How a Parks Canada employee uses his camera to connect people with nature

Cape Breton might be best known for its fall splendour, but the superintendent of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park is on a mission to reveal its beauty even in the dead of winter.

Sometimes that means waiting 30 minutes lying on his stomach in the wet snow for a pheasant to pass by.

"That's part of the fun," Éric Le Bel told CBC's Mainstreet Cape Breton. "Opportunities just present themselves and you can always do better. That's also the challenge in photography and that's what I love about it."

Le Bel started his career with Parks Canada as an interpreter. He soon realized his camera was the perfect tool to connect people with the wonders of Cape Breton.

"I use my pictures to make nature more accessible," he said.

Now, he posts his wildlife photography, which he captures with his Nikon D750, to Instagram for more than 8,000 followers. Scroll through and you'll see a bright-eyed rabbit staring directly into the lens and a blue jay hanging on a snowy branch.

These are the small moments most visitors to the park miss. 

"Really anything and everything is the subject of photography for me," said Le Bel. "I think I have a permanent frame in my mind, a camera frame."

Le Bel's gift for photography doesn't appear to be genetic. His father had the bad habit of cutting people's heads out of the frame every time he took a picture.

One day in frustration, his mom handed a nine-year-old Le Bel the camera and he became the family's official photographer.

These days, he fits in photo shoots among his full-time duties as park superintendent. He's become the island's go-to guide on the hidden wonders of the park. 

He's learned to appreciate what each day photographing the natural world brings — even when the weather isn't co-operating. During an expedition many years ago, it rained his entire trip.

He was sulking in his soaking wet tent when he emerged to see mushrooms sprouting out of the damp ground.

"And the rest of the week was amazing for me because I was able to, in that bad weather, to still do something pretty nice with macro photography and just taking the opportunity that's there," he said. 

Le Bel encourages others to do the same, and delight in the Cape Breton's beauty in every season. 

"Sometimes, you know, you just need to get out there," he said.