Big Picture: Nature’s Photoshop

Text and Photograph by Eiko Jones

Every fall Coho are among four species of salmon returning to spawn in Vancouver Island’s Campbell River. The next spring Coho ‘fry’ emerge from the gravel spawning bed upstream to spend a year or so along the banks and side channels of the river. Before heading out to sea they move into the estuary, where the mix of salt and fresh waters condition them for life in the ocean. Here, little smolts hang out in the sedge that grows along the tideline. As I followed them along I couldn’t help notice that the reeds reflected an ever-changing surreal swirl along the silvery surface. Captured on camera the abstract imagery had the look of something familiar but more like some weird Photoshop® fantasy, though courtesy of Mother Nature, which inspires us all.