Wild Drake Photography

Tag: boardwalk

  • Seaside Photography

    I’ve tried to get out with my camera a number of times recently, but everywhere I’ve gone there have been large crowds so I changed my plans. I decided to get up early… really early, and head down to the Sooke boardwalk before anyone else.

    Sooke Harbour

    By really early, I mean I was down at the waterfront by 4 AM to do some night photography. While there was nobody at the boardwalk, off to the east there was a crew on the fishing boat and it was lighting up everything around as it pulled away and slowly glided past. Once it faded off in the distance in the Salish Sea I was able to turn my camera to the south-east and focus on the Milky Way.

    The glow from Port Angeles below the Milky Way

    Next I took a little time to have breakfast and wait for the light. As the dawn approached, a heavy fog blanketed the harbour to the east and slowly began to spread along the southern side of the harbour past the boardwalk. I had been hoping to get a good photo as the sun lit up the Olympic mountains to the south-west, but with the rapidly approaching fog that didn’t happen.

    Blue Hour over the Olympic Mountain Range

    The fog that blew past completely obscured East Sooke.

    A Lone Buoy in the Fog

    While it wasn’t quite what I was expecting for a sunrise, it was still a beautiful morning and any day I can get out with my camera is a good day!

    Foggy Sooke Harbour Sunrise
  • Night Photography in Sooke

    Night Photography in Sooke

    I have done very little night time photography, but hope to do more in the future.  It will be fun to explore astrophotography and light painting and then post about it here for you to enjoy.  

    starlight illuminates the Sooke boardwalk
    Night at the Sooke Marine Boardwalk

    The Sooke Marine Boardwalk is a great place for a walk at any time.  It stretches between the Rotary Pier, near the bottom of a long staircase from the south end of Murray Road, to the long winding pathway & up to Ed Macgreggor Park.  During the day there are lots of people wandering about it and you’ll often see people crab fishing off the pier and boardwalk.  

    blurred people walk along the Sooke waterfront at night
    Ghostly Walkers on the Marine Boardwalk

    There are always a few boats anchored in the harbour.  Some of them seem to remain in place almost all the time, while others come and go.

    a meteorite can be seen streaking above a sailboat in the Sooke harbour
    A Sailboat in the Sooke Harbour

    A clear night at this time of year made for almost ideal conditions to watch the sky for meteors and other celestial events.

    twin meteorites streak across the Milky Way
    Stars and Forest

    The year has been going by quickly and soon it will be time to reflect upon the past and look toward the future.  With that in mind, it won’t be long before I start work on my top ten image list of 2018 (which, as usual, will be published in January) as well as and exciting new project I will announce before the end of December.

  • A New Place and an Old Favourite

    I recently learned of another park nearby; the Blinkhorn Nature Park, which has a wooded trail surrounding a small lake and today was the perfect day to check it out.  For most of the way around the lake, the trail was far enough away that you could only catch the odd glimpse of the water through the trees.  There was one nice approach to the lake that offered an interesting view, though.

    a mirror image photograph of Blinkhorn lake, partially covered in ice
    Looking across Blinkhorn Lake

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  • Phogtography Part II

    Once again it was a foggy day near the water and previous plans had to be altered.  Not that I minded, as I kind of enjoy the fog.  In fact, this is the second time I am dedicating a post to “Photography”.  This time I went down to the Rotary Pier, on the Sooke Harbour waterfront and had a nice leisurely stroll.

    Maple Leaf on the Boardwalk as people fish for crab
    Into The Fog

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