Exotic Fruit

Once in a while I get enchanted with some produce in the local market, just because of the way it looks.

Tree At Jericho Beach

The same morning as the previous post. My favorite tree in Vancouver, so far.

Boxing Day

It was a misty morning and this scene was at Jericho. It has a feeling of the Regency era; Jane Austen or Sir Walter Scott.

Christmas Morning, 2009

Best Wishes to everyone.

Jericho Woods

Sometimes I enjoy going back and working on a photo that I neglected earlier. It often means finding the format (black & white, tinting, toning, or some combination) to bring out the qualities that pressed me to take the picture in the first place.

Pitt River Revisited

I posted a picture of the Pitt River a while back. That was the east side of the bridge. This is the west. Don't forget to look behind you. There's usually something worth seeing.

Rogue Cloud

I found this cloud a while back and I keep returning to it, trying different effects. It may be my favorite shot of Vancouver; mostly water and sky. The sky usually darkens from the east here and clears from the west. And there are often clouds over the north shore mountains.

The Pond's Edge

November light.

Pond

The surface of a pond might be a little magical. You have to be careful not to spend too many hours staring into it ... or too few.

Granville Island Autumn

During my first few years in Vancouver I lived in the False Creek area and watched Granville Island grow up. I used to take my children for walks along the seawall. This morning I went for a short stroll there before having breakfast in the food court of the Granville Island market.

Pitt River Revisited

I finally got around to figuring out the latest Photoshop High Dynamic Range tool. If you have a tripod, and the time to take two or more photos of the same scene, you can get greater control of your depth of field and exposure.

October Sky, Vancouver

More hand-tinting (well, hand and mouse) but with broad strokes this time. I have a complicated (as complicated as I get anyway) relationship with nostalgia. When I figure it out I will tell you about it. One of my favorite bands in the 1970's was Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks. I can relate to his anachronistic stance. And his music gets to me. The photo was taken with my Panasonic point & shoot.

Forest Near Jericho Beach

When I was growing up on the prairies in the 50's and 60's there were always photos and postcards around that were hand-coloured or hand-tinted. I liked the effect, even when it was a kitschy travel photo-card from some obscure tourist spot. Maybe especially if it was a kitschy photo-card. I had just started acquiring the coloured pencils and spray-can lacquer to hand-colour photographs when I went digital and now I do it with Photoshop.

Colouringbooks were one of my favorite indoor childhood pastimes. Individually painting in the leaves in a forest shot is a good way for an insomniac photographer to spend the late-night hours.

Terra Nova

A good photograph is one that represents the spirit of the subject, whether that subject is a person, place or event. A great photograph represents the spirit of the photographer as well. I will continue honing my skills to try and create the kind of photographs I imagine, while still leaving room for the unexpected. It was a fine morning in one of my favorite places. That alone was worth the trip.

Pitt River

I am in upgrade limbo, not being able to fully grasp the changes and do the things I took for granted working with cs2. If anyone wants to give me some tutorials in working with layers in Photoshop cs4, I would be eternally grateful. Meanwhile, I can still do some things.

Cloud Chamber

My love of clouds should by now be apparent. If you ran out and bought Mozetich's "Post cards From the Sky", like I suggested in an earlier blog, you should put it on and play "Unfolding Sky" and watch this short video. (When you get to the link, go to the thumbnail photo on the right side of the page entitled 'Wide Shot Of Clouds Forming In a Cloud Chamber' click on that and then click on the title to watch it full screen.) (This link no longer goes to the intended destination. Sorry) Something by Debussy, Satie or Brian Eno might do if you don't have the Mozetich. Actually, put on just about anything. The above photo is an early morning on English Bay, 2009.

Iona Panorama

Photoshop's 'Photomerge' feature is easy to use. Just make sure you keep the exposure settings and focus close on all the shots and keep the horizon at approximately the same place. A tripod helps.

