Wreck Beach in Winter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acadia Beach, Vancouver

Early January always makes me think of my mom. Her birthday is on the 4th and it comes very quickly after the new year. I know how much she loves the beach, but living in Hamilton, it’s not always easy for her to get to the beach, especially at this time of year. So, as a birthday present, I went to my favorite Vancouver beach for her. What a great son!

Happy birthday mom!

Fly like an eagle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Harley at Spanish Banks

Since I can’t figure out a way to effectively send pics of Harley to my parents, this seems like the easiest way to appease my mother’s request for more pictures.  Low tide at Spanish Banks is Harley’s favourite time at his favourite place. Something about the wide open spaces and shallow water.

Salt Spring Sojourns

A good friend of mine has a nice little house on Salt Spring Island. Things have been relatively hectic for me recently and he was kind enough to invite me over for a couple of short visits.

I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface of what nature keeps hidden away on Salt Spring; culturally it’s a world away from the hustle of Vancouver. It’s where hippies come to live, die and get high. If you get out this way, I think it’s worth a short stay.

Finally!

I’ve been trying a while to get a good night-time shot of the city from Spanish Banks. Without getting all messy-messy with editing software.

This one is bare naked, as shot. No tricks. No gimmicks.  No cropping. No adjusting contrast or tinting. No nothin’.

Just like all my other ones.  Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.

Vancouver Island

God, I’m so lucky to live here. By here, I mean Vancouver, BC. One of the great things about living here is that getting there is so easy. And by there I mean Whistler, The Okanagan, Northern Washington State – or in the case of this past weekend, Vancouver Island.

I wanted to get away and it’s been a while since I was on the Island, so I promised myself a trip with no real agenda or plan. In fact, I was going to Victoria, in the south, right up to the time when I pulled into the ferry terminal.  I decided to take the ferry going north instead.

Along the way I encountered some noisy sea lions and quiet seals, a few small towns and a pretty little city.

Gambier Island

In Howe Sound, just off the coast near Lions Bay, there’s an island called Gambier. It’s a pretty little spot, deliberately keeping a much lower profile – and infrastructure – than its neighbour to the south, Bowen. There is just one small store and the roads, the few that are there, are gravel or dirt. No vehicle ferry service exists. Anything big is barged in.

It’s the kind of place where people from Vancouver know the name, but can’t quite place it. Just the way those who live there like it, I imagine.

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Norman Frickin’ Foster! In Vancouver!

I would guess that the majority of citizens in my fair city haven’t the slightest idea that there is an architectural, dare I say, marvel, in their midst. Designed by Foster + Partners and completed in 2011, Jameson House is located in an out-of-the-way spot on Hastings St. (the nice part of Hastings, obviously) and can be hard to find even when you’re looking for it, the bottom bit being relatively ordinary in this City of Glass.

But once you find it, look up. And marvel at the genius of Lord Foster and how he was able, with such a small footprint, to maximize view and light on the north face of the tower by creating additional surface area. And spare a thought for the effort that went into the restoration of the 1921 Ceperley Rounsfell Building and the preservation of the front facade of the 1929 Chamber of Mines. How very European, indeed.

More pix to come…

Sunrise in Coal Harbour

I know, I know. Coal Harbour has been done to death. And it has. I know. Every square metre has been photographed, photoshopped and then Flickr’d, Tumblr’d and presumably posted to any other website that is inexplicably missing its last “e”. 

I’d like to be able to say that “but this is Coal Harbour as you’ve never seen it before!” However, unless you actually haven’t seen it before, ever, there’s not much new here. But what the hell. I got up early. To photograph the sun rise. So please, humour me. And take a look. I thank you.

Gastown BBQ Festival

There was a good ol’ chili and rib fest in Gastown this weekend, so I saddled up my trusty steed and rode off for some finger lickin’ and people snappin’.