Published and News

Times Colonist Cover Photo - Avatar Grove Protected!

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What an exciting time! I'm thrilled and relieved to be able to celebrate that just last week the Avatar Grove was officially protected from logging! Above is the iconic photo of "Canada's Gnarliest Tree" on the cover of last Friday's Times Colonist. It's been incredible seeing how things evolved so quickly from when myself and a friend first stumbled upon the grove for the first time just over 2 years ago as an unknown place to it becoming the hottest old-growth campaign of the decade! Great to be able to walk through the giant redcedars and Douglas-firs now knowing that they will most likely be there when we return. Victory!

"Seeing the Forest for the Trees" - Photo Exhibit 2011

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My joint photo exhibit Seeing the Forest for the Trees has just come to a close after two great weeks on display at Dales Gallery in Victoria's Chinatown. The show, featuring forest themed images from myself and local photographer Don Denton, saw hundreds of people come through and was even featured on Shaw TV's "The Daily".  This was my first full gallery showing and I'm stoked to do it again! Below are some shots from the exhibit and the opening night launch. Thanks to everyone who came by to take a look and to those who purchased prints! Full proceeds from my images are going to the Ancient Forest Alliance.

Thank you to Alison at Dales Gallery for hosting the show!

A big thanks also goes to Toby Trembath from Newport Reality for sponsoring the costs of the large canvas prints and to Terry from ArtBox for doing the actual printing.

Opening night reception - what an awesome evening!

The opening night also featured the launch of the new Ancient Brown Ale - a beer custom made for the Ancient Forest Alliance after winning the Phillips 2011 "Benefit Brew" contest!

Don Denton's photographs on display. Click here to see his blog post on the exhibit!

My image of  "Canada's Gnarliest Tree" in the Avatar Grove.

WestShore Magazine Cover - Fall/Winter 2011

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The 2011 Fall/Winter edition of WestShore Magazine was just released this week. I was fortunate enough to shoot the cover photo for the feature story on the Goldstream River's salmon run, the fish hatchery volunteers, and the environmental effects of the recent fuel spill. It was an interesting challenge setting up to shoot in the river - especially with a fisheye lens like the second angle below which wasn't used in the end. Grab a copy if you live out this way and take a read through!

Holy Wood

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An awesome book just arrived in my mailbox titled Holy Wood. The book, published in Germany, focuses on the relationship between forests and people and is filled with incredible paintings, sculptures, photos, and words about trees. I was excited to see one of my clearcut shots made the centerfold spread. With the amount on time spent online these days there's nothing like holding a well made book in your hand that's rich in thought and creativity. Looking forward to flipping the pages.

Cover Photo - Common Ground Magazine

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My shot of Canada's largest tree, the Cheewhat Giant, made the cover the August 2011 Common Ground! This massive ancient redcedar is over 6 meters (20 feet) wide, 56 meters (182 feet) tall, and 450 cubic meters in timber volume (or 450 regular telephone poles worth of wood). Thankfully, it grows just within the boundaries of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve near Nitinat Lake on Vancouver Island.

To read the feature article inside follow this link: www.commonground.ca/iss/241/cg241_biggesttree.shtml

Sign the petition to help protect BC's endangered old-growth forests here: www.ancientforestpetition.com

Combing the Coast - Flores Island

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Three of my photographs of Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound have been featured online with a project titled Combing the Coast. The initiative, brought together by Surfrider Foundation Vancouver Island Chapter (South Island) in partnership with BC Parks, will see a remote beach clean up take place on Flores to promote conservation and awareness on how we impact our coastal areas. They will also be keeping track of what types of debris is found and then recycling it back in Tofino. We need more projects like this!

www.combingthecoast.com

1st place - 'Human Impact' Contest - Outdoor Photography Canada

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Outdoor Photography Canada magazine hosted a "Human Impact" themed photo contest in 2010 and I was super excited when I found 0ut that my image of an old-growth clearcut on southern Vancouver Island took 1st place! (see original blog post here)

Of the tens of thousands of images I've shot over the years trying to capture the devastation happening to BC's temperate rainforests, I feel that this one sums it up best. Without experiencing these clearcuts first hand, it's nearly impossible to convey the scale, destruction and feeling involved with the loss of such amazing areas.

Aside from being featured as a winner in this contest the image will also be used on the cover of a new environmental documentary film coming out of New York, be featured in a book by a German artist working on forest conservation in Europe, used in a TV show on CBC and be published in a host of other online and print media sources. I hope this image continues to travel the visual world conveying the need to protect BC's last remaining ancient temperate rainforests. Sign the online petition here.