Newsletter No. 13: July, 2006
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
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CONTENTS
Country Light Publishing proudly announces the release of the book The Bowron Lakes: A Guide to Paddling British Columbia’s Wilderness Canoe Circuit. This chain of lakes is consistently placed in the top 10 canoe trip’s in the world and attracts over 4,000 paddlers per year.
In this book, author Chris Harris has collaborated with long time guiding friends Jim Boyde and Dean Hull to bring together all of the experience, insight, and expertise currently available about the Chain. Together these three have guided over 250 commercial tours in the past 35 years and all are pioneers in wilderness adventure tourism.
This guide book contains:
- 10 maps describing every section of the Circuit
- 29 diagrams by artist Bill Horne on how to paddle the ‘Chute’, Cariboo River and other challenging sections
- 11 original illustrations by artist Claire Kujundzic of required paddling strokes
- Answers to all questions regarding weather, wildlife, campsites, portages, food & equipment, required canoeing and wilderness experience, and reservations & registration.
- Natural and cultural history by Syd Cannings and Jim Boyde.
The authors embody the single most comprehensive source of information and diverse experience available anywhere on the subject of paddling the Bowron Lakes.
Collectively they have:
- Guided over 250 Bowron Lake canoe tours
- Masters canoe instructor certification
- Wilderness first aid certification
- Olympic experience and over 25 years of teaching outdoor education
- 17 years of professional photography, publication of seven books, and a private gallery of fine art prints
The authors feel there is not a better guide book anywhere; this is a must-have for novice and veteran paddlers alike.
Order Information:
- Call 1-800-946-6622 or
- See www.chrisharris.com/bowron-lakes-guide/ for complete book details and on-line ordering.
2. The Story Behind the ImageAs this Newsletter commemorates the release of my first guide book, I thought it fitting to tell you about the creation of the cover image. The two most important things to notice are that the paddler looks like someone who knows how to paddle and that the canoe is actually moving; as shown by the ripples and the canoe’s wake. If you look closely at most recreation images, they seemed posed and thus static and unnatural. Canoe models are often placed in a stationary canoe and told to hold a certain position. The result is an artificial and unprofessional looking image. The paddler in this image is my friend and contributing author Jim Boyde, a certified ‘Master’ canoeist. Everything about his position and stroke, along with the canoe aspect, is correct and carried out with precision.
Misty Morning on Isaac Lake
Following the ice out in early spring when the days are long and the mountains snow-clad, Jim and I had set out on a photographic trip around the Bowron Lakes. Needless to say, I had both of us paddling solo (so I could photograph him) and in two classic cedar-canvas canoes – one red and one yellow! Up at the crack of dawn, we both headed out as the sun tried to burn its way through the morning mist.
The challenges of making an image such as this are many. Consider this: Jim’s canoe has to be moving; I have to keep up to him and position myself so that he is composed properly in relation to the snow covered mountain; I have to be standing up in my canoe in order to create a pleasing perspective; I have to choose the right lens to compose the image in a way that feels right; I have to think of the horizon line and make sure it is level; and I have to choose a shutter speed and aperture combination that will ensure a sharp canoe and enough depth of field to have the mountain in focus as well. On top of all that, I had to decide how much to over-ride the above combination to produce the perfect exposure. In this particular case I would have over-exposed this image by one f-stop. This is so that the yellow canoe remained bright yellow and the morning mist didn’t turn into a muddy middle toned grey. Early misty mornings have a light and airy delicacy about them and over exposure is the only way to maintain that feeling.
Finally there is the design of the book’s cover. I work with two wonderful artist friends; Clair Kujundzic and Bill Horne of Amazing Space Studio. Claire created the canoe illustrations within the book and Bill did all the map work, graphics and lay-up and design work. You will notice how the colour of the title is connected to that of the life-jacket, thus accentuating the image’s three primary colours – red, yellow and blue.
So there you have it! The book’s cover image looks simple enough but an amazing amount of energy, experience and thought went into its creation.
One last thought. I am presently working on a new Bowron Lake coffee-table book and its cover image was also made during that same half hour of morning magic. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when I publish it!!
3. Front Cover MonthLast month was a great one for me in terms of stock photography. For those of you who are not familiar with the term, ‘stock photography’ is when a photographer or their ‘stock agent’ sells the rights to a purchaser who wishes to use the copyrighted image for a specific purpose. If you check the magazine racks, tourism centers or their respective websites, you’ll see my images on the front cover of the following publications. If you pick up a copy of BC Magazine you will also see more of my images in their great article titled ‘In Praise of Parks’.
Outdoors Canada (cover not shown above): www.outdoorcanada.ca
4. A Two Hour Grasslands Adventure – Part IIIn Part I of this story, I described some of the antics of the male Barrow’s Goldeneye. Watching them defend territories, battle each other for a partner, and attack just about any other duck in sight through a 700mm focal length lens, was not only exciting, but extremely challenging from a photographic perspective. And although I was primarily there to photograph Goldeneyes, there seemed to be a myriad of happenings taking place all around me.
Coyote Roaming the Grasslands
© Chris Harris
Shutter speed: 1/500 sec; Aperture: 13Exposure mode: Av; ISO: 400
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Lens: 500mm; Focal length: 700mm
Marsh Hawk or Northern Harrier
© Chris Harris
Shutter speed: 1/800 sec; Aperture: 10Exposure mode: Av; ISO: 400
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Lens: 500mm; Focal length: 700mm
While taking a breather between Goldeneye outbreaks, I happened to look around and see a coyote stalking through the grass. I’m not sure what the coyote had in its sights, but my Goldeneye research friend Kim Jaatinen from the University of Helsinki, told me that black bears were also roaming the area, often climbing trees and scooping chicks from Goldeneye tree nests.
Minutes later a Harrier hawk swooped down over the small lake and after a quick reconnaissance, descended into the tall grass along the shore with its legs stretched out before it, ready to grab an unsuspecting chick or small vole-like creature.
Mountain Bluebird
© Chris Harris
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec; Aperture: 10Exposure mode: Av; ISO: 400
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Lens: 500mm; Focal length: 700mm
Marsh Wren
© Chris Harris
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec; Aperture: 10Exposure mode: Av; ISO: 400
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Lens: 500mm; Focal length: 700mm
Two hours and two gigabites of imagery later, Ordell and I quietly began to leave the shores of the lake and headed back toward the truck and camper. Foolishly, I began to think of coffee and breakfast! Suddenly, a little marsh wren landed on a reed right in front of me. It too seemed to be singing for its breakfast as I slowly raised my 500mm lens and made the above image. Finally, Ordell and I reached the truck and were chatting about the morning’s adventure, slowly putting our cameras away, when a beautiful Mountain Bluebird perched itself on a small pine tree directly in front of us. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I had worked so hard to capture my previous best bluebird image and now with his iridescent blue breast facing the sun and a glint in his eye, it just sat there waiting to be photographed!
Wow! What an amazing start to a day. We felt like we had been up for hours but when we finally did sit down to enjoy our coffee, it was only 8:30 in the morning!
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COUNTRY LIGHT PUBLISHING
Box 333, 108 Mile Ranch, British Columbia, Canada V0K 2Z0
Phone: 250 791-6631 Fax: 250 791-6671 Toll Free: 1-800-946-6622
E-mail: photography@chrisharris.com