Neil Every

Hey 2012, What's up?

2012-01-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

Already 2 weeks into the year that is 2012!

The weekly photo blog is behind me now so what's next? Well, for the time being I'll be continuing with my writing work for Capcom Games (it's all very hush-hush but once it's official I promise I'll give a little more detail), I'm working on my feature project The Death of Alec Gray which I'll reveal more about soon, the webseries which is approaching its launch and of course there'll be more adventures afoot with my trusty Canon 60D camera.

As you know, even really basic little point-and-shoot cameras these days can capture video as well as pictures and in 2012 I'm hoping to do a LOT more on the video/movie-making side of things. The Canon 60D has already proven itself in my eyes with the quick and dirty short film I threw together early last year but I'm keen to do a lot more with it in this area.

I don't fully know what shape or form these experiments will take yet or how feasible they will be (i.e. paid work commitments) but I have a ton of ideas!

Of course, I'll still be snapping good old-fashioned pictures too. Speaking of which...

The above shots were taken just West of Lost Lagoon and in addition the wide angle fun, I also got a much better chance to play around with the new Tamron 90mm Macro lens.

Though it's designed for super-close work, it handles pretty well as a telephoto lens too. The below is not a leper's foot but is in fact an oddly shaped piece of drift wood.

And here's a macro of the splinters jutting out from the bottom of the "foot"...

The lens renders the out of focus detail (the bokeh) in a very pleasing manner don't you think?

And it handles flare pretty well too.

This final shot turned out to be my personal favourite though...

Until next time folks.

The Best of 2011 Part III

2012-01-13T11:27:00.002-08:00

October began with me scoring front row tickets to a Vancouver Canucks pre-season game against the Edmonton Oilers and the pictures that resulted led to (in terms of numbers) my most popular blog yet. According to my tracking software, I received 1500+ page views - and that was just within the first 2hrs of posting!

TIME magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2011 was The Protester and October marked the beginning of the Vancouver "Occupy" movement. Given the events that followed the Canucks loss in Game 7, I'm sure the officer below had a busy year when it came to crowd control...

Week 42 brought with it a trip to the Westham Island pumpkin farm.

The result of my pumpkin carving certainly isn't up there in terms of great pictures from 2011 but as creative endeavors go I had to include it because I'm still proud of what I came up with!

Week 43 brought with it a trip to the PNE's "Fright Nights" exhibition. I had a frustrating night as far as picture taking went and mostly failed to meet my high expectations (if only I'd brought a small tripod!) but this one turned out great and wins the award for "Most Macabre Shot of the Year"!

One of my regrets of 2011 was not taking my camera everywhere I went. There were so many missed shots. However, in November while on my way to a meeting across town I did have the foresight to pack my gear and ended up with some nice images in and around historic Gastown. This one turned out to be my favourite...

Despite the freezing cold temperatures of Week 45, I wrapped up and had one last foray into long exposure night photography downtown. This image from the corner of Burrard and Nelson ended up being my personal favourite.

With the Fall there often comes some stunning sunsets and armed with what turned out to be one of my best performing lenses of the year, the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 wide angle zoom (had to get some geek material in here!) Week 46 ended up being hugely successful.

Inukshuks and Canadian Geese - talk about being a true Canadian eh?!

As 2011 came to a close, terrible weather and massive work commitments curtailed my photo-taking adventures to a large extent. Testing out a lens I picked up dirt cheap from a pawn shop I was happy with how this one at Vanier Park from Week 48 turned out...

And in another test (the newly acquired Tamron 90mm Macro lens), this one turned out okay considering the low light.

Sticking with lovable pets, Max, the Powell River Goldendoodle made a return and won the award in the 2011 "Awww!" category!

Perhaps its fitting that I close this retrospective photo blog look back through 2011 with this image...

All in all, 2011 was a big, crazy, unwieldy year in many ways. A lot of transition for me personally and professionally. Through the tougher times, along with my awesome circle of close friends (you know who you are!) my trusty Canon 60D and this blog helped me stay creatively inspired.

Though the sun has set on this particular journey, others await! There may be fewer photo blog posts to come in 2012 but I'll still be out there doing my thing - Stretching the muscles of my creative side is hugely important to my physical, mental and emotional health.

