I ended my 2019 photo tour season in mid-September with my final trip into the Great Bear Rainforest.  The Great Bear Rainforest is special to me because it’s the first place I visited on the BC Coast, and is the trip that got me started down the path of leading photo tours.

Spin Cycle

I lead this second trip just after one week off from the previous trip, and I was headed in with some expectations based on my experience the week prior.  The salmon run on most of the streams and rivers we visited was going very strong, especially compared to my previous trips, which could have been partly attributed to the fact that I was visiting the area about one month earlier than I normally go.

During the trip we were treated to a variety of bears.  Black Bears, Grizzly Bears, including moms with cubs and even the rare Spirit Bears.  Our Spirit Bear sightings didn’t come easy, with the first one we saw only showing up for a brief moment near the end of the day.  Our second sightings allowed us a little more time with the Spirit Bears, and our final sighting was just a brief glimpse of one on the shoreline from the sailboat.  Despite the number of years I have been visiting the area, I still find every Spirit Bear sighting is a rare treat, and I am as excited as the first time I saw one.

Fishing from Kelp

One of the other highlights of the trip was just the number of moms with cubs, with both black bears and grizzly bears.  There were a couple of instances where there were more than one mother and cubs out in our sight at the same time. And it was incredible to see how trusting these mother bears, of both species, were of bringing their cubs out around us, and even allowing the cubs to be closer to us than they were to their mother, which shows an incredible amount of trust by the mothers.

But as always, the trip is not only about finding bears.  My favorite thing about this trip is that you never know what you are going to see, especially when it comes to the “not bears” species.  One of the most unique experiences I think we had is the opportunity to closely photograph a Great Blue Heron as it fished from kelp.  Besides being able to closely watch and photograph the Great Blue Heron, I also appreciated that our expert guide, and group, was able to leave the Great Blue Heron as it continued to fish, so we did not impact on the fishing.

We also had a couple opportunities to photograph Bald Eagles, Humpback Whales, and Harbor Seals along our travels and while out in the zodiac.

If you would like to experience the Great Bear Rainforest trip with us in the future, visit my Photo Tours Page for more information, or contact me for more information.

I just completed my first of two “Into the Great Bear Rainforest” trips.  On this one we started in Bella Bella, British Columbia, and traveled north and ended in Kitimat, stopping at various inlets, and estuaries along the way.

One of my favourite things about the Great Bear Rainforest photo tours is that there is a long list of potential wildlife that we could see along the route, but we never know what we will see, and where we will see it.  It’s a true wilderness photo tour.  The other nice thing is, what we enjoy, we enjoy to ourselves, instead of being among a bunch of other photo groups.

We started our trip with several Humpback Whales, including one that was lunge feeding and coming quite high out of the water, which was pretty incredible.  However it was a bit hard to predict where he was coming up, and therefore also hard to predict where to point your camera and shoot.

Down Low

Throughout the trip we were treated to rivers and streams full of salmon, which had already brought in the Bald Eagles that were lining the trees.  We had the opportunity to photograph them in the pouring rain, sunny days, and even in some fog/mist.  It really provided us the full gamut of Bald Eagles in the Great Bear Rainforest.

We also had the opportunity to photograph both Grizzly Bears and Black Bears, including one of each with cubs, so adding a little extra cute factor to the photography.   For the most part the bears were taking advantage of the salmon runs, and trying to start packing on the weight before hibernation.

We ended the trip with quite a show from some Transient Killer Whales, who had already started attacking a Stellar Sea Lion when we showed up.  We spent almost two hours watching as they came out of the water and jumped on him, or hit him with their tails, and doing everything they could to get their next meal.  It was the first time that I had witnessed something like this, and while it was incredible to see the Orcas, you were left feeling a little sad for the poor Sea Lion.

So if you are interested in a trip along the coast, where you could be treated to both land mammals, and marine mammals, the  Great Bear Rainforest might be a trip for you.  We have several different options, including ones in the spring, summer and fall, with more information available on my Photo Tours page.

Stay tuned for Part Two of my blog post after I finish my next trip into the Great Bear Rainforest.

One of my favorite things about our annual Marine Mammals photo tour, is that you never know what to expect.  While we expect to see Humpback Whales, Sea Lions, Sea Otters, and Orcas, we never know when or where they are going to pop up and which is going to steal the show.

Crab Dinner

This year, my personal thoughts are the Sea Otters stole the show, but others on the trip might disagree.  We encountered several Sea Otters bringing up various things from the ocean floor, and displaying an all you can eat buffet for us.  Their hauls included various urchins, clams, and even crabs.  It was also a lot of fun to watch them when they brought up a clam and banged them against their special rock to get it.  Besides just eating, we also had the opportunity to watch them preening their fur, with their pups, wrapped in kelp, and surprisingly just hanging out in the middle of the strait (in very deep water).

