Never the Same Twice

Jervis Inlet guardians: the Coast Mountains (click image to enlarge)

Most of my travels over the years have been by boat, with the bulk of them here on BC’s south coast – relatively close to home. Yet even though I’ve been to some places over and over again, they’ve had something different to offer every time.

Take, for example, the view in the photo above, looking up Prince of Wales Reach, the first of three long reaches that make up Jervis Inlet, which extends deep into the Pacific Ranges of BC’s Coast Mountains.

We had cruised past this spot before – numerous times, in various sorts of weather. But somehow on that particular summer evening, the low angle sun was magical, bathing the peaks in intense warm light while throwing the lower slopes and river valleys into the cool of shadows. Our sea level vantage point revealed the sheer immensity of these mountains, rising almost straight up from the water to altitudes of 1400 metres and more.

Places on or close to our doorsteps may seem “familiar”, but they’re never the same twice. Light and shadows dance across the landscape, new textures and colours unfold by the hour, and along the coast, shorelines change with the rise and fall of the tide. As a result, the “old” becomes new again, right in front of our eyes.

Journeys close to home can reward us with beauty, wild spaces, adventure and creative inspiration. What they don’t require are passports, airports, or much in the way of carbon emissions – and for that, I’m thankful, especially in the face of our planet’s grave climate emergency.

“The 100-Mile Photo Diet” is the title of my new solo show, with two dozen mounted prints (including the photo above), all made within a 100-mile radius of my home. The show runs from Feb. 21 through April 8 on Gabriola Island – click here for the details.