Goldstream is a small river about a 5 minutes drive from my house but like many things, I take it for granted and rarely stop in. I decided to leave for work a bit early and drop in for a couple of hours....and it made me wonder why I don't do so more often.

I could see that the Salmon are still making their way from the ocean into the river for spawning. Many are too tired and don't make it far, or they span near the river opening. They then die and litter the banks of the river, which attracts eagles, seagulls, bear and heron. The place was squawking like a New York traffic jam.

There are mud flats quite a ways before it hits the edge of the ocean, and that's where most of the activity was, so I was a little too far away. I managed to get a few shots in, but not many.....







This one is 2400mm (2x converter) and a slight crop.....





Pushed in PP so it wasn't just a black silhouette.....

[Adam]

Great shots! The last one would have benefited from some HDR magic, I think, but I still like the background color

[Bob Harris]

those are some wonderful long-shots, that must be quite a sight to see. Does this attract many bears near the ocean or are they up river. TFS, Bob

[SteveM]

Thanks Adam. Sometimes I like a pic even though you can tell some processing was done, but it's a little too far with that one. I like the orange background, which was caused by the sun reflecting off of the fall leaves to behind the heron.

Thanks Bob. If I'm not too tired tomorrow morning, I might take another trip out as the run won't last much longer, then I think many of the eagles will go south. Regarding the bears, I first stopped of along the river, but the trail was plastered with bear warning signs asking people to travel in groups and to make a lot of noise. There is so much forest and brush that you wouldn't know a bear is there until you're 5 feet away from it, so I decided to get back in the car and head down to the mouth of the river, where I could at least see them from a distance. Unfortunately, I didn't see any thought. There used to be only black bear on the island, but Grizzly bears have been spotted up island around Campbell River having swam across from the mainland and conservation officers are suggesting that they are here to stay. That's a 150 mile / 260 KM drive north from Victoria so it's not likely we'll ever see them down this far.

[Bob Harris]

I wonder Steve, if the Grizzly's swam across to the island why they wouldn't wander down your way, only a 150 miles, but population might keep them away. Looking forward to more of your photography. Bob

[dawsonjm]

These are the first shots that I have seen from the 1200mm. Is it hard to focus at that length, or do you just turn it to infinity and let fly?

The details are outstanding, as are the subjects. They do you proud!

[SteveM]

These are the first shots that I have seen from the 1200mm. Is it hard to focus at that length, or do you just turn it to infinity and let fly?

The details are outstanding, as are the subjects. They do you proud!

Thanks! The focusing is tricky as the DOF can be very narrow. Focusing is very quick, about 1/8th of a turn so I can adjust it when panning.

[tessfully]

These are out of this world great. I don't have enough superlatives to say how much I like these shots. wowowow ...the first and third belong in Canadian Geographic, and the only reason I wonder about the second is because of the camera shy Eagle hiding behind the branches. thank you so much for posting these!

[8540tomg]

Great stuff Steve.

Capturing an eagle in flight while manually focusing a 1200mm lens. Awesome.

My lens cap is off to you.

Tom G

[SteveM]

Thanks Tess. I agree about the second. I was thinking that a panoramic crop might be better for that shot. The 3rd is obviously processed and I was going to try some pp on it, but I kinda like it all the same and will probably leave it.

Thanks Tom. I'm starting to get the hang of it but it really is hit or miss......