No Fixed Plans - Episode 10 - Don’t Settle

The final episode of our 5 months on the road with our camper trailer and cameras. We chased the sun, but the rain and cold were always just nipping at our heels. It may not have been the trip we expected but it was certainly a trip to remember.

Winter Photo Trip - Final Stage - the long road home

After getting our trailer fixed in east Texas, we took a long detour all the way to Miami for a boat show. The weird weather followed us pretty much to the Florida border and then we finally got some sun. The way back allowed us to visit old friends in South Carolina before that long trip across the country and then back north. We did manage to find plenty of interesting places to stay and some great photo locations. We also finally got to really do some back country camping on BLM land instead of mostly being in State or National parks. This was a nice change of pace camping out there mostly alone. Take a look at the final days of our trip, both the nature and landscape was amazing. In the end this was what I would consider a sampler trip, not too much time any one place but we now know a great many places we want to go back to. Hopefully some places where at the right time of year we can get those portfolio shots.

NO FIXED PLANS - STAGE 9 - Westward bound again

After our detour to Florida for a boat show we started back towards the west coast. The road seemed clear a head of us but storms were right behind us all the way. We did start to find some of the best campsites of our trip and some fantastic photo locations along the way. Welcome back to our photo road trip as we visit a beach tree grave yard in South Carolina, go through sand storms in Texas, sleep with the cows in Arizona, and find some burrowing owls in the California desert.

Burrowing owls on the side of the road in California.

Bears Galore

Salmon spawning in the rivers on Vancouver Island means food for bears, and that means a lot of bears wandering up and down the rivers near home. Black bears are currently after the pink salmon as they come up river and that gives me a great chance to capture them doing lots of interesting things. Take a look in the Bears gallery to see some of the latest shots.

Tech Blog - The Fuji GFX100 II.

Another temptation but is it a camera that a nature and landscape photographer should buy?

NO FIXED PLANS - STAGE 8 - MORE TEXAS

Texas was so big that we couldn’t fit everything into one video. This episode takes us along the southern border through Big Bend State park and up to Marfa a tiny artist town in the middle of nowhere.

No Fixed Plans - Stage 7 - Texas

This episode of Chasing the Sun takes us into Texas and down to Big Bend National Park. Head on over to No.Fixed.Plans on YouTube to check out more.

Tech Blog - Nikon, You are definitely tempting me.

Winter Photo trip - Stage 3 - The Desert States

Once we moved in land from the California coast into the desert climates the weather was supposed to get much warmer. We it did show some sunlight but as usual we were met with unusual weather but that often made for more interesting pictures. This blog takes us through California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas with stops in many of the national and state parks. This is a bit of a long blog post but there was so much to see I think it is worth the read.

Hoodoos on the road up to Mt. Lemmon near Tucson, Arizona.

Show Case: Winter Photo Trip

We packed our camper and moved on from the Okanagan Valley to spend winter along the west coast of the US and Canada. First leg of that journey is on Vancouver Island where we have encountered much of what makes this area a rainforest. Cold wet weather but amazing pockets of beauty. We have traveled through Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and then moved back towards the coast and back up to our final destination in the Kootenays of British Columbia. The trip is now over but I’m still processing shots as I go back through them. Below is a collection of what I think are my favourite images from the trip.

Dark and misty

Shoreline near Cape Lookout in Oregon

Sleepy time

Sea Otter at rest in Morro Bay

Devil's Punch Bowl

More rock features along the Oregon coast on another rough windy day.

What is left

After the wind and waves have removed much of the rock there are often interesting features left that are harder to erode.

Locking horns...I mean antlers

Spring is almost here but there is always time to practice a bit of fighting for these bull elk.

Colourful lichen

Some interesting colour in the foreground and that lone rock between the grey sky and the waves. Seemed like an interesting composition.

Oregon rocky beachscape pano

Some similar rocky features on shore to match the rocks and sea stacks out in the bay

Rocky shoreline

Beautifully textured rocks shaped by the wind and the waves near Coos Bay, OR.

Baby on board

Sea Otter with a sleepy little one resting on her chest.

Splash

Some pretty good sized waves hitting the rocks near Coos Bay, Oregon. We will definitely come back for some storm surges.

Burrowing Owl in flight

I have been wanting to see burrowing owls in the wild for years, turns out I just need to drive by them on a road near a farm.

Places to go, people to see

Burrowing owl heading back to that burrow

Texture sans colour

Monahan Sandhills after the worst of the winds.

