Newsletter No. 9: March 2006
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
CONTENTS
1. Grasslands Awareness Project: Exploring Churn Creek Canyon – Part IIIn Newsletter #7, Part I, I left you overlooking Churn Creek Canyon where Mike Duffy and I had lunch. It was here we promised ourselves we had to descend to the creek to explore the canyon floor.
Crossing Churn Creek
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; ISO: 400,
Lens: 17 to 35mm @ 17mm,
F9 @ 1/160 sec., Exp. Comp: +1/3It was about 30 degrees Celsius when we headed off with full packs, ready to camp overnight and photograph. We choose our route, and slowly made our way down 2000 feet of loose rock and steep terrain. We got to within a few feet of the creek but discovered that the remaining few feet was a 30 foot cliff directly above the creek itself. We could not access the valley floor to cross the creek. In disbelief we looked at each other realizing we had to climb all the way back up to the grasslands and start again on a different route. Fortunately for us (we were exhausted) we eventually accessed the creek and were able to cross and enjoy a well-deserved supper.
Canyon Walls
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; ISO: 100,
Lens: 70 to 200mm @ 70 mm,
F16 @ 1/25 sec., Exp. Comp: -1
There wasn’t much energy left that evening but we explored and photographed as much as we could. This image was the view downstream from where we slept under the stars. Our only concern was falling rocks during the night!
Canyon Light
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; ISO: 100,
Lens: 28 to 70mm @ 62 mm,
F22 @ 1/13 sec., Exp. Comp: -1
It was a cloudy night, but next morning we were up early and took advantage of a brief period of sunshine and blue sky. The low light created deep shadows and high contrast in the Canyon. This was what I was hoping for so as to bring out the powerful shapes, dynamic colours and rich textures. Needless to say I want to return to the canyon, but this time under a clear sky with a full moon!
Our most unforgettable moment of the trip took place on the way to our vehicles. It also led to my most powerful image. I’ll share that with you next newsletter!
2. The Bowron Lakes: The End of an Era, Part IIIThis is the conclusion of the story about my last guided Bowron Lake canoe tour. In fact it is the story about the Last Light, on the Last Night of the Last Trip.
The last day was stormy as we fought the wind on the way to our last campsite situated on Bowron marsh. This is a favourite campsite of mine because it overlooks a spectacular wetland backdropped with the peaks of McCabe’s Ridge. Here we often see moose and usually a tremendous variety of birds. There is often dramatic light in the evening here as well, but tonight was stormy and all I was hoping for my clients was a rainbow – a final grand image to end a memorable trip with.
Last Light I
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; ISO: 200,
Lens: 28 to 135mm @ 132 mm,
F10 @ 1/10 sec., Exp. Comp: -1/3
We were laughing and sharing stories around the fire, celebrating our trip, when all of a sudden a brilliant shaft of light caught my eye. I jumped up and ran for my camera yelling "light, light". Miraculously, a small opening in the dark clouds suddenly allowed a stream of warm light to land directly on a narrow band of red pine-beatle infested lodgepole pine trees. In contrast to the stormy dark sky, the deep red was brilliant. With cameras in hand we all started shooting with great excitement. Then the light began to shift and within minutes, it caught the peaks of a neighbouring ridge, reflecting its magic onto the pond before us.
Last Light II
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; ISO: 400,
Lens: 28 to 135mm @ 70 mm,
F10 @ 1/8 sec., Exp. Comp: -1/3
A minute later it was gone. It was the Last Light, on the Last Night of the Last Trip. What an incredible way to end an era of guiding over 100 canoe tours around the Bowron Lakes. Inside I felt elated and content.
I will of course return myself to the Bowron Lakes. It is a place filled with amazing memories – experiences I have shared with so many wonderful people. To all of you who have shared them with me; I say thank you.
3. What’s New at the Chris Harris Gallery: Book Launch
Once again we are pleased and proud to host a book release celebration.
Written by Harold Rhenisch, illustrated by Tom Godin, Winging Home: A Pallet of Birds, is the story of a love affair with the birds, the Cariboo, and the incomparable light up here on the Plateau.
". . . I have observed that each species of birds lives on a parallel earth. Some of them are worlds of pure blue light, some of them are intricate contraptions of wood and grass, bound together with thought and aimed at the sun, to catch it and turn it into sound".
Harold Rhenisch is a poet, a novelist and essayist who in this rare book; described as an audacious literary tightrope act; has brought these disciplines together with a passion for beauty and an eye for the humorous in the daily life of birds.
Tom Godin has illustrated the book with drawings that would never make an Audubon publication. They are described by Tom as "bird extrusions" because anything fed into an obsession can’t help but come out changed.
But for the result to be successful, the obsession has to have been a life-long one and it has to be manifested by minute attention to detail, technical skill and irreverent humour. All of these are Tom’s stock-in-trade and the result is brilliant. The original works are on display and for sale at the event.
Please join us here at the Chris Harris Studio Gallery at 5577 Back Valley Road at 105 Mile Ranch on March 3rd at 7:30 pm. for what promises to be an evening of shared delights – as Harold performs his own work, and Tom exhibits and speaks about his two favourite passions: birds and art.
