Oak Bay Panorama

Last week after enjoying the Oak Bay Tea Party parade I rode along the beach front past the Oak Bay Marina and I had to stop when I looked out over the water and saw this panorama. I realized that it was the perfect time to try out the panorama feature of my new camera. This is the result. If you click the photo above you will be taken to the half size original which, 6400 pixels wide, is still pretty big. You may have to click it again to see it full size since it may be larger than your screen. I'm pretty pleased with this feature. It's easy to use (just pan the camera with the shutter release held down) and the stitching between frames is invisible. That perfect snowy peak in the distance is Mount Baker, an extinct volcano about 80 km east in the USA.

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As visitor Paul in Powell River points out, Mount Baker is NOT an extinct volcano but is in fact the second most active volcano in this area, the most active being Mount Saint Helens. My thanks to Paul for this correction. See this entry in Wikipedia for more information about Mount Baker. If you want to see some beautiful photos of the Sunshine Coast, take a look at Paul's photoblog, A Powell River Photo Blog. I am particularly fond of his header photo of some Harlequin Ducks in flight.

Oak Bay Twilight

I happened to be in Oak Bay last night and was amazed to see Mount Baker in Washington State catching the last rays of the setting sun. Mt. Baker is often visible but seldom so clearly. It is about 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) distant.

Koma Kulshan

Koma Kulshan means "Great White Watcher" in one of the local native languages and was their name for Mount Baker, clearly seen in the background of this photo, taken about 16 kilometers west of Victoria. As the crow flies, Mount Baker was about 130 kilometers (80 miles) distant from where I was standing, almost due east. That little sprawl of buildings in the foreground is the city of Victoria. Please click the above image to see the larger version because this is a BIG photo....

Mount Baker is a volcano on the mainland of Washington State rising 10,778 feet (3,285 meters) above sea level, much taller than most of the other local mountains. But it is not often so clearly visible from here. If you take a look at Chuck Pefley's City Daily Photo Blog for Seattle you can see the same mountain from a different angle and many miles away. Or take a look at Mount Baker from Port Townsend or Port Angeles or Vancouver but for a real dose of Mount Baker, visit the Stanwood City Daily Photo Blog. It's a big mountain.