Professional Photography Confessions
The true confessions of a photographer, “I screwed up”! How is that for a statement? Actually, I didn’t screw up big time but a recent incident made me fully aware of potential issues with our modern digital cameras and, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me! I thought I would [...]
What did I photograph on my fall trip to France? Protests…
Having travelled for many years throughout the world I wasn’t really expecting much when I booked a flight to France and Spain for late September. Over here in North America there has been the odd snippet about unrest in much of Europe but I really hadn’t paid much attention to the news… until I booked [...]
Photographic Reflections
Reflections are all around us and make an excellent subject to photograph. Sometimes the reflections are of a specific subject, perhaps a tree or a building. Other times the reflection will be an abstract in itself; for example light sources or cloud formations. We can easily shoot reflections as an abstract image or as a [...]
Aircraft Pinups and Decorative Art
I spent Saturday at the Palm Springs Air Museum visiting their extensive collection of flying and stationary aircraft. For aviation fans the Palm Springs Air Museum must rank up there with some of the best, definitely worth a visit. Many of the aircraft are WWII vintage and have the traditional nose art, cockpit art and [...]
Battery Point Lighthouse, Crescent City, California
The Battery Point Lighthouse is located in Crescent City, California near the Northern California and Oregon border. The Battery Point Light was first lit in 1856 and later automated in 1953. As with so many of the Oregon and California lighthouses, Battery Point is very picturesque, especially as dusk settles on the region. The coastline [...]
Photography, internet access and rain
I’ve been spending the past five days on the southern Oregon coast and the weather has been very seasonal for the area; lots of rain with the added excitement of high winds. On top of this, no internet access! Is this good? Life isn’t too bad. I used to camp in small tents and once [...]
What’s coming up in 2010?
2009 turned out to be a busy year for us at Kevin Oke Photography. I was very fortunate to photograph many different events and festivals, much of the natural beauty of the area and it seems almost anything else that happened locally. Trips to California and Washington and a large amount of boating local waters [...]
Flying to Bamfield
I had the opportunity to fly with a great fellow to the west coast Vancouver Island town of Bamfield yesterday. It was purely a flight for enjoyment but I also used the journey as an “aerial photography test” to see whether photographing from small airplanes with windows actually works. I know many have been doing this [...]
Cows of the Cowichan
I haven’t really spent that much time around cows having grown up in large cities and having lived in areas where “cattle” aren’t really welcome in the neighborhood. Really about the only thing I knew about cows was that milk came from them and they sure tasted good! Interestingly, when I was quite young for [...]
Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival Sights
While the emphasis is on wooden boats at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival there is plenty else going on to keep everyone entertained. After all, living wooden boats 24 hours a day is likely not a very healthy affliction although I expect many in attendance do just that. I, for one, like to get out [...]
Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival – Schooner Cup
Having spent two days wandering around the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival a change was needed and I managed to get out on the water for the NW Schooner Cup, an annual race featuring those gorgeous schooners you see photographs of everywhere. I went out on the committee boat for the start and then transferred [...]
Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival
The ones of you that follow my blog and photography work have likely noticed that I have a passion for a few different subjects. These include music, food, travel and wooden boats. Typically 2 or 3 of these passions are combined in a photography trip but this weekend’s Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival combines all [...]
Pacific Northwest Jellyfish
I’m certainly not a jellyfish expert but I have always been interested in these strange animals that we see floating around our waters. These are a few recent sightings from Portland Island and Sidney Island. Identification may come later, stick with me! Share on Facebook
The Cowichan – Duncan, Chemainus, Ladysmith and Region
The Cowichan Region is the large area that lies between the cities of Victoria and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, reaching from the protected eastern shores of the island nearly all the way west to the Pacific Ocean. Its cornucopia-like shape is fitting for a place of such remarkable bounty, and this area is home to [...]
Cabbage Island and Tumbo Island
Cabbage Island and Tumbo Island have been a favourite destination for boaters for decades and both islands have now received protection as part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada. We spent Monday night visiting the islands once again and had a splendid evening including a free concert courtesy of a very talented [...]
Sidney Island, British Columbia – Sunsets and Moonrises
What could be better than visiting one of the sandiest beaches in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia and experiencing a beauitiful sunset and a full moon rising at the same time? Not much really! On top of this we had great company at the dock. Share on Facebook
Wallace Island Marine Provincial Park
A true gem in the British Columbia Provincial Marine Park system, Wallace Island is conveniently located close to many ports in the southern Vancouver Island area. Numerous beaches, coves and inlets provide prime anchorage and kayaking opportunities while hiking trails run the length of the island. This is all mixed in with a fascinating history. [...]
Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park Photos
I’ve been going through the images of the Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park on Vancouver Island and thought it would be fun to share a few more. As I mentioned in the previous post, the Carmanah is more than just large trees. Share on Facebook
Summer at Shawnigan Lake
Summer has arrived early in the Cowichan Valley this year with high temperatures for the past few weeks. A trip up to Shawnigan Lake was in order, partly to fill in a few gaps for the upcoming Cowichan Valley book but also to see what the locals were up to on a hot day when [...]
Children of Celebrities II
The Chapel at Providence Farm is an amazing venue for live music. Great acoustics combined with beautiful late afternoon lighting provided the perfect backdrop for the concert that the Children of Celebrities played a few nights ago. I planned on sitting back and enjoying most of the concert as I wanted to actually enjoy the [...]
Children of Celebrities
Children of Celebrities is a great Victoria band that describes themselves as “Delivering more than a half ton of fun and with more than 250 years of cumulative life experience”. These folks do have fun as I discovered when I photographed them a few weeks ago. The photography consisted of photographing two live rehearsals with a [...]
Luxton Pro Rodeo
It’s always a good experience to photograph an event for the first time that’s entirely different from anything else you have ever done. You go in with only a guess about what access will be like, what lenses might be of use and basically, no matter how much pre-planning you have done, anything can and [...]
Nivernais and Loire Valley Skies
While we are on the subject of France (see The Lions of Lyon), when I was travelling there one year ago I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the spring light was in the large open valleys of the Nivernais and Loire Valleys. There was a softness early in the mornings and around sunrise that [...]
Pender Island Sunset
My second Sky Watch Friday is this series of photographs I shot a few evenings ago in front of my house. The view is looking across Plumper Sound to Saturna Island. These two car freighters have been parked out front for a few months now. I would guess they have unloaded their Hondas or Toyotas in Vancouver [...]