glimpses

Final Photos from Costa Rica

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:21:00 +0000

I managed to get a few more shots on the last trip we made to Manuel Antonio and the Tarcoles River. The Tarcoles River is teeming with crocodiles (I think the densest population in the world).

In Manuel Antonio I focused on trying to capture the behavior of the White Faced Capuchin monkeys and we also saw a slot on a telephone pole from about 2 feet away.

Not too much to say this time, but I hope you like the photos.

For the slideshow - click on the photo below.

FOR BEST VIEWING - HIT F11 (fullscreen) BEFORE YOU CLICK

Sunset at Mal Pais

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:24:00 +0000

A first taste of Costa Rica

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:30:00 +0000

Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio is about a 3.5 hour drive over the mountains and down the coast from San Jose. This was our first foray outside the city and quickly showed us the "real" Costa Rica.

The park is really small, but densely populated with a massive diversity of wildlife, including the endangered Mono Titi (Squirrel Monkey). We took 2 short hikes through the edge of the park and saw close to 20 species in the first hour.

I'm a bit rusty with the old camera after 12 weeks without using it, but I managed to get close enough to a few of the local critters for some shots.

For the slideshow - click on the photo below.

FOR BEST VIEWING - HIT F11 (fullscreen) BEFORE YOU CLICK

Yellowstone & Grand Teton 2008

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:08:00 +0000

A week down in Yellowstone is always an adventure. This was to be no exception.

For the trip, I'd sold all of my Canon gear and made the switch to Nikon for the first time. Carefully carrying my new setup with cautious attention, I set up at the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. This was 5am on Day 3 and I was excited to try for a sunrise shot once more at this location, never being completely happy with what I'd shot in the past.

I set my tripod up at the edge of the railing at Artist Point, attaching my brand new Singh Ray filter setup and preparing for the sun to awaken. Missing my cable release, I bent down momentarily to rifle through my pack, only to hear a quiet scraping noise.

What happened next probably took all of half a second, but felt like time stood still as the my groaning voice belched out the ever-cliched noooooooooooooo sound. The scraping sound was from the tripod feet lifting up from the gravel floor as the weight of my Nikon D3 swung the whole ensemble over the railing towards the precipice below.

With Ninja like speed - not unlike Cato surprising Inspector Clouseau - Michelle flew across the viewpoint area and grabbed the very last 2 inches of the tripod in her gloved hands, barely hanging on to save my equipment from the 700ft drop to the canyon floor.

There was some impact, and I lost my best filter and smashed the filter holder into 2 pieces (which we fixed with some clever Macgyvering with an axe). Needless to say, this elongated second scared the shit out me and with the lost filter, hampered my landscape opportunities for the remainder of the trip.

So I left the Canyon sans photo, but luckily (thanks to Michelle) I still had my new camera...

For the slideshow - click on the photo below.

FOR BEST VIEWING - HIT F11 (fullscreen) BEFORE YOU CLICK

I hope you enjoy the shots.
Oli

Desert Driving

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:01:00 +0000

Ok, I have a problem. I freely admit it. I'm a serial drive-a-holic.

You see, I love road trips, as does everyone else, but I seem to have this awesome inability to see the obvious over-confidence in my planning.

For this trip I went back to the deserts of southern Utah and northern Arizona, a land of red slickrock spires and the deepest blue skies you can ever imagine. I only decided to go on the trip at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon. By 4pm my flight was booked and I was ready to depart Friday night leaving me precious little preparation time which isn't all that smart when you consider that successful photography is pretty heavily based on being uber prepared and researched.

For the slideshow - click on the photo below.

Like a kid at a rock festival, I didn't want to hear the whole of the latest album by my favourite band. Rather, I wanted a greatest hits collection. In road trip planning talk, that meant not staying in one place for more than 1 day. And so I got on Google maps and plotted a ridiculous spiders web of exploration across the high desert.

Each day roughly consisted of being up at 6am, forgoing breakfast to get in place for sunrise, followed by 12 hours of driving and hiking to scout sunset locations and get my rental car as beat up and stained by orange sand as possible. After the sun disappeared each night, I'd skip yet another meal to drive for 5 hours in the darkness to get to my next spot where I'd randomly select a cheap motel, work on the days images on my laptop, then retreat to a shitty and uncomfortable bed where I'd shiver/overheat in cycles before waking again at 6am totally unrested and start all over again...

