Here I am at four and a half looking ever so dapper in my first suit. Going for the casual, 'James Bond' look I figured having my right hand elegantly tucked into a pocket would enhance the effect. I was so right.
My sister calls this photo my "Little Man" shot. Nearly 50 years later, and ever the fan of upgrading, I think it should be renamed my " Mini Me " photo.
The twin World Trade Center towers on August 1985. Taken during my second trip to NYC - the best city on the planet in my opinion. By 2013, if everything goes according to plan the construction of World Trade Center Tower 1 will be complete. At 1,776 feet high this signature building will be the tallest in the US. I'm looking forward to taking it's picture and having lunch near or at its summit.
The corner of Georgia St. and Stanley Park's Lost Lagoon in downtown Vancouver Canada. Looking nicely magical in the light of infra red high dynamic range photography.
If you look due west from downtown Vancouver you'll see the gulf islands that be-speckle West Coast Canada's Straight of Georgia. For the past few days we've been getting some much needed rain (us Vancouverites are mostly an aquatic breed) and when it rains right at sunset close to the autumnal equinox the result is quite pretty.
English Bay in Vancouver, in my opinion, gets its best sunsets one month either side of two equinoxes - spring and fall. The angle of the sun is just perfect enough to reflect the sun off the waters off the west coast of Vancouver island up to the clouds hovering over English Bay. Sort of a triple bank shot in pool only with light. Sort of.
While fall is still several months away here in Vancouver it's never too early to relish the colours of nature. Not to mention pictures of ducks. :)
A 30 second exposure of English Bay Vancouver showing the International Space Station tracking overhead. At 200 miles up and orbiting at 17,500 MPH the ISS seems to move at roughly the speed of a jetliner at 35,000 feet.
Thanks to the power of the Internet you can sign up for alerts via Twitter to ideal sighting opportunities of the space station as it tracks across your location. The conditions have to be perfect and include a clear night, an hour before sunrise or after sunset and the station passing overhead. In three months this is my second sighting.
More info can be found at this link -> spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/tracking/
In the heart of downtown Vancouver is Stanley Park. Created September 27 1887 the park covers 1,000 acres and is a cool oasis of infinite photo opportunities. Here's a view from the eastern edge of the park just off of Lost Lagoon looking towards the western edge of the West End residential area.
A recently reconstructed wooden bridge in Stanley Park Vancouver. Thank goodness for all that 'shovel ready' 'economic stimulus' funding that helped pay for the repair of the bridge. :) Looking very fantasy-like in the soft glow of Infra Red - High Dynamic Range photography.
Sunset Beach Vancouver looking towards the Burrard Street Bridge and the hi-rise condos and rental apartments near the corner of Beach Avenue and Thurlow Street. Complimentary fluffy beach grass included to show off the depth of field of the wide angle lens. :)
The "217.5 Arc x 13" sculpture located on Sunset Beach Vancouver. Part of the 2009 - 2011 Biennale exhibition. Created by Bernar Venet of France this sculpture is 13 rings of raw steel each encompassing 217.5 degrees of the circle. It's one of my favorites.
The "We" sculpture of the Vancouver Biennale 2009-2011 exhibition set. A very popular sculpture with both residents and tourists 24/7.
Vancouver Lightning - Late sunset - August 26 2010. Lightning is a very rare thing in Vancouver so when it happens getting a photo of it is like finding a toasted cheese sandwich with the face of Jesus on it. Hopefully another chance will appear.
Here's the best shot (of the two) looking towards the south end of the Burrard Street Bridge and Kitsilano in the background.
A fairly pristine 1951 Jaguar park at Granville Island Vancouver Canada. I love the HDR treatment but wish the white color of the car had dominated more than the reflections of the buildings around the car. Ahh the ying and yang of HDR. :)
One of the two major moments of Rock and Roll for the Pacific National Exhibition was the appearance of The King of Rock and Roll himself on August 31, 1957. Nearly 26,000 fans showed up paying between $1.50 and $3.50 a ticket. The second event, which drew a mere 21,000 fans, was the appearance of the lads from Liverpool - The Beatles. As part of the 2010 100 year anniversary parade the downtown residents of Vancouver were treated to 100+ dancing mini-Elvises. We thank ya ... we thank ya vera much.
Ahhhh ... the dog days of summer. It doesn't get much better. Especially on the west coast of paradise. :)
2010 marked the 100th anniversary of the Pacific National Exhibition here in Vancouver. In celebration of this milestone the city held a great parade the evening of August 20th 2010 complete with 100+ Elvis impersonators and gigantic balloon sculptures. The parade rolled from Stanley Park to Sunset Beach along Beach Avenue.
