The sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds. Every so often it would shine bright through a gap. The diffuse effect of the clouds the rest of the time made the whole sky shine in a light pink tone that was also reflected in the sea below. On either side of the beach we were on, stood a small hill covered in pine forests, behind which stood another hill and another. The beach itself was littered with huge trunks of uprooted trees. They were everywhere. The roots stretching out and reaching up higher than any man.
But that is not what drew my attention as the sun was setting. No, I was intent on capturing a photo with a salmon leaping out of the water. It started with a splash, then another. Our first thought was a seal but soon enough we glimpsed a shiny lean form leaping out of the water and disappearing again in a moment. A few minutes later, more and more kept coming up, until there was no doubt of what we were witnessing. It was a salmon run as they were travelling from the sea upstream to the rivers, streams and pool where they were born to breed themselves.
It was one of the best natural spectacles I have ever witnessed in a setting that was already mind-blowingly beautiful. Capturing a photo, however, proved extremely difficult. I had to zoom my camera lens in, but that only left a small area to photograph. So I had to wait patently for a salmon to leap in that area but even when it did, it happened so fast, that I missed it.
We were on Vancouver Island. After a couple of hours driving aimlessly along its Pacific Coast, we came upon this beach and couldn’t make ourselves to leave. So we parked our RV at a campsite close by, got our cups of coffee and sat down on a log enjoying the tranquillity of this place.
We sat on a log for hours, watching, until even the glimmer of light disappeared.
I will never forget just how relaxed I was that day as I have not been so relaxed before or since. Whether it was to do with the low population of Vancouver Island, or its undeniable beauty or the leaping salmon, the one thing that sticks in my mind most, even 6 years later, is the incredible peace that enveloped us there.
But that is not what drew my attention as the sun was setting. No, I was intent on capturing a photo with a salmon leaping out of the water. It started with a splash, then another. Our first thought was a seal but soon enough we glimpsed a shiny lean form leaping out of the water and disappearing again in a moment. A few minutes later, more and more kept coming up, until there was no doubt of what we were witnessing. It was a salmon run as they were travelling from the sea upstream to the rivers, streams and pool where they were born to breed themselves.
It was one of the best natural spectacles I have ever witnessed in a setting that was already mind-blowingly beautiful. Capturing a photo, however, proved extremely difficult. I had to zoom my camera lens in, but that only left a small area to photograph. So I had to wait patently for a salmon to leap in that area but even when it did, it happened so fast, that I missed it.
We were on Vancouver Island. After a couple of hours driving aimlessly along its Pacific Coast, we came upon this beach and couldn’t make ourselves to leave. So we parked our RV at a campsite close by, got our cups of coffee and sat down on a log enjoying the tranquillity of this place.
We sat on a log for hours, watching, until even the glimmer of light disappeared.
I will never forget just how relaxed I was that day as I have not been so relaxed before or since. Whether it was to do with the low population of Vancouver Island, or its undeniable beauty or the leaping salmon, the one thing that sticks in my mind most, even 6 years later, is the incredible peace that enveloped us there.
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