I averaged a ridiculous 600km per day for the duration of the week, often taking an 8 hour detour in the wrong direction just to get a single shot (see Horseshoe Bend photo in the slideshow).

And so, I return, tired, beat up and weighing about 10lbs less than when I left. But fuck me it's fun to be that free and just go wherever I want, whenever I want...

I hope you enjoy the shots.
Oli

Canadian Rockies 2007

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:14:00 +0000

I just took another road trip over to the Rockies for a week. Summer weather is pretty unpredictable, but can make for some really interesting stormy skies with crazy clouds.

For the slideshow - click on the photo below.

My favourite shots

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:06:00 +0000

The slideshow below is a selection of my favourites from the past few years.

Click the photo to launch slideshow.

2-week US National Park Road Trip

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 06:46:00 +0000

Simply put, I needed to get away for a while. I needed to stand face to face with wild animals, to be up at 4am waiting for the sun to show it's face, to forget about work for a while and experience some of "what's important in life", just for a while.

So I decided to take my new car on a road trip and break it in... or break it. One way of the other I was determined to get far far away.

My initial plan looked something like this map. The major stops along this 5,200km route were to be:

The Oregon Coast
Yosemite
Mono Lake
Grand Teton
Yellowstone

But just like at the start of the trip, I quickly developed itchy feet wherever I went. Often I'd find myself in my tent or similar in the middle of the night, thinking...

I'm going to see the same place tomorrow when I wake up, but I'm hungry for more

So I'd scour the maps and guidebooks for somewhere within driving distance (my criteria here are fairly broad ranging), then jump in the car and drive through the darkness to find another a new fix for the next morning.

After all my shifting, changing and A.D.D. I ended up with something like this:

The Oregon Coast
Yosemite
Bodie (ghost town)
Mono Lake
Kings Canyon
Sequoia
Hospital (that's another story)
Death Valley
Grand Teton
Yellowstone

At 9,600kms, my new car is definitely broken in now and already shouting at me for it's 6-month service after only 2 weeks on the road.

A few days into the trip, I pulled up in Yosemite. I'm convinced there are no words or pictures that can possibly communicate the feeling of arrival in Yosemite Valley. It's quite simply the most spectacular geological wonder on the face of the earth. As I drove in my body let out involuntary squeaks of delight at every turn (read "holy fuck", "shit", "wow", "omg!"). Yosemite has always held a special place in my heart. It started with seeing Ansel Adams prints and culminated with my ex-marriage there 8 years ago. Needless to say, it was an emotional return, one that took me a few days to get used to.

In tribute to Ansel, I shot a good portion of this trip in black & white. It was a refreshing change for me, having not shot in monochrome since my old film days, and it opened up so many new creative possibilities that I was quickly hooked and relished the challenge of looking for texture and contrast in natures whim.

I have many more stories from the trip which I may expand upon at another time, for now I hope you enjoy the shots I got.

The making of a photo
While in Death Valley, I was scouting through a desert maze for a sunrise location in the blazing hot 3pm 42 degree weather. I recorded some of it on video to illustrate what it takes to "get the shot" (19 mb).

For the slideshow - click on the photo below.

Desert Solitaire

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Fri, 04 May 2007 20:53:00 +0000

Last years solo trip to the deserts in southern Utah and northern Arizona.

Yellowstone & Grand Teton

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Fri, 04 May 2007 19:05:00 +0000

Here is a selection of my favourite shots from the last few visits to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks in Wyoming.

10 Days in the Canadian Rockies

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 02:26:00 +0000

For my latest trip I flew into Calgary for a solo adventure in the Canadian Rockies. The main part of the Canadian Rockies extends from Jasper in the North down to Banff about 230km further South through what has to be considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world. I then took an extra jaunt down past Calgary to the US border to visit Waterton Lakes National Park.

I got so lucky with the weather, and due to some awesome planning on my part and sublime coincidental weather patterns on the part of mother nature, I managed to hit each spot I visited at pretty much just the right moment.

