Flashback: Gordon River Valley 2009

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In today's digital age there's rarely a shortage of new content to share, but that being said, there's always 100 fold more tucked away in giant hard drives, likely never to see the light of day again. So, as a fun and interesting way to share forgotten photos, stories, and moments from years past, I'll be posting 'Flashbacks' from my archives each Friday.

This set of images here is from late 2009 when I'd bought my first 4wd vehicle, a Subaru Loyale wagon, for $1,500 and began exploring the south island's backroads in my spare time looking for big trees and big stumps. These shots are from up high on logging roads in the Gordon River Valley near Port Renfrew. I was definitely pushing it back in those days with the tiny tires on sharp rocks but curiosity will often take you much further than logic and reason. Watch for more photos and snippets from the past each week.

Looking down the Gordon River Valley towards Port Renfrew from the Bugaboo Main region. The valley bottom old-growth forest - where Big Lonely Doug now stands alone in a clearcut - is still visibly intact in the distant center of this photo. I can't help but think how incredible it would have been to have found it back then...

When In Doubt, Watch The Sunrise

I love winter, with its 8am sunrises and dramatic weather. My favourite way to start the day lately has been to bike to the ocean and watch the sun come up. You never quite know what you'll see. This morning it was just me and the seagull on some rocks watching the colours explode :)

10 Favourite Photos from 2015

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As 2015 comes to a close, I've taken a look back and picked 10 of my favourite images from the past year. Never an easy task when you have thousands to choose from, but for one reason or another, these ones stand out for me personally. 2015 was the year of the plane and with many incredible aerial trips made across the island, it was hard to not choose only images taken from above. But the time spent on the ground and in the woods proved to be spectacular and beautiful as well. In 2016 I look forward to exploring more uncharted terrain, flying over new locations, and taking on some fresh personal projects as well. Here's to a great New Year and a happier and healthier planet for all!

This turquoise-blue lagoon, found on the remote Brooks Peninsula on northwestern Vancouver Island, is thankfully protected within a park. It appears more like scene from the Caribbean then the west coast of Canada but flights over this region have revealed a level of beauty that I may never have otherwise imagined in our country. Goal for 2016: camp on that perfect sandy beach.

A second shot from the north side of the Brooks Peninsula. I'm captivated by the ruggedly beautiful and wild coast found here. A land so perfectly sculpted by the intense wind and waves that have washed over its hills and shores for millennia. This photo, my favourite of the year, was taken during a helicopter flight over the region which allowed us to get a much lower and intimate view of this hard-to-access landscape. Just this winter, hurricane-force winds reaching speeds of 147 kph were recorded in this very region.

This image was captured on my first flight with Nick Temos of the Pacific Northwest Collective in early 2015. Here, the shadow of our plane is encircled within a rainbow high above the towering forests around Cheewhat Lake, home to Canada's largest tree. We took this special sight as a good omen for times to come. Nick has since generously volunteered much of his time flying us over Vancouver Island to document ancient forests and the impacts of logging from above. A good friend with a great heart, I thank Nick for the unforgettable experiences we've had already and those still unwritten.

I am forever grateful for the spiritual experiences I've had in the woods. Nothing quite compares to the peace and tranquility one can find wandering alone through the ancient forests of Vancouver Island. On this particular trip, I came across this giant redcedar tree high in a remote gully beyond Port Renfrew just as the fog was rolling through. It was like stepping back in time to another world where for a moment you could imagine that modern civilization didn't even exist at all. In 2016 I'm resolving to do more of these personal trips as they often lead to the most unique and exciting discoveries.

A forecast of rain and clouds isn't always a bad thing in photography. In fact, fall, winter, and spring are often the best times to be out shooting in a coastal rainforest when the weather provides more gentle lighting, enriches colours, and often results in fog. It's this wet weather that also gives life to these ancient landscapes, produces their giant trees, and imbues them with their unique spirit. Above is a view I never tire of - gazing up the trunk of a towering tree that's been standing in that very spot half a millennia while the only sounds around you are those of raindrops gently patting the forest floor.