Vancouver Morning

The time of day I love the most is the time of day I'm usually sleeping. What a shame. Once again, from Jericho pier.

The Ironies Of Art

As a small 'a' artist, that is, one who has not tried to make a living through his art, I have profound admiration for those who have lived the life of an artist. Whether they did so successfully or not doesn't matter. It is a struggle just to create a personal art form; to have it understood and accepted can be an even more difficult task. To do this and get financial recognition is almost more than can be hoped for.

I have written in earlier posts about my appreciation of Japanese printmakers. Most people know that they had a profound effect on the French impressionists and, therefore, on modern western art. What I learned just recently was that the French discovered these amazing works of art because the prints, which had gone through periods of increasing and declining popularity in Japan, were thought of such little value in their native land during the mid-nineteenth century, that they were used to wrap other goods which were being exported to Europe. This is how the European artists discovered them, as wrapping paper.

The above print is by Hiroshige who lived from 1797 to 1858.

Airport Clouds

As seen from the Iona Park breakwater.

Sechelt, B.C.

The morning was waiting for us when we arrived.

Winnipeg Back Alleys (West End)

To paraphrase John Lennon, "Life is what happens on your way to someplace else."

Arborg, Manitoba

The Canola field is on Highway 8 between Winnipeg and Gimli. The bridge is in Arborg, Manitoba. Every visit is special. Thanks to everyone in Winnipeg and Arborg.

Iona Beach Grass

Wandering Iona Beach. The imagined landscape of childhood daydreams.

Cloud Over Hills Near Kelowna

A fraction of a second on a road trip with Brian to visit Graham. A trip that made up for thirty-five years of lost contact. Thank you guys. You too Alix.

Canada Day, 2009

I spent the day with an old friend from Winnipeg. There was a strong wind blowing through the day that reminded me of moments spent alone on the Manitoba prairie, watching the clouds and grass move in the restless wind. I didn't take any pictures today but here is one from a recent walk near Jericho Beach. Happy Canaday from Vancouver, B.C.!

Iona Beach Revisited

I decided to go to Iona Island on my last bus trip as a Recreation Programmer at Central City Lodge. I only had my P&S and something about the day made me cover the lens with my sunglasses like I did in my teens.

Birthday Present

As you get older you learn to savour the small traditions and the moments together. Angela, Mike & Alicia on my Birthday

Kits Beach

Taken a few weeks ago at Kits Beach. That's Kitsalano Beach on English Bay for non-Vancouverites.

The Garden On 15th & Camosun

Rumour has it that the house on the south-west corner of 15th & Camosun has been sold. The woman who owned it for so many years, and kept the gardens that pleased so many, has been dead for a number of months now. The garden filled her yard and spilled onto the boulevard bordering her property. Other local gardeners have maintained it since her passing. The boulevard portion of the garden will be flattened by the city. I will miss it dearly.

The woman who created and tended the garden was an exceptional character. I heard that she had her share of run-ins with people in the area. But she was always friendly to me. It may have been that the years had finally worn smooth the edges of her personality. My favorite memory of her was a spring day when she was walking her old German Shepherd down our alley and stopped to ask us what we were doing. Our garage was open and there were boxes in the yard. I explained that we were cleaning the garage and preparing to sell and give away some things. I included the list of side jobs that this larger task involved. She listened to my litany of chores, smiling the whole while. I believe she was in her early nineties at this time, but I might be wrong. When I finished she shook her head and laughed. "Isn't it wonderful?" she said. "There's always something to do."

Try to take in this garden. It might be its last summer.

Katherine & A Day With Elektra

I was treated to a magical day with the Elektra Women's Choir to celebrate the career of Diane Loomer who stepped down as co-conductor of the multi-award winning choir. Diane handed the reins over to her collaborator, Morna Edmundson. Katherine and I were the guests of Catherine and Roland Haebler. Catherine is a member of Elektra (she sang the solo in the last song of the afternoon concert) and a good friend. 