Iconic South Carolina

Almost iconic sunrise on a South Carolina beach. Just need a crescent moon to top it off.

Boneyard sunset

Sunset over the beach boneyard at Hunting Island, SC.

Live oak pano

Live oak canopy, nice spot to camp for a few nights. Moss park near Orlando, Florida.

creepy, swampy

Cypress swamp in eastern Texas.

So much wind

We drove through some nasty weather to get to Monahan Sandhills in Texas.

Spanish moss...oh and a Great horned owl

Backlit Great horned owl watching over its young in a nearby tree.

Hop

Spotted sandpiper hopping across the rocks

A really big bird

Sandhill crane in flight

Talquin

Sunset on lake talquin, Florida.

Portal

Like stepping through a portal into a new land, or just the mouth of a cave.

Balanced or wedged

This is called Balanced Rock at the end of a really nice hike in Big Bend national park.

Santa Elena

This was actually the first time we saw water in the Rio Grande, every other time we had crossed it we just saw sand. This is quite an improvement :)

Survival

What I think is a Big Bend Bluebonnet flowering alone at the edge of another slot canyon (Tuff Canyon).

Window to the world

That is how this was described to us, and it was appropriate. Another place you don’t want to be when things are a bit wet and slippery.

Sun on the grass

From a fantastic viewpoint on Davis Mountain, the sunset painted the sky and lit up the grass.

Long light

There was just a strip between the clouds and the mountains but when the sun went between them it was magical.

Painted ceiling

A cave in Hueco tanks that contains some of the most beautiful petroglyphs.

Hueco

Hueco tanks, Texas. Boulders everywhere but the name is due to these parts of the rocks where water collects in this desert climate.

Sand and Shadow

As the sun starts to head towards the horizon the shadows in White Sands get longer and deeper.

Dunes

Perspective and distance are difficult to define in White Sands but the mountains in the background give you some idea how big these dunes are.

The trees are white....

and the rocks are red. Hiking through Cave creek canyon.

Painted

Pretty little painted redstart seen at a ranch near Portal, Arizona.

Moon over Cave creek

Taken from our campsite (sunny flats). A beautiful place to stay, hike and take pictures.

Tiny Stretch

Anna’s Hummingbird stretching in the morning light.

Gila portrait

Gila Woodpecker posing, I’m assuming this was it’s good side :)

Balanced Rock Pano

multi-shot panorama taken near Mount Lemmon, Arizona

Hoodoos galore

On the road to Mount Lemmon we passed a large section of hoodoos.

Good morning thrasher

Curve-billed thrasher on a Cholla just outside the window of our trailer in Tucson Mountain State Park.

Wiley is behind one of those

Looking down on Saguaro Cacti and towards Tucson, Arizona.

Off we go

Red-tailed hawk taking off from a dead Saguaro Cactus

Three Blue

Three western Bluebirds hanging out on an ocotillo in Tucson Mountain State Park.

Spread perch

Cactus Wren on an Ocotillo

Face in the rock

You can alway find something in the rocks, much like staring at the clouds.

Rocks and Branches

Not a Joshua tree, but in Joshua Tree National Park.

Lotsa boulders

So many boulders to climb in Joshua Tree.

The Struggle

It feels like everything is struggling to survive but everywhere you go life pops up around the rocks and sand.

Mostly wavy red

Another shot from the Valley of Fire, mid morning light on the Fire Wave trail.

Textures Galore

The wind has certainly made some interesting shapes and textures on this rock.

Curvy Lines

So many colours, curves and textures. Fire Wave trail in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

Desert Bighorn

In the rocks around our campsite in Valley of Fire State park we found a few groups of Desert Bighorn Sheep grazing on what little there is to offer.

In the Valley of Fire

There lives a Desert Bighorn Sheep…that can be hard to find sometimes.

Dunes just after the rain

The rains came through in stages this day, from almost clear skies one moment to strong winds and rain just a few minutes later. You can see the clouds in the distance from the previous burst.

Sand storm

Between us in the sand dunes and the mountains in the background the wind was wreaking havoc across the valley. It came to us soon enough for a blinding walk back.

Death Valley Salt Flats

Sunset on the Salt Flats is a very interesting thing to experience. You sometimes feel like you are on a frozen lake but the reflections are just a bit different.

A harsh land

Death valley can have all fours seasons come at you in a matter of a few minutes. Rain, snow, sun and wind all multiple times in a single day.

