Want to know keep up-to-date on what's happening in Victoria? Subscribe to our daily newsletter:
How Capital Daily saw Victoria this year, from Fairy Creek to abandoned boats to the heat dome
How Capital Daily saw Victoria this year, from Fairy Creek to abandoned boats to the heat dome
Get the news and events in Victoria, in your inbox every morning.
How Capital Daily saw Victoria this year, from Fairy Creek to abandoned boats to the heat dome
.jpg)
The year we're leaving behind is one for the history books: A changing climate at our front door with historic storms, sweltering heat domes, and devastating flooding. Our streets were filled with those fighting for change and a better future, while land defenders fought against loggers and the police to protect old growth. And all the while our education in the Greek alphabet continues as we continue to navigate the ups and downs of COVID-19.
But 2021 was not all struggle and challenge. Island athletes, despite all the trials, represented Canada at the Olympics in Tokyo. There was a magical Valentine’s Day snow storm, epic island sunsets, stories of hope and success and progress made.
And while the Capital Daily has been working to carve out a place for in-depth, long-form reporting and storytelling. There is also a team of visual storytellers working to help illustrate those stories: adding context to those incredible pieces of writing, putting a faces to names, offering a visual document and record of historic events, and if now and then they nab a photo or two of a rainbow, who can blame them?
As we prepare to step into 2022, let’s take a look back at the Capital Daily’s year in photos for 2021.
“I was looking for one final image set to wrap up the story and offer a different visual than the ones we already had. I had seen this mast poking out of the waves a few times driving by the Oak Bay Marina, and wanted to see what this recent stranding might offer. I timed my visit with one of the lowest tides of the winter and stopped by for a look.
Parking the car, I could just see the sailboat high and dry as the tide was incredibly far out. But also around it I saw lights. Not the most normal thing to expect in the late evening. So I must have looked a little odd as I sprinted across the quiet Oak Bay streets, camera bag and tripod in hand, trying to get to the best vantage point before these snooping headlamps disappeared. Luckily, I got things set up, framed up, and was able to make 8-10 frames of these people poking around this washed up boat, which in turn beautifully illuminated the vessel and made for the most dynamic picture of the whole story.” – James MacDonald
.jpg)
“I was approached by editor Jimmy Thomson to create a graphic to go along with Jolene Rudisuela's feature. He had given me a large selection of different files and images and the task was to show as much as possible while retaining the mystery and chaos of the story. We felt that a collage was the best way to embody all of that.
The location takes place, almost unnoticeable as a texture in the background. Then I layered different elements on top of one another so the story itself is also semi-being told via the images.
These are all real clippings from when the incident happened nearly 70 years ago.” – Carita Marsili
“This is a photo of Rainbow Eyes, a prominent activist in the Fairy Creek movement, taken at the Caycuse blockade on May 18th, 2020. That was the day the RCMP first began arresting old-growth logging protesters in TFL 46. Rainbow Eyes was chained to a yellow gate, deep in the tangle of logging roads west of Lake Cowichan, alongside fellow protester Brandon Busby. The two were extracted from their hardblocks and arrested shortly after this photo was taken, marking the third and fourth arrests of the movement. More than a thousand arrests would be made at the blockades in the months that followed.
What you can't see in this photo is the swarm of journalists in front of them, snapping photos and asking questions while RCMP readied their advance in the background. Media had been escorted from spot to spot that day, and I felt the watchful eyes of the RCMP on us, too. Despite the action, the two stood firm. At that moment, I asked Rainbow Eyes how she felt. She smiled. "So pumped up. So happy to stand for the trees." – Emily Vance
"I was scrolling through a group of 5,000 members talking about everything that has to do with Metchosin (which mostly includes farming, farmers markets, and traffic concerns) when I came across a post by a woman promoting her friend who had just started selling his woodcarvings online. At first glance, it didn’t seem like anything too special, but one line caught my eye: ‘You might know him, the kind guy who hitchhikes (with half of his right thumb) from Beecher Bay into town.’
Beneath the post, there were over a dozen comments publicly showing their love for the guy, Andy Charles. My curiosity took over. I immediately reached out to the woman who shared the post to chat about Andy. She shared how she met him while working at a brain rehabilitation centre—and not long after, I was listening to him share his near-death experiences, see his scars, and watch him work on his wood carvings.” – Aaron Guillen
“I was drawn to that moment in particular because of my own personal experiences; I didn't learn about residential schools until I was 30 years old, and it’s horrible that I wasn't taught about that in school. I could really feel this moment and that this child who just learned about something so horrible learned it at a very young age, like I should have.
It’s my hope that this generation and all generations will never repeat this history.
The vibe around the event was like being at a funeral. Everyone was visually shaken, one person broke down crying in screams of torment, an elder quietly sat in her wheelchair wiping tears with a napkin, while people consoled her. There were several Indigenous speakers who spoke about their lived experiences in residential schools, and mention of the stories they'd been told. Later on as the sun set, it turned into more of a celebration of life / candlelit vigil with drummers, singers and dancers.
When an Indigenous led event is happening I prefer to have the consent of the organizers, rather than following ‘Canadian photo laws,’ which basically state that ‘anything happening in a public place is okay to photograph.’ I could just follow those guidelines, but I'd rather be a part of a community rather than someone on the outside looking in. I've become trusted in the community as someone who is safe to document their event because I've been doing it here for a long time.” – Colin Smith
It was just about as unprecedented as you can get, so we are devoting two images by Colin Smith from the oppressive Heat Dome that settled over most of the Pacific Northwest in late June. From the story PHOTOS: Victorians manage the hottest day in the city’s recorded history by Colin Smith @colinsmithtakespics.
“The Orange Shirt Day gathering in Victoria on Sept. 30 was steeped in extra meaning, as the discovery of graves at residential schools across Canada ripped open the painful stories of survivors, and the many who didn’t survive”. – Zoe Ducklow
“CBC host Gregor Craigie wrote a book about earthquake preparedness, and Megan Clark interviewed him about the book. For the portrait, I wanted someone looking at the picture to immediately recognize the topic, and to show Craigie's personality a bit. Luckily he was completely game for this silly idea.” – Jimmy Thomson
