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Recent Posts

  • A rare winter bird in Kitimat, Townsend’s solitaire (plus a couple of eagles)
  • June birding: An immature bald eagle, western tanager and more
  • Haisla Bridge Replacement Project Girder Launching Ceremony
  • A mink on a log. How I got the shot (plus some bald eagles)
  • Canada Geese overhead

RSS Model making and diorama photography

  • A cold, wet winter on Arch-to
  • Dollar Store Dinosaurs
  • Star Wars #ourgreatindoors
  • The Rusty Romulan
  • Hot chicken Jedha

Posts Tagged “Kitimat British Columbia”

Bald eagles battle over a duck

Two bald eagles battle over a duck at Kitimat harbour. Images taken off the shoreline of Kitamaat Village.

A bald eagle flies over Kitimat harbour (Robin Rowland)

(Robin Rowland)

Another bald eagle watching from above. (Robin Rowland)

Splash!  The first eagle swoops down and grabs a duck (hard to see in this image) (Robin Rowland)

The second eagle heads skyward with its eye on the first (Robin Rowland)

The first eagle is heading away with his catch (Robin Rowland)

 

The second eagle swoops down to attack.  (Robin Rowland)

 

But the attack is unsuccessful and the first eagle escapes with its meal still in its talons. (Robin Rowland)

March 15, 2018 Robin Rowland
BC, birds, Douglas Channel, duck, eagle, Kitimat, nature, Photoblog, Photography, seascape, Sony RX10iiibald eagle , Bird , Bird photography , birds , British Columbia , Douglas Channel , Kitamaat Village , Kitimat , Kitimat British Columbia , photoblog

Kitimat Modernization Project aluminum smelter upgrade in black and white

Kitimat Modernization Project  aluminum smelter upgrade in black and white

Rio Tinto Alcan Kitimat Modernization Project

The sun sets over the Rio Tinto Alcan Kitimat Modernization Project construction site March 4, 2014. (Robin Rowland)

Updated (below) with the arrival of the Delta Spirit Lodge.

On March 4, 2014,  Rio Tinto Alcan organized the first media tour of the $3.3 billion  construction project since the announcement in December 2011 that the project had received the go ahead from the RTA board.   The project upgrades the aging aluminum smelter, built in the early 1950s, using modern proprietary technology the company says will  increase production by 48 per cent, while reducing most emissions by about 50 per cent.

I converted images taken during the tour to black and white for this blog.

RTA KMP  Carbon South complex
Cranes operate in the area that RTA calls “Carbon South” where there will be the new modularized Paste Plant. Eventually, the Paste Plant will produce green anode blocks part of the electrical process that produces aluminum. (Robin Rowland)

Tower at  RTA KMP Carbon South

A tower under construction at RTA KMP Carbon South (Robin Rowland)

Construction cranes at RTA KMP Carbon South  Robin Rowland photo

Construction cranes at work at RTA KMP Carbon South (Robin Rowland)

 Recycling truck passes Potline One at RTA KMP  Robin Rowland photo

A recycling truck passes the 1950s vintage Potline One at the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter. (Robin Rowland photo)

Power grid at the RTA KMP high  voltage substation area  Robin Rowland photo

Part of the power grid at the RTA KMP high voltage substation area. (Robin Rowland)

Part of the power grid at the RTA KMP high voltage  substation   Robin Rowland photo

Part of the power grid at the RTA KMP high voltage substation area. (Robin Rowland)

High voltage circuit breakers at the RTA KMP  construction site  Robin Rowland photo

High voltage circuit breakers at the RTA KMP construction site. They are electrical switches capable of turning on power and turning off power to the smelter’s rectifier units which convert alternating current into direct current, part of the aluminum smelting process. (Robin Rowland)

Electrical equipment  with the new potlines in the background  Robin Rowland photo

The high voltage circuit breakers are seen at the RTA KMP construction site. The new potlines are under construction behind the circuit breakers and cable drums. (Robin Rowland)

Conveyer and transmission tower at RTA KMP  Robin Rowland photo

 

An old conveyer system and an electrical transmission tower at the RTA KMP construction site. (Robin Rowland)

Mt. Elizabeth and the RTA KMP construction site  Robin Rowland photo
Kitimat’s iconic Mt. Elizabeth is seen in the background of the construction site. (Robin Rowland)

Construction at the Anode Baking furnace site Robin Rowland photo

A platform lift outside the Anode Baking Furnace site. (Robin Rowland)

Construction equipment at the RTA KMP site Robin Rowland

A heavy duty front end loader at the construction site. (Robin Rowland)

