It's almost startling, and certainly exhilarating, to emerge from the dense rain forest onto the open, sandy beaches of Pacific Rim National Park. Of the latter, Long Beach is the longest, which makes sense. Photographically speaking, I prefer some of the smaller beaches with rocky outcrops or headlands and the tide pool life there, but in every visit I walk Long Beach to see what I can do with the great, open spaces there.
On this day, a wide angle lens and tripod were my principle tools. Say what you will about the tripod being heavy and cumbersome, it remains the best way to achieve topnotch technical quality, utilizing the full range of shutter & f-stop combinations. It also allows for precise framing. You can study a scene through the viewfinder without feeling like your arms are about to fall off.
April is a great time to visit this park. The summer crowds have not yet arrived. You will see some people - including the local surfers if you hit the right beaches - but look at the vast expanse of beach in this image. I had it all to myself.
Photographed in Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, BC (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2015 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape vertical beach sand sandy water shore shoreline wet tidal waves Pacific Ocean beautiful wild nature coast coastal Long Beach Pacific Rim National Park Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2015
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This magnificent Western Redcedar is in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, although anyone living in coastal BC just calls it "Long Beach". I first visited the area in April 1973, so I have a long history of poking my lenses into its wonderful and diverse ecosystems. The sandy beaches and rocky intertidal zone are backed by dense temperate rain forest. So, beaches to walk, trails to hike, wildlife encounters always possible, winter storms that can be spectacular - it's a very special place.
As I recall, this forest giant was near a trailhead, which is why the trees behind it look thinly spaced. It was a long way down to the beach, but I was in no hurry: we see more when we move slowly through a landscape.
Tomorrow: another shot from the green, dense, lush, coastal rain forest.
Photographed in Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, BC (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2015 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Western Redcedar Thuja plicata tree conifer giant forest temperate rain forest vertical wild nature coast coastal along the trail Pacific Rim National Park Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2015
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A boardwalk cuts through dense West Coast rainforest near Tofino. This is succession forest, where Douglas Fir seedlings cannot grow in the shade of the parent trees, allowing Western Redcedar and Western Hemlock to take hold. Meanwhile, vines, shrubs, Sword Ferns, mosses, lichens, slime moulds, fungi, liverworts, and many other life forms thrive in the moist understory. Forest this dense and wet is almost impenetrable, as I discovered during my first visit to the area in 1973. My friend Monica and I tried bushwhacking and in an hour had progressed about 100 ft and were falling down in gales of laughter at our own helplessness. We stuck to the established trails after that.
Photographed in Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, BC (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2015 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape forest green temperate rain forest trail boardwalk trees ferns conifers wet moist lush dense fecund beauty wild nature Wow! Pacific Rim National Park Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2015
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Rising sun was turning the treetops red; everything else was blue. And I was the first person out on the beach, walking a long, long strip of sand toward Green Point with its rocks and tide pools.
Photographed at Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, BC. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2015 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape panorama pano blue water waves surf shore coast coastal trees rocky islands dawn light beautiful wild nature Long Beach PRNP Pacific Rim National Park Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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In a deep tide pool at Green Point. Tide was coming in, so I had to work fast, keeping one eye on the waves while setting up shots.
Photographed in Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, BC. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2015 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: anemone colony pink tide pool intertidal underwater beauty beautiful sea animal wild coast coastal nature shore Green Point Long Beach Pacific Rim National Park Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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