Most days consisted of getting up at around 5am and driving for an hour to some remote (and some not so remote) location often with a short hike in the dark to find my spot. Then 14 hours later after a lot more driving/hiking/scrambling and scouting for locations, I'd roll back to my hotels to impatiently load the days shoot onto my laptop ready to prep them for this blog.

It was really bizarre to show up back to work in a busy city after spending 10 days with barely a word of english spoken, save the occasional whoop of delight as I nailed a shot or ran into some wildlife.

I hope you enjoy the images.

Click the photo below for the slide show.

Marmots in the mist

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 03:24:00 +0000

Playing my part in preventing the extinction of the Vancouver Island Marmot
As part of arranging this trip, I offered to donate all of the hi-res photos to the VI Marmot Recovery Foundation, so that they can promote themselves more effectively and hopefully receive more donations for the cause. They are such stunningly beautiful and interesting animals, I can't imagine how it would feel if they were gone.

Note: if you are short on time, you should jump to the day 3 slideshow at the bottom - I really want you to see the last shot in there :)

Day One

It took me a while to fully comprehend that the small bundle of fur sitting alone, gazing up at me, by herself, represents around 3% of the total wild population of her species. Within a few hundred yards I would see several more of what constitutes 25% of all wild Vancouver Island Marmots.

I've just hiked with a researcher into the mountains near Nanaimo, into an ecological reserve inaccessibleto the public. When I consider that I'm (as far as I know) the first photographer allowed access, I feel privaleged and excited.

There's something very very special about being in a wild place and seeing an animal in it's natural habitat. Even better when there is no one else around, where every moment is private. Special can't begin to describe how this feels when you are with one of only about 35 of these animals. I wonder if the marmots know. What would they do if they knew?

It's strange to be humbled by a creature not much larger than the average mens hiking boot.

This year brought 4 new pups to the colony. They were the first ever wild born VI Marmots from a captive bred mother. Add another spine tingle to the list.

The Marmots are watched all day, every day, by a group of insanely dedicated people working to ensure the population rises back to a sustainable level.

Silence is broken by the loud piercing whistle of Haida, the mother of the new pups. She is alerting her offspring to the presence of a golden eagle soaring high above. Along with wolves and cougars, golden eagles are the main threat to the marmots survival, and need to be shooed away by the guardians with a couple of carefully aimed bear bangers. Which, incidentally, have to be tried... so much fun!!!

Looking at a slope from a distance always makes it look like childs play. After an afternoon hiking down into the meadow from our observation point, I had a completely different perspective. A perspective that comes from clinging to small straggely plants as if my life depended on it. And to be perfectly honest, at times I think it did. Getting stuck for the first of several times over the weekend, left me with no option but to climb.

Climbing and Oli? Not so much...

Realising that stopping sent my legs into a spasmodic quiver, I figured I had no option but to deal with the fact that I was scared shitless, and do what my fear of heights has, up until this point, always prevented me from being able to do.

Safely at the top of the mountain, shaking, sweating, breathing like a m**herf**ker, and quietly proud of myself, I hobble back to my tent in a shit, that was close daze.

Besides this drama, I managed to get a few shots of the Marmots in the dull sunless light, first having an encounter with the ever present Haida then catching a few glimpses of the pups romping through the wildflower laiden meadowlands.

Now, as the fog rolls in, I pack up for the day and roll into my sleeping bag.

Click the photo below for Day One slide show.

Day Two

Wildlife photography is like mountain weather.

After spending what seemend like an eternity lying in my tent, listening to the wind rage and the rain patter against the yellow sides of my somewhat appropriately branded "Marmot" tent, I found myself wondering what someone as easily bored as me should do in such a situation:

1 - Sleep (some more)
2 - Eat (bagels and beef jerky)
3 - Think (my current pastime)
4 - Take off my bloody skirt and go do what I came all the way here to do

Having continued with #3 for a while, I thus naturally move onto a few moments of #2 before succumbing once again to #1 (sleeping in my proverbial skirt).

2pm

Ok, really bored now, though again, secretly rather proud of myself for being able to spend this much time unoccupied.

Crystal, who's full-time job it is to watch over the marmots during the summer and fall, has graciously offered to bring up some rain gear from the trailer. Yes I know the cub scouts number 1 rule - always be prepared.

