The Maple Leaf Adventures Crew Photographers

Photos from the Trips

All photographs on this website were taken on Maple Leaf Adventures trips, by our crew/guides, with one or two possible exceptions.

Our multi-talented crew includes some excellent photographers, but the shots you see here are shots you could get, too. Our crew shoot their photos from the hip, in part to document your trip for you. There are no fancy set-ups, no waiting for days for the perfect conditions. We hope you enjoy their work, and the information below about who they are.

Brandon Harvey

Brandon is an expedition leader, as well as being a photography guide.

He’s been interested in whales and the ocean since childhood, which spurred his career in adventure tourism in British Columbia, the Arctic and the Antarctic.

His photography celebrates the wildest coasts in nature. You can view his photo website here.

Brandon’s shots were taken with his Canon EOS6D.

 

Grace Gladstone

Grace is a Maple Leaf captain as well as a developing photographer. She lives on Haida Gwaii with her husband.

Greg Shea

Greg is an expedition leader and captain as well as being the lead on the maintenance for the schooner Maple Leaf.

He grew up on Vancouver Island. While he has been a kayak guide in many parts of the world, his home has always been on the BC coast.

Greg is constantly amazed at the number and diversity of photo opportunities that occur on each Maple Leaf trip. His photos are regularly published in sailing magazines and other Canadian publications.

He shoots with a Nikon D750.

Jeff Reynolds

Jeff is a crew member on both ships.

He was stung by a jellyfish at an early age and this spurred his interest in marine biology, in which he holds a Bachelor’s degree.

He explores the world with his camera always at hand — whether he’s working on the ships, or surfing, kayaking, hiking or diving. You can view his photos on his Instagram feed.

Jeff shoots with a Nikon D600.

Jonny Bierman

Jonny is a writer, speaker and photographer with a strong interest in ecotourism, sustainable travel and adventure. His photographs and articles appear in outlets like Lonely Planet and GoPro, as well as on his web community at Eco Escape Travel.

You can view his photographs, video and story, published on Eco Escape Travel, from a Great Bear Rainforest trip here.

Kevin Smith

Kevin is an expedition leader, captain and president of Maple Leaf Adventures. 

He grew up on Salt Spring Island, BC, and has lived on our coast his whole life. He sometimes describes his role aboard as “watching sea and sky change color” and admits that when trying for that perfect shot of Swell or Maple Leaf at anchor with late evening light he has, on occasion, used a zodiac to swing the ship around to get the picture; a good example of the result now adorns the Swell ESB beer label.

Kevin enjoys getting beautiful wildlife and landscape or seascape shots, but he also enjoys illustrating people’s experience of the coastal wonders in his photographs. His photos have been published in Canadian Geographic and dozens of other newspapers, websites and magazines worldwide.

He shoots with a Canon EOS 7D. His go-to lens is Canon’s 70-200mm f/2.8L.

Mary Morris

Mary is a Maple Leaf Adventures naturalist.

She is a marine biologist and ecologist. She has documented the coastline of British Columbia and Alaska by camera for a massive project called ShoreZone.

She shoots with a Nikon Coolpix.

Phil Stone

Phil is a photography instructor on our photo trips.

Photography began as a childhood hobby and now he’s a professional photographer, writer and guide.

Phil lives on Quadra Island.  He is a mountain hiker and his photographs appear regularly in North American publications, especially adventure magazines. You can view his photo site here.

Phil’s photos were taken with a Nikon D7100.

Sherry Kirkvold

Sherry is a Maple Leaf naturalist.

Sherry is also a geographer, writer and editor, musician, and teacher. Sherry’s photography both celebrates the coast and educates people about it.

Sherry shoots with her Canon EOS 6D.

Simon Ager

After a career as a TV graphic artist and Visual FX artist, Simon moved into ocean conservation work, following his passion for nature and what lies beneath the waves. For more than a decade he’s worked with Sea Shephard on dozens of campaigns and is part of the Sea Legacy Collective whose goal is to help inspire conservation through their photography. We are fortunate that Simon also works as a crew member with Maple Leaf Adventures and shares photographs with us. View his stunning body of work here.

Tavish Campbell

Tavish is an expedition leader and Maple Leaf captain.

Tavish and his sisters grew up on a boat-access only part of remote Sonora Island. He has spent his life exploring the coastal sea and landscapes, as well as the Pacific ocean. You can view his photo site here.

He feels its important to bring the stories of all coastal species to light through photography and underwater videography. 

He shoots with a Nikon D610 and the lens he uses 90% of the time is a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8. For wildlife such as bears and whales he uses a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8

Another lens he always has onboard and is SO much fun on boats is a fisheye lens. His is a Sigma 15mm f/2.8. But with all this talk of lenses, he thinks it’s also important to say, “REMEMBER it doesn’t really matter how “good” your camera is, one can have tons of fun, be super creative, and take amazing photos on an iPhone!”