other concerns seem to fade away. The Japanese have a term for it “shinrin-yoku” (forest bathing) and apparently studies have shown what many already suspected: it is relaxing and beneficial to your health.
Ferns growing from an overhead moss covered branch
To get to many of the places I’ve photographed and written about on my blog, I’ve had to spend time wandering through the woods before arriving at my destination. While those posts may feature a waterfall, the ocean, a lighthouse, sunset or some other spectacular sight, the wander through the forest is always an important part of it for me.
The arbutus tree branch tree
I always keep an eye out for a new location to photograph. Sometimes I check out areas on a map or by using various apps, but other times I see somewhere that looks interesting while driving by. The location of the images in today’s post is from an area I drive by daily and have often thought I should check out. As you can see, it is a beautiful area to explore; rich with a variety of trees.
Standing alone, surrounded by many
I’m glad I stopped to check this area out a couple times in the last week. I will keep going back and looking for different conditions, as a nice fog or even misty rain would really make some of these trees (like the ones just above and below) stand out from the others.
Moss and lichen give a distinct look to this tree
Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog post. Please comment and let me know what you thought and share it with anyone who you think may enjoy my photography.
“Ancient trees are precious. There is little else on Earth that plays host to such a rich community of life within a single living organism.” — Sir David Attenborough
In the past, I’ve written a year end recap and look at things I plan or hope on accomplishing, photographically in the coming year. After a one year absence of that post, I am getting back on track. Somehow missing a post looking forward at what 2020 might hold in store for me seems fitting. Not in my wildest dreams (nightmares???) would I have guessed that almost the entire year, and beyond, would be dramatically affected by a global pandemic. I had been looking forward to a major photography trip in October, which had been planned well over a year in advance. At first I thought things might be getting back on track by then, but as the months wore on, it became apparent that it wouldn’t happen and it would be difficult to say when things might be back to a point when I could even consider an international trip would be. I had big plans, in my mind, for the year, but felt sapped of energy and let many things, like this blog, my YouTube channel, local photography outings, etc, slide. As I write this, the first people have received vaccines and while it will take many months yet, better times are in sight.
Bull Kelp
Despite all the cancelled trips, outings and events, there was much that happened for me, related to my photographic endeavours. I started off the year with a photo trip to Tofino, where I explored the wreckage of an old warplane and even made a short video of it. Shortly after that, things first got hectic in my non-photography work and then Covid set in. Still, I became even more involved in the local arts scene. As a Director on the Sooke Arts Council, I was involved in starting our art gallery, and subsequently became Vice President of the Council. This took up a lot more time than my earlier involvement did, however, it has been very rewarding, and working with artists of various other forms has been a positive influence on my artistic development.
Gallery by Sooke Arts Council
I also became more involved in various social media endeavours. While I have not grown my Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter or Flickr followings significantly (in fact, I have not kept up on them nearly was much as I wanted), I have made more connections with other photographers and artists through them, which has led to positive artistic growth. As a direct result of my involvement in some of these sites, or reaching out to those on them, I have had the opportunity to appear, or have my photography be featured, on various mediums. Images of mine have been reviewed on episodes of Behind The Shot. I have been a returning guest on Latitude Photography Podcast, and represented the Sooke Arts Council on the All Sooke Days Podcast. I even had my picture in the local paper, hanging the sign for our new Gallery… and there’s still time for a little more exposure before the end of the year!
BC Legislature & Victoria’s Inner Harbour
I did manage a couple quick trips on Vancouver Island, where I scouted areas I hadn’t previously been to. Strathcona Park and the surrounding area have much to offer, and I know I will be doing a lot more exploring there in the future. My short trip to Campbell River included a whale watching trip with Aboriginal Journeys Wildlife & Adventure Tours, and had a fantastic day viewing Humpback whales, seals, sea lions, various birds and other sea life. This is another area that I want to spend much more time in with my camera!
