I recently returned from a multi-night camping trip on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia! We stayed at Ruckle Provincial Park, which has a walk-in campground with a stunning eastward view over the water. "Walk-in" literally means walk-in - we had to use a one-handled wheelbarrow to carry our gear the quarter mile from the car to the campsite. This would have been annoying for a shorter trip, but for three nights at the campsite, it felt worthwhile.
The scenic highlight of the trip might have been getting to see the full moon rise over the water. I hadn't checked any moon information before I left, so it was a pleasant surprise! Early in the trip, I noticed that the moon was nearly full, so I was ready with my camera gear for the images you'll see below on a subsequent night.
First, a composition with a narrow depth of field. I like the strong sense of depth in this one. F/6.3.
Here's another composition from the same vantage point, with a wider focal length and depth of field. It's not quite as striking in the small format of a computer or phone screen, but I think it would look good at a print size. F/14.
On our first morning on the island, I spent some time meandering the trails of Ruckle Provincial Park itself. I enjoyed being able to start a hike without a drive, and the trails visited a lot of outcroppings and bays with views over the water. The winds were somewhat breezy that morning; in this image, I tried to work with that by using a longer exposure to intentionally blur the grass. I think it works. F/18, 1/6 of a second.
Next, a view from another of the outcroppings, with Garry oak trees in the foreground. I have mixed feelings about the amount of empty sky at the top right, but zooming in further would have eliminated either the cool branch shapes at the top of the image, or the colorful madrone tree at the lower right, and I was simply too attached to both. F/14.
On the theme of madrones, here are two more landscapes featuring these trees, along with the coastal views characteristic of the park. Both F/16.
Next, a sunrise from my final morning at Ruckle. Processing sunrise shots is tricky; they always remain a work in progress until I am able to see them in print. I don't know whether this is an issue unique to my camera, but I've had issues with the brightest parts of a sunrise or sunset showing up as green once printed. F/14.
I also had some fun photographing the rocks on the shore just before sunrise. I'm not sure why the lighting ended up being so uneven, but I still like the picture. F/14.
While camping, we also took a quick trip to Mount Erskine Provincial Park, which features a short and occasionally steep/rough hike to a viewpoint. With the very bright conditions, I had trouble getting a lot of good shots, but I like the one below, looking toward Vancouver Island. The water color really was that striking. F/14.
That's all for now! I enjoyed the chance to take a longer trip, and to do photography in situations I usually don't - in a beach setting, at sunrise/sunset, and involving the moon. Hopefully I'll get the chance to try more new things this summer - stay tuned!
