Banksy

I am creating this blog entry (or phlog as I prefer to call it) simply as en excuse to provide a link to a youtube entry that features the work of Banksy, a British graffiti artist. It is the opening to "The Simpsons" that they allowed him to design. It is wonderful in so many ways.

Bamboo 2

I didn't take any Christmas pictures this year. But I spent Boxing Day scanning old negatives. I don't have a hard and fast artistic philosophy when I work with images and I rely on a less cerebral and more instinctive part of my being. Many of the artists I like are more traditional in their approach to image making and I admire that aspect of their work. I like the fact that I can experiment digitally but I envy the more organic, tactile methods of the master etchers and printers. It might be like writing music but not feeling the smooth neck of a guitar or the weight of a piano's keys against your fingers while you are doing it.

Charles Van Sandwyck

This photo was taken on the same day as the earlier post under the heading, 'Nick Bantock'. Another favorite artist of mine is Charles Van Sandwyck. His is an interesting story, and his work is beautiful. I first saw one of his prints in a shop across from my workplace on the corner of Homer and Pender. The shop no longer exists. Mr. Van Sandwyck is worth investigating.

Looking Down

I think this is from the Burrard Bridge.

VanDusen Trees

While everyone else took in the mushrooms (not what you're thinking) I stood in the rain and took pictures of the garden.

Seurat & Coleville

Two of my favorite artists are George Seurat and Alex Colville. This image, which I have played with in Photoshop, felt like a melding of the two artists styles. The pencil sketches, especially, by Seurat, always astound me. And there should be a horse galloping around the bend of the seawall, in honor of Colville. I usually try to take pictures that don't need too much help as far as 'special effects' but I also try not to be bound by anyone else's idea of what I should or should not do to a picture in Photoshop. Sometimes an image asks for a different approach, or a special effect.

Snow

Snow On Trees

The snow came early this year. I love snow; it's the cold I don't like.

Nick Bantock

I was drawn to the work of Nick Bantock many years ago. My kids gave me one of his Griffin & Sabine books at the time, which pleased me a lot. I took this shot last week and the picture somehow reminded me of Bantock's work which, I am glad to know, he is still producing.

English Bay Poster

I've always liked posters. I think this will be my first.

Lotus Leaves

Autumn Leaves

"Autumn Leaves". Another favorite song. This version by Joe Pass.

Freighter

The autumn sun, even at late morning, is low enough in the sky to create a reflective surface on a calm English Bay.

English Bay, October 19, 2010, 10:05 a.m.

VanDusen Grass

I was in VanDusen Gardens for the first time in months yesterday. A few years ago a friend commissioned me to chronicle a year in VanDusen and I miss those visits. Much has changed. A downpour cut my photo time short but I managed to find this. It is a kind of prairie grass. Like me it is far from its native environment.

Jan Friesen

This entry is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Jan Friesen (nee Dryburgh), who passed away on Sunday, October 10, 2010. She was a prairie girl who showed compassion and a sense of justice in her life and true grit and humor in her last days. She liked this song. She is missed.

Three Herons

Heron Over Water

Leo Mol Sculptures In Assiniboine Park

I remember seeing Leo Mol statues in the Winnipeg Art Gallery. I used to hang out there (their exhibitions and Swiss Onion Soup were great cures for a hangover) before I moved to Vancouver. If anyone doesn't know the real story behind the return of the Leo Mol sculpture, stolen on Canada Day, call me.

Sechelt Pier

Two figures, barely visible, create a narrative layer.

Moonrise/Sunset On Davis Bay

We explored the beaches, one more time.

Throwing Stones At The Moon

The sun rises and falls parallel with the line of the beaches near Robert's Creek and Sechelt and images wash up on the shore like driftwood. A special thank you to David and Carol.

Dandelions

They may not be Calla lilies but Dandelions have a geometric beauty of their own.

Tree & Truck

Bud was having a smoke and the storm had moved to the southwest.

Train Tracks & Foxtails

I stopped on the way to Bob & Bev's place. This is just off Grant Avenue.