Poline under construction Robin Rowland Photo

Construction at the KMP site. (Robin Rowland)

Construction at KMP  Robin Rowland Photo

Construction goes on at the Casthouse C area, with the future cafeteria and change house in the background. (Robin Rowland)

Update March 11, 2014

 Silja Festival aka Delta Spirit Lodge

On Monday, March 10, the Estonian ferry Silja Festival, renamed the Delta Spirit Lodge by Rio Tinto Alcan arrived in Kitimat to act as a bunkhouse/workcamp for about 600 workers who will be completing the Kitimat Modernization Project (Robin Rowland)

March 8, 2014 Robin Rowland
black and whiteAlcan , British Columbia , construction , Delta Spirit Lodge , electricity , Kitimat , Kitimat British Columbia , Kitimat Modernization Project , mountain , Photo gallery , photoblog , Rio Tinto Alcan , RTA , Silja Festival , snow

Sunset and quarter moon over Douglas Channel, August 13, 2013

Sunset and quarter moon over Douglas Channel, August 13, 2013

Another gorgeous evening in Kitimat, August 13, sun set lit clouds and the quarter moon setting over Douglas Channel.

 

Quarter moon over Douglas Channel Kitimat

Sunset and quarter moon setting over Douglas Channel, Kitimat, Aug. 13, 2013. (Robin Rowland)

 Forest and Kitimat harbour,

Telephoto (200 mm) view of the forest and Kitimat harbour, Aug. 13, 2013. (Robin Rowland)

Kitimat harbour

Another telephoto (200 mm) view of the forest and Kitimat harbour, Aug. 13, 2013. (Robin Rowland)

August 14, 2013 Robin Rowland
Douglas Channel, Kitimat, Photoblog, rain forest, service, sky, sunsetBritish Columbia , clouds , Douglas Channel , Kitimat , Kitimat British Columbia , landscape , ocean , sunset , telephoto

The Skeena, the oolichan and the frenzy of the gulls

The Skeena, the oolichan and the frenzy of the gulls

Gulls feed on oolichan on the Skeena

The oolichan, the tiny oil rich fish that sustained the First Nations of British Columbia for millenia come up the rivers in the early spring. At least they come up those rivers where oolichan (Thaleichthys pacificus) still survive. Like the salmon, the oolichan live their adult lives in the ocean and then return to their native streams to spawn and die.

One of the rivers that still sees an oolichan run is the Skeena. Gulls, eagles, ravens, seals all come to feast as the oolichan migrate upstream. The gulls, sensing a feast after a long, harsh winter, are almost in a frenzy, circling and diving over the spot in the river that the oolichan migration has reached.

On Friday, March 8, I was driving to Prince Rupert for an assignment and stopped at the Telegraph Creek rest area. I was lucky, for it was at Telegraph Creek, a great spot for photographs, that the oolichan had reached. There were a few naturalists at Telegraph Creek watching the show. It was an elderly couple who first clued me in to what was going on. Thank you.

Mostly gulls. An eagle flying overhead. Seals or sea lions just upstream.

If I didn’t have that assignment I had to get to in Rupert, I would have stayed at Telegraph Creek most of the day. But as it was, I did manage to get a few shots of the hundreds of gulls circling, wheeling and swimming. I got a couple of not very good shots of an eagle overhead (not very good which is why they’re not here) and the seals or sea lions weren’t anywhere close. So I stayed as long as I could, then it was back in the car for work.

Gulls feed for oolichan on the Skeena

Gulls feed for ollichan on the Skeena

Gulls feed on oolichan in the Skeena River at Telegraph Creek, March 8, 2013 (Robin Rowland)

March 9, 2013 Robin Rowland
BC, birds, oolichan, Photoblog, Skeena, Skeena RiverBird , Bird photography , birds , British Columbia , gulls , Kitimat British Columbia , mountain , oolichan , photoblog , river , spring , Telegraph Creek

“I’m here for lunch” and other spring bird shots (plus a salamander or two)

One of the at least three families of stellar jays that live in the cedar trees at my house is bolder and smarter than the rest.  Or maybe it’s a “point bird.”   If I go out with a bag of seeds to refill the feeder, there is the harsh call of the stellar jay and in a few moments,  the bird is close by (often on my deck) and watching me pour the seeds into the feeder.

Stellar jay flies to the feeder

So a couple of days ago, the stellar jay was sitting  on my fence, watching, as I filled one feeder.  Went back in the house to get a different bag, for a second feeder.  Brought my camera along this time and caught the jay as it took off, heading right for me.  Bold or what?

Stellar jay on my deck

Here’s the stellar jay just a few seconds later on my deck.