Thank you for letting me share my pictures with you over the last 12 months, for giving me hugely appreciated feedback and for continuing to encourage my endeavors. Stay tuned for what's to come next and as always...

Until next time folks!

The Best of 2011 Part II

2012-01-12T11:59:00.003-08:00

I'm not sure if the large number of favourite pictures from the latter 6 months of 2011 is indicative of any improvement in my skills or because better weather gave me more opportunities. Regardless, selecting only 12 pictures from 6 months of work proved too challenging for a procrastinator like me - So you get a Part II and a Part III!

July began with a trip to the Vancouver Aquarium where the best image captured turned out to be of the feathered variety rather than the fishy variety. Thanks to the "Birds of Prey" show I was afforded a super-close encounter with a stunning bald eagle.

July was also a month with several family birthdays (including my own). Combining three generations this photo of my Aunty Sylvia, my cousin Andrea and her beautiful one year-old Lucy (all of whom celebrated a birthday within a week of one another!) has special sentimental value to me.

Lucy surely wins the "cutest of the year award"!

No other month of the year brought as many pictures as August and among the highlights was a trip to the Greater Vancouver Zoo.

Of all the many awesome pictures I was lucky to capture, the set featuring the oh-so-not-camera-shy Ostrich was number one!

WEEK 34 brought with it a summer night jaunt around Vanier Park, False Creek and Olympic Village. Armed with a tripod and intervalometer I snagged some long exposure shots I am immensely proud of.

I made my first attempts at "light painting" with this sculpture...

And this art installation...

Meanwhile, this next picture was somehow stumbled upon by a rock band in Greece who recently enquired about using it on their next album cover!

My night ended at Olympic Village capturing images across False Creek of B.C. Place. The stadium upgrade was still in progress back in August so I might just have to visit this spot again now that all the new exterior lighting is complete.

September brought with it a new toy in the shape of a Lensbaby and this was my favourite shot I managed to (literally!) squeeze out of it...

Come back soon for the final part of this look back through 2011 which will include pumpkins, macabre kitchens from hell, Canucks and glorious sunsets!

Until next time folks...

The Best of 2011 Part I

2012-01-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

Almost 2,500 pictures... That's how many images were captured and were KEPT in 2011! That's a lot of pictures (never mind those that weren't keepers!) and overall, I'm really proud of the results I managed to get out of my little Canon 60D DSLR.

There were a few mis-steps such as the ones from WEEK 7 but there were also lots and lots that turned out pretty well. So without further ado, here are my top picks from the first 6 months of the year.

Max, the Goldendoodle recently featured in WEEK 50 has only one dog as competition in the awesome picture stakes and that's Gracie who was featured way back in WEEK 3.

Periodically throughout 2011 I posted a number of black and white photos. The ones featured in WEEK 6 I'm especially proud of and it was really hard to pick just one but the below image won out purely because it's my favourite candid shot from the whole year.

WEEK 8 was definitely one to remember. I had my closest encounter ever with a Blue Heron in Stanley Park...

..And I captured the below image of the first signs of Spring - I love the colours and the perspective on this one. So much so it was my desktop wallpaper for several months.

WEEK 11 brought with it a trip to The Bloedel Observatory and one of my favorite bird pictures of the year - and considering just how many pictures of birds I ended up taking, that's saying something!

The following week was a huge step forward in many regards since the rare event of the Super Moon afforded me the opportunity to finally get out and try my hand at some long exposure shots.

Despite forgetting to bring my telephoto lens I still managed to capture some great images.

April brought sunny days and cherry blossom all across Vancouver none of which I feel I fully managed to realize. I did get a moody abstract view inside Waterfront Station though!

Speaking of moody... I love this throwback homage to Asian horror movies...

...And this view of a boy on a bridge in Stanley Park, both from WEEK 16.

The above is kind of a busy image but the red shirt and the reflection makes it work for me. At the other end of the scale and also from the same week is this simple and elegant image of a magnolia bloom.

Easter brought with it a trip to visit family in Powell River and my favourite photo turned out to be Piper-Dove and what must surely be an entry in the "Cutest of the year" category.

May began very sparsely due to too many work commitments but it ended on a high with a video tribute to the Vancouver Canucks during the Western Conference Final vs the San Jose Sharks and another successful photo adventure in Stanley Park.