'Road to Arborg' & 'City Park Flowers'

These are some of the results of this years Manitoba trip. More to come. Thanks to everyone in the 'Peg and Arborg.

Calla Lilies

I am not a gardener but I can understand how one could be. The seasons are marked by what is blossoming. Thanks to Rob & Joanne for providing these from their garden. Calla lilies are the high-end runway models of the plant world. They are elegant and sensual.

Spanish Banks Tree

I must have looked at this tree a hundred times without seeing it. The light of a certain time of day, a certain season ... and there it is.

Iris Leaves

A wonder of design; simple, beautiful and functional

Fallen Trees

Here's a bit of photojournalism from a couple of months ago. No houses, cars or people were damaged but the roots of the trees ripped through the sidewalk when the wind blew the trees down. It took almost a week for the city to cut up and remove them. That's not a complaint but rather an indication of the size of the trees and the job.

Clouds Over Park

This is a park on west 33rd looking northwest during an evening shower. There had been a heavy thunderclap earlier. That is unusual in Vancouver and a welcome drama in the west coast skies unless you are near the lightning strike. This is something to consider when taking pictures during electrical activity. Not too long ago I watched "Act Of God". It was done by the same people who did "Manufactured Landscapes". I have already written about Edward Burtynsky but he is worth mentioning again.

Rene Magritte and the Canadian Prairies

These are more early photos that I recently scanned. The bottom photo is one I used as part of the design for a cover for a small book of poems I self-published with the help of my good friend Stephen Gross of Gravity Press. Another friend, Philippe Lasard, helped me realize my cover design. This photo seemed to capture aspects of both the west coast and the prairie landscapes that informed my imagination. It was taken at Centennial Beach, a favorite spot. The top photo reminded me of one of my favorite artists, Rene Magritte. It felt like it could be a detail from one of his paintings, somewhere beyond the bowler hat or floating apple.

Bamboo and Stanley Park Fog

The results, when working with scanned film in Photoshop, are less predictable than when working from digital photos. There is a different texture.

Vancouver and Jericho Pier

Quite often there are no people in my photos. It's a welcome element when there are; an emotional layer added to the composition. Even when it's just two small figures on the pier.

Georgia Viaduct

Another photo rescued through the scanning process.

Roots and Rocks

Driving back from Nanaimo, where I spoke to an all girl, grade 12 English class about poetry (who let that happen?), traffic was bad so I stopped to clear my head with a walk in Stanley Park. The English class was a treat and fun for me. I want to thank them for their responses.

Pears

And the winner of the world's most beautiful fruit goes to ...

Aldergrove Stream

Many years ago I read two or three of the autobiographical books of Sean O'Casey. There were six altogether I think. He had vision difficulties all through his life, even in his early years. But he described a conversation he had with his mother in which they tried to decide which colour God loved best. "He must have loved blue best because he made the sky blue." "He must have loved yellow best because he made the sun yellow." etc. I think this spot in Aldergrove would have been a good argument for green. It's helped out by the blue in the bottom left though.

Driftwood

I've walked past this Spanish Banks landmark many times but something about the light on this particular morning suggested a probable future nostalgia.

Woodward's

This blog is dedicated to the anonymous photographer, a woman with a point and shoot, that I saw while I was walking downtown. She had her camera aimed at this same shot, more or less, and when I looked up I decided she was right. She may have been taking a picture of the plastic tarp which had come loose. Something had fallen and there was damage to some glass beneath it. It may have been for insurance purposes. Even if that was the initial purpose of the shot, I imagine her looking up and realizing how beautiful the scene was.

Railway Ties In Oil

I found this posterized abstract from my afternoon spent hanging around the industrial area of south Vancouver.

Hyacinths, Daffodils and Christopher Thomas

Our living room gets a nice south light. It's great for shooting flowers and reading. The book on the coffee table is a book of photographs by Christopher Thomas called, "New York Sleeps". They are large format black & white photos of New York landmarks taken at night or just before or after sunrise/sunset and they are so beautiful you want to eat them.

Fraser River

One shot before the rain blurred my lens.