Prepared for me is; looking at my thermals (would have been nice last night), looking at my rain gear (no worries, it'll be scorching hot, hence the shorts I take instead), looking at my lovely warm cosy fluffy puffy vest. Then looking at my 5ft tall backpack that doesn't yet contain food and thinking that I know better.

Back to marmotville. I've managed to get my arse out of bed and hike across the boulder strewn (boulders are always strewn - why is that?) slopes at a 45 degree angle, accompanied by the beautiful harp-like sound of twanging ankle tendons as my feet bend and roll to keep me upright.

The wind blows the changeable conditions into what can only be described as modern jazz weather patterns, where no one, not even the conductor himself (god to some, Tamara Taggart or John Kettley to me) know what the hell will happen next.

I spot Onslo. Onslo is the large chubby father of the pups, lying spread eagle on a large rock up ahead.

What follows could loosely be described as SITTING IN THE COLD AND RAIN ON A MOUNTAINSIDE WITH NOTHING TO DO. Or in wildlife photographer parlance, patiently awaiting a magical moment that will turn my stomach to fist-pumps, as I witness a rare moment of wild animal behaviour. After 4 hours, just as I'm about to pack up and leave it happens. I love it when it happens. One of the pups comes darting over the rocks and stops for an instant directly in front of me as I rattle off a few quick shots. It's over as soon as it begins, but I love it. I will never get enough of that feeling.

The sudden, unexpected appearance of an animal you are starting to believe doesn't exist, is like the short burst of brilliant sunlight through the clouds on an otherwise shitty day.

I guess that's why you wait.

Click the photo below for Day Two slide show.

Day Three

If you hear dogs barking it's because Madeleine's back.

Confused: who's Madeleine?

Oh, that's the cougar that's been hanging around...

Crystal heads off with a telemetry device to ensure that Maddy isn't around. The cougar was trapped and fitted with a transmitter to allow the researchers to monitor the predators in the area. If there is a cat in the hood, a tape of barking dogs is used to ward them off.

Meanwhile, I sit atop the by now familiar observation perch, high above the marmot meadow, keeping an eye out for the pups and any marauding eagles. With only 3 hours left here, I'm hoping the beautiful sunrise that occurred 500ft lower in elevation will permeate up here and allow me one last clickfest, accompanied by the first sunlight of the weekend.

As if part of a script, the sun burns away the fog, clearing my path through the meadow. Once again I find Haida hanging around the same rockpile as yesterday. I set up with the sun to my back to prevent glare and wait for one last look at the pups. An hour passes with no sign, then like the previous day, up pops a litle ball of fur begging me to stay. I get a few shots in before he/she is once again underground. Again I ready to leave, when 3 heads appear on diferent rocks. This time, it's Onslo, Haida and a pup.

It's like the photography puppet master knows exactly what I've been hoping to capture when the pup jumps up beside it's mother. Interactions between mothers and offspring are so exciting and I work like crazy to try and capture some of the intimacy in their meeting.

Perfect. I pack up and leave after whispering a thank you to my gracious marmot friends.

Hopefully all 4 pups will make it through their first year as the guardians patiently watch over them.

Click the photo below for Day Three slide show.

Thanks to the efforts of the Marmot Recovery Foundation, there are now roughly 150 VI Marmots through the nationwide captive breeding program. More are being released every season to boost the wild population.

Salt Spring Sojourn

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 03:08:00 +0000

Oh Salt Spring, how I love thee!

Salt Spring Island is yet another of those wonderful places within about 2 hours of Vancouver, but it couldn't feel further away. I constantly found myself wondering what nationality the people beside me in a restaurant were, then I'd remember I'm still in B.C.

The island is full of artisans and the accompanying healthy hippy culture that makes it feel so relaxing and rejuvenating.

The main restaurant in Ganges looks so idylic, until you get the food. Ick, disappointing in the extreme. For most of the weekend we chowed down on wonderful BBQ food at our cottage by St. Mary Lake. Cabins, cottages, stunning waterfront properties... bucolic living at it's best.

Only a couple of photos this time, neither of them related in any way to what I've just said :)

Click the photo below for a slide show.
note: If the slide show doesn't start - refresh the page and let it load completely.

Mountain Wildlife Catharsis

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 03:36:00 +0000

Sometimes you just have to get out of the city ...