It was not just a trip of Sea Otters though, we also had a lot of other action.  Including Humpback Whales breaching, lunge feeding, and tail lobbing (no, not all by one humpback whale).  When we visited some of the Sea Lion rock haul outs, we got to see a few battles (both in and out of the water), jumping from the rocks, and gathering in a big group and swimming towards our zodiac.

The Bald Eagles didn’t want to be out-done by the marine mammals.  We had several opportunities to nab some shots of them while fishing at bait balls, and ended up cursing the gulls that photo-bombed some of our shots.

Catching Air

Sticking with the title of this blog post, one of the most unique and unexpected things that we witnessed this year, and it was the very first for our experienced skipper, was Harbor Seals mating.  What we thought was a dead Harbor Seal floating just at the surface, ended up being two in the midst of action.  While it did produce great photos, it was cool to GoPro, and even cooler to just see.

So when people ask me what my favourite trip is, and I mention the Marine Mammals, I think you are starting to get a picture as to why.  Even after four trips, I come away each year with different highlights, and unique photos from one year to the next, and I’m already looking forward to next year.

I’m starting to post some images from the trip on my Recent Photos page, and will post more as I get through them (there are so many to choose from).

I don’t have too much time to relax, as I’m already prepping for my next journey Into the Great Bear Rainforest, where I will be leading two trips this year.

If you want to join us on this trip visit my photo tours page for more information or contact me at [email protected] for more details.

If you noticed that I have not been posting images or blog posts so much, it is because I have been a bit busy on photo tours.  I just arrived back from one part of the BC Coast, and I’m spending the month and a half travelling from one part of the British Columbia Coast to the next.

Coastal Deer

I started in early July in Gwaii Haanas National Park, this was the first time I have visited this area, so I did not know what to expect (other than what I had read online).  Given that Gwaii Haanas coast is home to over 1.5 million seabirds, I had expected that we would have the opportunity to photograph some birds.

Well the trip met my expectation when it came to photographing birds, there was no shortage of Black Oystercatchers or Pigeon Guillemots,  And we got lucky seeing a few different Tufted Puffins, including some fly-bys with fish in the beaks.  Gwaii Haanas has the highest concentration of nesting Bald Eagles, so we had the chance to capture some times of Bald Eagles in various perches, including on rocky islands.

In addition to the birds, we also had the opportunity to photograph various mammals that call Gwaii Haanas home such as the Sitka Deer, Black Bears, Stellar Sea Lions and a new one for me the Risso’s Dolphins.  The Black Bears in the area have no predators, and are the largest part of the food chain, which causes them to be some the largest found in North America.

The trip wasn’t all about the wildlife of the area, we also had the opportunity to photograph some beautiful landscapes, historic totem poles, and some old grave sites and historic machinery.

Bright Eyed

I am now getting ready to head to a different part of the coast, the Johnstone Strait up to the Northern tip of Vancouver Island.  In addition to the beautiful landscapes, this trip is focused on the marine mammals that are in the area, which includes Killer Whales, Humpback Whales, the very adorable Sea Otters, Stellar Sea Lions, and more. Despite focusing on Marine Mammals, we will also be on the lookout for various species of birds while exploring in the zodiac. The Marine Mammals trip is one of my favourites, because it is often action-packed and varied species, and we never know what to expect while traveling along the coast in the beautiful Ocean Light II sailboat.

From there I am coming home from a few days, and then leaving again to explore the last bit of coast for my 2019 photo tour season, the Great Bear Rainforest.  I will be leading two separate trips along the coast, where again we will be exploring different areas, hoping to photograph Humpback Whales, Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, and if we get lucky, the unique and rare Spirit Bear.  There are still spaces available on one of the photo tours, so if you are interested in coming along, please send me an email, [email protected].

I very much enjoyed my first time visiting Gwaii Haanas, and looking forward to visiting both the Johnstone Strait and Great Bear Rainforest again.  Stay tuned for updates, and images, from my recent adventures.

If you are noticing the lack of action and new photos being posted on my website, and social media, it is because I’m currently on a trip exploring Gwaii Haanas in British Columbia.

Huh! What’s Gwaii Haanas? It’s a National Park Reserve and Marine Conservation Area off the coast of British Columbia and protects an archipelago of 138 islands. We are there searching for marine mammals, landscapes, and intertidal photography, in addition to some of the rich cultural history of this area.  This is our first time offering photo tours in the area, so I’m excited to see this new part of the coast.

More about Gwaii Haanas can be found on Wikipedia.

We have a few spaces available to join us in 2020 when we explore the west side of  Haida Gwaii, more information can be found on my photo tours page, or contact me for more details.