Face wash

Close up of a sea otter washing and puffing up the fur around its faces near Moss Landing, California.

Side Light

A little side light on the bluffs at Bodega Bay, California.

wrapped up in the kelp

This sea otter was puffing up its fur and wrapping itself in the kelp for a good half hour before settling into a good nap.

Stay away

Hawks hunting over Highway 1 in California, one turned around to find another a bit closer than it wanted.

What you catch when it rains

When we started walking the beach looking for shots it was mostly sunny, a few minutes after this shot we ended up completely soaked.

Redwoods and Barred Owl

Saw this Barred owl flying through the redwoods at dusk. It was so dark in there that this shot was taken at 16000 ISO, 1/80sec handheld at 600mm and I still had to raise the exposure by a full stop. The sony 200-600 did a great job in the darkness.

It's not a secret

near Secret Beach in Oregon, will have to come back here for a sunset or a storm.

Tiny Crescent Moon

The tide is receding, the sun is setting and we have a crescent moon over the coast near Bandon, Oregon.

Oregon Sunset

Oregon has some spectacular coastlines, this area around Bandon certainly kept us busy looking for shots.

Stand tall

Lone tree standing on a small island in Deadman’s Cove, near Cape Disappointment, Washington.

Moss and Martin

This was a lucky find, thanks to another photographer who saw it off the trail in Goldstream provincial park.

Shoreline Silhouette

Sunset near the lighthouse in Ucluelet, BC

Pine Marten

A pine marten taking a quick look at us before climbing down this mossy tree.

Hover

Belted Kingfisher hovering over the edge of the shore in some nice side light.

Killdeer on the Rocks

As the tide moves out the shorebirds search the exposed rocks in the bay at Rathtrevor Provincial park.

shorebirds

Catching shorebirds in flight can be a challenge as the move so quickly but it can be worth it when the light hits them just right.

Golden sunset over Frank Island

Chesterman Beach leads to Frank Island when the tide is low. As the waves recede we get a beautiful reflection on the wet sand.

The view from Ucluelet

As you look out to the south from Ucluelet there are so many Islands to explore.

Into the setting sun

If you drop your exposure when shooting directly towards the sun you can sometimes get this silvery hue to the reflections on the water.

Getting the shot

Salwa, working on getting the right composition as the sun drops behind the trees.

Foggy morning

Simple trees in the fog, but it really caught my eye as we were making our way to Cox Bay.

Watching thee Sunset

From the Beach in Cox Bay, the sunsets can be pretty amazing.

Can you tell which way the wind blows?

A consistent wind from the ocean makes many of the trees grow in a way that they look like they are being pushed inland.

Cox Bay lookout

The climb to get to this lookout was like walking up a muddy waterfall. In the end it was worth it for the view across the bay towards Tofino.

The lone surfer

As the sun sets there is always one person that has to catch the last good wave.

It was a wet and rainy day

Panoramic view of Cox Bay after the rains

Look up, way up

Everywhere you look in the rainforest you see something beautiful, sometime you have to look up or you will miss it.

Tree and Rock

Another sunset near Tofino, BC.

Heading for a perch

Bald Eagle heading towards a good perch by the coast near Parksville, BC.

Black bunny

Always a few rabbits hanging around Rathtrevor Park. Pretty brave with all thee Eagles around.

Coordinated flight plan

It is amazing to watch these shorebirds twist and turn in coordination

On a breeze

Adult Bald Eagle making it look so easy.

Sanderlings

quick flight over to the next good beach spot to look for whatever is in the sand

Almost hidden

A good spot to see what is happening out on the water without being exposed.

Majestic

A great blue heron on the beach with fantastic mountains of the British Columbia mainland in the distance.

Salwa on the Rocks

Looking for just the right location for a shot in Goldenears Provincial Park.

Gold Creek

In Goldenears Provincial park, a beautiful rainforest setting outside of Vancouver.

Nature Photography on the Road - Part 2: The West (Wet) Coast

We are off on an extended photography trip through the west of Canada and the US. We wander down highway 1 and 101 from Washington through the north of California trying to stay ahead of the cold and rain while taking every opportunity we have to get shots of the amazing coastline.

Double rainbow over Lone Ranch beach. Click on the image to go to the blog post for the second leg of our trip.

Gear Wish List - What I would like Sony to do in the next Couple of years.

