Day 252 – The Golden hour

September 8, 2016 – I love morning. Morning is that period of calm before the day smashes into you. And sometimes it comes with the most amazing light effects. I love the quiet and calm of early morning, smooth water, no people talking, no dogs barking, no music blaring and, at this hour, no boats buzzing about.

Today was day two of work on the Upper Pitt system.

Yesterday I left home at 7:35am and it took me over an hour and a half to get to where I needed to be. I was almost late because of traffic and accident snarls.

I left ten minutes earlier today and, since I ended up far ahead of schedule due to no traffic snarls or accidents along the way, stopped at Tim Hortons for a coffee and an apple fritter, and still managed to make it to the meeting point in under an hour.

With 40 minutes or more to spare by the time I arrived, I grabbed my camera and my coffee and headed down to the still deserted boat launch.


The area is so peaceful early in the morning. It was really just me, a blue heron, and a few fish jumping at insects hovering above the water beside the dock. I was so disappointed when another human came down the dock and broke the silence with a question. The magic of the morning was destroyed.

Even so, although the morning was cloudy, the sun, as it poked over the mountains and broke through the clouds, provided the most spectacular light on the pilings. That golden light that heralds the start of the day, as the sun climbs out of bed.

Eventually the rest of the crew arrived and we collected ourselves and headed up to the boat, and then up the lake to the river, where we spent a few hours seining sockeye and taking eggs and milt for later fertilizations back at the hatchery.

Pitt Lake and Corbold Creek provide such a fabulously gorgeous backdrop for work.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my job? It’s days like these that reinforce that.

And, funnily, it was five years ago, today, that I first came up here. I’ve come every fall since, and will continue to do so as long as they continue to welcome my help.

116 Photos in 2016 – 28. Blue Hour / Golden Hour