ucluelet

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Like I’ve previously mentioned, I love the sea.  I was born and raised on the west coast of Canada, so going to the beach has been a staple activity of mine since I was a kid.  Also, Ma is a sailor, and both of her parents were sailors so I feel like some of that love is in my bones.  That’s probably why I have so many shots of the ocean and why I love photographing it so much.  It’s very colourful, temperamental and unpredictable.  Profoundly dramatic.

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This is the Pacific from when Ma and I went to Ucluelet last year.  We were both totally gobsmacked at the awesome power of the wild Pacific, the energy of the waves on the rocks, the sea spray, the colour of the sky reflected on the water.  Also technically speaking, this was the point in the photography journey where I stopped relying on Canon’s fantastic “Creative Auto” setting and started shooting on Manuel so that I could learn “on the job” as it were about adjusting ISO and aperture.

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Here is the Adriatic Sea from Zadar, Croatia’s Marine Organ.  I love the way the water would climb up onto the concrete steps, splatter and retreat, different every time.  No two waves are the same.  The blazing red sun had just set leaving this pastel palette over the landscape.  I laid flat on my belly to try and get as far down as I good, and I’m happy with how those other photographers are reflected in the puddle.

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I love that the ocean also has reflecting power, sometimes glass, sometimes a funhouse mirror.  I love that the Lions Gate Bridge’s string of lights is reflected in the harbour, and although slightly distorted, still beautiful.  I feel like the Pacific Ocean here is mysterious, inky and secretive, not letting us know what is going on in its depths.

 

Stormy Weather

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The Story: This was our final day on Korcula, the sleepy, wallflower island compared to its ritzy, bustling larger island neighbour Hvar in the Dalmatian archipelago.  Korcula is also thought to be the maybe birthplace of possibly real person Marco Polo.  The weather had been fantastic, sunny and warm without being hot.  In this photo however, a storm was a-brewin’.  The wind picked up in the evening, then the pizzicato of rain drops, then my midnight it was a full on rager – torrential rain, high winds, thunder and lightning.  We woke up to catch our 0600hrs ferry and there was not a cloud in the starry sky.

Why I Love It: I love the different shades of blue and grey in this one.  I also love that sense of impending doom with how dark the clouds are.  As a pluviophile, the thought of incoming rain warms the cockles of my chilly heart.

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The Story: November of last year Ma and I had decided to go to Vancouver Island for some storm watching, so we chose to stay in Ucluelet, a darling little one-street hamlet placed on the tip of a peninsula on the south-west part of the Island.  Our full day there we decided to hike the Wild Pacific Trail, a walk that takes you along the west side of the coast line and passes a historic lighthouse.  I was determined to get some gloomy, rainy shots of the coast and Pacific Ocean and Mother Nature brought her A-game.  Both wind and rain were strong, persistent and pervasive, soaking both Ma and I down to the skin through our water resistant gear.  Although the weather could have been considered miserable, Ma and I were in our element in the rain, by the ocean.

Why I love It: As previously mentioned, I love the rain so looking at this photo brings me great comfort.  I love how unsettled the sea looks with the spray on the rocks.  I also really like that I shot this in colour, though it looks washed out and I feel like the monochromatic feel of the shot makes it feel like the ocean and the sky are bottomless/limitless, they go on forever but you cannot tell what is lurking in the depths/past the horizon.