St. Andrews By-The-Sea.

It’s a long weekend here in Canada. Victoria Day is tomorrow and a holiday for most, which means that it is the unofficial start of summer. My family tends to be spontaneous with vacation plans, so I’m not sure what our plans are for tomorrow or the rest of summer, but most likely at some point between tomorrow and Labour Day we will make a visit to St. Andrews.

St. Andrews by-the-sea

Known as St. Andrews by the sea, it’s a small community sitting on the shores of the Passamaquoddy Bay which is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy. With a population of less than 2000 this small town offers an abundance of subjects to photograph. The shops on Water Street have local art, handcrafts and maritime souvenirs. The beaches can be clay, sand, small rocks or sandstone. Most of the beaches also have a wide variety of shore birds.

Sea Anemone – Huntsman Marine Aquarium

St. Andrews is located on a peninsula so you can shoot along the water throughout the entire day. My family camped last year and loved that I could shoot sunrise and sunset over the water all in one day and in the same area. Along with the coastline and shops some of the other sites I would recommend are;  Ministers Island, which you can only access by driving across the ocean floor during low tide, whale watching, Kingsbrae Garden and the Huntsman Aquarium.

Old weirs on the Passamaquoddy Bay

For a small town that is only about a mile long and half mile wide there is plenty to see for just about any age. If you’ve never been to the Maritimes and are looking for an introduction, St. Andrews might be the place to start.

The Strait and Narrow

Parlee Beach is located along the Northumberland Strait and sits on the eastern shore of New Brunswick. It is one of the big attractions in the town of Shediac for the locals and tourist. They say it’s the warmest saltwater for swimming north of Virginia, but I’m sure it’s all relative. No matter what anyone says, I wasn’t going swimming with a wind-chill of minus 3 when I visited a few weeks ago. Despite the cold temperatures it was an impressive view of the Northumberland Strait and the incredible beach. If you are going to swim in the Atlantic Ocean this is likely one of the best locations in New Brunswick, but July or August might make it a little more enjoyable.

When The Well Runs Dry

Most photographers have a favourite subject. For some it’s portraits, others flowers and for some it’s landscapes. Water, especially the ocean has become the magnetic attraction for me. I’m fascinated by the way the ocean shapes the coastline, the sound of the waves and how a sunrise reflects off it. There is something peaceful, yet so powerful and at the same time fragile about water.

Today, April 22nd is Earth Day. As I’ve thought about the day and what it means, I started thinking over the decisions I make everyday and what else I can do to help with the issues we are dealing with. I won’t get into the debate of whether climate change is real, however there are other challenges relating to the environment that are undeniable. Being concerned about the environment isn’t just about climate change, the trees in rain forest or wildlife it’s also about people. As important as the issues in the Amazon and the loss of wildlife habitat are, the challenges with respect to water are just as great, if not greater.

Some statistics to consider….

Over 1.5 billion people do not have access to clean, safe water.

Almost 4 million people die each year from water related diseases.

The average toilet uses 6-8 litres of clean water in a single flush.

At any one time, more than half the world’s poor are ill due to inadequate sanitation, water or hygiene.

It takes over 11,000 litres of water to produce a pound of coffee.

Half the world’s schools do not have access to clean water, nor adequate sanitation.

It takes about 300 litres of water to make the paper for just one Sunday newspaper.

Agriculture is responsible for about 70% of the world’s water usage. Industry uses a further 22%.

443 million school days are lost each year due to water related illness.

On average, women in Africa and Asia have to walk 3.7 miles to collect water.

It takes up to 5000 litres of water to produce 1kg of rice.

80% of all illness in the developing world comes from water born diseases.

Drilling a fresh water well can cost anything from a few hundred dollars to over $40,000.

Over 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation.

90% of waste-water in developing countries is discharged into rivers or streams without any treatment.

About 1.8 million child deaths a year are due to diarrhea.

An 18 litre can of water weighs 20 kilos.

About half the world’s hospital beds are occupied by someone with a water related illness.

A five minute shower in an American household will use more water than a person living in a developing world slum will use in a whole day.

A third of the people without access to clean water live on less than a dollar a day. More than two thirds live on less than two dollars a day.

Water consumption in a US household is eight times that of an Indian household.

In India alone, water born diseases cost the economy 73 million working days per year.

In sub-Saharan Africa a child’s chance of dying from diarrhea is over 500 times greater than in Europe.

Approximately 2.5 billion people lack access to appropriate sanitation facilities.

About 1.2 billion people have absolutely no access to a sanitation facility.

In a typical year in Africa 5–10 times the number of people die from diarrhea than from war.

Simply washing hands can decrease the chance of diarrhea by around 35%.