My second favourite candid picture taken in 2011 may not be as moody as the black and white of the sleeping man on the Skytrain but it was certainly interesting...

June brought a real mixed bag of photos from WEEK 22 to WEEK 25. Just as the city of Vancouver went crazy over the sad end to the Canucks run for the cup, so did a flock of seagulls on a colony of unsuspecting starfish...

Far from the ravenous and bloodthirsty end of the bird scale came these lovely balls of cute furry fun.

Keep your eyes peeled for Part II of this retrospective look at a year in photos.

Until next time folks!

2011 WEEK 52: And so it ends

2012-01-07T18:14:00.002-08:00

One week into 2012 already! Goodness time flies!

I'm a little sad that my year long photo adventure has sort of come to a close with a whimper instead of ending with an impressive bang but, such is life... I'm not really one for ending the year with thousands of strangers clutching over-priced cocktails so I ended my year exactly the way I like - surrounded by a gaggle of my best friends and most loved people.

Masks were rocked...

The year that was 2011 was pondered...

Good times were celebrated in style...

And I finally caved to pressure and took my turn in front of the lens... It's probably fitting that the final picture of the 2011 photography journey should be of me.

To all of you who have stopped by week after week to check out my pictures, thank you! I've had a blast snapping away and sharing the results. I'll be posting a few random details soon summing up the year along with some of my favourite images. I'll also be looking ahead to the next 12 months... This particular journey may have ended but new ones await and I look forward to sharing them here soon.

Thanks again for visiting. Please let me take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and inspired 2012.

Until next time folks.

2011 WEEK 51: A Sunshine Coast Christmas

2011-12-30T19:09:00.001-08:00

The trip up to Powell River on the Sunshine Coast can be a little exhausting. There's a ferry connection to make from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale followed by a 2hr. drive along the extremely twisty road that runs up the peninsula followed by a second ferry from Earl's Cove to Saltery Bay.

Thankfully one of the ferrys was serving a new brand of Christmas Punch to keep passengers entertained...

The unfortunate recipient of said punch is Joel, a man I envy mostly because he's able to fall asleep practically anywhere. But he's a pretty good writer, doesn't smell bad and knows more about music than anyone else I know. If you love discovering cool albums and songs, if you love to laugh and if you're not at all politically correct then I highly recommend you check out Joel's blog here.

When we took Max the Goldendoodle out for a walk down to Powell Lake I saw this mysterious woman who may or may not be in search of her next starring role in a Fellini movie...

There was a break from family tradition this year with dinner on the 24th rather than on Christmas Day. Great to see Laurie finally getting to relax on Christmas Day instead of being focused on performing miracles in the kitchen - and a good thing too since there were 14 for dinner this year.

There's something awesome and terrifying about the fact that year in and year out millions upon millions of families around the world spend so many hours (maybe even days!) preparing a feast that is consumed in the space of 2 hours.

Another family tradition is the presenting of gifts from family pets - on reflection this is absolutely ridiculous but, hey, its a tradition and I love it! This year I got this from one of our cats...

I make no apology for the general lack of festiveness to these pictures... Way too predictable! Besides, I decided to shoot some video over Christmas instead of stills as a warm up for what I hope to be doing a lot more of in 2012. Stay tuned for more on that. As for the Christmas video, well, I'll see how it turns out before I decide whether or not to share it!

In the meantime, here are some images from our trip back. The light at this time of year with the sun low in the sky really does some wonderful things.

What's that on the right hand side? Looks like Ogopogo decided to visit the Sunshine Coast for Christmas too!

A view of the ferry approaching across Saltery Bay. This truly is a beautiful part of the world isn't it?

The cats were especially happy to see us return home. Mostly because this meant that the lights on our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree would be turned on again. Based on how keen they are at trying to chew on it I think it must have had catnip infused into it during manufacturing...

H'mm... Next year's Christmas card image perhaps???

Until next time folks!

2011 WEEK 50: Max

2011-12-27T15:56:00.001-08:00

I've always been more of a cat person. It's not that I don't like dogs, it's just that I never owned a dog and they were never really around much in my life growing up. I guess you could say I'm mostly indifferent to them unless they're barking loudly, gnashing their teeth at me, nipping at my heels or ramming their heads into my nether regions... In these situations I'm raising my eyebrows and being grateful I'm a cat person!

