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.

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.

Morning On Iona

Same location as Iona Nimbostratus but different time and facing a different direction.

Tulips

I get attached to the flowers that end up in our home and can't help trying to immortalize them in photographs. I feel it is an act of gratitude. A ceremony of sorts.

Iona Cloud

I have started scanning my old negatives. I am forced to look at a lot of bad photos. Once in a while I managed to catch something that hinted at the sense of poetry I saw in the world and wanted to share. This was from one of my first rolls of film that I shot with my beat-up, but cherished, second-hand Yashica. It was on one of my first trips to Iona beach to take pictures.

Storm In Kits

I was caught in a short but heavy shower, that included hailstones, today. It's surprising how many people will smile and laugh as they pass you on the street during these events; as if we are sharing a wonderful joke.

Goodbye Games

Love them or hate them they left an impression.

Olympic City

I had to provide some photos of what is going on around Vancouver during the winter olympics. There are cameras everywhere you look.

Iona Fog

The mild weather has been good for gardeners but I miss the fog that we usually get at least once a winter.

Yacht Club

I was born and grew up in Winnipeg. Perhaps that is why I can be surprised, even after living in Vancouver for thirty years, at the beauty in a seaport city.

Two Boats

And January slips away.

Backlit Fence

One of my first assignments at Langara College, when I took their continuing studies Intermediate Digital Photography course, was to photograph a backlit subject. This fence and water sprinkler caught my eye as I drove home from work. I am embarrassed to remember how long it took me to notice the glasses sitting on the left-hand portion of the fence.

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.

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.