Thursday, July 29, 2010

Stanley Park Interior July 28 2010 IRHDR 01_DSC2352_3_4_tonemapped

Alpha and Omega - The Beginning and the End.

Here's a view along the Tatlow Walk inside Stanley Park Vancouver. This is a great spot (between Lovers Walk and the Bridle Path) to get a clear view of some of the ancient trees that managed to survive the late 19th century logging. In the center is the root ball of a massive Douglas fir that has finally succumbed to the elements and now nourishes the fresh new growth on the forest floor.

Personally I prefer a forest like this that mixes the old and the new. The ancient 100m tall Douglas Firs block the sunshine from reaching the young deciduous shrubs and trees and to be honest creates a forest floor that looks almost dead. Cool and peaceful rather than young, fragrant and hectic.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Burrard St Bridge Underside 03 Jul 28 2010 IRHDR_DSC2391_2_3_tonemapped

Here's the parking lot right beside the Vancouver Aquatic Centre and directly underneath the Burrard St Bridge. This photo was created using the fussy but rewarding post production composite process called Infra Red High Dynamic Range. A very 21st century technique but one I'd expect Ansel Adams would be a big fan of. Digital zone control.

07 Jul 26 2010 Habitat Sculpture 03_DSC_4153And8more_tonemapped

The Habitat Sculpture at Jericho Beach Vancouver.

For more on this sculpture check out the excellent article by Douglas Todd -> communities.canada.com/VANCOUVERSUN/blogs/thesearch/archi...

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

07 Jul 26 2010 Habitat Sculpture HDR 06_DSC_4180And8moreEnhancer

The Habitat Sculpture - Jericho Beach Park - Vancouver Canada. Shot in High Dynamic Range on a sunny summer day (July 26 2010). The plaque on one of the 8 black stones that act as a Stonehedge like seating area reads as follows:

"Habitat Sculpture

This sculpture by Bernard Thor commemorates the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements Habitat Forum for non-governmental organizations held on this site at Jericho Beach Park – May 31st to June 11th 1976.

Five abandoned World War II airplane hangars, which had remained in this park, were converted into exhibitions and meeting spaces fashioned almost entirely of recycled wood through the volunteer efforts of over 10,588 people. As well, the original railings from the Lions’ Gate Bridge were erected on the hanger apron to enclose this space.

This plaque was installed in June 1996 to remember “A moment in time when people came together to think of their neighbors.”

Vancouver Board of Parks & Recreation."

Monday, July 26, 2010

07 Jul 26 2010 Habitat Sculpture HDR 15_DSC_4261And8moreEnhancer

A close up shot of the Habit Sculpture at Jericho Beach on the south shore of English Bay Vancouver Canada.

The sculpture was created by Bernard Thor to commemorate the United Nations conference on Human Settlements which was held in Vancouver at the end of May and the start of June 1976. The sculpture, tucked away beside the Jericho Beach Marina (south east corner) is composed of two elegant pieces of wood that ... well ... have to be seen to be understood.

Best part though for me, in particular in the light of High Dynamic Range photography, is that the sculpture has been weathered by over 34 years of Vancouver winters, springs, summers and falls. As such it's been evolved by just nature into something quite spiritual that few know about.

Thankfully a local newspaper reporter, Douglas Todd, pointed me to the hidden gem in a recent article that you can find here -> www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Jericho+Beach+jewel+pl...

07 Jul 26 2010 West End Vancouver From Jericho Beach HDR_DSC_4288And8moreEnhancer

A view from Jericho Beach of the West End of Vancouver Canada. This HDR image was taken at the end of an HDR photo shoot of the 1976 Habitat Sculpture just off the beach from where this photo was taken. I'm midway through the image sequences of the sculpture itself and the results are pretty dreamy.

The sculpture was created by Bernard Thor to commemorate the United Nations conference on Human Settlements forum which was held in Vancouver the end of May and start of June 1976. The sculpture, tucked away beside the Jericho Beach Marina (south east corner) is composed of two elegant pieces of wood that ... well ... have to be seen to be understood.

Best part though, in particular in the light of High Dynamic Range photography, is that the sculpture has been weathered by over 34 years of Vancouver winters, springs, summers and falls. As such it's evolved into quite a spiritual piece that few know about.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

07 Jul 15 2010 Brandywine Falls 05 HDR_DSC3313And8more_tonemapped

Another shot of Brandywine Falls done with my fancy new Vivitar 7mm fish eye lense in High Dynamic Range format.