I have been using Sony camera gear for pretty much as long as Sony has been doing mirrorless cameras. They have been pretty good at bringing out new and innovative technology at a time when other companies were doing 4 year cycles with small incremental improvements. Now that they are right up there with Canon (in some areas ahead and in some still lacking) I thought I would put down on “paper” what I would like to see them do in terms of what we personally would want for our photography and videography. We are getting to the point were our wishlist may not be what many others want, but I have a feeling there are other nature photographers who might want some of the things here. Let me know what you think as I’m sure others have completely different wants and needs.

One of the items that was on my wish list was an update to the A7RIV, and before I finished one arrived. This camera ticked many of the boxes that I thought would be improvements, added some things I didn’t know I wanted, and omitted some things I had hoped for. It was compelling enough for me to purchase and I’m pretty happy with the results.

Meet the neighbours

We have been hiking around the Okanagan valley and the Kootenays for the last year looking for any interesting nature we can find. Pika and bats are two that are new to me in terms of getting shots.

Pika sunning on the rocks — Pika warming up in the sunlight in Kokanee Glacier park

A rare find. Daylight hunting for what is likely a little brown bat.

The Sky at Night

After the wildfires settled down around the Okanagan valley, the sky at night has been relatively clear more often that not. This has given me a chance to get out and experiment with some night photography. Using everything from a fisheye out to 1000mm I can get some very different perspectives. Next step is to look deeper into the stars, galaxies and nebulas once I get more used to using the star tracker.

Milky way over the cherry farm. Canon R5, 8-15mm f/4 at 8mm, f/4, 30 seconds, ISO 3200

Moon descending behind the trees in the Okanagan Valley. Canon R5, 500mm at F/4, 1/200s, ISO 200

No Fixed Plans

Originally we thought Arizona and New Mexico would be as far as we would travel on this trip. The weather again would be the deciding factor as we were able to spend a couple of weeks in the area before the cold came to find us. In this episode we get to hike through some iconic parks but only see a portion of these beautiful states. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch videos phocused on nature photography, travel locations, photo tools and technology.

Salwa uploaded our latest video, the fifth installment of our west coast trip. Valley of fire in Nevada and Joshua Tree in California are two very different and beautiful desert like landscapes. Fantastic hiking and scrambling up rocks to find amazing photographic landscapes.

latest shots

Beach landing

Pileated Woodpecker landing on some deadwood on the beach near Parksville, BC.

Flicker flight

I was actually ready for the take off this time….usually I turn away for just a second and miss it.

Secret, not so much.

Referred to as Secret falls, it was difficult to get a few moments with no one in the shot. Will have to come back at a better time when I can play with composition a bit more.

My first bison

A quick trip (11 hours of driving) up past Edmonton, Alberta to see some Bison.

Reacing into the sea

Bald eagle just about to grab a fish along the eastern coast of Vancouver Island

Chestnut Backed

Chestnut backed chickadee with a tasty morsel for the young.

Ready for a nap

A river otter curling up for a nap along the Vancouver Island shoreline.

A little nest material

Osprey bringing some twigs back to the nest in the Kootenays

A waterfalls back there

Coming through a small slot canyon to the so called secret falls on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Storm to the left, blue skies to the right

A very windy day with little storms cells blowing through made for some interesting skies and shadows across the landscape.

Fisheye and milky way

full view of the milky way over the cherry farm in the Okanagan Valley

Got it

The Osprey with the yellow perch and me with a shot I’ve been wanting for quite a while.

Two Loonies

The equivalent of two bucks, but only in Canada eh!

In one talon

Osprey with a single talon on this unfortunate perch.

Look at that felt rack

Mule deer turning to take a look at me just as the sun drops behind the mountain.

Spotted

Spotted Sandpiper along the shores of Mahoney lake in the Okanagan valley.

Mist or Smoke?

Fire season has started early this year after a week of record temperatures in the Okanagan Valley. Not sure if that is changing the light at sunset or just a bit of haze from the heat.

Finally in the clear

Male Bullock’s Oriole. I have been trying to get a clear shot of one of these for months.

Got lunch

Bald eagle trying to return to the nest with something leftover. The winds were making for a difficult landing.

Well isn't that adorable

I thought it was a little chipmunk but have been told this is a golden mantled ground squirrel….still adorable.

Change on the menu

Osprey taking a run across the field and going after a few smaller birds on the edge of the marsh. Maybe osprey are not exclusively fish hawks.

Long grass

Good place to hide but we could see those big ears even before you looked at us. Mule deer resting near the river.

