Here's a photo that was first published here almost exactly a year ago. I'm proud to say it has gone on to a more widely read venue, a Canadian Geographic special edition on our national parks (above). In case you missed it first time around, below is the original.
The last couple of days' posts have been from a days' shooting out at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse during May 2010. Aside from the pleasure of spring colors the reason I've been spending time in that archive is to find and prepare one of the photos taken that day for a Canadian Geographic Magazine special edition on National Historic Sites and National Parks. Another photo of the Fisgard Lighthouse, slightly different from the one above, has been shortlisted for the special edition and a hi-resolution copy was needed. The photo in question is one that originally appeared on this site May 23, 2010 and you can see it by clicking HERE. The reason I'm posting the photo above is that although it is nearly the same as the one I submitted to Canadian Geographic, I think I prefer the one above....
Continuing to browse through the May 2010 folder that yielded yesterday's post, I came across this one taken the same day. The photo is taken from Fort Rodd Hill (you can see the gun emplacement on the right of this photo) looking westwards and shows the proximity of Esquimalt Lagoon, created by that long spit of land that cuts across the water in this photo. Esquimalt Lagoon is a bird sanctuary and one can almost always depend on seeing a half dozen different species of duck, blackbirds, swans, geese, herons, shorebirds, seagulls and terns as well as the occasional otter. The lagoon is only a few minutes drive from Fort Rodd Hill. Much of the forest in the right center background belongs to Hatley Park, another splendid place to visit and see the wonderful gardens and Hatley Castle. Directly behind me as I took this photo was Fisgard Lighthouse. This catalog is just to indicate how rich and varied is this section of coastline that lies on edge of the Greater Victoria area.
I had occasion to be digging around in the archives yesterday and came across this shot of the Fisgard Lighthouse taken from Fort Rodd Hill last May. It was one of those days with glorious light and a few puffy white clouds and a landscape bursting with spring green. In this cold gray weather we've been having I'm happy to have this photo to remind me of spring.
Here is the back story to yesterday's photo of two children: They were standing on the rock that is in the foreground of the above photo. I took this photo then walked lower down and to the left to take some shots of the lighthouse from the side. Meanwhile a man and his two sons passed me. He posed his boys for a photo in front of the lighthouse and I snapped yesterday's photo from below and behind them. This building is one of the best known and most picturesque of local landmarks, the Fisgard Lighthouse. It's the oldest lighthouse on Canada's West Coast and is a Canadian National Historic site. It's a photographer's dream subject that looks good in any light, any season and from any angle.
Fisgard Lighthouse is perched on a rock to one side of the entrance to Esquimalt Harbor. Those of you who follow the news are aware that a large ship full of Tamil refugees has been approaching our coast for several days now and I thought that with any luck I might get to see the Canadian Navy escorting that ship into the harbor, thus giving my photos a newsworthy relevance generally lacking. Well, I don't know what the navy have done with that ship but they didn't bring it in while I was watching so you'll have to settle for another shot of my all-time favorite subject, the Fisgard Lighthouse.
Here's another photo from the recent Navy and Parks Canada celebrations out at Fort Rodd Hill. To the left of the Fisgard Lighthouse, that enormous ship is the USS Ronald Reagan, an American aircraft carrier that is here for the Canadian Navy's Fleet Review. The ship carries about 6,000 servicemen and over 60 combat aircraft. Click HERE to read the FAQ.
Living close to the Fisgard Lighthouse is like having a beautiful model available to one at any time and it would be foolish not to take advantage of such a situation. Consequently, regular visitors to this blog have already seen several photos of this lighthouse and can expect to see many more. Last time I was out there I tried to find some new angles by walking around it several times. It looks good from every angle. I like this shot particularly because of the tiny cruise ship visible on the horizon to the left.
This fine old lighthouse, the oldest on Canada's west coast, was built in 1860 and is still operational, although it is now automated. Fisgard Lighthouse and the adjacent Fort Rodd Hill Park are only a short drive from Victoria's downtown and I propose to visit them again when the weather is a little less forbidding.