Global sales of bottled water account for over $60-$80 billion each year.

A child dies of water born diseases about every 15 seconds (that’s about 12 children just since you started reading this article). By this time tomorrow, another 2,500 will be dead.

As little as one dollar can provide clean water for a child in the developing world for an entire year.

SOURCE: http://matadornetwork.com/change/40-shocking-facts-about-water/

We have had a few boil orders recently in my town and it’s made me realize how much I take water for granted at times. It’s so easy to go the sink, turn the tap, and magically water appears. When a pipe breaks or water levels become low and we can’t drink the water from the local reservoir, we feel so inconvenienced with having to get into our cars and drive to the store to buy a bottle. My inconveniences are minuscule compared to those in the developing world.

When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water. – Benjamin Franklin

If you are interested in helping or learning more about water issues, below is a list of organizations you might want to consider. For those who are not in a place financially to sponsor or give right now that’s OK, because as much as we need people to be reactive to the situations around the world, more of us (including me) need to be proactive in preventing some of the issues in the first place. Hopefully as you read through the list above you’ve thought of a few ways to share the water we have with those who really need it.

http://www.one.org/international/

http://www.worldvision.org/

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

http://www.charitywater.org/

http://thewaterproject.org/

Time Well Spent.

What’s that saying about March? In like a lion, out like a lamb…. The lion carried over into parts of April I think. Life’s been a little hectic here lately, I’ve missed several weeks of blogging and reading my favourite blogs. Our kids have had my wife and I hopping. Gymnastics, hockey and fencing tournaments  put us on the road a lot the past month. The sports are now done for the summer and there a few more trophies on the mantle, so it’s all been time well spent with the family.

Here on the East Coast of Canada the snow is melting and what’s left is pretty dirty, the grass is brown and the potholes in the road are swallowing cars. The drive the grocery store is now an Olympic event; The Slalom pothole road race. Spring has sprung. With all of this going on I’ve stayed pretty close to home, but that’s been a good thing. I’ve found a few new areas to explore while I’ve revisited some familiar places.

I was out yesterday morning for a walk on the beach by my house and although it was misty and grey I came home really inspired because I found a new part of the coastline with a tremendous view of a two small islands that I’m anxious to revisit when the weather cooperates. Even though I haven’t been able to get away on a road trip for a while, the last few weeks have been good for me and my photography. It’s forced me to slow down, get creative and think outside the box. I feel re-energized with a new sense of excitement.

I’m looking forward to the rest of spring and summer and a few day trips in the coming months but for the next few weeks I’ll continue enjoy the sights close to home. Sometimes a stay-cation can be just as beneficial as a vacation.

“Torrent”

Finding The Common Uncommon

In the early the days of my photography I had a long list of places that I wanted to visit with the hopes of creating a famous iconic image. As I studied and read the books of my favourite photographers like Galen Rowell, Frans Lanting and Freeman Patterson I marvelled at the photographs they took in places like Nepal, the Amazon and all over Africa. As the novelty of my home town started to wear off I found myself making a list of places where I wanted to go to create a “one of a kind” masterpiece. I envisioned photos of the Rain Forest, Icebergs, or maybe the Spirit Bear of the Pacific Coast. These places are still on my to-do list, but in recent years I’ve come to realize that there is still so much more to see in my own backyard.

Sleep With One Eye Open

Last Saturday I went out for an early morning trek but I just couldn’t seem to find a subject that inspired me. I was looking for something extraordinary, but the weather wasn’t cooperating and I just couldn’t get focused on exactly what it was I was looking for. Eventually, I decided to drive to a local park called Rockwood Park in the city. I stopped at a lake and spent close to an hour watching and taking photographs of the ducks that live around the pond and the park. The lake that they usually swim in was mostly frozen except for one tiny area. I opened up the hatch of my car and stood under it to protect me from the rain and with my camera on my tripod I took somewhere in the range of a 100 shots of the mallards as they huddled together on the ice and occasionally visited the open water in the lake.

Like Water Off A Ducks Back

I’ve likely taken several hundred photographs of ducks over the past 20 years since I bought my first camera. If I were to count my slides and the images on my computer I’m pretty confident that the mallard would be the most popular subject in my portfolio of wildlife. A couple of years ago I took a photograph of two ducks in the Kennebecasis River swimming and bobbing up and down while looking for food. I was fortunate to get a shot while these two birds put their tails in the air and heads in the water. If the Olympic synchronized swimming judges were watching they would have given them a perfect 10. It’s become one of my favourite images of all time. While I took the photographs of the ducks on the lake a few days ago I quickly realized that the common things we see everyday can offer many opportunities for uncommon images.

