One of my favorite locations for early spring photos - the courtyard of the HR MacMillan Space Center and Planetarium in Vanier Park. Once your done shooting the blossoms, flowers, sculpture, architecture, etc. it's a short walk north to a picture post card view of the West End of Vancouver and the Burrard Street Bridge
Nothing says photo-coolness more than a fish-eye lens shot of funky architecture, blooming trees and in-your-face sunbeams.
The HR MacMillan Space Centre is a signature piece of architecture in downtown Vancouver. Separated from the West End of Vancouver by a micro-ferry ride across False Creek it acts as a 60'ish landmark at the Kitsilano entrance to English Bay. Here's a shot in High Dynamic Range on a slightly windy day (thus the peculiar smudges behind some of the blossoming branches) using my ever-fun Diana lens.
The blossoms have finally arrived here in Vancouver with the city erupting with color, fragrance and, literally, flowers falling from the sky. One of my favorite locations early on in the bloom is the backyard of the HR MacMillan Space Center in Vanier Park just south west of the Burrard Street Bridge. This hidden gem's combination of unique architecture and numerous blooming trees provides any photographic technique (HDR, Infra Red, Macro, Ultra Wide Angle, B&W, etc.) infinite possibilities.
Spring has finally arrived here in Vancouver after a wet and cool winter that at times seemed to never end. Winter's been banished and at last the eclectic mix of annual flowers at Sunset Beach in downtown Vancouver have started to bloom. Here's one of the early blossoms - what I think is a pair of Spotted Langloisia right at their unfurling.
Tidal pools rock. One theory about evolution is that given the low tide/high tide nature of tidal pools (caused by the moon's gravitational tug) the minerals and such in the pool would, day in day out - millienium in and millenium out - spend half their time in a concentrated state.
This concentration cycle lead to the creation of proto-DNA that eventually led to the emergence of my cats and me. So says the theory. In essence then, if true (which I think it most likely is), we owe our very existence to the moon - source of the tides that in turn give life to her pools.
Here's a nice shot of the Vancouver Stanley Park Seawall .. the seawall part. :)
Over the past 18 months the economic recession of 2008 to 2010 has provided this very yummy stash of cash called the stimulus fund (among other names). It's for "shovel ready" projects (read construction) that will benefit Canadians. As luck would have it we Seawall walking Vancouverittes would up with a multi-million chunk of this cash. Major reno on the Seawall but with a respect to it's heritage masonry (see photo above) form and flow. One day, God whiling, they will finish the reno and we can walk on it. :)
Flower A: Finally. ... Sunshine.
Flower B: 'bout freakin' time.
Nothing but clouds caught in sunset light reflecting off the waters if the Straight of Georgia - British Columbia Canada.
Sunset light. The magic light. The magic hour for us photo-geeks.
Here's Jericho Beach in Vancouver - the south western point of English Bay. Looking very much like polished teak in the light of a setting winter sun.
Pointed into the wind one of the many deep ocean cargo ships that park themselves in Vancouver's English Bay maintains station keeping and waits for it's turn to fill up.
Ahh cats. My favorite animal next to humans.
Here's Sirrus. Semi-asleep with two of her favorite toys in the afternoon sun. Sirrus just loves cat toys - any type - any size - any color - etc. But she has over the years adopted several as her favorite and will cuddle up with them and snooze away an afternoon.
A nice delicate stratospheric sunset over English Bay Vancouver on Feb. 08 2011. Painting with light.
The Erickson at False Creek in Vancouver. One of Vancouver's signature buildings designed by one of Canada's foremost architects Arthur Erickson. Sadly Mr. Erickson passed away just before his 85th birthday and just before this building was completed.
The Erickson is located at the corner of Beach Avenue and Homer Street and overlooks the inner bay of False Creek. This eye-popping masterpiece never ceases to amaze me and I've watched it 'grow' from an empty lot to this stunning nearly organic fusion of steel, glass and curves. For me this building, like no other, evokes a feeling of a man-nature hybrid emerging from the ground in a twisting dance of life. I can't help but think of those countless time lapse films I've seen of a flower opening each time I look at this icon.
If only all of Vancouver's buildings could be designed with such genius and attention to the art of architecture.
The West End of Vancouver Canada as seen from under the north end of the Burrard Street Bridge on a lazy and hazy early February Friday afternnon. Spring has started and already the trees are starting to show a gossamer thin blush of green. Eggzellent. :)
A new High Dynamic Range treatment I've been working with for the past few weeks. No, I didn't zip over to London England last weekend but I did borrow a photo sequence from the gang running a rather fun 'contest' on Facebook called "HDR Tennis". The sequence they posted a few weeks back I felt needed an emphasis on black and white given the vintage nature of the House of Parliament's architecture along with respect for and attention to the warm tones of the late day sun.
The nice thing about the digital darkrooms of the 21st century is that you can save a technique created with a sequence like this and then apply it to other images. As I've found since creating this treatment it works great for low light sunsets.
During a winter sunset here in Vancouver it's not uncommon to have a bank of cloud suspended over the city but clear sky over the Straight of Georgia due west of us. When this happens the light from the setting sun bounces off the waters of the straight and up into the cloud base suspended over the city. When this happens we get this spectacular underside illumination of the cloud bank that shows a side of mother nature that's nothing short of drop-dead-gorgeous.
Looking east along the 1000 block of Beach Avenue in Vancouver on a semi sunny and somewhat lazy Friday afternoon. A view that's hard to come by once spring begins and the ancient elms become thick with leaves and ravens. Dead center in this photo is the north end of the Burrard Street Bridge. On the right side is a nice lens flair looking nearly physical thanks to the magic of High Dynamic Range post-processing and the Diana lens from PhotoJoJo.
Vancouver's iconic Burrard Street Bridge caught in the low light of a mid-winter sunrise. Made all the more fantastic thanks to High Dynamic Range post processing and my ever-fun Diana lens.
The fun you can have as a photographer, thanks to digital photography, never ceases to amaze me. Recently, while playing around with a series of photos of London England, I found a rather cool High Dynamic Range (HDR) treatment that punches up any warm tones and shuffles off everything else into the realm of black and white.
Here's a mid winter sunset over Kitsilano Vancouver looking quite vintage.
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