05/21/2026
I had been thinking about this little tree for nearly ten years before I ever stood in front of it. I had seen photographs of Fairy Lake near Port Renfrew, this stubborn little evergreen growing from a weathered stump in the middle of the water, and something about it stayed with me. So, I finally made the drive up to Port Angeles, WA, to catch the ferry to Victoria. From there it was another two-hour drive through forests and coastal roads, chasing a photograph that had lived in my imagination for almost a decade.
By the time I reached Port Renfrew, evening was settling in. I found a small cabin for the night, simple and quiet, the kind of place where you can hear the trees creak outside and the rain thinking about coming down. Before dawn the next morning, I was already awake, fumbling with my camera gear in the dark, hoping the fog would linger long enough to soften the lake.
Finding Fairy Lake in the dim morning light felt a bit like stepping into a secret. The fog hung low over the water, and the tiny tree stood out there alone, exactly as I had imagined and somehow smaller, more fragile. I walked the shoreline slowly, searching for the right angle, moving a few feet one way, then back again, watching how the reflections shifted and how the background melted into color and shape. The light changed minute by minute. Too flat, then too bright, then suddenly perfect.
And for one brief, quiet moment, everything lined up. The fog, the stillness, the muted reflections, the tiny tree holding on in the middle of the lake. After nearly ten years of wanting to capture this image for myself, I finally pressed the shutter.