1011 Beach Ave Vancouver IR AnselA Apr 28 2010_DSC1788

1011 Beach Ave Vancouver IR AnselA Apr 28 2010_DSC1788, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Beach and Thurlow in Vancouver Canada's West End from Sunset Beach. English Bay. Made all the more dramatic in the Infra Red light of a sunny but quite blustery spring day - April 28 2010.

Sunset Beach Vancouver Looking East April 27 2010 Ansel Adams Style_DSC1796

Sunset Beach Vancouver Looking East April 27 2010 Ansel Adams Style_DSC1796, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

I use a program called Capture NX/2 as part of my digital photography workflow. The amount of fine grain control that this application allows and the results delivered with both HDR and Infra Red photographs is fantastic. If Ansel Adams were around today I'm certain he'd love the creative freedom that digital photography delivers.

Here's a recent Infra Red photograph treated in the Ansel Adams style - high contrast and near perfect black and white balancing. What took Ansel days in the darkroom takes but 30 minutes in the digital light rooms of today.

Processing thanks to page 336 of the definitive Capture NX/2 digital book - The Photographer's Guide to Capture NX2 by Jason P Odell.

English Bay Sunset with Solar Halo April 18_DSC1361And8more_tonemapped

English Bay Sunset with Solar Halo April 18_DSC1361And8more_tonemapped, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

High Dynamic Range photography more often than not will reveal details in a scene that you can't see with the human eye let alone a single exposure. Here's a pretty solar halo surrounding the setting spring sun over English Bay Vancouver the evening of April 18 2010. I didn't know the halo was there until I 'developed' the 9 images into one a week later. :)

English Bay Beach Logs April 28 2010_DSC1816

English Bay Beach Logs April 28 2010_DSC1816, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

English Bay Beach, Vancouver in Infra Red. April 28 2010.

Log rolling contest anyone?

English Bay Beach April 28 2010 IR_DSC1828

English Bay Beach April 28 2010 IR_DSC1828, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

English Bay Beach, Vancouver in Infra Red. April 28 2010

Here's a nice shot of the entrance into English Bay Beach location at Beach and Denman.

Stanley Park Rhododendron April 2010_DSC1162

Stanley Park Rhododendron April 2010_DSC1162, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Happy Earth Day 2010!

What do you get for a 4.5 billion year old planet that has everything? Easy - Flowers. :)

2010 Olympics Canada vs US Celebration Feb 28 2010_DSC0478

2010 Olympics Canada vs US Celebration Feb 28 2010_DSC0478, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Like something straight out of a Disney feel-good movie at the final hour of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver the come back heros, Canada's mens hockey team, beat the US team in one of the most fantastic games ever seen. Needless to say downtown Vancouver pushed the 1 out 10 celebration scale to 11.

Lost Lagoon HDR Vancouver Canada Apr 2010_DSC1244And8more_tonemapped

Lost Lagoon HDR Vancouver Canada Apr 2010_DSC1244And8more_tonemapped, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Lost Lagoon, Stanley Park Vancouver looking east in High Dynamic Range. Taken on a hazy spring April day 2010.

Stanley Park Rhododendron April 2010_DSC1176And8more_tonemapped

Stanley Park Rhododendron April 2010_DSC1176And8more_tonemapped, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Right beside the micro-mini golf course inside of Stanley Park Vancouver. Enough green to last 100 St. Patrick's days and then some.

Warm Spring Sunset English Bay Vancouver Apr 14 2010

Warm Spring Sunset English Bay Vancouver Apr 14 2010, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here's a nice and dreamy spring sunset over English Bay in Vancouver Canada. Very much a preview of the hazy, lazy summer that's just around the corner.

One thing I really like about this photo is that it was taken by my new, simple to use, Nikon L110 point and shoot camera. I bought the camera specifically for its ability to shoot 720p High Def video onto a flash card rather than those pesky and so-old-school video cassettes. As always with these simpler cameras I find that it reinforces a key rule I've learned to love about photography - it's not the camera that counts it's the conjunction of the photographer with a camera (any camera) and the moment.