On of the many Biennale sculptures scattered around Vancouver. This is "We" created in 2008 by th artist Jaume Plensa of Spain and is located at the corner of Thurlow and Beach looking out over Sunset Beach.
Summer in Ontario makes for some great rainstorms. The rain is heavy and quick and often is followed by sunshine. Perfect for macro photography of rain drops on flower petals.
The men's washroom deep on level 3 of the Diefenbunker with your faithful photographer front and center. "OK ... who didn't rinse the sink after shaving? Bob?!? You again?!? Grrrr....."
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.
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.
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...
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."
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...
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.
Another shot of Brandywine Falls done with my fancy new Vivitar 7mm fish eye lense in High Dynamic Range format.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Minoru Park Benches - Richmond BC July 08 2010. Infra Red - High Dynamic Range
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. :)
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/
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. :)
A late evening post sunset cool down in English Bay Vancouver Canada. June 27 2010
A warm summer sunset on Sunday June 27 2010 over English Bay Vancouver Canada.
I've been a big astronomy fan for years but since moving to the core of Vancouver and being surrounded on three sides by thousands of points of city light astronomical events that I can see are few and far between.
In the wee hours of June 26 2010 however I got that old star-gazer feeling back as I shot short (1/200s) and long (2s) exposures of the first partial lunar eclipse of 2010. As the low clouds over the Strait of Georgia and the dawn twilight started to roll in I caught this view of the moon 20 minutes away from the peak of the eclipse.
And, as luck would have it 6 hours earlier I'd watched, for the first time, the International Space Station (ISS) track across Vancouver's sky.
A few years of astronomical beauty crammed into 6 hours. :)
The June 26 2010 partial lunar eclipse.
Time: 04:04:30 AM pacific
The June 26 2010 partial lunar eclipse.
Time: 03:27:48 AM pacific
Vancouver Biennale 02 - The Stop by Michael Zheng (USA/China). Here done with a heavy handed Hight Dynamic Range treatment. This sculpture can be found in Vanier Par Vancouver in between the Planetarium and Maritime Museum.
Sirrus, looking for all the world like she just got a joke that's been rattling around in her head for a week. :)
English Bay Vancouver June 18 2010 - a few days before the Summer Solstice - in Infra Red. I love how IR treats clouds in particular the every delicate high altitude cirrus variety.
The monument, located in Vanier Park Vancouver right near the Maritime Museum, erected in honor of Captain Vancouver - the city's namesake. Looking all nice and mystical in the light of High Dynamic Range photography. The plaque in front of the monument reads:
"Captain George Vancouver, R.N., 1758 - 1798
A veteran of Caption Cook's voyages of 1772-1775 and 1776-1780, Vancouver went on to become one of the most important explorers of Canada's west coast. In 1791 he was given command of an expedition to the northwest coast of North America for the purpose of establishing British sovereignty here and exploring the possibility of a northwest passage. On this voyage (1792-94) he charted much of the coast north of the 30th parallel, sailing up the inside passage, circumnavigating Vancouver Island and exploring many of the geographic features in the area.
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada"
Freezing Water #7 by Jun Ren (China). Located near the entrance to False Creek in Vanier Park Vancouver this sculpture is meant to represent "liquid water or mercury stopped in motion that revealed its shape as a drop or spill caught in the air." For me, each time I see this beautiful work I can't help thinking about the curious and friendly water creature on the 1989 James Cameron epic underwater flick "The Abyss".
The super yacht Ocean Victory, on what I think is its maiden world tour laid anchor in English Bay Vancouver today. A gorgeous 75m ship with room for up to 20 crew and 12 overly pampered guests. Build in the Netherlands and, thanks to the power of Google, freshly in from a stop in southern Alaska after laying port in San Diego California.
A mid-spring very magical looking infra-red photo of the backyard of 1001 Beach Avenue. This pricey but quite sexy building is nearly flush with the North West corner of the Burrard Street Bridge in downtown Vancouver. Architecturally 1001 Beach is a very unique building. I love the round portal windows that the architects used for the upper floors. A style that’s very much in keeping with the nautical flair of the building's overall design.
Classic rays of light over English Bay Vancouver on June 6 2010. Thanks to High Dynamic Range this shot includes rays coming in a different angles. A damp spring in Vancouver but one filled with fantastic sunsets that more than makes up for it.
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