Cowichan Valley Travel, Tourism and Photography Information
Islands Folk Festival 25th Anniversary Photographs
Summer is fast approaching in the Cowichan Valley and that means one thing to music fans on Vancouver Island. The Islands Folk Festival will be coming up soon, specifically July 23rd through the 25th, 2010 at Providence Farm near Duncan. Tickets are available through the Cowichan Folk Guild as well as numerous Vancouver Island businesses. Information [...]
Zanatta Winery and Vineyards
Zanatta Winery and Vineyards, located in Glenora, is four minutes southwest of Duncan in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. Glenora comes from Scottish origin meaning “golden valley”, which perfectly describes the Cowichan Valley. The winery, which opened in 1990, is part of a 120 acre farm with thirty acres being dedicated to the vineyard [...]
Mount Tzouhalem
Mount Tzouhalem: Nature’s beauty basking in the sun When you reach the Cowichan Valley community on Vancouver Island in Canada and you will find yourself enthralled to see the fascinating and mesmerizing mountains basking in the sun. Mount Tzouhalem is one of the most captivating and rapt mountains in the entire Cowichan area. Visitors find [...]
BC Forest Discovery Centre – Duncan
The BC Forest Discovery Centre began life as a private collection assembled by Gerry Wellburn and his family. Today, the collections include over 5,000 artifacts, operational steam locomotives, over 12 heritage buildings and an amazing collection of tools used in the logging industry. The centre is located on the Trans Canada highway just north of town, [...]
Chemainus Murals
The Murals of Chemainus, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park
Twenty years ago I had just moved to British Columbia and heard stories about giant trees on the west coast of Vancouver Island. What I didn’t realize at the time is the Provincial Government had seceretly given permission to logging giant Macmillan Bloedel to clearcut one of the largest intact watersheds left on the island, [...]
Favourite Locations
-
Mount Tzouhalem
Mount Tzouhalem: Nature’s beauty basking in the sun When you reach the Cowichan Valley community on Vancouver Island in Canada and you will find yourself enthralled to see the fascinating and mesmerizing mountains basking in the sun. Mount Tzouhalem is one of the most captivating and rapt mountains in the entire Cowichan area. Visitors find [...]
-
The Cowichan River in Photos
The Cowichan River is one of the more interesting rivers in southern British Columbia, both from a historical standpoint as well as a recreational view. With its source in the mountains above Cowichan Lake, the river wanders through steep canyons and open valleys, finally arriving in Cowichan Bay after a 47km run. The mood of the [...]
-
Flying from Duncan to the West Coast
I had the opportunity to fly with a great fellow to the west coast Vancouver Island town of Bamfield yesterday. It was purely a flight for enjoyment but I also used the journey as an “aerial photography test” to see whether photographing from small airplanes with windows actually works. I know many have been doing [...]
-
BC Forest Discovery Centre – Duncan
The BC Forest Discovery Centre began life as a private collection assembled by Gerry Wellburn and his family. Today, the collections include over 5,000 artifacts, operational steam locomotives, over 12 heritage buildings and an amazing collection of tools used in the logging industry. The centre is located on the Trans Canada highway just north of town, [...]
- More from Favourite Locations
Arts
-
Eagle Above Bear Holding Fish – Cicero August 1987
Eagle Above Bear Holding Fish was carved by Cicero August in 1987. Cicero August is a Coast Salish carver living in Duncan and has been carving since 1956. He studied under master carver Simon Charlie for four years and then headed out on his own to develop his own Coast Salish style. His totem Eagle Above [...]
-
Thunderbird Above Killer Whale – Harold Alfred 1990
Thunderbird Above Killer Whale was carved by Harold Alfred in 1990. Harold is a Namgis artist from Alert Bay on Vamcouver Island and presently lives in Victoria, British Columbia on the island. Additional information can be found at his web site at www.haroldalfred.com. This totem stands in Station Street Park at 79 Station Street, Duncan, [...]
-
The Welcoming Spirit Of Sound Above Tane Hiira, The King Of The Cedar Forest – Tupari TeWhata
Tane Hiira Pou Karanga – Te Awhio Whio – The Welcoming Spirit Of Sound Above Tane Hiira, The King Of The Cedar Forest was carved by Tupari TeWhata (Maori) of Kaikohe, New Zealand in 1986. Tupari TeWhata is a carver in Kaikohe, New Zealand, a sister city of Duncan. Tupari came over to Duncan in [...]
