📍 Seal Bay, near Comox, British Columbia, Canada ⧉
As I worked my way closer to this bald eagle, I had one composition in mind: I wanted the larger of the peaks of the BC mainland, across the Strait of Georgia, to sit perfectly behind the bird, creating a frame around the bird. I took a few frames along the way as insurance, knowing full well that no bird waits around for photographers. Sure enough, before I could reach the exact spot I had envisioned, it launched into the air. Looking back, I'm glad I trusted my instincts and kept shooting.
Bald eagles are one of Canada's most recognizable birds of prey, and Vancouver Island is one of the best places in the world to see them. They often choose exposed perches like this one to scan for fish, waterfowl, and carrion. Their eyesight is extraordinary, allowing them to spot prey from remarkable distances, and despite their imposing appearance, they frequently steal food from other birds rather than catching it themselves. With the rugged Coast Mountains rising behind them, it's a reminder of just how wild this stretch of British Columbia really is.
From a composition standpoint, this image came very close to what I had imagined. Placing the eagle off-centre gives it room to look into the frame, while the distant mountain peaks provide a natural backdrop without competing for attention. Shooting at 300mm compressed the perspective, making the mainland mountains appear much closer to the eagle than they really are across the Strait of Georgia. The smaller aperture of ƒ/11 helped keep both the eagle and the distant landscape reasonably defined despite the long focal length, while the fast shutter speed froze any movement in the bird as it watched the landscape around it.
From andyeverson.com
Growing up, I absolutely LOVED playing with toys. In fact, I was thoroughly obsessed with them! They fueled my imagination and encouraged me to read and do research in the school library. My toys pushed me to become fascinated with historical wars, dinosaurs, castles and space exploration. One type of toy that I never found, however, was anything that had to do with my own Kwakwaka’wakw background. On the occasional instances where Indigenous people were represented in toys, they invariably fell under the “Cowboys and Indians” genre, not the “Totem poles and Potlatching” kind of Indian. I could never find toys that really mirrored who I was. As a result, I never really started researching my own people until I had put my toys away as a teenager. As a devout researcher now, however, I am more than happy to project some real Indigenous context onto the toys of my childhood.
As a young child, my partner Erin Brillon was bestowed with the Haida name Ḵalga Jaad, or “Woman-of-Ice”. This name is also currently held by Erin’s maternal grandmother, Evelyn. The name is an important ancestral prerogative that has been in the lineage since the time of the last glaciation. The very first Ḵalga Jaad lead her people to the south to escape the encroaching ice age. Passed down through the generations, this name follows the Haida matrilineal system in going to the first born females of the lineage. Before Evelyn the name was held by Erin’s 6x-great-grandmother Ḵalga Jaad, sometime around the time of first contact with Europeans.
Snowbirds by Combat Camera / Caméra de combat
Via Flickr:
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds, Canada’s air demonstration team, perform their last show for the Comox Valley April 24, 2010. Les Snowbirds,