Yellow-breasted Chat

A rare bird even for the Okanagan valley now, but it does nest in a few places here

Keeping an eye out

Male bald eagle watching from above the nest as the female takes off to grab some food.

Wing cover

Yellow-headed blackbird showing off some beautiful white wing patches as it takes off from a cattail.

Got wings

Bald eagle chick figuring out what to do with those wings.

Fly softly and carry a big stick

Osprey taking a rather large twig up to the nest

Spotted

A Spotted Sandpiper flying over a tiny mountain lake.

A new song

I’m used to hearing red-winged blackbirds in the marsh but the song of the yellow-headed blackbird stands out even more.

Last shot

Just as I was heading home today a bald eagle came up river towards its nest.

At the nest

Great fun watching a pair of Osprey building their nest today.

Grey as a ghost

Male Northern Harrier wandered into the field as I was shooting a pair of Osprey.

Western Meadowlark

Singing the morning away

First Peregrine

First time to see Peregrine falcons and I’m lucky enough to watch them around their nest for about an hour. Most of the time they were not within shooting range but I managed a couple of shots.

A little backlight

A (not so) little backlit great horned owl.

Bird on a Wire

One of the prettiest birds and another new bird for me, the Mountain Bluebird is much more pure blue than the Western or Eastern Bluebirds.

Time to go

Bald eagle taking off from a dead branch

In a desert field

Say’s Phoebe taking off from a field in the South Okanagan Valley, Canada’s only desert.

Two is better than one

When you are talking about Great Horned Owls....especially if they are beside each other.

Nesting material

Bald eagle heading back to the nest with a bit of straw and grass.

Pretty under wing

A young dark morph hawk flying in the Okanagan Valley

Quick Turn

Male kingfisher turning to head back to a perch.

Two Blue

Pretty little pair of Western Bluebirds resting by the side of the river near Osoyoos Lake

Lovely blue

First good shots of a Western Bluebird on a cold winter day in the Okanagan Valley.

Snow and Harrier

Low light and with a bit of snow coming down and I was still able to track this harrier while hunting at 1000mm on the EOS R5

Mountain Goats

Found a small herd of mountain goat just off the side of the road today north of Summerland. They had found some patches of edible grass near the bottom of what seemed like mostly scree slope.

Harrier

Beautiful lighting just before the sun dropped behind the mountains. Female northern harrier hunting over the field.

Red tail

Lovely pattern underwing

Top of the hill

When looking at grand landscapes you often miss the interesting details. Having a telephoto lens gives you a chance to zoom into areas that may not grab your attention until seen through that view.

King perch

Nice to find a belted kingfisher that doesn't leave the moment I bring up the camera

Pygmy

It took a couple of weeks of looking but I managed to get a shot of a Pygmy owl. Definitely looking forward to getting to see more of these tiny hunters in better light and hopefully in flight but this is a good start.

As the clouds move

Out for a drive up the Slocan Valley this very cloudy morning. Happened upon a group of 6 bald eagles hanging out on the edge of the River. Shot at 840mm, f/9, 1/1000s, and ISO 4000.

Love the eyes of a Barred owl.

Those black eyes just look right through you.

Beautiful side view

Juvenile Red-tailed hawk hunting along the Niagara River

Reflections

Sometimes it is just about reflecting on the colours. A very calm sunset over the St. Lawrence River.

Is it still a water fall?

If there is almost no water…more leaves than water.

On a tiny perch

Hoping for a chance to see more Northern Hawk Owls this coming winter as we search out new areas.

Gentle Landing

Greater yellowlegs coming in for a landing.

Oxtongue Rapids

A couple of shots along the Oxtongue River as the clouds started to come in.

Jupiter, Saturn and the Milky Way

Out taking shots of Neowise in Haliburton and turned around to look at Jupiter and Saturn sitting just above the horizon to the left of the Milky Way. So nice to get back to where you can see dark skies at night.

Awkward landing

Juvenile Black crowned night heron looking awkward and kind of half dressed as it tries to land in Cranberry marsh.

My what big Talons you have

Checking out the Osprey perches along the Niagara river tonight and found a Merlin instead...I'm happy with that find.

Getting out of the way

Trying to capture the action of a pair of yellow legs fighting was a lot of fun.

Long Legs

Nice pants and long legs being shown off on taking off from the grass.

On the up swing

Short eared owl sweeping across the field, looking for anything that moves or makes a sound.