2017: A Year In Review

Well 2017 came and went incredibly quickly!

It was a busy year for me after moving back to the UK permanently, and I didn't manage to get out with the camera anywhere near as often as I would've liked. Despite this, I did manage to have some fantastic wildlife encounters which produced some of my best work to date. Most of my photography however, was confined to a two month period during the spring/summer seasons.

I made it back to Canada for six weeks in the spring, bought a minivan, and converted it into a temporary home for the duration of my visit. The sense of freedom I felt from being able to go anywhere, and sleep wherever I wanted to, was so refreshing.

I spent a couple of weeks in and around Jasper, and though I had some great encounters during that time, they were few and far between for the most part. I then decided to head west into BC to explore parts of the country that I'd only briefly visited in the past. The decision to head west resulted in my first ever coastal wolf, my second spirit bear, and my first cross foxes. When the trip finally came to an end back in the Rockies, I had clocked up a cool 18,000km in a little under five weeks on the road!

After arriving back in the UK, I flew to Scotland to visit Shetland and Orkney for the first time ever. The main aim of the trip was to photograph puffins and river otters, an animal that had been a priority of mine for quite some time. Despite having seen otters in Canada and America over the years, I'd never been able to photograph them. The Eurasian otter population on Shetland is thriving, so I hired a local guide for a couple of days and finally had some amazing encounters with these extremely shy animals.

Here's a selection of my favourite images from last year.

(click on an image to enlarge)

Cross Fox kit - Northern BC, Canada

Cross Fox kit - Northern BC, Canada

Cow Moose in a blizzard - Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada

Atlantic Puffin at sunset - Shetland, Scotland

Coastal Wolf in sedge meadow - Northern BC, Canada

Great Horned Owlet - Canmore, Alberta, Canada

Grizzly Bear swimming across river - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Black Bear cubs in a tree - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Cross Fox kit in the rain - Northern BC, Canada

Black Bear resting - Monashee Mountains, British Columbia, Canada

Cow Moose with calf - Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada

Eurasian Otter - Shetland, Scotland

Cross Fox kit - Northern BC, Canada

Cross Fox Kit - Northern BC, Canada

Black Bear cubs in a tree - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

I've been back in work full time since getting back from Scotland, so unfortunately I didn't have much in the way of wildlife encounters for the rest of the year. Occasionally, I made it down to the coast on the weekend for a walk or to photograph a sunset, but other than that I hardly picked up my camera at all in the latter part of 2017.

I did however, spend a lot more time working on the business side of my photography than I have in previous years. I ran several Christmas market stalls in Cardiff almost every weekend throughout November and December, which were very successful. I also produced my very first calendar of wildlife images, which is something I'll be doing every year from now on.

Right at the end of the year, I landed my first magazine cover shot too which was a nice feeling. It's not a popular photography or wildlife magazine, but rather a visitors guide to the Canadian Rockies which is stocked in almost every shop, gas station, and bank from Calgary to Vancouver.

WHERE Canadian Rockies Visitor Guide 2017/18

I'm not too sure what 2018 will hold, but I have recently booked some flights back to Canada once again of course. I'll be there for two months this coming spring to do a similar trip to the one I did last year. I'm also thinking of checking out somewhere new later in the year. It's been a while since I've visited a completely new location so I'm leaning towards a trip to Brazil possibly, or maybe even Russia!

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the rest of winter, and once again thanks for reading.

Cai

2016: A Year In Review

I'm getting worse at these blog posts. Two whole years since my last end of year review! Anyway, luckily I have plenty of photos to remind me of what I got up to back in 2016.

Last time I wrote something here, I was preparing to leave Banff once again and head back to city life in Cardiff, something I always have a hard time adjusting to. However, on that occassion things changed all of a sudden.

About a week before I left, I went to check the post office one last time and to my surprise I had a letter from the Canadian government, which stated that they were extending my work visa for another year! I had applied for an extension because you can stay in the country and continue working if you have an application being processed. Even though most people have their applications for an extention refused, it buys them a few extra months in the country on 'implied status'.

I had been working on implied status for four months by this point, and knew the impending refusal was on its way, so I had booked a flight home already. I was in complete shock when I opened the letter to find out that my application had been successful and that I had eight months worth of visa remaining. The transition back to full time city life suddenly turned into an extended visit home instead. I caught up with friends and family, went back to work to save some cash, and renovated a house in Cardiff that I had bought with my brother. Within two months of getting home, I was on a plane back to Canada to enjoy the remaining six months I had left on my visa.

The wildlife encounters I had that year were some of the best I've ever had! I spent an entire afternoon with a wild lynx, who was so unbothered by my presence that she took a nap just a few feet away from me, I photographed two different litters of coyote pups (something I'd been dreaming of doing for years), and I had some of my best black and grizzly bear encounters in the Rockies to date.

So here they are, my favourite twelve images from 2016.