Synchronized Swimming

Parents, if you have taken you children to the beach, you have no doubt come home with a pocket (or pockets) full of rocks. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I take my kids down to walk on the beach along the ocean we still come home every time with a pocket full of rocks. Every visit gives them the chance to get down and dirty on hands and knees to study the rocks and sometimes creatures on the ocean floor and beach. To them each visit is unique and provides a new opportunity to find that unique (or uncommon) “treasure”. With each of the new rocks I’m handed I’ll admit, my first thought is “it’s just like all the others.” It’s round AND HEAVY; but not to them, each one is special because they took the time to find it. So just because I visit the same place over again it doesn’t mean that there isn’t some unique to see on each trip. When I look at the collection of rocks on my deck I’m reminded that I need to pay more attention to the details and look a little closer at things like my children do. Perhaps I’ll bring home more treasures like the ones they find.

One Man’s Trash…

I was in middle school in the mid 80′s when one day I threw a wrapper on the floor in a hallway. Unfortunately for me, I did it in front of a teacher without realizing it. That day I spent my lunch-hour picking up garbage around the yard with much embarrassment. It wasn’t until many years later that I realized just how valuable of a lesson it was. In my early days of learning photography I spotted this beautiful lake with an early morning fog lifting during sunrise. When I got back the prints I quickly realized that the horizon was not straight and the sky washed out; however that’s not what bothered me the most about this photo. If you look in the lower left corner you’ll see the cup from a fast food restaurant that likely got thrown out a car window and blew into the grass. That’s what ruined the picture for me. Suddenly I had a flashback to that day in middle school and I realized how important the lesson was my that teacher taught me about putting garbage in its place.

This past week I received an email from a friend introducing me to a new movie called Midway which is schedule to premier later this year. (Please take the four minutes to watch the trailer, it’s worth it). I have watched it several times now and still can’t believe the stark contrast in the images and video that Chris Jordan has captured. Some of the photos are so beautiful, yet many of them very disturbing and demonstrate the horrific damage that garbage is having on the wildlife in our oceans. I’ve seen trash many times during my walks along The Bay of Fundy and Atlantic Ocean. It’s quite common to see coffee cups, broken glass, plastic bottles, fishing buoys and other trash lining the beach. I’ve also seen the images and videos of animals and fish injured or killed by trash that is in our coast waters. I’ve watched the documentaries where they empty the contents of a shark’s stomach and then display the trash from it. So the movie by Chris Jordan just adds to the visual evidence which demonstrates the man-made catastrophe we’ve created in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. In addition to the Pacific we also have the garbage patches in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. We now have a real mess on our hands. (Visit Howstuffworks.com to learn more about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch).

This past Saturday morning I left the house early to go and watch the sunrise in a small community on the west side of the city. Although I didn’t come home with as many keepers as I hoped for I did discover a few beautiful locations to keep in mind for future reference. After about 20 minutes of shooting the sunrise I wandered around a fishing dock and waited for the sun to rise through the clouds in hopes some God-Beams would appear. It turned out that there were no God-Beams on this day but I did see a few seabirds and what I think were red necked grebes swimming around the area. As I walked around I noticed that the dock was covered with lobster elastics and they were collecting along the cracks in the ties and other pieces of garbage littered the beach. Suddenly I had visions from Chris Jordan’s documentary and little bird bellies full of plastic and other trash.

Over the past 5 or 6 years I’ve been involved with an organization called ACAP (Atlantic Coastal Action Program) in Saint John. The purpose of ACAP is to help restore damaged coastal areas while focusing on water quality, air, land, and wildlife issues. My primary involvement has been with assisting and organizing beach cleanups. The last few years I’ve participated in 2 annual cleanups, one in May and one in September. It’s been encouraging to see the change from one year to the next, and we are noticing that there is less garbage with each year of the cleanup. While all of this is positive I’ve been reminded in recent weeks that there is still lots of work to do and we need to continue to educate on the problem of the trash in and around our waterways. I know most of you reading this are nature photographers and I’m sure you have seen areas filled with litter near your hometowns while out shooting. This is likely as frustrating for you as it is for me. As April approaches and we prepare for Earth Week events please consider donating your time to a beach or park cleanup in your town. If you are looking for a cleanup to take part in you might want to visit http://www.oceanconservancy.org/ or contact a local environmental organization like Ducks Unlimited for information on any events in your area, or you can organize your own. Bringing home the perfect image from a beach or a park is a great feeling but there is something uniquely special about helping to cleanup the environment so others can appreciate it as well. By picking up another man’s trash you might just save some wildlife too.