It was a treat for many reasons. The concert was sublime. The dinner at the Shaugnessy Restaurant was more than just good food. And the setting in Van Dusen Gardens was spectacular. We had great dinner companions, including Michael Abraham and his wife Johanna. Michael is an artist I have admired since I first saw his work on an afternoon's art crawl on South Granville that Katherine and I were on a few years ago. But the best part was to see my beautiful wife, Katherine (that's her above), in her element, among other musicians. We sat beside Bramwell Tovey and his children during the concert (his wife is a member of Elektra) and Katherine got a chance to talk to Morna Edmundson. They were choir-mates at UBC. It was a fine day.

Convergence

This spring seems to have a heightened beauty. Maybe it's because the weather has condensed the blossom season or maybe it's because I'm retiring from my full-time job at Central City Lodge in June. I've been working there for 27 years. Maybe it's the particular Mahler lieder that was playing on the radio.   

Orphee And The Garden Path

My favorite movie is "Orphee" by Jean Cocteau. My favorite scene amid all the strange beauty is where poetry, in the form of numbers, is being dictated to our protagonist on a car radio. He writes the numbers down carefully. Somebody says something like "That is not poetry. Those are only random numbers." Orphee replies (again, from my memory) "Who are you to tell me what is poetry and what is not." Years after seeing it I dreamed of the scene and, in my dream, realized that every number represented the life of an individual. I woke up crying. It was one of my most unusual and moving life moments. The numbers could also represent the days in a life. I was born June 8, 1953. This photo was taken on May 26, 2009, during an evening walk with Katherine. 

Red Plant

Found while browsing through old files. I have never been strong at researching and remembering names of flowers and plants. If you know what this is, let me know. Thanks.

Stuart Clugston

I have not yet had the opportunity to explore larger format analogue cameras but I hold the masters of these cameras in very high regard. There is such an artist in Vancouver, in my neighborhood as a matter of fact. Stuart Clugston just finished a show at Omega Gallery, 4290 Dunbar Street. I caught his work the day before it was scheduled to come down. I am only sorry that I did not get there early enough to spread the word before it was too late. 

There is a link to Ansel Adams. I was told by Omega's owner, Tien Ching, that Mr. Clugston studied with an assistant of Adams and the connection is apparent in the quality of the prints that were on display. Mr. Clugston has, in the past, been selected by the Royal Photographic Society for exhibition in the U.K.

Marjan Mozetich

It must be no secret by now that the atmosphere, I mean sky, clouds and weather, are a continuous inspiration to me. The subtleties of moisture, wind and light in the airs above the ground, and their effect on the landscape, have been an ever growing source of delight to me. 

I was surprised by a piece of music on CBC radio, as I often am, and was immediately struck by its ethereal quality. I felt at home in it. I fell further in love with it when it ended and the announcer gave its title. It was "Unfolding Sky ", the first movement of "Postcards From The Sky", a work in three movements for string orchestra, by Marjan Mozetich. I finally went out and found a copy at Sikora's, on Hastings. It was on an album of music by Mr. Mozetich called "Affairs Of The Heart", featuring the CBC Orchestra, Directed by Mario Bernardi.

Tree & Moss

Nitobe Gardens, University of British Columbia

Tree Trunks

Queen Elizabeth Park 

Wide Angle Cherry Tree

Like an opera singer lost in the streets.

Cherry Tree And Door

Spring. Burrard & Second Avenue.

Dunbar Antique & Lighting and Sally Mann

Antique stores have obvious appeal. I wandered into Dunbar Antiques & Lighting a few days ago and took some pictures in the fading light. I was made very welcome by the owner, Sergio Parenti. We talked photography and he told me about a documentary he had seen recently about Sally Mann.

His store was a lovely mix of styles, from suits of armour to clothes and paraphernalia from the American south-west, and more. The light faded before I got going but it was a treat to be there.