This post is extremely late as this year has been so full of fun assignments I haven’t had much time to write. Last September, I worked with the editor of the Dutch edition of National Geographic Traveler on a story about British Columbia and a little bit of Alberta. It was a marvelous adventure as we spent about two weeks traveling by car across British Columbia to the very western edge of Alberta. We met in Vancouver, B.C. and parted ways in Calgary, although the adventure really ended in Banff. It was extraordinarily beautiful! We spent a good deal of time on Vancouver Island and one of the highlights of the trip was visiting a lodge only accessible by either sea plane or water taxi, the Eagle Nook Resort and Spa. Here we went sea kayaking, salmon fishing and hiking through some amazing forest and along the rugged coastline. The editor caught his first wild salmon and the incredible chef at the lodge cooked it up for us two ways that evening: Sashimi style in elegantly cut thin strips and also as lovely fillets, served with amazing B.C. produce. This part of the assignment also covered shooting a few whales in the Broken Group Islands through which one must travel via water taxi in order to access the resort. Our last night at the resort was rewarded Canadian style with a bonfire and great beer! The next segment of the assignment involved some grueling driving, after which we ended up at another incredible, off-the-beaten-path lodge, Bracewell’s Alpine Wilderness. Here we went horseback riding and enjoyed the incredible views, went for a canoe paddle where we encountered not another living creature other than a loon and enjoyed the rugged and unobstructed scenery of the Chilcoten. This place is wide open space and run by a generous and amazing family. If you’re looking to truly get away from it all, I highly recommend taking a week or two and hanging around Bracewells. I had my first grizzly bear encounter here and witnessed a spectacular moonset, among other vividly colored moments. We also visited, among many, many other attractions, Tide Rip Grizzly Tours in Knight Inlet, located on Vancouver Island, Blue River Safari tours, located in one of the only inland temperate rainforests. This is where I saw my first “spirit bear” cub. We also visited the Strathcona Park Lodge where we spent time hiking and canoeing. I’m still working on getting all of the photos up on to my stock photography site, so keep visiting for more pix! Since the story is not published online, if you’d like to read it, it was published in the January 2012 edition of the Dutch language National Geographic Traveler Magazine . (I think you’d have to order the physical magazine directly from them.) Thank you for visiting this blog and please feel free to share any thoughts! More photos on the way…
The entire assignment was shot using Canon equipment: 2 Canon 5D Mark II, 1 Canon 7D, all the lenses I could carry and my trusty Gitzo tripod and mono-pod. There were also the occasional iPhone pix, just for fun. My editor took a nice photo of me with his camera which I love. I was communing with the horses we were about to take up Potato Mountain.
Commercial, Editorial and Travel Photographer Susan Seubert 