-
Tsonoqua, Mythological Wild Women Of The Woods (Thunderbird Above Tsonoqua) – Ned Matilpi 1990
Tsonoqua, Mythological Wild Women Of The Woods (Thunderbird Above Tsonoqua) was carved by Ned Matilpi in 1990. Ned Matilpi is of the Ma’amtagila band and the Kwakwaka’wakw and Tlingit nations. Ned was born in 1957 in Alert Bay into the Maamtagila band on northern Vancouver Island. He began is art training in Victoria under his father, the late Oscar [...]
- More from Arts
Natural History
-
Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria affinis) in the Cowichan
The Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria affinis) is native to Cowichan’s Garry oak meadows although even then they are not common. Loss of habitat is as usual the prime reason for their slow demise. The largest concentration that I have found is at St. Peter’s Anglican parish in Duncan where numerous chocolate lilies grow along with a spectacular field [...]
-
Mt. Tzouhalem Ecological Reserve wildflower update
The wildflowers at the Mt. Tzouhalem Ecological Reserve have certainly peaked at this time. While a few species have pretty much gone; shooting stars and fawn lilies, many of the others are at or near their prime. The balsamroot flowers are beautiful at this stage although may only be that way for a few days if [...]
-
Western White Trillium (Trillium ovatum)
Trillium Ovatum is also known as Western White Trillium and Western Wake Robin. This flower is the member of family Trilliacea and is found growing in rich and dense forests like those of Western Canada and the Unitred States. Locally it is found growing in northern ranges of Oregon, Eastern Montana, Washington, the southwestern parts [...]
-
Camas Lilies (Camassia quamash)
The Camas is an exotic species of plants and is part of the lily family. These are beautiful purple colored flowers which can be found flourishing in their primary Garry oak meadow ecosystem of Vancouver Island in the in the late spring. Apart from their primary habitat these stunning flowers can also be located in different ecosystems in [...]
- More from Natural History
Books
-
Alexandre Buisse’s Extreme Perspectives, An Introduction to Mountain Photography
Craft and Vision – Extreme Perspectives, An Introduction to Mountain Photography by Alexandre Buisse – Book Review While extreme perspectives is a photography book about photographing extreme mountaineering and not directly related to the Cowichan Valley it provides wonderful information for both amateur and professional photographers alike. Having photographed from sea kayaks and boats for many years as well [...]
-
Winter in the Canadian Rockies Review – Darwin Wiggett ebook
Winter in the Canadian Rockies by Darwin Wiggett True, it’s not the Cowichan Valley or even Vancouver Island but a review of Darwin Wiggett’s new ebook, Winter in the Canadian Rockies has a purpose. Firstly, most of our visitors and locals love photography and this series is an amazing deal for anyone wanting to learn [...]
-
Light And Land, Landscapes In The Digital Darkroom Photography Book Review
There’s no doubt that I’ve been very blessed being a professional photographer for the reason that I have embraced digital technology ever since the early days of the digital photography. You should understand that this is not a number of generations we’re dealing with however, in my illustration it is only since 1999 I believe. [...]
-
2010 and Cowichan Valley Photography Workshops
2009 turned out to be a busy year for us at Cowichan Valley Photos. I was very fortunate to photograph many different events and festivals, much of the natural beauty of the area and it seems almost anything else that happened locally. The highlight of 2009 was the release of the new book The Cowichan [...]
- More from Books
Other Recent Articles
-
Journey Through Java By Mitchell Kanashkevich – Craft and Vision
While the Cowichan Valley Photos web site is primarily about the Cowichan Region we are also about photography. Much can be learned from other photographers as they travel around the world on assignment and Mitchell Kanashkevich’s Journey Through Java gives a great insight into the planning process. Travel photographers commonly find themselves in interesting dilemmas [...]
-
Cowichan Wine & Culinary Festival 2010
Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate the bounty of the Cowichan Region. The 6th Cowichan Wine & Culinary Festival starts off with a culinary bang featuring a sumptuous buffet, wines and music at Cherry Point Vineyard Friday evening, September 17th. Throughout the weekend, you can sample wines at many of the Cowichan’s fabulous wineries, have a crisp cider [...]
-
Maple Bay Marina
The Maple Bay Marina Wooden Boat Celebration was this week and while I spent time at the docks with friends I didn’t really shoot many photographs. Perhaps that’s because I already have thousands of photographs of boats but the Cowichan weather was on and off, not abnormal for this time of year. Still, lots of [...]
-
Cowichan Valley Garden Tour 2010
Our 16th Annual self-guided Cowichan Valley Garden Tour from 10 am to 5 pm on June 6 2010 gives you a magnificent opportunity to enjoy the highways and byways as you explore private gardens throughout the beautiful Cowichan Valley. Visit six uniquely different horticultural delights that are all new to the tour this year. These [...]
- Archives:
