Gwaii Haanas Through Your Lens – A Journey of Photographic Art and Visual Story Telling
Situated on the southern portion of the Haida Gwaii Archipelago, located approximately 100 km west of British Columbia’s remote northwest coast, Gwaii Haanas was created by the Haida Nation and the Government of Canada in the 1980s to protect the indigenous cultural legacy of the Haida, and the lands, forests, and surrounding marine ecosystems in which they have existed for more than 14,000 years. Today, Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site is an ecological treasure and globally significant protected area that welcomes visitors from around the world to experience, learn from, and be inspired by, all that it protects and represents.
It’s in this context that I’m excited to announce our June 18-26, 2026 “Gwaii Haanas Through Your Lens” expedition, aboard our new expedition vessel, Ocean Wayfinder. Focused on experiencing, learning, and sharing the many stories of Gwaii Haanas using a variety of media. Rather than a traditional photography tour, this expedition will be a journey of photographic art and visual story telling. We look forward to welcoming a diverse range of photographers and visual artists, from aspiring to accomplished, using an array of equipment and mediums, from smart phones and GoPros, to mirrorless digital cameras with telephoto lenses and underwater video cameras, and even paintbrushes, pencils, and charcoal, all coming together to witness, create, and share the essence of this place. Our goal is to give you the settings, context, information, support, time, and flexibility to learn and practice your photographic, videographic, and visual story telling skills while immersing you in the sights, sounds, rhythms, ecology, and deep cultural history of Gwaii Haanas.
Supporting you in this journey will be James Thompson, Coastal Ecosystem Photographer, and myself, Russell Markel, Marine Ecosystem Ecologist. James is an accomplished photographer and visual artist who strives to capture and share the ecological wonders of the BC coast and beyond. James will share his process of translating what he sees into digital images, and provide technical and creative coaching sessions and discussions, tailored to the interests and experience levels of our group. Sharing and discussing what we capture and create as we go will help inspire us all.
And as a marine ecologist specializing in understanding the interconnectedness of nearshore marine ecosystems, I look forward to interpreting the natural world around us, and sharing my expertise in kelp forest ecology, nearshore oceanography, and marine fisheries. I’ll also be your captain and expedition leader, working closely with James to plan our daily activities and excursions.
Themes and Highlights
While there is no end of subjects or themes, we can imagine ourselves delving into the following themes, ecosystems, and stories throughout our journey through Gwaii Haanas:
Indigenous Lifeways of Gwaii Haanas
Indigenous Lifeways of Gwaii Haanas: Woven into this ecological tapestry are the ancient lifeways of the Haida; ancient villages, house remains, standing and fallen poles, stone and wooden-stake fish traps, stone tools, culturally modified trees, and deep shell middens representing thousands of years of the Haida living and their intimate dependence upon marine ecosystems.
Monumental Old-Growth Temperate Rainforests
Monumental old-growth temperate rainforests: Nurtured in part by intimate interactions between wild Pacific salmon, and the world’s largest sub-species of black bear, Gwaii Haanas is home to truly monumental old-growth forests that have been the cornerstone of Haida culture for millenia.
Returning Sea Otters and Kelp Forests
Returning Sea Otters and Kelp Forests: Cascading interactions between recovering sea otters populations and their prey, the dramatic expansions of vast undersea kelp forests that result, and their widespread benefits to herring, salmon, rockfish, lingcod, seabirds, and marine mammals, are transforming the marine ecosystems of Gwaii Haanas as we speak.
Recovery of the Great Whales
Recovery of the Great Whales: Over the past 25 years, we’ve witnessed an amazing recovery of humpback whales, and more recently, fin whales, throughout Gwaii Haanas, and the BC coast more broadly. Scientists are now beginning to understand the critical roles that these whales play in fertilizing the oceans and enhancing the foundation of the food webs upon which they depend.
Tidepool Life and Marine Biodiversity
Tidepool Life and Marine Biodiversity: Gwaii Haanas is an incredible hotspot for marine biodiversity, including amazing intertidal zones and tidepools and brimming with colourful seaweeds and marine invertebrates – sea anemones, nudibranchs, hermit crabs, sculpins, purple urchins, and more.
Introduced Species of Gwaii Haanas
Introduced Species of Gwaii Haanas: Unfortunately, Gwaii Haanas hasn’t been isolated from the global patterns of the introductions of non-native species to remote island ecosystems. Sitka black-tailed deer, raccoons, rats, beaver, and red squirrels have all found their way to Haida Gwaii, often with profound consequences for native species.
Seabirds of Gwaii Haanas
Seabirds of Gwaii Haanas: Gwaii Haanas is home to globally significant populations (a term used to identify populations that, if lost or severely reduced, would meaningfully affect the species’ survival, biodiversity, or ecosystem health on a global level) of seabirds, including tufted and horned puffins, rhinoceros auklets, Cassin’s auklets, common murres, ancient and marbled murrelets, pigeon guilemots, shearwaters, albatrosses, storm petrels, and many more.
Expedition Details
Dates: June 18-26, 2026 (8 nights)
Starts/Ends: K’il Kun (Sandspit), Haida Gwaii
Number of Guests: 10
Expedition Leaders: James Thompson and Russell Markel
Vessel: Ocean Wayfinder (link to page)
Cost: $8,950 CAD/person (plus $200 OCEaNS Fund and 5% GST).
We hope you’ll join us! For more information please contact us!
