Community’s own all-nature calendar debuts

Island Wild for Mirror Dec. 4, 2009

Karalyn Hubbard poses with her local 2010 nature calendar, inspired by Mother Earth’s beauty.

Flipping the page to December reminds us of the New Year ahead, and many banks, garages or grocery stores hand out generic calendars with boring pictures.

Like most folks, we look at our calendar daily, and use it to keep track of absolutely everything, so it’s wonderful when the monthly photo twigs our interest and brightens our spirit.

Now, with just one month to go before we flip to January, 2010, a Campbell River photographer has produced the community’s first all-nature photo art calendar, chock-full of luscious images of grasshoppers, eagles, spawning salmon and deer.

Hot off the press, Karalyn Hubbard’s first calendar is sure to fill the New Year with nature’s loveliness. January shows crunchy frost on red maple leaves; February features an ice formation called “Winter lace.” Golden water drops on a silver leaf prove the simplest things on Earth are precious and beautiful.

Here’s a chance to flip to a new month and see butterflies and wildflowers…and a ladybug nestled in a dogwood bloom. Hubbard snapped most of the images locally, and added a black border around monthly selections so those wishing to frame their favourites won’t need to purchase matting.

Among the photos are some of Vancouver Island’s premier nature images, snapped by a talented artist with an eye for striking themes and creative angles. In one remarkable scene, Hubbard captured a bald eagle carrying moss to soften a nest, while an eagle nestling looks on.

In pursuing the great outdoors as a subject, Hubbard explains her goal is “to share God’s beauty with everyone so they can appreciate the beautiful everyday things that surround us but are often taken for granted.”

She adds: “You just have to slow down and take notice. With a photo, the image is captured forever. Precious wildflowers that so many walk by – or on –without noticing, mushrooms, lichen, pinecones…there is beauty in everything.”

After receiving a Kodak Instamatic in her mid-teens, a love of photography blossomed. Currently, her snapping fav is a trusted Sony.

Contact Karalyn Hubbard Photography by E-mail regarding her calendar ($17.50) or unique greeting cards: kbphotography@shaw.ca. Blogsite: http://karalynbranscombephotography.blogspot.com/. Her nature photos are also sold in Willow Point at Cipollines Bakery (across from Sybil Andrews Cottage by the shore).