Art and Life

It’s storm season on Vancouver Island’s west coast. A time of high seas, high wind, visual high drama. A time that’s difficult to photograph due to all the wind, rain and salty sea spray, but can be so very, very rewarding.

While walking out onto the flat expanse of sand that is Chesterman Beach, I was stopping intermittently to photograph the stunning array of clouds looming over the diminished landscape of rain forest and distant breakers. Too intent on the frame at hand, I noticed the advancing shallow wave only as it nearly lapped at my feet. On my third hasty step of retreat, I bumped into something, which yelped, retreated, then circled around to my side as the wave receded.

Sometimes, a frame just presents itself. The dog, the sun, the clouds, the beach, the distant Islands, attached to the mainland by a wide bar of sand at low tide. I barely took a step to line this shot up. And on the fourth frame, the dog obliged further by striking the perfect pose.

Magic.

Then his human called, and he exited.

But I had been there, fortunate to have camera in hand, already setup for the extreme light conditions, and the presence of mind to recognize the opportunity and grab it.