Current Time On The Rock

Saturday, May 13, 2006

"Frozen In Time", Glasqow Head, Canso NS


No kayaking this day!

"Ringing In The New Year", Chedbucto Bay,NS


I was determined to ring in the new year on this Chedbucto Bay Bell Bouy. Green, starboard, right....correct?

"A Sparce Shadow", Canso, NS


This straggly tree alone on its' own island was still able to cast a shadow in the overcast sky. Canso,NS is the most easterly location on the North American continent and Cape Spear, NFLD being the most easterly location in North America. I apppear to have an affinity for the east and her waters.

"Unsettled Landing", Little Dover, Guysborough, NS


The sun just poked out for a sec as I snapped this wave having its' crest ripped off by an offshore wind.

I love waves they remind me of snow flakes as no two are the same and they unlike snow flakes are packed with tons of energy. I watch them alot and have lots of pictures of waves doing just about everything. I have great respect for them. The only way to save them is to take a picture.

"The Frosty Peace", Hudson's Hope, BC

This is the Peace River in Northern BC. This was shot on my way kayaking to Dinosaur Lake in Hudson's Hope. It was a very crisp morning at about 6am.

"Middle Cove", NFLD


There is a nice walking trail that works its' way along the coastal edge of Middle Cove. It meanders through a farmers field and offers some nice views of the rocky coast. The fog started to circle the cliff in the distance. It looked as if the fog had fingers and was going to slowly devour the landscape, of which of course.......it did!

"On Gaurd For Thee", St.John's, NFLD

Remnants of years of duty still highlight the shore of the entrance to St.John's harbour.

"The Cape Spear Light", NFLD

Maintaining its' lonely yet constant vigil the light at cape spear gaurds the ruggedness that is the most easterly location in North America.

"White Rollers", Cape Spear,NFLD

This is one of my most favorite shots. The wave in this picture was huge, I mean extremely big. If you compare it to the rock and land mass it is going to crash into you will get a good idea of its' size. The winds were about 40 mph on this day and I was doing good to stay in position to take this picture. The spray from the waves was being ripped off the wave tops and howling up to the walkway on shore where I snapped this.
I like the fog in the background and the whitecaps all about which are accentuated by the blue water. The rocks, the froth of the previous waves and clapotis adds to the strength of this picture.

Friday, May 12, 2006

"The MIghty Peace", Fort St. John, BC



A cool early morning walk gave me this amazing sunrise. The sky was burly and rough and looked like it was almost acrid with a flowing river of copper below. The weather however was cool and crisp with a dusting of snow on the ground.

This is the Mighty Peace River. It is the one Alexander MacKenzie, the surveyor, paddled on his way to the Arctic. I kayaked parts of this river in both an ocean kayak and a little river runner as there are some standing waves at different times of the year worth playing on. There are also groomed campsites on islands all along its course which is a fairly long one. The Peace River region is vast, reaching over 12,000 kilometres from Summit Lake to its confluence with the Slave River.

It was the home of the earliest people, the Clovis and Folsom People, who lived and traveled in the Peace River region over 11,500 years ago.
The First Nations tribes have had a long and proud history in the Peace River from times before recorded history through the fur trade years and into the present. The MĂ©tis formed as a unique people in the Peace River region and continue to contribute to this day.

"Sea Cave", Ferryland, NFLD


This is the exit and entrance to a most spectacular sea cave. I'm sure the locals are quite famaliar with it but I happened on it quite by chance. I was playing in a rock garden at low tide on the other side of this cliff, zig-zagging in and around some rock channels.
I like this shot because my yellow Eclipse kayak looks as black as the paddle blade on its bow in the foreground. I felt like some kayak predator holding out in my lair.

"Inevitable", Trepassey, NFLD


Being reclaimed!

"Land and Sea", Trepassey,NFLD


I sometimes believe that nature plays pretty powerful games with herself, like who will claim who. Although the land is very much alive and mobile nothing seems to be able to match the ferocity that an ocean, especially an ocean in NFLD, can rise to ...in sometimes minutes. As seen in the cliffs at Cape Spear, the land is not defenseless.

"Trinity Bay", NFLD

Trinity Bay displays the "out port" culture and charm that is so much of what rural NFLD is all about. Sometimes you miss out on this in St. John's. It is worth the effort to visit these communities and enjoy the friendship, thick pride and of course the beauty these vestiges have to offer.
The islands were fun to paddle around here.

"A Pond In Trinity", Trinity, NFLD


I shot this driving back from a day-paddle in Trinity Bay, NFLD. The sunset as you can see was amazing. I stopped and ate a brie and day old bread sandwich. I absorbed every bit of the photons this spectacle was providing. I actually felt like I was on a different planet, well at least I dreamed.

"Turquoise", Witless Bay, NFLD


This is Robert Seymor and a new kayaker. The water really was this color as it sloshed in a cave like entrance at the base of this cliff sinking to the depths below.

"Portal To A Kayakers' World",Witless Bay,NFLD



This is Paul, a fellow kayaker from St. John's NFLD. We were both looking at this portal to the sky and wondering if we could get thru. I am not sure how this gap could have been carved in nature , but it must have been sharp whatever it was. Had to time the waves right. What a sweet paddle on this August day, 2005 in Witless Bay.

Gwillam Lake, BC



Saw the lake, had to paddle it. This is Gwillam Lake. I don't mind seeing double in this envirnoment. Bear spray is an essential when paddling up there. I camped here for three days.

Tumbler Ridge,BC


This is a pic I took at a stop on the way to a put-in site on the Murry River. The awe inspiring beauty in this Northern region of BC is everywhere. The Lake in the background is Gwillam Lake. Deep and cold.

Whales


This pic is not about whales, I am teaching my son to kayak in home town of Canso, Nova Scotia.

I have included some whale links on my blog because I find them fascinating. So much so that a few years ago I adopted a resident whale thru a program offered out of a museum in Vancouver for killer whale research. His name was Nimpkish of the clan A and A1 pod his number is A33. When you donate money to this worthwhile cause they send you a picture which consists of the dorsal fin since this is how they identify them. Every dorsal fin being different on each whale. They also send a newsletter called the Blackfish Sounder and a CD with some interesting whale sounds. Check out the links.
I did some kayaking around the Gulf Islands, off the BC coast and had the distinct pleasure to witness a huge pod one evening during a beautiful sunset at our take-out site as we were having our supper sitting on a log and looking out thru the pass. If you ever get the chance, this is a must do. Best "take-out" I ever had.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Charlie Lake, Fort St. John...BC



This is one of my favorite pics. Sometimes you don't need words.

My Blog

This blog is a little bit about kayaking and a little bit about photographs and perhaps a lot about the marriage of the two. After all a picture is truely worth a thousand words. Pictures are a way for me to express best what I am incapable of sometimes doing on my own. When I see the picture the words fly, they are like a cue card for my lifes' experiences. There is always a better picture to view and a better story perhaps to be told. The challenge for me is to try and get it. Sometimes I wish people could see things the way I see them thru a viewfinder and other times I am glad that they do not. A picture to truely be appreciated should probably not mean the same thing to everyone, I don't like taking pictures like that. Pictures will follow soon. Just gettin' goin'.