Every now and then, all the quintessential elements that define a landscape or ecosystem finally come together into one scene, like this section of coastal temperate rainforest in the Gordon River Valley near Port Renfrew. It showcases, in a beautiful way, the diversity that makes old-growth forests unique, such as; various-aged trees ranging from young to very old, large woody debris and nurse logs, and a luxuriant plant understory. Second-growth tree plantations, logged again ever 30-80 years on the coast, aren't allowed enough time to regain the unique characteristics of the old-growth ecosystem that was lost. We must protect these rare and endangered ancient forests before it's too late.

Even though old-growth forests are home much wildlife, we often don't see the creatures living their as they're gone or hiding by the time we're nearby. I had a vision though of capturing an image with a large, charismatic animal alongside a giant old-growth tree. After recalling a massive cedar I had seen in the Gordon River Valley that had claw marks leading up to a hole in the trunk, I set up a motion-sensitive trail camera on a nearby tree and waited a few months to come back. Upon later checking the camera, I was thrilled to find this photo of a black bear climbing the tree among many others revealing the life that goes on in the forest while we're not around. I hope to assemble a higher quality trail camera setup in 2016 and capture more unique shots like this one.

The roots of my photography really began with experimental and abstract images before shifting to forests and landscapes today, so while on a road trip away from work this summer it was fun to play around and blend those two worlds together. Here, ripples in the fabric of space and time appear to spread out through the sky after tossing a pebble into the clear waters of a lake and flipping the image upside down.

This past spring was the first time I'd visited Uplands Park in Oak Bay, where some of the last original Garry Oak meadow ecosystem remains and where camas flowers bloom in the thousands. This year I also purchased the new Canon 24-70 f4L IS lens, which beyond proving itself to be a very useful all-around landscape lens, also has an additional macro setting which I put to use here. It was a truly sublime afternoon carefully moving through the purple and green meadows while photographing and smelling the beautiful flowers along the way.

2015 featured a spectacular supermoon eclipse as well. The last time the earth, moon, and sun aligned like this was 1982 and the next time will be 2033! I had almost forgotten to catch it that evening but the red moon caught my eye while driving in the dark countryside and I quickly zipped down to the nearest beach. There, I framed the moon among the tall beach grass (which I lit with the light from my phone) and captured this shot just as the eclipse began to recede. Mother nature will forever be a source of wonder, awe, and inspiration and for that we should show her our greatest respect, admiration, and care.

TV News Piece on Port Renfrew's Big Trees

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Yesterday we took a Shaw TV reporter out to do a story on the big trees and ancient forests of the Port Renfrew area (Avatar Grove, Walbran Valley, and others) and their importance in supporting the local economy, including an interview with Dan Hager, the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce president representing 73 businesses! Here are a few pics :)

Shooting Saturday's Storm - Victoria, BC

I love storms. A lot. So when the 4th major storm to hit BC's coast in just over a week came crashing in on Saturday, I rushed out to the Ogden Point Breakwater and Clover Point to catch the action. What started out as a plan to just check out the ocean for a moment, quickly turned into almost 4 hours of dodging and chasing the huge waves. With wind speeds reaching as high as 127 km/h just off the shore, it was a powerful sight to see - and I hope it was worth it! Though I was pretty careful while shooting, in my excitement and haste a sea spray caught me and my camera by surprise, preceded shortly thereafter by an error message. I've got the battery out and the camera in a bag with silica gel packs to remove any moisture. I'm going to look into it more on Monday and my fingers are crossed that it's something minor and not totally fried!! In all, very little water hit the camera but saltwater + electronics = bad. I'd says it's better to be out there in the thick of it than missing out on all the fun but next time I'll be sure to not let my excitement push aside the need to better protect my gear. At least the photos have lived to tell the tale! Will post an update on camera soon. Until then, enjoy this wild weather - and keep your cameras dry!  **Update: Camera checked out all fine - no water damage! Error likely came from the extreme cold winds and humidity. Happy!

