Desolation Sound has been my boating backyard for decades. I know these waters well from my marine photography adventures aboard my last boat, a runabout named Snoopy, and in recent years aboard our 1976 CHB trawler, Vestri.
There’s nothing I love more than getting out on a boat and photographing whales, dolphins, otters and eagles, as well as the remarkable islands, beaches, and mountains in Desolation Sound and beyond.
This past winter we stayed in chilly but beautiful Campbell River, British Columbia, rather than heading to the American southwest in the RV as we usually do. But there were still adventures to be had. Around Christmastime, while out for a walk to one of our favourite nearby parks, we noticed a banner hanging outside the Coril Air float plane terminal:
Historic Mail Flight – 2 for 1
The flight delivers mail to the remote island communities in Desolation Sound and, luckily for us, they also take passengers. We had heard about it from other RVers over the years and everyone comes back saying the same thing: you have to do it.
But what really made us want to go was this: we already felt oddly connected to the plane.
We often see it while we’re out boating on Vestri. Sometimes it sweeps through a narrow passage and makes us both say “wow” all over again. Last year it came up behind us at Hole in the Wall, flying low enough that it certainly felt dramatic from the boat, then climbed and passed right overhead. We’ve even spotted it in remote anchorages delivering parts to stranded boaters.
So when we saw that banner it felt like a sign.
Two-for-one tickets. Buy now and fly anytime within the year.
Done.
We bought the tickets (about $350 CAD for both during the sale) and a couple of months later booked our flight.
Of course, being a photographer, I had one request: snow on the mountains.
I really wanted to go in winter while the peaks still looked properly dramatic. We know so many of these anchorages from the water, but boating season usually arrives after much of the snow has melted. This felt like a chance to photograph familiar places in a completely different way.
When the perfect day arrived, with calm winds and just enough cloud to make the sky interesting, we climbed aboard the tiny de Havilland Beaver float plane. It was just the two of us and the pilot.
The mail route included stops at Surge Narrows (home of Canada’s last floating post office), Stuart Island and Refuge Cove, all places we’ve seen from Vestri.
At each stop Ray and I swapped seats. One of us sat up front in the co-pilot seat while the other sat in the back. The view from the front is incredible. But the back seat has its advantages too. You sit under the wing, yes, but you can photograph from either side of the plane and the flatter glass means fewer reflections.
Seeing familiar places from above felt strange. Anchorages where I’ve carefully navigated, trying to find just the right place to drop the hook while avoiding rocks, looked huge from above. I would have thought things would look smaller from the air, but somehow the bays and channels looked much larger than I expected. Maybe it’s because when you arrive by boat you don’t really feel like you’re in the anchorage until the water gets shallow enough to drop the hook. From the air you lose that sense of water depth, so everything somehow looked much larger than I expected.
As we flew over, I kept recognizing coves and saying, “Oh! We anchored there!”
Processing the photos turned out to be very challenging because of the curved windows in the plane. Reflections everywhere. I had to throw every editing trick I know at them.
Of course I tried a polarizing filter while photographing, hoping it would remove the reflections on the glass, but no such luck.
Fortunately I remembered the lesson I learned in Shanghai and wore dark clothes. I was reaching for my bright red jacket that morning before suddenly remembering the bright reflections in the glass from a rooftop observation deck in Shanghai. I was trying to figure out where the bright orange splotch in my photo was coming from when I realized it was my own shirt! I had to borrow a fellow photographer’s black jacket to hide myself.
Here’s one example of what I was dealing with. The reflections in some of the photos were surprisingly stubborn.
Shooting Through Glass Pro Tip:
if you know you’ll be photographing through windows, don’t wear bright colours.
The flight itself was such a fun experience, but what surprised me most was how different Desolation Sound felt from the air.
When you know a place well from the water, you think you understand it. But when you see it from above and everything goes by so quickly, I found myself getting lost in all the little islands. I wished I had brought my chart or at least a map of the islands so I could follow along. Things go by so much faster on a plane.
It gave me a completely different perspective on places I thought I knew so well. Funny how familiar places can still surprise you.
