Sarah Bourne Photography » Miscellaneous

Winter camping on Mt Trorey, BC

Sarah Bourne — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:39:19 +0000

For the first time in months, it seemed, the clouds cleared in Whistler and the sun came out. It was forecast to stay out for a few days, so Rob and I took the rare opportunity to go back country touring and camping.

We headed out from the back side of Blackcomb Mountain on what is the first leg of the “Spearhead Traverse” – a three day, two night ski tour from Blackcomb Mt to Whistler Mt. We were not intending to do the whole traverse, just a quick tour out to Mt Trorey.

Within 30 minutes or so we had left the mayhem and crowds of the in-bounds Whistler Blackcomb ski area and were in the back country. It never ceases to amaze me just how large the mountain area is, compared to the area that we ski – you reach the top of the ridge, look out and see layer upon layer of little-touched mountains. I say ‘little-touched’ as this is a well traveled ski tour route and there were probably 50 – 80 people out there. Still, that leaves a lot of space and untouched snow for us.

After traversing a little, we headed up the already well trodden ski tour track to the top of Mt Trorey (2,600m). It took us about an hour. The sun was out and warm, although there certainly was a chill in the air. Rob built his now famous snow fort that would act as our kitchen and living room for the night while I dug out a level area for our tent. From experience, this time I took the time to level out the snow pad by jumping up and down on it with my skis.

As the sun went down, the temperature dropped and the wind came up. The sunset was pretty and the stars too. We knew it would be an almost full moon but by 10pm it had still not materialized and I was too cold to wait any longer. The wind was getting stronger and stronger and at times during the night we thought that the tent was trying to take off. Not a great night’s sleep was had! In the morning, after most of our stuff was out of the tent it actually did take off! Thankfully I had tethered it fairly well so we didn’t have to chase it all over the mountains.

A beautiful, tiring experience and I wouldn’t have missed a moment of it. Enjoy the photos!

Winter camping on Oboe

Sarah Bourne — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:42:07 +0000

Rob and I have been waiting for the right weather to go camping in the mountains and last weekend was perfect: unseasonably warm, sunny and with no foreseeable change. So we packed up all of our camping equipment and set off.

Thankfully we could take a couple of the Whistler Blackcomb ski lifts to get to the top of Piccolo Mountain. From there we hiked up Flute Mountain then skied down to the base of Oboe. It was tricky going as the sun had melted the snow giving it a crust that was hard to ski, especially with a heavy backpack. Then we hiked up Oboe to our camping spot.

Rob loves to build and I love to take photos, so I ‘let’ him build camp which I documented it. Eventually Rob’s creation, complete with lounge area, kitchen and ‘fireplace’, was ready and he made us both a hot chocolate. He topped his up with a well earned tot of rum!

We watched as the sun set spectacularly behind Black Tusk Mountain, the moon rose and the stars came out. I carried on taking photos and video while Rob carried on with his domestic chores and made us some noodles.

After an uncomfortable night’s sleep (snow, contrary to popular belief is not soft and fluffy to lie on all night!) we got up at 7am to see the sky turn pink and blue as the sun rose. As we were up so early we took advantage and went for one ski run without our heavy packs. The snow was great on the non-sun affected slopes. Then we packed up, fed the birds a little more and headed back home.

It was a tiring but exhilarating weekend. Now……where to go next?

A chilly day on Whistler Mountain

Sarah Bourne — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:37:48 +0000

We’ve had a run of arctic air in Whistler recently. These photos were taken last weekend at -15 C. During the week the temperature dropped to -23 C!!! At that temperature even the moisture in the air freezes as you can see by the sparkly photos:

Corporate Headshots

Sarah Bourne — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:16:43 +0000

With increased web presence professionals need good looking head-shots for the myriad of social media sites that they need to be on. I have a mobile studio lighting kit so that I can take the shot at your location. I have black or white backgrounds:

Cinnamon Bear

Sarah Bourne — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:52:32 +0000

I guess the berries are ripe at my house right now as the bears are here every day. Today I got some photos of this large black bear. Although she is cinnamon in colour (with a great blonde ‘mane’), she is still considered a black bear. We don’t tend to get brown, or grizzly, bears in Whistler.

Again, such a special treat to be this close to wildlife.

Black Bear in my Garden

Sarah Bourne — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:38:57 +0000

Just as I sat to eat my lunch in the garden I heard crunching and crashing in the bushes – a sure sign of a local bear. So I grabbed my camera from the house and came back out. This little black bear (probably on his own for the first time this summer) walked around the garden for the next half hour or so, munching on the berries. At one point he started walking straight towards me and was less than 10 feet away: time to retreat into the house! I took a photo of him through the window and screen as he sniffed at my laundry drying on the patio.

What an experience! It doesn’t matter how many time I’ve seen bears I’m still in awe of them, and amazed at just how close to them we are, living here in Whistler.

Swiss Chalet Shoot

Sarah Bourne — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:14:25 +0000

While waiting for snow to enable me to shoot the exterior and view shots of this lovely chalet in Nendaz, Switzerland, I have been able to shoot the bedrooms and bathrooms. Using special techniques it is possible to show both the interior and mountain views balanced correctly:

Toko Hotel

Sarah Bourne — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:10:50 +0000

Here in Nendaz, Switzerland, there are many large apartment / hotel blocks but Toko Chalet, Hotel and Restaurant offers a little extra. Sitting just outside of the main village (but still close to the lifts and shops) it sits above the valley and offers stunning views over the mountains. Amongst other things, the restaurant offers the only Indian cuisine in Nendaz!

I was asked to take some photos of it for the owners, Treena and Meredith.

Bald Eagles in Squamish

Sarah Bourne — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 05:36:53 +0000

It’s a little early in the year, but already the bald eagles are heading to Squamish (Brackendale, actually) to eat salmon as they head up river. Amazing to watch, although it was almost too cold to take the camera out!

365 Project on Display

Sarah Bourne — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:20:00 +0000

My 365 Project is complete and all the photos are printed in one big poster – 2′ x 8′. The photos are on display at Moguls in Whistler from Nov 1st – 30th if anyone is interested to go and see.

Now I need a new project!

All 365 photos on display at Moguls during November