Exploration: Measuring Near Record-Sized Trees in the Central Walbran Valley

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On a recent trip to the endangered Central Walbran Valley on southern Vancouver Island, my colleague Ken Wu and I worked to obtain accurate measurements a colossal western redcedar tree known as the Tolkien Giant (GPS: 48.64569, -124.601246). After some scrambling through the thick underbrush, we managed to wrap it with the long tape. Preliminary measurements put the ancient tree at 14.4 metres (47 feet) in circumference or 4.6 meters (15 feet) in diameter, and about 42 meters (138 feet) in height. This makes it the 9th widest western redcedar in BC, according to the BC Big Tree Registry: http://bit.ly/1Iuf9Tv It's often hard to grasp the sheer size of these giants, and even harder that many are still at risk of being cut down. The Tolkien Giant currently stands in a tenuous forest reserve known as an Old-Growth Management Area and is thankfully protected for now however, just a couple hundred meters away lies 1 of 8 cutblocks proposed by logging company Teal-Jones. Here we came across the foreboding orange flagging tape marked "Falling Boundary", as well as more giant trees. We nicknamed one incredible specimen the Karst Giant due to the band of limestone that is prevalent in this area. The Karst Giant has been tentatively measured at 12.1 meters (40 feet) in circumference or 3.9 meters (13 feet) in diameter. Although it doesn't make the top 10, it's still an exceptional tree (photo below).

At almost 500 hectares in size, the Central Walbran Valley is home to one of the largest tracts of contiguous old-growth forest found outside of parks on southern Vancouver Island, a region which has lost 96% of its valley bottom old-growth due to logging. It's an ecological and recreational jewel that must be protected by the BC government from the current logging proposals.

The dense and highly productive ancient forests found here also provide some of the most incredible bushwhacking and exploration opportunities. One truly feels like they've stepped back in time to a prehistoric-like wilderness visited by few to none on Earth. You never quite know what unique tree, karst feature, or creature might by lurking around the next corner.  


Press: British Columbia Magazine - Vancouver Island's Ancient Trees

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Here's an article in the latest British Columbia Magazine about visiting the old-growth forests of the Port Renfrew region along the "Circle Route" which features 6 of my big tree shots! It also raises the plight of the old-growth forests in the Walbran Valley, Horne Mountain (above Cathedral Grove), and Mossy Maple Grove, and includes a blurb about the Ancient Forest Alliance. Pick up a hardcopy of the latest issue to read the article today!

P.S. Here's a big tree map that you can print out and take with you: www.ancientforestalliance.org/biggest-trees-map.php

Fine Art Prints Now Available For Order Online

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I'm very excited to have launched a new Prints section on my website here: www.tjwatt.com/prints. I love that photography allows you to bring the west coast wilderness into your home or business. The beauty and grandeur of British Columbia's coastal landscapes is second to none and lends itself wonderfully to large prints.

I'm working closely with a great local print shop to ensure that each individual print is produced to the highest standards possible. We've completed some beautiful print orders already and we're set to print more in time for the Holiday Season. For details on print, paper, and pickup/shipping, please see information below. If you have any further questions or comments, please don't hesitate to reach me by email at: prints@tjwatt.com. I look forward to hearing from you. TJ   www.tjwatt.com/prints

PRINT INFORMATION:

The paper stock used is a bright white, matte, fine art paper (310 gsm), 100% cotton, acid free, with a slightly textured surface. It produces luxurious images with vibrant colours, rich blacks, and a velvety finish. Prints are then carefully packaged and shipped via Canada Post. It's best to allow a professional framer to remove and handle them to ensure their safety. Shipping to Canada $20, USA $35. Free local pickup in Victoria is also available.

CUSTOM PRINT ORDERS:

We also produce archival prints on canvas or aluminum die-bond and at a variety of sizes. These are durable and lightweight options that add a truly unique look! For any inquiries or special requests, please email prints@tjwatt.com and we'd be happy to help!