Vancouver Island 2022

In my 23 years on this Earth, I’ve been blessed to see and step foot in all the provinces of Canada. But none more than “Beautiful British Columbia”, this being my fifth trip to this wonderful part of my beloved country. All of those ventures are attributed to the fact that I have family that moved out to Vancouver Island in 2006. My last visit happened to be a tenure of five months; during which I bought my first car and drove it back across the country with my friend Travis at the end of my stay.

That was in 2018.

We all know what happened in the world between then and September 2022. This was the month I made the quick decision to buy tickets, and make my return to the Island. This time with much more intention.

After landing late the night before in Comox, I got up with not much of a plan for myself for the day. After a brief look on Google Maps, I decided on a quick drive to Goose Spit Park. Probably the oddest name for a park I’ve ever heard in my life and no goose spit was spotted so little bit of a letdown in that sense. The views made up for it though. I brought along with me my trusty Sony A7ii, as well as two film cameras. A Canon AE-1 and Pentax Espio loaded with some Fujifilm Superia 200.

A7ii images seen above and Fuji 200 below.

Alpine Meadows on Portra 400

After a night of catching up with family over dinner the night before, I was given a list of recommended attractions in the Comox area. I decided on going up to Mount Washington and go on a hike into the Forbidden Plateau Meadows. I loaded a roll of Kodak Portra 400, and shot at ISO 200 along with my Sony A7ii and my point and shoot Pentax loaded with Fuji Superia 200. Talk about packing light.

I made it a point to be present in the moment while I was taking my time walking through the trees. No phone, no music, just enjoying the sounds and sights my surroundings had to offer. Boardwalks would wind through tall Pines and open up into autumn alpine meadows that forego the surrounding mountainscapes. Walking over and around the glacier-fed streams, ponds, and lakes, the cool mountain air, and bright sun made for perfect hiking weather.

Alpine Meadows on Superia 200

Over my 8-kilometre hike, I really enjoyed the product that came out of the smallest camera in my bag. My little Pentax really surprised me with its sharpness and flares. Paired with the daylight-balanced Fuji Superia 200 film stock, famous for those beautiful green tones, in turn, produced some of my favourite images from my time on the Island. I also want to point out this film rendered the blues as well, especially in the reflecting lake photos. The vibrancy of the lake and sky were captured so well in my opinion.

Alpine Meadows on Digital

Although the clear, bright skies made for great hiking weather, they made for difficult shooting conditions. Mid-day light never makes for easy photos to make, or edit. With my film rolls, I feel I had an easier time shooting, knowing all I had to focus on was composing my frame. On digital, I always edit my photos. It is a part of the process of delivering my product; creating a whole different look than what came straight out of the camera is something I take great pride in. With these tough conditions, it was hard to create a look that I was proud to put my name on. To combat this, I tried to replicate the look that my film photos have from that day. I tried my best to replicate colours and lighting where I didn’t edit in Black and White and ended up with a handful of photographs that I was happy with.

Ucluelet and Tofino on Digital

The highlight of my stay was my day trip to the west side of the Island. Starting at 7 in the morning, I headed out from Comox to the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet. The 2-hour 45-minute drive took me through Port Alberni and some of the best driving roads I have encountered.

Over the course of the Wild Pacific Trail, it takes you along the undulating, rocky seaside. Every few meters it felt like, there were new lookout points into the vast Pacific where you can watch the turbulent waves crash into the craggy, jagged shoreline. The trail also leads you into the bogs above the ocean, where if you care to read and catch up on your Ecology jargon, you have that option as well.

After I learned about at least two of the flora and fauna that call this place home, I was led down to a rough beach along an inlet. Covered in rocks and stones, I don’t think one would lie down and catch some rays in this area. I climbed up, down, and around the difficult coastline to get as many different photos as possible.

Rounding out the last bit of the trail, after many more lookouts and views of crashing waves I finished at the Lighthouse portion of the “Lighthouse Loop”. I wasn’t ballsy enough to walk over the “Do Not Cross” line to go up to the structure, but I got a close enough look from where I was.

After listening to what the sign had to say, I headed back to the Camry to search for some coffee and continue up the road to Tofino.