07 Jul 15 2010 Tantalus Mt Range IR HDR 02_DSC2337_8_9Enhancer

A wide angle view of the Tantalus Mt Range just north of Squamish BC. This shot was taken on the Sea to Sky highway at one the many west side viewpoints.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

07 Jul 15 2010 Planetary Alignment English Bay _DSC3822

This is a view of a rather spectacular planetary alignment that occurred during the middle of July 2010. This view was captured over English Bay from downtown Vancouver Canada. Using the moon as the middle of a clock at 11:00 is Saturn, 1:30 is Mars and just before 3:00 is Venus. All three planets aligned in nearly a straight line. Not shown in the picture and well below the horizon at this point but also aligned is Mercury.

This image was taken with a Nikon D300 at f/4.2 for 5 seconds at ISO 200 and a -1 stop exposure bias.

07 Jul 15 2010 Tantalus Mt BC 01_DSC3556

Tantalus Mountain in British Columbia Canada just north of Squamish. At just over 2,600 m (8,500 ft) this is the headliner peak of the 4,600 km2 Tantalus Mt Range.

Friday, July 16, 2010

07 Jul 15 2010 Brandywine Falls 03b HDR_DSC3304And8more_tonemapped

Here’s a High Dynamic Range (HDR) view of the 70m (230 ft) Brandywine Falls in British Columbia Canada. The falls are located a leisurely 2 hours by car from Vancouver along the Sea to Sky highway. This photo was taken on July 15 2010 using a Vivitar 7mm f/3.5 fisheye lens.

From the BC Parks web site: “No one is completely sure about how the falls got their name, but one possible explanation is that two surveyors (Jack Nelson and Bob Mollison) for the Howe Sound and Northern Railway made a wager for a bottle of brandy about who could estimate more accurately the height of the falls. When the height was actually measured with a chain it was Mollison who won the bottle of brandy and Nelson then named the falls Brandywine.”

Thursday, July 15, 2010

07 15 2010 Tantalus Mountain Range BC 01b_DSC2343_4_5Enhancer

The 2010 Winter Olympics legacy is really starting to pay off for us Vancouverites. Now, one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous road trips on the planet (a 2 hour trip from Vancouver to Whistler) has become nearly effortless. Naturally the view is pretty much just as spectacular as it was before the highway upgrade.

Here's one of the major peaks in the Tantalus Range taken in Infra Red High Dynamic Range along the Sea to Sky highway just north of Squamish BC on a sunny summer afternoon - July 15 2010.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

07 Jul 08 2010 Minoru Park Pond 03b_DSC2235_6_7Enhancer

Minoru Park Benches - Richmond BC July 08 2010. Infra Red - High Dynamic Range

Thursday, July 08, 2010

07 Jul 08 2010 Minoru Chapel 05 HDR IRb_DSC2211_2_3_tonemapped

Here's another angle on the chapel at the Minoru Park in Richmond BC. Done in Infra Red High Dynamic Range or IRHDR for us acronym junkies. I really like it. And, I think I’ve just invented an acronym. :)

07 08 2010 Minoru Park Chapel IR HDR 01b_DSC2193_4_5

Located in the north west corner of Richmond BC and directly south of the Richmond Hospital you'll find Minoru Park. A carefully tended mixture of willows, ducks, waterfalls and manicured lawns including the Minoru Chapel shown in this picture. I'm a big aviation fan (Go Snowbirds!) and thanks to Wikipedia was charmed to learn that the first flight of a Canadian aircraft west of Winterpeg (Winnipeg) took off from Minoru Park on March 25 1910. Just over 100 years ago.

This is my first High Dynamic Range Infra Red composite image and I quite like the effect. Thanks to my brother Mike for suggesting the treatment years ago and for my good flickr friend Harris Hui for pointing me towards the park with his own IR and color photographs. You can find more of Harris's work here -> www.flickr.com/photos/harrishui/sets/72157621471405773/

Friday, July 02, 2010

English Bay IR Fish Eye Jul 02 2010

Here's an Infra Red shot of English Bay Vancouver the day after Canada Day. This was shot with a Vivitar 7mm f3.5 CS fish eye lens using a IR converted Nikon D100 DSLR. Getting decent focus with infra red photography is a challenge made even more so with a lens with such a huge (180') field of view. But, with a bit of hyper focal focusing (f22, ISO 500) and a touch of post production sharpening in Capture NX/2 I'm getting close. Not gallery-close unfortunately but certainly flickr/blog-close. :)