The children of the forest leave,
and the forest it self remains,
living, dying and starting over...

South Moresby Island, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens

Children in the forest...

These are my Gwaii Haanas shipmates,
playing like children in the forests of South Moresby, British Columbia
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens.

Gilbert Bay,
on the south west coast of Kunghit Island;
was a beautiful crescent beach, protected by a headland from the open Pacific Ocean,
and feed by a fresh water creek;
was empty,
save us...

but filled with plenty of evidence of visitors past;
fishing gear, shampoo bottles, washed up logs and some evidence of an ancient Haida winter village...
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens.

Nature's perfect material...

Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens.

Looking into the ocean,
restless and alive
as the tides rise and fall...

creating another visual world...
Nikon D600, 70mm-300mm AFD Nikkor lens

And another day comes...

Image 1, A bad haircut, Lyell Island.
Image 2, Ainsley looking out over Jaun Perez Sound.
Image 3, Looking south from Queen Charlotte City.
Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
Nikon D600, 70mm-300mm AFD Nikkor lens

And as the light of the day slipped from the sky,
and the silence of the night returned...

Gwaii Hannas
Nikon D600, 70mm-300mm AFD Nikkor lens

SGang Gwaay was a haunting place...
abandoned during the 1860's,
when upwards of 90% of the original Haida population was wiped out by small pox,
and other introduced diseases;
the village lies largely empty and decaying,
a testimonial to the devastation caused by European contact...

Yet,
hearing the voice of Christian,
singing and drumming over the heavy silence,
brought us hope as he called out to the spirits of the past,
to bring strength to the future...

Gwaii Haanas, British Columbia.
Nikon D600, 70mm-300mm AFD Nikkor lens

SGang Gwaay...

Gwaii Haanas...
Nikon D600. 70mm-300mm AFD Nikkor lens

I glimpse the ocean through the trees,
then turning,
there is the crescent beach,
lined with rotting house and mortuary poles,
slowly but relentlessly being enclosed by the forest...

SGang Gwaay, (Ninstints, Unesco World Heritage Site) Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens.

Through the mist,
we approach the protected rear of Anthony Island...
And entering the forest,
the only sounds we can hear seems to be the wind in the tree tops,
yet
the forest seems alive and moving with voices...

We are approaching SGang Gwaay and it's crescent beach (known also as Ninstints)...
a place that I felt in my soul as well as heard and saw,
as once again the sounds of the ocean breaking on the beach,
over rode the voices of the forest...
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens