-Story by Nessa Pullman

ItB次元官网网址檚 by following our curiosity that we find our true passions B次元官网网址� by listening to that small, subtle voice inside, begging us to come a little closer. But not everyone hears that voice right away. And for Peninsula-based photographer Dave Hutchison, it took awhile to find the path to his passion.

But today, Dave has carved out a career niche with his love of photography, working for clients that range from BC Ferries to National Bank Financial, and producing images for over 20 calendars, books, thousands of art cards, tourism guides, magazines and more.

Recently, heB次元官网网址檚 had two images accepted into the PPOC () National Images Salon (competition) and received his second PPOC Accreditation in Scenic/Pictoral Photography from PPOC.

B次元官网网址淚 consider myself fortunate to have ventured into places that many others donB次元官网网址檛 visit,B次元官网网址� he says on his website at . B次元官网网址淭he Great Bear Rainforest B次元官网网址� has called me back repeatedly with the lure of grizzly and Spirit bears.B次元官网网址�

He has also photographed whales, wolves and birds, landscapes and seascapes from all over North America and, recently, Europe. His images are breathtaking.

Growing up in St. Catharines, Ontario, Dave was drawn to the outdoors. Cycling, a cherished hobby, gave him the opportunity to be outside in nature B次元官网网址� easily his favourite place to be. By 1993, Dave found himself on the West Coast of Canada in Vancouver, selling commercial exercise equipment to large corporations such as Telus, BC Hydro and Canada Post.

In 2002, Dave gravitated to the Saanich Peninsula in search of a quieter surrounding to call home. Still working for the company in Vancouver, Dave commuted from his home in Sidney to his workplace on the Lower Mainland every few days for two years.

B次元官网网址淭hat back and forth lifestyle B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 enough to burn anyone out. You start to feel like you donB次元官网网址檛 really live anywhere. I needed to find an outlet to offset that,B次元官网网址� explains Dave.

As the owner of four Whippet dogs at the time, he began photographing dog racing around BC. What started out as a simple pastime, soon catapulted into a career in which he never thought heB次元官网网址檇 find himself.

B次元官网网址淚t was just very peaceful, being out in the field, no one else around except me and the dogs. To me it was very therapeutic after a long work week.B次元官网网址�

Soon after that, Dave went on a trip to Yellowstone National Park with his friend and fellow photographer .

B次元官网网址淚 remember being completely wowed by the abundance of wildlife B次元官网网址� bison, pronghorns, elk B次元官网网址� everywhere I looked. It was that connection to photography that I hadnB次元官网网址檛 yet experienced. It was the bait that lured me in,B次元官网网址� he recalls, the memory still so tangible.

B次元官网网址淚t was an image I had taken on my trip to Yellowstone that was my first framed and sold piece of art. It was then that I realized this could become much more than just a pastime.B次元官网网址�

As he launched his career in nature and wildlife photography, his home in the Saanich Peninsula provided an B次元官网网址渆xcellent training ground to experiment and practise with landscape photography,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭he Peninsula has these amazing sunsets B次元官网网址� from Deep Cove to Moses Point.B次元官网网址�

Dave approaches photography as a form of communication.

B次元官网网址淲hat I love most about nature and wildlife photography is that I can communicate to others what is out there to preserve B次元官网网址� what we have to cherish and keep. People buy artwork because they can connect to it, whatever it may be,B次元官网网址� he explains. B次元官网网址淭here are so many different genres to communicate B次元官网网址� whether itB次元官网网址檚 painting, music, or dance B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 all the same in the sense that we are trying to communicate. For some reason photography happened for me B次元官网网址� whether it came to me or I came to it.B次元官网网址�

What especially draws Dave to his work is the way in which immerses him in nature.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a whole different life when you are out there in the wild with another being; it teaches you how to be present in an instant,B次元官网网址� he says, adding, B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e alone with wildlife, you can only be fully there B次元官网网址� nothing else matters. And thatB次元官网网址檚 where the real teaching comes into place B次元官网网址� it teaches you to stay calm, to breathe, but at the same time it magnifies itself into all areas of your life. Photography is just a medium B次元官网网址� a portal B次元官网网址� to reveal how youB次元官网网址檙e going to be in this world.B次元官网网址�

Dave began conducting one-on-one photography workshops eight years ago.

B次元官网网址淲hen I work with my students I donB次元官网网址檛 call it B次元官网网址榩hotography,B次元官网网址� I call it B次元官网网址榠mage making.B次元官网网址� I teach them how to create images, not to take snap shots B次元官网网址� they already know how to do that.B次元官网网址�

He soon expanded the personal sessions, and within a few years, he was hosting group workshops and photo tours around BC.

B次元官网网址淔or me, itB次元官网网址檚 about meeting the students where theyB次元官网网址檙e at, not to be above or below them. We are all creative beings, it just sometimes takes something to bring it out in us. For me, it was much later in life.B次元官网网址�

As I sit down with Dave on a late summerB次元官网网址檚 evening, I can feel his excitement as he tells me his plans for his in Italy, Colorado and the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary in Northern BC. DaveB次元官网网址檚 outlook on his craft may seem ordinary to someB次元官网网址攂ut itB次元官网网址檚 his outlook on our role as creative beings and communicators of our earth, that seems imaginably exceptional.