I also took the opportunity to test out my new action camera in between the still photos. I plan to use it for underwater photography but I took it along for a test drive on the flight and made a short video of our adventure.
All the still photos were made with my Sony A6400 camera with the 24-70 F4 ZA OSS lens. The video was made with my new Akaso Brave 7 LE.
If you’d like to see more, check out Ray’s video of our full adventure.
I’d love to hear what this brought up for you. What adventures have you been on that gave your photos a new perspective?
Your comments are always appreciated!
This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my work. Read my disclosure.
amazing photos one day hopefully will get on a plane and pass over Milford sound you have given
me some inspiration
I want to get on a plane and fly over Milford sound too! That would be amazing. Let me know if you do, I’d love to see the photos.
What a fantastic day for your flight! You did a superb job of editing your photos Anne. Love the snow capped mountains with the water and puffy clouds, it really makes for a great photo. Enjoyed your narration of your video, and Ray’s too.
Thank you very much Bill, I appreciate the comment on the photo editing. It was quite a challenge but well worth it. I made an attempt at the narrated video again and people seem to like them. Ray’s been trying to get me to do that for years 🙂 Thanks for your visit and comments!
Absolutely Beautiful, Gorgeous, Wonderful photographs and video!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!
So glad you enjoyed the photos and video Jon, thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know 🙂
Great aerial footage… nice views of the different small islands. Reminded me when my wife and i took an small flight to the North side of Mt. Denali, AK.
Sooo happy that you and Ray enjoyed the views. Thanks for sharing and keep having fun.
Hi John! You’re the second person to mention Alaska. I have never been up there. Just about though when I photographed the grizzly bears near the BC/Alaska border. But I would love to go. I have been over it in a regular airplane, flying at full altitude, and even that was spectacular. I had kind of sworn off of small planes, but this flight was a blast, and now I want to go on more. Highly recommend! Thanks for your visit and comments.
OH MY what a privilege to take the trip “with you,” and we enjoyed each photo. It was certainly clear that you have not yet lost the thrill of adventuring. My wife and I are now old folks (87), but we enjoyed many areas in BC, upper Alaska, etc. the only flying was down to Katmai. What we have seen in your work would be a TOTALLY other area to learn, practice, etc. WE SIMPLY COULD NOT GET IT ALL IN.
Thank you so much and HAPPY TRAILS! Bob and SueAnn Gay
Hi Bob and Sueanne, I have definitely not lost the thrill of adventuring! I just feel lucky to be able to get back out and enjoy life and the natural world again with perhaps even more appreciation than I had before I was sick. It can all be taken away so fast. I would love to see Katmai, it’s been on my list for awhile. I better get up there before it is overrun with people. I often feel the same way as you, there are so many places in the world I would love to see I couldn’t possibly get it all in. But I’m going to try! Thanks for your visit and comments, they are much appreciated.
Hi Anne! This brought back so many memories. I got goose bumps looking at your photos and the sheer magnificence of the area. In the early ’90s, I sailed out of Bellingham, WA with a sailing club from Philadelphia. We passed by Cortes Island, I’m sure of it, and were visited by Minke whales and dolphins. My impression of the area was “blue on blue on blue.” SO much blue, and I see it in your photos. What an adventure! Thank you for posting.
Goose bumps! What a wonderful comment, thank you so much Hety. I’m so glad you had opportunity to see this beautiful place and experience its magnificent creatures. Everything here is very blue/green. Sometimes I have to desaturate the blue or warm up the whole image because it seems too blue, but it really is that blue! Your comments are much appreciated!
I so enjoy your photography and reading about your many adventures, Anne. Had never thought about comparing air perspectives to ground, but am now looking back at our flights to Khutzy in BC, and OSA Peninsula in Costa Rica. Thank you for “taking me along.”
Hi Bill, so glad you enjoyed the post. I like making drone photos too for an aerial perspective, but it’s not the same as a plane because I can’t fly the drone as high or go as far. On the other hand, no reflections 🙂 It really was an incredible opportunity for some amazing views. Thanks for your comments, always appreciated my friend.