(click on an image to enlarge)

Black Bear cub - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Canadian Lynx - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Grizzly Bear claw detail - Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada

Black Wolf in a rain shower - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Short Eared Owl - Alberta Prairies, Canada

Morning sunshine - Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Columbian Ground Squirrels - Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada

Coyote Pup - Rocky Mountain Foothills, Alberta, Canada

Canadian Lynx - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Great Grey Owl - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Larch Valley in fresh snow - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Coyote Pup - Rocky Mountain Foothills, Alberta, Canada

My final summer living and working in Banff was easily my favourite spent in Canada. I bought a lot of camping gear and managed to get out into the backcountry on almost a weekly basis. I hiked well over 300km that summer, and spent close to twenty nights in a tent (or sometimes just in my hammock if it was warm enough).

I also managed to visit Vancounver Island for the first time and was blown away by its beauty. I hiked the Juan De Fuca trail in five days, and it was the best multi-day hike I've ever done. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance, and it wasn't very busy which made it a perfect alternative to the more popular West Coast Trail.


Thanks for reading once again, and don't forget you can get an almost-daily dose of nature if you follow me on Instagram. I tend to post there more regularly than I do on my Facebook page these days.

Cai

2015: A Year In Review

Happy New Year everyone!

I can't believe it's 2016 already, that last year flew by! I feel like I only just recently arrived back in Canada, and already it's nearly time for me to leave again. I hate doing this. Moving back to city life after sixteen months in the mountains is never easy.

I've run out of working visas now, so unless the Canadian government relax some of their immigration laws, it doesn't look like I'll be living in Canada again for a while unfortunately. That won't stop me from hopefully spending a couple of months out here each year regardless. In the meantime, I'll be back on home soil for the next little while and I've already got a few ideas for some smaller trips closer to home in the next year.

2015 was an incredible year for me. Being back in the Rockies after nearly three years at home was a huge relief, it almost felt like I could breathe again finally. By the start of last year I had already been back in town for a couple of months and it didn't take long to settle back into mountain life. I also managed to get up to Alaska for a week during the spring, something I've wanted to do for years.

Once again, North America provided me with some unforgettable wildlife encounters last year, and I've selected what I think are fifteen of my strongest images from the past twelve months.

(click on an image to enlarge)

Pine tree in stream, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Bull Elk - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Pine Marten - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Barred Owl sleeping - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Female Grey Wolf - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Grizzly Bear - Lake Clarke National Park, Alaska

Great Grey Owl - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Moose cow with twins - Kananaskis Country, Albert, Canada

Female Grey Wolf - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Grizzly Bears - Lake Clarke National Park, Alaska

Great Grey Owlet - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

 Northern Lights over Cascade - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Grey Wolf Pup - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Grizzlies in love - Lake Clarke National Park, Alaska

Grizzly Bear tracks - Lake Clarke National Park, Alaska

I've got less than a month left in Banff now, so I've decided to take January off work and focus on trying to get a few more memorable encounters under my belt before I leave. As you know, my blog updates are something of a rarity, however I did start up an Instagram account which I update pretty regularly, and you can always see what I've been up to at Cai Priestley Photography on Facebook.


Thanks again to everyone who's shown their support over the last year, and especially to those of you who ordered something during one of my recent print sales. I would've been back in the UK a couple of months ago if it wasn't for your help so I really appreciate it!

Here's hoping you all have a great 2016, and once again thanks for reading!

Cai

2014: A Year In Review

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you've all enjoyed yourselves over the holidays and that 2014 was as good to you as it was to me.

My last blog post was a whole year ago, and during that time a lot has changed.

For the third time in recent years, I've moved back to Banff in the Canadian Rockies. I arrived back here in September after my longest stint away since discovering this place back in 2008. To say I was homesick for this little mountain town would be an understatement.

Once again, I've selected what I think are twelve of my strongest images from the past year to share with you. I hope you enjoy them.

(click on an image to enlarge)

Atlantic Puffin with sandeels - Skomer, Wales

A dazed fox kit seconds after slipping headfirst into a puddle - Cardiff, Wales

Female Kingfisher with newt - Cardiff, Wales

Female Kestrel - Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Wales

Red Fox vixen - Cardiff, Wales

Little Owl - Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Wales

Sunrise at Vermilion Lakes - Banff National Park, Alberta

Cow Moose - Alberta, Canada

Bull Elk - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Bull Moose - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Canadian Lynx - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Black Wolf - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

If I had to pick a personal favourite from the year, it would have to be the portrait of the fox kit. Simply because it's been something I've wanted to see and photograph in my home town for so many years now, and it was a huge relief to finally get that shot before leaving the UK again. However, the best encounter of 2014 has to go to the lynx. After all, you can't beat two hours with a wild cat in the snow can you? The perfect way to end another great year.

Looking back at this selection, I feel incredibly lucky once again for all the amazing things I've seen and done over the last twelve months. I'm confident that this is some of my best work to date, and I'm excited to see what 2015 will bring.

Best of luck to you all in the new year, and thanks for reading!

Cai