Humpback Whale “waving goodbye”
This all brings me to the point where I look forward to 2021. A lot of things are still uncertain and trying to make any definitive plans will be difficult, but I have some general goals in mind. One of those is quite simple. Get out with my camera more often than in 2020. Along with that, I want to be more regular and consistent with my blog posts and YouTube videos. Hopefully, I will be able to grow followers on both, as well as other social media platforms. In addition, I want to continue to increase my exposure on through appearing on podcasts, blogs, local media and anywhere else I can arrange. With any luck, travel will be back in the cards in the not too distant future. I’ll definitely be exploring more areas on Vancouver Island and if all goes well I’ll be checking out more of British Columbia this year, as well as at least one more distant locale. I’m looking forward to a great year and hope you follow along on my adventures, here and on my other sites.
As I recently mentioned, I have started to create videos on YouTube, following along on when I go out photographing on my hikes around (mostly) local areas. With all the time I have spent on creating videos, I have had less to spend on the blog, so I thought I’d give a little recap of some of the recent hikes I’ve been on. Each of the locations mentioned has a hyperlink to the video, and it would be great if you could view some (or all) of them, like those you enjoy, and leave a comment or two on YouTube to let me know that you thought.
My new hiking / photography companion, Cosmo
In my first video, I visited Sheringham Point Lighthouse, at Shirley, BC and I brought my new hiking buddy, Cosmo. He’s since made appearances in several other videos.
Next, I took a quick, exploratory trip up to Mount Washington, to see some snow. My other frequent travelling companion, Henrietta (who you’ve met before) was introduced in this video. I had never been there before and I know I will be returning at some point in the future.
I then went to Mary Vine Falls, which is in Sooke Potholes Regional Park, and an easy hike from the trailhead. As of this time, it is the most watched and liked video I have published.
For my most recent video, I travelled just past Port Renfrew, and visited Fairy Lake, where there is a unique little tree growing from a mostly submerged stump in the middle of the lake.
The Fairy Lake tree is probably the most photographed tree in the region
Most of my excursions are local and not planned long ahead, however I do have two more significant photography trips planned for later this year. One just a little further than I’ve been before on Vancouver Island, and another outside British Columbia, so keep an eye out for my upcoming posts and videos.
As far as my YouTube channel goes, before I started it, I thought I’d start slow, and do one video a month. As soon as I began, I realized that would be too infrequent and I wanted to get some content out there before slowing the pace a bit, so I have been publishing a new video every Sunday morning. Very soon, I will be settling in to two videos a month, coming out on the First and Third Sunday’s of each month. This should allow enough time to get new, interesting content and process it, but hopefully not too infrequent to grow my followers. Thanks for checking out this post, and I hope you were able to watch some videos as well. 🙂
A couple of blog posts ago I mentioned that I would be making an announcement on an exciting new project I was working on, some time before the end of December. Here it is… I have decided to start my own YouTube channel featuring my photography adventures. Don’t worry, I will still be adding new blog posts. I hope you have the chance to watch and follow my channel. I have a “promotional trailer” out now, the Drake Dyck Photography Channel Promo, with the first real video coming out on 30 December, 2019. After that, videos will come out on the first Sunday of every month.
The videos will follow me on my photography adventures (mostly) around Vancouver Island and surrounding areas, as well as occasional trips a little farther away. I will continue to follow all the same ethical principals I have been for my still photography (see the About WDP tab for more on these) encourage others to consider their own practices when out in nature.
I look forward to bringing you entertaining and informative content. Thanks for continuing to read my blog!
Pictured above, Lac Assal, Djibouti, is the lowest point on land in Africa, and third lowest in the world. Sheringham Point Lighthouse, is actually located in Shirley, BC, Canada, and I digitally added it to this image.
There are many areas of Vancouver Island that I’ve explored, but far more that I haven’t, yet. Most of my exploration has been near the southern end of the island, but my trip to San Josef Bay, in Cape Scott Provincial Park, took me to the far northern end and was quite an adventure.
Botanical Beach is located on the south-west edge of Vancouver Island, just past Port Renfrew, BC, and it is one of my favourite local spots to visit for photography.
Wild Drake Photography 