Monday, March 5, 2012

Island Lake, British Columbia

So how did I get interested in Wildlife Photography?  Well it all started with my "flyfishing career". I would go up into British Columbia (the flyfishing capitol of the world -- well, at least North America). I would be out on a lake fishing when bear, moose, elk walked down to the lakeshore to drink and eat. After years of flyfishing I decided it was time to buy a camera. As it turns out, when I went fishing I would spend most of my time looking for that bear, moose, or elk to photograph. There are lots of stories here, but let me just say that on my return trip from five days at Island Lake (BC) one year I realized that I had actually not gotten in the water the entire time -- didn't even take out my fly rod. It occurred to me that my interest had changed. I was now a wildlife photographer.  

To get to Island Lake you must go around the Highland Valley Copper Mine which is the largest open pit copper mine in Canada and is one of the largest in the world in terms of tonnage mined and milled. The operation employs approximately 900 people. I took photos of the mine and of those huge dump trucks. But, alas, those photos never got scanned into my computer. But, .....

Here are some very early photos from Island Lake (all from the early 90's):

My first Bald Eagle photo

My first(Cinnamon) Black Bear photo

Or was this the first?

A young colt I scared that ran through a creek.

A Common Loon, taken from my "float tube" (fly fishing vessel)

Another Common Loon photo while fishing.

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