2022 Calendar Photography of BC
2022 Calendar
Photography of BC
I thought it would be a great idea to write stories about each image in my 2022 calendar so that if you purchased one (or just want to read the stories) you have an intimate knowledge of how I arrived in the situation to take that particular photo. Let’s do them in order!
January 2022
This photo is from Princeton, the day before I broke down. Living in a van, I was always using the app iOverlander to look for parking spots for the night. There was a rest stop north of the Similkameen River, a few kilometres out of town along Old Hedley Rd. I got there and the pullout was buried in several feet of snow. Apparently they don’t plough rec sites in winter. The scenery was spectacular though, and I didn’t mind catching photos of the winter wonderland. That night I stayed near the Weyerhauser Plant. Less quaint but easier to get out of. That night the temperature dropped to -20 and my furnace and starter weren’t happy. There’s a video that I recorded but never ended up posting about the day my van broke down in Osoyoos. Maybe some day. This horse (and a few others) were on the way to the original rest stop. My purpose of going there was, obviously, to see the winter wonderland.
February 2022
Denman Island. In Google it’s described as: Island destination for picturesque nature views & a small community with a quiet village atmosphere. This is where I spent my birthday in 2021. Christin rented a studio and was there for a month. I took Armondo and drove there to have a roof and shower for a few days (and see my friend on my birthday!) Prior to this trip, I had always thought of Denman as the place that makes chocolate that you pass through on the way to Hornby Island. Both facts are still true but there’s more to it than that. We stayed on the north shore, looking at Hornby, and went on several little hikes/walks. This one was to the Gladstone Way Beach Access point, the beach apparently has no name that I can find. I could do a calendar with pictures from this area alone.
March 2022
Elfin Lakes! I absolutely love this location! Actually taken during fall of 2020. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone. I hiked up here with two friends, and learned that my hiking boots hurt my feet a lot. We saw a bear on the way back down, literally ON the path. We had to very carefully walk around him (or her) but he/she seemed happy eating berries and wasn’t bothered by us. The hut you see here was closed due to Covid, but the tent pads were spectacular, overlooking Garibaldi Park.
April 2022
During one of my trips to the Sunshine Coast, I happened to be dining at Canoe’s on the waterfront in Sechelt at Davis Bay. The sky started doing this pink thing and I ran to grab my camera from the van. I’m so glad I did! I may have put an excessive amount of sunsets in this calendar, but, I like them. I’ve since started using this particular sunset in other images and making interesting pixelated versions of the sky. I may do a blog post about that at some point in the future.
May 2022
Welcome to the “hidden waterfall” at Sombrio Beach. My cousin Junne sees a man in a hat in this picture. Hi Junne 👋🏻 Despite the fact that it is listed in Google, I may not have found it had it not been for a couple I met along the way, who hiked with me to the beach and knew where the waterfall was. It is almost identical to a waterfall in Iceland that I saw in 2019 called Gljufrabui! I should probably do a calendar of Iceland, or at least a blog post. I don’t actually think I’ve even finished looking at all my pictures from Iceland.
June 2022
Birches in Northern BC. Imagine my surprise and delight to see hundreds of kilometres of birch trees along our bike route last summer! This was one of the first photos taken on the “great cycle trip of 2021” from Prince George to Watson Lake, YT. I can’t tell you how happy they made me. I have more images of these trees than I care to admit, let’s just say I’m glad it was digital so I didn’t have to carry extra “film”.
July 2022
Klein Lake at Sunset. This is a bit of a magical spot, and I wouldn’t post it except I don’t think all that many people read my blogs (due to extremely infrequent posting). In any case, I love how the sunset reflects in the water. I like the lens flare. It’s kind of a cool peaceful sunset. I’m surprised that no one was in the lake at that moment. Maybe I should have jumped in. This was taken during one of my van adventures on the Sunshine Coast.
August 2022
The Pine Pass, in the Hart Ranges of the Northern Rockies of British Columbia, connects the Peace Country of the province’s Northeastern Interior. If you look on my Instagram you will see Bijoux Falls. I’ll never forget seeing the windy road snake uphill from the beginning of the pass. Oof. This is our reward for cycling up and over our first pass, Lake Azouzetta. Also the second and final calendar photo from the Epic Bike Trip of 2021 with Christin. I’m lucky I managed to arrive in time to see this. I left late that afternoon, and rolled into the campground moments before sunset.
September 2022
Here we are, back in the van (Armondo) after the bike trip, and heading back south through the Okanagan because I had to return bike gear to someone I borrowed it from. Obviously I stopped at this lookout over Kamloops Lake to enjoy the epic landscape and sunset. You can barely see it in the picture, but there’s a train on the opposite side of the lake, creeping around the north side. Coming from a rainforest, I really appreciate the arid landscape of this region. Since all this driving around, we had that storm in November which wiped out the Coquihalla, a road I frequented. I’m eternally grateful I got to experience the province so intimately.
October 2022
Sunset from Cortes Island looking over at Vancouver Island. Also the cover shot. I don’t think I would ever be able to figure out what mountain this is, but I know it’s in Strathcona Provincial Park on the Island. Never having been on Cortes before, I’ve never seen this angle of those mountains. The sun set just to the right of the peaks. Let me know if you want to see that picture. This will also prove to me that people occasionally read my posts 😁
November 2022
Oh look, a sunset. This one is at Jordan River on the west coast of Vancouver Island. This is another spot I have a bajillion photos of. Also taken during my #vanlife phase, all of the campgrounds were covid closed on the circle route from Lake Cowichan through Port Renfrew to Sooke. I drove past this point a few times (see this blog post image) and saw vans parked there. Eventually I pulled over and parked there. People were having a fire on the beach and everyone was really friendly! I made some overnight friends, and when the sun set, the tide was out, and I ran out with both cameras to capture both wide and close up shots of nature and lumps of sand (and reflections, obviously).
December 2022
This was taken in September 2021, on the Sunshine Coast. I was working for Hipcamp as a photographer, and I went to “Christian Park” where this man has spent the last ten years landscaping a gorgeous plot of land, and building this cabin. The sky cleared and I was there alone so I sat outside on the lawn for a good 30 minutes taking various photos of the milky way. This was my last month of vanlife, and probably one of the last trips I went on in Armondo. I returned home shortly after and sold him the following month.
Happy visitors on the beach. You can find remains of the village everywhere along the shore, ceramic pieces from dishes, beads, metal items and much more.
Once we arrived back at the hotel, we were treated to a fine meal at the Ha’me Restaurant in the hotel. I also got to photograph both the restaurant, food and staff.