Manning Park (2.5 hrs East of Vancouver) has been my Summer sanctuary for the last few years, where I can sit on a mountain and experience the rejuvenating innocence of wild animals.

Click the photo below for a slide show.
note: If the slide show doesn't start - refresh the page and let it load completely.

Scotland the brave

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 02:35:00 +0000

Lets face it, these days you have to be pretty damn brave to go drinking in Scotland. It feels like you are only ever 30 seconds away from a fight.

But it's damn fun though!

Especially with a brand new party camera like the Lumix LX1 with it's kick-ass 16:9 aspect ratio.

Click the photo below for a slide show.
(Click left and right side of photo to move forward and back).

Peaks and Pitbulls

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 06:56:00 +0000

I had a few days to drive round the beautiful Cascade Loop in Washington State. Snow was still deep as I drove over Washington Pass, the highest point in the drive. My first stop involved hiking through the snow to a viewpoint of Liberty Bell Mountain, a ridiculously poorly named mountain that looks great nonetheless. It really needed a better name though, how 'bout something super original like Twin Peaks, or Booby Mountain!

I stayed in the little wild west town of Winthrop, with great old school facades along the main strip, before heading south east to the bizarre but very cool mountain town of Leavenworth, which decided 30 years ago to turn Bavarian (as you do) complete with Leiderhosen and angry dogs!

The trip was cut short by the teeth of one such angry pit bull who decided it would be fun to attack my leg and ruin any chance of a hike the next day. So 5 hours of hospital visits later I parked at a hotel for the night and headed home.

F**king dog!

Here are some shots from the loop ...

View slideshow Full-size Smaller

Raccoon Infested Waters

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Wed, 03 May 2006 07:22:00 +0000

Raccoon swimming in Lost Lagoon, Stanley Park

Windy sunset at Third Beach

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Tue, 02 May 2006 06:45:00 +0000

A beautiful stormy evening at Third Beach.

I set out today to find some run down area in Vancouver, to try and shoot some gritty black and white architectural images. After a few pointless hours of wandering I resigned myself to the fact that I'd rather be in Stanley Park surrounding myself with nature's charms.

The wind was extreme today, with huge waves smashing against the seawall. I found a nice group of rocks by Third Beach and took some shots as the sun set behind Howe Sound, retreating gradually as the water crashed over my feet and splattered my lens.

What a beautiful end to an otherwise lacklustre day.

Sunset at Third Beach, Stanley Park

English Bay Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 04:59:00 +0000

I've never seen the tide quite so high as it was tonight, the waves were crashing over the seawall as I headed for English Bay. Stupidly, I still had the camera set on a low-res setting from the road trip to Portland so I didn't have a nice RAW image to work from.

Beautiful sunset. I guess this is one of the reasons we live in Vancouver.

This is the first shot with my new Canon 10-22mm lens, and I love it, it's so wide.

One Spring day In Yellowstone

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 04:45:00 +0000

Every once in a while my feet itch and I hear the call of the wild.
Typically, it's Yellowstone calling, and typically the call comes about
once a week.

Usually the itch gets scratched when I remember how far away it is and
it requires a 2 week vacation to make it a real trip.

But not this time ...

So, here's the deal:

I had 3 days .. no problem
Google maps kindly revealed that it's a 16 hour drive to the park .. no problem
Weather.com says 30mph winds and snow .. no problem
Only one road in the park is open at this time of year .. that's ok

So I jump in a rental SUV and head for the bad weather that lives half
way across the continent.

I had one day in the park .. this is what I saw

A big shout out to the supporting actor in this trip ... Red Bull.
Couldn't have done it without ya :)

Nature's confessional

noreply@blogger.com (oli) — Sat, 05 Nov 2005 23:51:00 +0000

When you're out on a photography trip, I consider sunrise the most important element of a successful day.

One of the most beautiful things anyone can experience is the start of a new day. You can completely forget everything that has happened prior to now ... sort of like nature's confessional.

It also marks your first opportunity to get a great shot. The immense power of feeling like you nailed a shot right at the start of the day can fill you with hope and imagination until sunset.

You also don't have that pang of guilt I feel everytime I don't manage to crawl out of bed in the morning. Then again, there's always tomorrow to start all over again ...

Sunrise at Monument Valley. Arizon/Utah border