TJ Watt Photography Blog — TJ Watt Photography

Caycuse Before & After Old-Growth Logging

This is not a series I ever hoped to complete but the following are before and after images of giant ancient cedars cut in the Caycuse watershed in Ditidaht territory on southern Vancouver Island. Earlier this month I revisited a magnificent grove that I had explored and photographed earlier this year, only this time it was the stumps of those same trees that would be my focus. Gone were the vibrant flourishes of red, green, and gold. Instead, a bleak, grey landscape lay before, utterly unrecognizable from what I remembered. Heart wrenching as they are, I hope these images stand as stark example of what is still happening everyday across BC everyday and what needs to end now.

We need everyone to SPEAK UP!! Contact Premier John Horgan and demand that the BC NDP show they're serious about saving old-growth by immediately halting logging in the most endangered forests and allocating funding in Budget 2021 for Indigenous protected areas and economic alternatives to old-growth logging.

• Email John Horgan here: premier@gov.bc.ca or here: www.ancientforestalliance.org/send-a-message
• Phone him at: 250-387-1715

CBC News: Conservationists demand fast action from B.C.'s new forestry minister on protection for old-growth trees
The Guardian: Photography campaign shows the grim aftermath of logging in Canada's fragile forests
The Narwhal: In photos: see old-growth go from stand to stump on B.C.’s Vancouver Island
Outside Magazine: Forest Selfies Are Helping Save BC’s Old-Growth Trees
Treehugger: Photos Raise Alarm Over Old-Growth Logging in British Columbia

MEGA Wave Day - Round II

The forces of nature once again aligned and unleashed a mind-blowing display of raw power and beauty along the west coast of Vancouver Island this past Sunday. A 6.5m/20ft+ swell combined with a king tide to produce waves of enormous size that thundered and roared against the rocks. This day was on par with the huge waves I photographed earlier this year in January. Never thought I would see something so impressive again! Humbling to say the least. Fine art prints available at: www.tjwatt.com/prints or email prints@tjwatt.com if you don’t see the one you’re looking for.

* The photos are now reaching the news! See a CTV article here and KOMO News article here.