Notes about the photography
This is the first project of the sort that I have photographed with entirely digital equipment. Until only a few short years ago, it would not have been possible; the quality wasn’t there. Living in an isolated area like the Gulf Islands has always been a challenge for photographers with the numerous and very time consuming trips to Victoria or Vancouver to have our images processed. Shooting digital has provided welcome relief from these trips. Now, though, one must be both photographer and image processor and have a good grasp of computer programs, too. A reliance on new technology has many benefits but I think I can say for many professional photographers that we do miss film and the darkroom. For most of us, these long nights in the darkroom are becoming a distant memory, just like the LP’s and cassettes that we used to listen to while working.
I’m often asked what type of equipment I use and what my digital workflow entails. Most of the photographs in this book were shot with a Nikon D2X, a very versatile and workhorse of a camera. At 12.4 mp, the D2X is capable of producing images that I think are far superior to the quality of film. Some will argue this point and state that it’s only different. I used lenses ranging form the extremely wide angle of 10mm to long telephotos of 300mm and every focal length in between.
Projects like this are a huge undertaking for a photographer, not just in the sheer number of images produced (in this case approximately 25,000) but also in the image processing and cataloging efforts. The images in this book were processed in Photoshop CS2 and cataloged using Extensis Portfolio. The actual process of shooting the photographs accounts for about 20% of the time I spent working on this project; the remaining 80% was spent in long hours in front of the computer, editing images, adding keywords, accurately captioning the images and making final selections for the book.
Enchanted Isles is the result of two years of travel through these spectacular islands. I met many wonderful people, spent many weekends at the endless festivals and explored beaches and trails on almost every island, some accessible only by private boat. I hope you enjoy this personal view of the incredibly beautiful Southern Gulf Islands.