Photography is all about the moment in my opinion. With a cheap little point and shoot camera, one that's ready to go the moment I turn it on and, most importantly, is not something I'm too worried about breaking or loosing there's a much greater chance I'll have it with me than my more expensive equipment.

It's always nice to see how photographic beauty transcends the dollar.

_DSC0306

_DSC0306, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

SunsetBeach IR Feb 19 2010_DSC1601

SunsetBeach IR Feb 19 2010_DSC1601, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here's a photo in Infra Red light of Sunset Beach in downtown Vancouver. This was taken right at the cusp of the transition between our winter and spring and during the 2010 Winter Olympics. As luck would have it most of the thousands upon thousands of vistors to Vancouver for the games skipped exploring the West End.

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 16 Forest 02 Feb 12 2010_DSC0038

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 16 Forest 02 Feb 12 2010_DSC0038, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

The mists during the Olympic ski jumping preliminaries were pretty spectacular. Occasionally the sun would attempt to burn some of the fog off but never succeeded.

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 17 Stairway to Heaven Feb 12 2010_DSC0042

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 17 Stairway to Heaven Feb 12 2010_DSC0042, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

I love this shot on several levels. First off the stairs look deadly and I think walking to the top should be an Olympic event all by itself. Second I love the grouping of the crowd near the entrance to the stairway. They are not queuing up to walk up the stairs (to get to the cool seats maybe?) but it's hard to think otherwise looking at the shot.

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 12 Balloon Camera_DSC0019

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 12 Balloon Camera_DSC0019, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Ever wonder how TV networks get those impossibly cool vantage points for their wide-field shots? Balloons. :)

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 05 Feb 12 2010 Mike_DSC0006

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 05 Feb 12 2010 Mike_DSC0006, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Cool dudes in loose moods getting ready for the pre-qualification run of the 2010 Winter Olympic ski jumping up at the Whistler Olympic Park in beautiful British Columbia Canada.

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 06 Feb 12 2010 Top of Hill_DSC0011

2010 Olympic Ski Jumping 06 Feb 12 2010 Top of Hill_DSC0011, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

The 'launch platforms' for the two ski jumping runs at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Park at Whistler BC. This photo was taken during the preliminary qualification runs on Feb 12 2010. A fantastic day.

Vectoral Elevation Feb 08 2010_DSC9912

Vectoral Elevation Feb 08 2010_DSC9912, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

The 2010 Winter Olympics Vectorial Elevation light sculpture in action. Located at the entrance to False Creek in downtown Vancouver the sculpture is programmed, in 12 second configurations, by thousands from around the world. All you need is an Internet connection ( www.vectorialvancouver.net/home.html ) and a 3D creative edge and you can paint the night sky of Vancouver.

As of the moment in time I uploaded this photo the Vectorial Elevation web site had nearly received its 10 million'th hit and to date over 8,000 user submitted designs had been displayed. And we're still a day away from the opening of the 2010 Winter Olypmics. :)

Vectorial Elevation Feb 10 2010_DSC9931

Vectorial Elevation Feb 10 2010_DSC9931, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here's a portrait-wide-angle shot that nicely shows the height that the sculpture can achieve.

Vectorial Elevation Jan 30 2010 01_DSC9626

Vectorial Elevation Jan 30 2010 01_DSC9626, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here's a wider angle shot taken during the initial testing of the Vectorial Elevation light sculpture at the entrance to False Creek in Vancouver Canada. The event will go live in 60 minutes or so (Feb 04 2010 at 18:00 Pacific) and I expect a billion or so pictures will soon flood Flickr of the display. Thus my last hour to be 'original'. :)

For more information on this unique sculpture and event point the browser of your choice at www.vectorialvancouver.net/home.html . On this site you can get live web-cam views of the display in action (dawn to dusk) as well as register and create your own 10s to 15s display.