Metchosin's Largest Tree

On the weekend I paid a visit to Metchosin's largest tree - a massive old-growth Douglas-fir measuring 28.5ft in circumference (9ft in diameter) growing near Matheson Lake. It's an incredible reminder of the forest giants that once covered most of Vancouver Island. In the woods and hills of the CRD you can still find a few "veteran trees"  like this one that escaped the saw's for one reason or another.

Afterwards I wandered further along the foggy mountainside and marveled at the old lichen covered forests that remain mostly intact around the lake.

1st place - 'Human Impact' Contest - Outdoor Photography Canada

Outdoor Photography Canada magazine hosted a "Human Impact" themed photo contest in 2010 and I was super excited when I found 0ut that my image of an old-growth clearcut on southern Vancouver Island took 1st place! (see original blog post here)

Of the tens of thousands of images I've shot over the years trying to capture the devastation happening to BC's temperate rainforests, I feel that this one sums it up best. Without experiencing these clearcuts first hand, it's nearly impossible to convey the scale, destruction and feeling involved with the loss of such amazing areas.

Aside from being featured as a winner in this contest the image will also be used on the cover of a new environmental documentary film coming out of New York, be featured in a book by a German artist working on forest conservation in Europe, used in a TV show on CBC and be published in a host of other online and print media sources. I hope this image continues to travel the visual world conveying the need to protect BC's last remaining ancient temperate rainforests. Sign the online petition here.