Max is a dog. A Goldendoodle to be precise and quite simply, he's AWESOME!

Max lives in Powell River and belongs to my mother-in-law, Laurie. After taking numerous pictures of Max, I've decided that he doesn't have a single bad angle. The camera loves him! And he I suspect he kind of loves the camera back...

How could anyone not like a lovable muppet like this?

Max is very soft and from certain angles he looks like a dog wearing a fluffy dog suit. When he runs, his ears flop around and even when he's barking up a storm it's hard to to take him seriously.

Max can be a little nervous when it comes to meeting new friends but he soon gets over it.

Just another day for Max.

Until next time folks... Hoping you're all having a wonderful Christmas!

2011 WEEK 49: Hello Macro

2011-12-22T11:16:00.001-08:00

I'm back!

I'm a little disappointed that I missed the last few weeks of posting, especially when I'm so close to the end of this 52 Week photo adventure. However, work commitments have been more than a little crazy lately and I couldn't spare even an hour to snap some images never mind blogging about them.

But here we are again and I'm ready to bring this 2011 visual jaunt to a close. Hopefully in style. I plan on taking lots of photos between now and December 31st!

In the meantime, Santa came early for me (care of Craigslist and a deal too good to pass up).

This is the respected Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens. It's been on my radar for awhile so I was very happy to finally snag one. So why Macro? Well why not?! I'm fascinated by the idea of getting close, real close, and seeing details that we either take for granted or that we generally never even see.

I've barely had a chance to play with this new addition to my photographic arsenal but I've already made a few discoveries. In low light it's a tricky little beast - as one focuses closer and closer one loses a fair amount of exposure so a flash or good natural light is a must. The above shot of my keys was taken indoors at night wide open at f/2.8 and with a high ISO (hence the grain).

This close and this wide open, depth of field is-...well, very small! As you can see in all these pictures, I was generally working with about 5mm or so of area in focus. I should have used a tripod for these shots instead of going hand-held because even the slightest little shake of the hand can throw things off.

Hopefully future subjects will be a little more welcoming... Talk about being given the evil eye!

The Tamron 90mm is also regarded as a great portrait lens and it has lovely bokeh (the out of focus area of the pictures), soft and creamy!

At some point it would be great to pick up a set of extension tubes. These little do-dads fit between the lens and the camera and take things even closer allowing one to capture some really crazy images. Here's an example from Flickr of just how close one can get...!

EEEEK!

Until next time folks, thanks for hanging in there despite my recent absence.

2011 WEEK 48: Vanier Park

2011-12-02T21:41:00.001-08:00

This is kind of a cheat... Technically these pictures were taken the same day as last week's Jericho Beach pictures but hey, "full disclosure" and all that. I could have just skipped a week but I'm soooo close to reaching the end of this epic year-long journey I can't exactly quit now, can I?!

Last time I was at Vanier Park across from the Maritime Museum was way back in August when I was creeping around in the darkness snapping long exposures. It was nice to actually see where I was walking this time.

This is what this looked like back in WEEK 34.

This next effort nearly cost me my camera... I was crouching down in the midst of snapping the next two pictures when all of a sudden- WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!- BOOM! - A very large, salivating dog (a German Shepard I think) barreled into me on his way to chasing a nearby Jack Russell. I wobbled... I teetered... and almost fell over... And I think it was the weight of my camera in my hand that actually helped me keep my balance and save me embarrassment.

And throughout all of this barking, yapping, camera-balancing chaos, this awesomely proud lady Poodle didn't budge an inch. Nope, she was determined to hold her pose until I was done.

Her owners told me she sits like this for hours, her perm gently blowing in the wind...

This rusty old chain was connected to a giant anchor but I couldn't get a good angle of the whole shebang without getting parking lot, garbage cans or backlit, lens flare hell.

Why so serious?

I snapped the Kits totem pole from a couple of angles and they turned out so well I had to include both of them in all their desaturated glory.

And here's how the sky turns out when not desaturated... Perhaps I'm just getting used to the months of Vancouver greyness this time of year but isn't that sky almost TOO blue?

1950s giant robot come to invade Kitsilano...?

Or mini-sub?! You'll have to go check out the Vancouver Maritime Museum to find out.

Here's another example of the funkiness that is my El Cheapo plastic lens aka the Canon 35-80mm. Point the camera towards the sun and all kinds of odd things happen. In this case, this fern turned out all soft and dreamy like a 1970s pornographic art film!

