Marty’s photo of the day #5181: During my travels, some people have commented to me, “I don’t shoot photos because I want to live in the moment.” I understand that, and to each his/her own. For me, however, I can live in the moment and still shoot photos, as my lens also serves as my […]
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Tag: Vancouver Island
The Bald Eagle of Port Hardy
Marty’s photo of the day #5180: When Deb and I returned to Port Hardy after a three-year absence, the first thing we did was look for the bald eagles. And there they were! Just where we left them. (Photographed on Vancouver Island.)
An Eagle’s Talons
When I was six years old and shot my first roll of film, I photographed a bunch of feet. When my dad saw the photos, he threatened to take my camera away. He just didn’t understand what it meant to be creative. Now, as a wildlife photographer, I still love creating uncommon shots—sometimes even feet. […]
Vancouver Island Sea Otter
Marty’s photo of the day #5179: When Deb and I visited Vancouver Island three years ago, we saw lots of sea otters along the western coast, near Tofino. During our visit last month, we stayed mostly along the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island. There, sea otters are much rarer. This one, spotted on an outing […]
Sea Lions on High Alert!
Sea lions on high alert! Moments before I shot this photo, a pod of orca whales passed close by, and there was a huge splash. Many of us watching from a boat thought we had witnessed an orca taking a sea lion. Our guide, however, proclaimed that the orcas were fish-eaters, not mammal-eaters. From a […]
A Whole Mess of Sea Lions
Marty’s photo of the day #5178: A whole mess of sea lions. Well, technically, a colony. (Photographed on Vancouver Island.)
The Beach Boss
Marty’s photo of the day #5177: I watched this great blue heron for parts of three days. She was the only great blue heron hanging out on the gravel beach in front of Deb’s and my Johnstone Strait campsite. The heron was particularly interesting to watch when the tide came in. She ruled a spit […]
An Immature Bald Eagle Spat, Pt 2
These may look like golden eagles, but they are actually immature bald eagles. Earlier today, I featured an action shot of these two squabbling over a perching spot on the intertidal zone. Here’s another shot from that sequence of photos. (Photographed earlier this month on Vancouver Island.)
An Immature Bald Eagle Spat
Marty’s photo of the day #5176: I saw more bald eagles earlier this month on Vancouver Island than I have seen collectively in my entire life. I enjoyed shooting action photos as they interacted among themselves and other bird species. Here’s one of those shots, featuring two immature bald eagles in a spat over a […]
Herlequin Duck
It’s going to take a while for me to get an accurate count of the bird species I photographed earlier this month on Vancouver Island. There were so many! This is a harlequin duck.
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Marty’s photo of the day #5175: It’s going to take a while for me to get an accurate count of the bird species I photographed earlier this month on Vancouver Island. There were so many! This is a female Barrow’s Goldeneye.
Dall’s Porpoises
Marty’s photo of the day #5174: On my second morning of photographing orca whales from the beach in front of Deb’s and my Johnstone Strait campsite, I noticed two smaller marine mammals between me and the big orcas. I initially thought they were baby orcas. Later, when I reviewed my photos, I could see they […]
Waiting for the Whales
Shake a Tail Feather
Marty’s photo of the day #5173: “Hey! Chickie, chickie! Shake a tail feather!” A short-billed gull and a greater yellowlegs, photographed earlier this month on Vancouver Island.
A Wife-Approved Toilet Seat
Yesterday, I posted about a private campsite I found on the Johnstone Strait of Vancouver Island. The campsite was off to the side of the main campground and hidden by a thick wall of temperate rainforest. The only problem with the campsite was that if Deb or I wanted to use the outhouse, we’d have […]
Gulls in Flight
Marty’s photo of the day #5171: I enjoy photographing birds in flight. So many things have to go right to have a satisfactory image. When they are moving fast, like these glaucous-winged gulls, just getting them in frame is a challenge. (Photographed earlier this month on Vancouver Island.)
The Boss of Gulls and Ducks
Marty’s photo of the day #5170: I watched this great blue heron for parts of three days. She was the only great blue heron hanging out on the gravel beach in front of Deb’s and my Johnstone Strait campsite. The heron was particularly interesting to watch when the tide came in. She ruled a spit […]
The Perfect Campsite, or the Campsite from Hell?
When Deb and I explored Vancouver Island three years ago, we found two incredible campsites to pitch our tent at: one on the Johnstone Strait, and one on the Tsitika River. When we returned to Vancouver Island earlier this month, we hoped to return to both of those remote campsites as well as explore new […]
Birds at Sunset
Marty’s photo of the day #5169: It took some work to convince the birds to line up in the yellow stripe, but they eventually complied. (Photographed earlier this month on Vancouver Island.)
The Greedy Billionaire Baby Lie
While passing through Seattle on our way to Vancouver Island, Deb and I sat in a traffic jam. I was fuming. I like Seattle, but what had me upset was thinking about the huge push Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and other far-right billionaires are making to convince women to have more babies. Yeah, just what […]


















