Drop us a line 2010 Trip Schedule
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by Paul Smith
Sometimes, when viewing wildlife, you get really lucky.
This year good luck seemed to follow us around the coast, as if each new ecosystem we visited was determined to one-up the last: Juan Perez Sound in Haida Gwaii absolutely teeming with feeding humpback whales oblivious to our presence; catching a tidal glacier at the peak of its calving and feeling the echoing boom of exploding ice in our chests; seeing a small salmon stream so packed with returning fish that there was literally more fish than water; watching and hearing an exuberant pod of orcas celebrate the playful cavorting of a new calf; and the highlight for me, having a mother grizzly feel so relaxed around us that she allowed her cub to nurse while we quietly watched from only a few dozen feet away in our shore boat.
A lot of what constitutes ‘good luck’ in photography, or wildlife viewing, can be chalked up to the serendipity of being in the right place at the right time (to say nothing of having remembered to charge your camera battery).
Rather than rely on fate, which can be disappointingly unreliable, I like to think that somehow, cultivating and acting on a sense of adventure, you are much more likely to be in that particular right place at what turns out to be the right time. What is just around that next corner or over the next hill?
I remember an evening this year in the Broughton Archipelago when a few of us clearly hadn’t had enough rain or bears for one day so we set out to try and find a foraging black bear while Lila put the finishing touches on another amazing supper. We soon found a bear and watched him in silence for a while but he wasn’t terribly interested in being our entertainment and soon left the beach.
As the light was falling, we decided to head back to the ship, but on a whim took the long way back via a dash up the nearby channel. Out of the gloom, as James and I matched speed in the boats, a pack of Dall’s Porpoises erupted from the glassy sea all around us. As we swerved back and forth they rewarded us with an amazing and up-close display of their speed and skill, until dusk drew its curtain and we headed home to the Maple Leaf. We had only a few grainy pictures to show to the others back on the ship, but our excitement and the grins on our faces lasted well into the next day.
I’ll take this opportunity to point out that it is not just coincidence (or luck!) that brings the Maple Leaf and these magic experiences close together. The places we visit, and the reason we return to them is all about their ecological health. Wild nature operating at full tilt delivers these kinds of opportunities. And that is something to feel thankful for at this time of year.
Amid all the gloom of network news and our collective economic hangover, and -- as I write this -- the failure of the elected elders of the global village to meet our expectations in Copenhagen, it is reassuring to know that at least in our small corner of the world there are still some truly special places that continue to thrive and inspire a sense of wonder.
As autumn gives way to winter I look forward with some anticipation to these longer, darker nights because they allow me guilt free time to revisit and edit the collection of pictures I’ve taken over the past year. It’s a daunting task, when the pictures number in the thousands, but the reward of reliving these precious moments is worth it. I’ve pulled together a small collection of some of my favourite pictures of 2009.
For those of you that joined us this year, I hope these images bring back as many great memories for you as they do for me.
For those who didn't, I hope you enjoy the beauty of the coast, illuminated in these year-end photos.
Please enjoy this slideshow of our highlights from 2009 and feel free to share them with your friends and family. Photography by Kevin Smith, James Warburton, Grant MacHutchon, and myself.
Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday, and an adventurous 2010!
Paul
Drop us a line 2010 Trip Schedule
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