Yellow-rumped warbler

A yellow-rumped warbler, a “common migrant” along the BC coast, sits on a branch on the new trail to Maggie Point near Kitimat harbour.

Mallards on Douglas Channel

Mallards flying over  the choppy ocean of Douglas Channel near Maggie Point.

Male harlequin duck on Douglas Channel

A male Harlequin duck skims the choppy waters.

A Savannah Sparrow another “common migrant” along the BC coast, sits on my neighbor’s roof.

 

Robin

A robin checks out a Robin on my front lawn.

Golden crown sparrow

Golden-crowned sparrows are also regular lunch guests at my feeder.

bird at feeder

Not sure who this little guy is.  He was determined to get seeds and was good at finding the best spots in this feeder.

Salamanders

When I went out with the Kitimat Valley Naturalists, we went to special protected sites at Pine Creek, near Kitimat, to look for salamanders, part of a province-wide salamander count.  Taken with a macro lens, but not exactly the best light. Next time I go out I will bring a small reflector.

Salamander

salamander

 

 

May 27, 2012 Robin Rowland
birds, duck, garden, jay, Kitimat, nature, Photo gallery, robin, sparrow, warblerBird , Bird feeder , Bird photography , British Columbia , Douglas Channel , golden-crowned sparrow , Harlequin duck , Kitimat , Kitimat British Columbia , mallard , Robin , savannah sparrow , stellar jay , Yellow-rumped warbler

Snow day in Kitimat

270-Rowland_kitmat_heavy_snoww.jpg

Kitimat, in the language of the neighboring Tshimshian  First Nation means “people of the snow,” and Kitimat businesses often call themselves Snow Valley.  And the area has set records for one day snowfall in Canada. 

Monday Dec. 13, 2010 was not much, just 30 centimetres, and people pretty well kept going about their business, just as people did more than 40 years ago when I was growing up here.

Monday is my administration day and a power failure in the afternoon interrupted my work, so I didn’t run the errands I was planning. I did dig out my driveway twice, and will have to do it a third time (at least) in the morning.  

I know much of the eastern part of North America is socked in by the storm there.  As for me, after I finished digging out the driveway, walked around the neighborhood with the camera and enjoyed the beauty of the heavy wet snow.

View the slideshow of Kitimat snow

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December 14, 2010 Robin Rowland
snowheavy snow , Kitimat British Columbia , snow , storm , trees

Photos of my ocean view

From my new house in Kitimat, British Columbia, I can see  from my front windows, the Kitimat Arm of the Douglas Channel framed by nearby mountains.

One of the many reasons that I chose to move back to my old home town, to build my new career as independent photographer, was that Kitimat is really a place of ever changing light.  The Pacific winds bring weather up the channel, creating microclimates  on each peak and each beach. Thus one moment you can have heavy overcast, a few minutes later scattered cloud,  followed by sun, followed by black clouds and a torrential downpour.

A couple of days ago, during that major rainstorm that pounded the west coast for days, there was one of those breaks, where the sun suddenly shone through.  So I decided to walk, rather than drive, to the local gym (a photographer hiker has to be in shape) and grabbed a couple of shots from a park a few steps from my house.
196-Douglaschannelpanorama4-thumb-475x278-195.jpg 
Of course, as I was walking back from the gym, the ocean squall returned full force and I was soaked by the time I got home.
 
But that shot gave me an idea. As I have said in previous blog posts, I always carry my Lumix FZ28 in a fanny pack, so for the past few days,as I walk to or from the gym,  I stopped at the viewpoint and grabbed a few shots,  hand held (against recommendations) and then using Photshop CS5 merged them into large (20 to 40 inch ) panaromas.  Here are the web versions.

199-Douglas-Channel_Panorama2-processed-thumb-475x195-198.jpgThis dark, menacing sky is somewhat misleading. As I came home from the gym, on what had been a beautiful day, the skies darkened with dark clouds.  But it was the opposite of the other day, the clouds blew over and the afternoon sun was soon shining again.

202-Douglas-Channel_Panorama_processed-thumb-475x126-201.jpgThe panorama in afternoon light.

205-Douglaschannel_Panorama7-cropped-thumb-475x82-204.jpgThe panorama in mid-morning light.

208-Douglas-Channel-Panorama6-thumb-475x124-207.jpgDouglas Channel about the same time as the previous photo, on the following day.

(All photos pop as larger versions)

 

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October 1, 2010 Robin Rowland
seascapeclouds , Douglas Channel , Kitimat British Columbia , mountains , ocean , rain , squall , storm , Weather

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