Gabriola Island Photography and a story about dirt.
Malaspina Galleries on Gabriola Island is a trendy, magical little gem of nature, but far from the only amazing place to explore or go swimming.
This is a little story that is not just about a magic island with stunning scenery. It’s a little personal. More than a little actually, but I am an open book and will tell you pretty much anything that makes up a moment in our life story. Feel free to skip to the good part and the scenic pics below though.
The very first time I went to Gabriola Island was to photograph a backyard wedding in 2018 for my friend’s sister. The backyard vibe was incredible as we were surrounded by cafe lights overlooking the water, we visited an alpaca farm for the formal portraits, had pizza delivery from the Wood Fire Pizza restaurant for the meal, had deer sitting around us like lawn ornaments during dinner, and we danced through the night under the stars, until the last call ferry packed us all off the island around 11pm. Sound magical? It was.
Just a short time later, into covid, and when we were feeling a little stir-crazy after the lockdown, my husband and I took a day trip over to the island to look at real estate.
Covid nature exploring, masks still in the mix :s. Our first visit to Malaspina Galleries
I had just resolved a 9-year legal issue from a car accident (due to extensive injuries and chronic pain that still affect my everyday life), and we were looking for an investment to allow us some self-care, a blank slate, in the trees to do something. We dont know what yet. The best thing that helps me with pain management and a sense of healing is keeping active, moving, swimming, hiking, gardening, and anything that gets me moving and releases the tension. Gabriola Island offers all of this, but we wanted an investment and a reason to be here more often. We had sold our rental property in Campbell River after a horrendous renter situation and were done with that for the foreseeable future, no more renters for us. So this was something else. Unknown.
When we stepped foot on Gabriola together, viewed a couple of vacant pieces of land with a few trees, and then explored the numerous gorgeous beaches within a short distance, we found paradise to draw us away from home, routine, pain, work, everything that keeps me stuck in the chronic pain cycle and give us something to look forward to.
This magical little island is going to help us to get outside in a relaxing setting and continue to heal. So with that rental property gone, we bought a very reasonable hunk of dirt with a funky barn. We are officially part-time Gabriola people.
That hunk of dirt has no power, no water, a very steep hill to walk up or attempt to drive up, and probably doesn’t look like anything exciting as it’s nowhere near water or amenities. But it’s our hunk of dirt, and in that barn with no power, we have our little battery camping lanterns and a couple of choice beverages and do nothing. We have our tommy bahama lawn chairs. We stop at the Mad Rona’s or Ground Up Cafe for coffee and snacks, and we just sit and enjoy the view. And then we go somewhere fun for some beach time.
our piece of dirt with steep driveway to get up
the first time we viewed the property and the barn
Right after the ink dried on purchasing this property, then the magic happened.
Just a week after we bought our lot on Gabriola Island we found out that, after almost 12 years of waiting, hoping, and giving up, I got pregnant. You’ll find that story on my About Me page in detail.
Here it was. Our savings were invested into dirt and a barn, no rental revenue, but an investment nonetheless.
And suddenly less than 7 months away I would be on unpaid maternity leave, cuz we entrepreneurs don’t get maternity leave (if we aren’t paying into it at least 12 months ahead, and who would do that if they don’t think they’ll ever get to use it). Feeling panic in paradise. Except we didn’t.
Our next trip to visit the dirt was calming and exciting as we sat in the barn. Just relaxing and doing absolutely nothing, there’s no cell service too at our dirt spot, I should mention. It’s all going to work out. We are now 2 years post-purchase, and we dove all in on this investment last month, we are starting to put water and power on the dirt so that maybe we can camp here in style with real lights. We also hope to build a house if we can make it work so stay tuned to our stories later this year. Mostly, the stories go on Instagram so please follow along and you may see updates.
Now for the good part.
We keep spending time on Gabriola Island and all I can think about are the endless photo opportunities for portraits and fun sessions.
We explore the possibilities and the locations that I can share with my clients.
I am always documenting scenery, scenic drives, and the spots where the wild turkeys hang out. I have a very fun list of unique views and roads less travelled, scenic lookouts and amazing sunsets. I would love to share these with my clients for family, vacation & couple’s photography sessions on Gabriola Island.
If you are up for the adventure on Gabriola Island for portraits, please reach out for more info.
Now we are sharing this beautiful hidden gem with our TWO little ones. As we had back-to-back surprises, our now 19-month-old little boy followed this summer by our now 4-month-old baby girl. Life stirred things up for us. I will be adding more Gabriola Island adventure images as we go, but here’s a few favourites of note so far.
Please check out just a few favourites from our Gabriola Island photo adventures so far. If you would like to book family portraits, or even a wedding here, let’s connect!
Galleries at Sunset
Sunset at the Galleries
Drumbeg Provincial Park at Low Tide - Gabriola Island, BC
Sleeping beside the sea - amazing rock formations are everywhere on Gabriola Island
Drumbeg Park Viewpoint Family Portrait on Gabriola Island
Sunset is perfect here - Engagement Photos on Gabriola Island
There are many places for a gorgeous sunset plunge. Engagement Photos on Gabriola Island
