Photography by Randy Hall

I heard there were pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) in the area, but I was surprised to see 4 (2 mating pairs) together. I wasn't going to be picky about which ones I photographed, but it turns out this male was the model for the group.

New artwork on my website.

Male Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) - June 17, 2024

Male Pileated Woodpecker by Randy Hall Male Pileated Woodpecker by Randy Hall

Thank you to local buyers for stopping by my booth at Summer on the Farm (Arbutus Meadows Farm) and purchasing an 18 x 12 aluminum print of "Trumpeter".

Check out all of my work on my website (RandyHallPhotography.com).

This little guy has had a rough time of it for the last couple of days. My guess is that it fell out of its nest and spent time hiding from neighbourhood cats (and more). We tried to shelter it but had difficulty catching it, so we chose instead to watch over it and let nature take its course. Thankfully today, it looked like it was closer to flying, and mom and dad were still hanging around…all should be good.

Location: Parksville Community Park
Date: May 10, 2024
Time: 23:36 PDT
Camera: Canon 5D Mk IV
Lens: Tamron 28-70mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 20 sec
ISO: 250

Last of the rain for this week. We could use a bit of a “warm up”.

Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to another great weekend (July 5, 6 and 7). Hope to see lots of you there. Nanoose Bay Art in the Garden

Time for a quick vote. A or B?

B was two frames later.

Bald Eagle fishing for hake at Jimmy Judd Island (May 22, 2024)

New artwork on my website.

"Nymph Falls" - Puntledge River, Courtenay (May 10, 2024)

Nymph Falls by Randy Hall Nymph Falls by Randy Hall

First event of 2024 goes this weekend. Hope you can make it to Kitty Coleman to take in the show.

2024 Snowbird practice session (May 10, 2024)

I've tried several times to get a good passing photo. This is probably the best one I've had to date.

Another photo from last Friday's morning practice (May 10, 2024). There were only 8 snowbirds in the practice session (1 was grounded).

Just a wrap up for the aurora display we had on May 10th. Given that the conditions were a lot brighter and more colourful than I'm used to, I had to abandon settings I had used in the past. In particular, I wanted a faster shutter speed to try and avoid some of the motion blur due to the everchanging conditions. It took some playing around, but once I settled on something that worked to my satisfaction, I accepted it and enjoyed the show.

All the photos in the series were taken using manual focus (set to infinity), white balance set to 3800 (reference material I found suggested using 3500-4000 for "true colour") and tripod mount. I edited the first photo to my liking, using Photoshop, and then used the same editing process for the subsequent images for consistency. To see the details for each shot, check the captions as you scroll through.

Bottom line is, the conditions will dictate how you set up. Have fun and don't be afraid to experiment.

After all the fun at the Parksville Community Park last night, I thought I'd try to get something at French Creek Marina. Conditions were quite tough to work with, given the bright lights over the docks, but I was quite happy with this one.

Another from the great light show last night. This photo was taken from the Parksville Community Park, looking to the northwest. The settings, for those interested, were as follows. Canon 5D Mk IV with Tamron 28-70 lens. f/2.8, 5 seconds, 320 ISO and white balance set at 3800.

The aurora borealis last night did not disappoint. I have never seen it so high, or bright or last so long here on Vancouver Island. It was almost as bright out as a full moon night, but the moon was just a sliver and can be seen setting over French Creek Marina on the left of the image.

Beautiful day today in Comox to take in some of the snowbird and CF18 practice sessions. All photos were taken from the Air Force Beach parking lot.

Spring blossoms (bitter cherry) along Parksville Wetlands trail - May 8, 2024

"French Creek Marina" - Apr 13, 2024

Just doing a bit of experimenting this morning. I picked up a 10 stop ND filter, and I wanted to see just how much it would slow things down on a bright, sunny morning. Maintaining the same ISO and aperture, the shutter speed was 3.2 seconds, compared to 1/320 sec without the filter. Considering how much of a breeze there was, I was surprised by the overall sharpness of the image.

Sold - Thank you to a buyer from Victoria for purchasing a 60 x 36 inch canvas wrap of "Incinerator Rock".

“Fogbow” over the wetlands this morning.

Sold - Thank you to a buyer from Victoria for purchasing 4 wrapped canvas prints.

Lennard Island Lighthouse - 60 x 39 inch
Tentative - 60 x 39 inch
Ucluelet Roller - 60 x 38 inch
Wick Beach - 60 x 39 inch

New on my website.

"Myra Falls" - Strathcona Park (Feb 16, 2024)

Click the image to see the large version.

Myra Falls by Randy Hall Myra Falls by Randy Hall

Sold today. Thank you to buyers from Richmond, BC for ordering a 36 x 24 inch canvas wrap of "French Creek Sunrise 2024".

New on my website.

"Upper Campbell Lake" - Feb 16, 2024

Looking southwest over Upper Campbell Lake, as viewed from above the Upper Campbell Reservoir Campground.

Upper Campbell Lake by Randy Hall Upper Campbell Lake by Randy Hall

"Western Gambler at Sunset" - Qualicum Beach (Mar 14, 2024)

Looks like the commercial fishing portion of the 2024 roe herring season is over for our waters. I thought this was a good photo to end on.

Western Gambler at Sunset by Randy Hall Western Gambler at Sunset by Randy Hall

Some more shots of the 2024 Roe Herring Fishery off Qualicum Beach. These were taken on the evening of March 14, 2024.