“Morning Glory”

Have you ever found something but hadn’t realized it was ever lost in the first place? Like finding money in the pocket of a coat that you haven’t worn in a while? Last week it happened to me while I was editing some photographs and I found this image. I captured this sunrise on an early morning trip to a place called Cape Spencer in Saint John, just on the edge of the city (literally). The area provides some incredible views of The Bay of Fundy and on a clear day the outline of the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia can be seen. This particular day everything cooperated so well; the clouds, a minimal amount of haze or fog and I was there at the right time to see the sun break over the clouds.

Photo was taken with a Canon 50D and an EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens extended to 135mm for 1/25 of a second @ f22 and ISO 100.

There Is No Such Thing As Bad Weather

“There is no such thing as bad weather, there is only bad gear”.

This was some of the best advice I have ever received with respect to being a photographer. I met BBC and National Geographic photographer Ian Kellett while assisting with Alexandra Cousteau’s Expedition Blue Planet in 2010 on their visit to New Brunswick. Ian wanted to visit Deer Island in October on a very cold and damp day and I don’t remember exactly what I said when he asked about going but obviously it had something to do with the weather conditions based on his response.

I was reminded again this week how good Ian’s advice was. The Maritimes have been experiencing a week-long cold snap. It’s been so cold that schools have kept kids in for lunch and some schools have cancelled classes all together. The temperatures have been near or below -20 Celsius (-30 with the wind chill) which has been a similar temperature to places like Iqaluit in Nunavut. It was actually warmer this week in Whitehorse in the Yukon than here in New Brunswick.

Fortunately the cold weather has brought an upside. The mornings on The Bay of Fundy have produced a week of some of the most spectacular sunrises I’ve ever seen. As the cold air moved across the normally colder water, it has created a lot of very heavy sea fog or sea smoke as it is sometimes called. I decided that I would venture out on a few mornings to see what I could record with my camera. Of the two days of shooting, the image below of Partridge Island is my favourite. To provide some scale, Partridge Island is approximately 24 acres in size and the lighthouse stands about four storeys tall. In some places the fog reached close the height of the base of the lighthouse.

“The Cold And The Beautiful”

It was likely one of the coldest weeks in recent years that I’ve gone shooting. The two days I went out to try and get a shot of Partridge Island it was so cold that even with a hat and two hoods it was only tolerable to be out of about ten to fifteen minutes at a time. I found that I was short of breath after climbing a couple of flights of stairs to shoot this image.

During my twenty years of photography winter has likely presented the most challenges and the temperatures have been some of the most difficult situations to shoot in. Ian was right; your gear and clothing can make all the difference between getting the shot or not.

Memories of 2012

Before I close out 2012 I thought I would share some of my favourite images from the past year. A couple of you might recognize some of them from previous post, but a few images might be new to you as well. It was fun reminiscing about road trips and the great times I had with my family while putting this post together. Hard to believe the year is over, but I guess as they say, time flies when you are having fun.

Hope you enjoy.

Evening Tide – Duck Cove, New Brunswick

Bladder Wrack – Saint John, New Brunswick

East Quoddy Lighthouse on Campobello Island. Photograph taken from Deer Island, New Brunswick.

Sunset and Fishing Weirs – Campobello Island, New Brunswick

Weir and Seaweed – Mclaren’s Beach, New Brunswick

Sunset and Seagull – Campobello Island, New Brunswick

Sunset, Seagulls and Sandstone – St. Andrews, New Brunswick

Seagull at Sunrise – St. Andrews, New Brunswick

The Lookout – Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick

Piping Plover on The Passamaquoddy – St. Andrews, New Brunswick

Harbour and Grey Seals on the rocks – Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick

Fall Breeze – Saint John, New Brunswick

Morning Flare – Red Head, New Brunswick

Angel on the Ocean – Red Head, New Brunswick

Cold and Turning Blue – Seaside Park, New Brunswick

Quaco Head Light House – St. Martins, New Brunswick

Seaside and Snow – Seaside Park, New Brunswick

Haggertys Cove – New River, New Brunswick

Radiance – Black Beach, New Brunswick

Glen Falls – Saint John, New Brunswick

Little Girls First Paddle – Long Reach, New Brunswick

The Bay of Fundy in Action – Duck Cove, New Brunswick

Happy New Year! – Saint John Harbour, New Brunswick

Happy New Year

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I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best in 2013! I would also like to say thank you for all your kind words, comments and encouragement over the past 12 months.

I thought for my first blog in 2013 I would share a few images that I’ve taken over the past month and include some inspirational quotes to help get your year off to a good start.

Hope you enjoy.

“The cure for anything is salt water – tears, sweat, or the sea.”
― Isak Dinesen

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
― Oscar Wilde

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” Carl Bard

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
Charles R. Swindoll

“Can you see God? You haven’t seen him? I’ve never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind, but I’ve never seen the wind. There’s a mystery to it.” Billy Graham