inspired photography with just enough perspective
My impression of sunset at Vancouver’s English Bay. Sometimes it seems the further I get from literal, the better things are. I’m drawn to abstraction in photography because it’s an escape into a world of my own imagination. Like radio, I use my imagination to fill in the gaps. In my experience, the world becomes a little more interesting when I use my imagination a little bit each day.
It took nearly all my photographic skills (okay, so I got lucky, bear with me) to capture this scene without including the throngs of summer tourists right behind me. In fact I had to get out on a rock so as not to get knocked over by a fresh bus load. But then again, I was one of those tourist so I have no reason to complain. Hey, if it wasn’t for places like this most people would never get a glimpse of the beauty we have in this world. I would prefer to be walking to the other side of this lake and continuing on for days. And I will, on another day. But on this day I took the bus. This is Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta Canada.
Here is Vancouver’s Coal Harbour section as imagined by me when I should have been doing something more productive. I got a little carried away but that’s what happens every once in a while. I took this with my iPhone and so its called iphoneography, but for whatever reason that doesn’t show up in my dictionary. Nevertheless this is my post processed iphoneigraphical highly imaginative rendering of urban exploration. Otherwise known as playing with colors.
Last year I spent a bit of time in Vancouver and my favorite place to go is Stanley Park. I’ve posted pictures of this fountain before as it’s hard not to get a good picture of it. Aside from this I have a lot of favorite subjects in Vancouver which is an amazing city to be sure. Four years ago the winter Olympics took place here and the Olympic fountain where the flamed burned is another favorite subject. After seeing the opening of the games in Sochi, I think I may have to add that fountain to my list as well.
Last summer I took this picture early one morning on a trail in Jasper Alberta. It was on this same trail that I met a elk bull the night before. I had come out at night to capture an image of the moon reflecting on the lake. As I walked past this spot I saw what I thought was a tree, only it pivoted right in front of me. A small digression. When in the forest at night and something big moves in front of you, you discover your adrenal glands. Back to the story. I stopped dead in my tracks, every fibre in by body as still as stone while my eyes tried desperately to focus. After what seemed an eternity (likely only five seconds) I recognized papa elk sitting on the trail with his full rack extended up like a tree. Big papa. I slowly took a step back, then another, and then slowly turned around and walked away pretending to be calm. So the next morning I captured this photo of the trail to remind me of the encounter with papa elk. Like I need a reminder.
Okay, I’m about to get serious on you. A couple of weeks before I captured this one of those little chunks of ice known as the Ghost Glacier fell off and landed in a pool below creating a fifty foot wave which damaged the parking lot and road below this trail. I felt a little unsettled as our guide who walks these trails everyday was still shaken from the enormity of the event. It’s hard to grasp the scale of things from a picture, but you can try. Fortunately it happened around five in the morning before hundreds of people arrived for a hike and sightseeing. I was more than happy to hike from a vantage along the top of the moraine in case another chunk decided to come off. I’m a city slicker and I need to be reminded of mother nature’s power every now and then. This did it for me.
Surrounded by tall buildings on all sides is Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral. I’ve been meaning to go inside capture the interior one day, but this section caught my attention late one evening while walking back to my hotel. Vancouver is a harmonious mix of the old and new. Now, as it’s Sunday, I better get off to church.
If ever there was a monopoly on chic, it’s Cactus Club Cafe in Vancouver. There are several around the city in only the coolest locations. I’ve eaten at about three of them including this one. The food is phenomenal and the cocktails are so cool they don’t need ice. When you eat there you end up watching everyone else as everyone else is watching everyone else. Many many years ago someone once told me I look like Bono of U2. I don’t really, I just have that same little cleft on my chin. So anyway, I really do owe it to his fans to show up at this restaurant with some oversized sun glasses. I just need to work a little on that Irish accent and before you know it I’ll be watching myself on TMZ.
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With the Olympics fast approaching, I thought I’d share a rendering of a photo I shot of Vancouver’s Olympic fountain. This was one of my very first subjects as a photographer and I’m constantly drawn to it whenever I’m in town. Let the games begin.
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I captured this one morning in Vancouver at the start of a working day. The small boat at the lower left of the frame is a ferry that holds three hundred people, so it’s much larger than it appears. These ferries run across the harbor between downtown Vancouver and North Vancouver. As a visitor to the city I recommend it as a great way to see the skyline from the water for just a few bucks. For the daily commuters it’s convenient, reliable and on time. However after about thirty trips most riders don’t even look up from their smart phones. But I’m from a small town so I’m always looking out the window at the cityscape, at least the first twenty-nine times. After that, same old same old.
Follow link to obtain a limited edition print of this photo.