Point the camera in a different direction and you get these weird looking things appearing atop the grassy knoll...

I have no idea what they are so don't ask. Presumably something to do with the Maritime Museum. From a low level perspective they look like rusted out tanks on a forgotten battlefield.

Only 4 weeks left and we're done! Until next time folks...

2011 WEEK 47: Jericho Beach

2011-12-02T20:16:00.001-08:00

Finally some sun and finally a chance to get outside and suck in some fresh, albeit chilly air!

I had no plan. No specific spot in mind. So I jumped in the car, hit the gas and headed West... Eventually ending up at Jericho Beach. It's been forever since I walked around this area of Vancouver so I figured it was as good a place as any to start off. I ended up spending my whole photo excursion there.

Normally I quite like bringing out the colours in pictures - you've probably noticed my fondness for bright, vibrant tones. To try and capture some of the chilly weather I chose to desaturate many of these pictures. This next one was shot in colour but the strong highlights and shadows seemed to look better in black and white.

Here's an example of my usual "vibrant" tastes. Unlike the picture above, this one looked best in colour. In case you hadn't guessed yet, these were all taken with my Sigma 10-20mm super-wide.

You'd think that on a bright sunny day it would be easy taking pictures but the Winter light played havoc. I had to be extremely careful to avoid my own shadow. Believe it or not, it was 12.30pm when I took this picture. That is one low sun...

Several months ago I picked up an old used lens from a pawn shop for $30. Back in the day the EF 35-80mm was a kit lens that came with the purchase of the camera and like the current 18-55mm kit lens its a light, plasticky piece of garbage. I bought it with very low expectations but the wide to telephoto focal range was intriguing. This is the first time I've had a chance to really try it out and you know what? It's not half bad!

What a load of old bollards!

I couldn't really tell from the LCD screen of the camera whether or not any of these pictures were going to be keepers. Those that went to the trash mostly went there due to "operator error" (ahem! Still learning...). All things considered, for a piece of plastic with a few bits of glass in it, the 35-80mm is actually pretty sharp and renders nice, realistic colours and detail.

I wonder what the sign on this post once read? Maybe, "Warning: Do not park here during high tide"

"Nope, I'm not talking to you. I'm done with your crap". "Oh, yeah? Me too!"

You didn't think I could get away with not including a bird picture or two did you? This one would have been so good if I'd been just a little quicker with the focus.

Something that struck me with El Cheapo aka the 35-80mm, is it's funky, inconsistent and irritable nature. Especially when it came to lens flares and highlights. Some shots turned out garbage then others, where I moved the camera barely an inch, turned out fine. From this next angle, this was the only one that worked. It's an odd composition but the sparkles make it okay.

In hindsight, this next one would have turned out better if I'd switched back to the super-wide and gotten more of the trees framing the subject on either side. That's the downside of shooting with the Canon 60D which has a 1.6 sized cropped sensor (as opposed to the top of the line Canon 5D which is a full frame sensor). What this means is that a 35mm is closer to a 50mm in its field of view hence my love of the Sigma 10-20mm. Too much geek talk?

This is another one that took several attempts to get and probably would have been easier to nail with a lens more up for the task. In colour it looked very odd with ugly, strangely coloured lens flare. This is one fickle piece of glass/plastic... Shots taken with exactly the same settings, from exactly the same angle had completely different coloured and lens flares as well as variations in shape... Weird! Thank goodness for black and white at the push of a button.

Desaturated baby! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Stay tuned for WEEK 48 coming very soon... Until then, thanks for stopping by.

2011 WEEK 46: More November Sunsets!

2011-11-23T22:40:00.001-08:00

Think of it as my "Black Friday" special - you get two lots of pictures for the price of one. What do you mean, you just stumbled across this site? Come on, stay awhile. Order a print. Help me fund a new lens!

I accept PayPal. Just sayin'... Okay! Back to sunsets!

Isn't it a beauty?

As well as odd sculptures (scroll down for evidence!), a penchant for bird pictures (also see below!) and generally geeky things (too many examples to mention...), I'm also developing an odd fascination with benches. I don't know if its the shape, the texture, the location or something more metaphysical to do with all those millions of behinds that have sat on them and experienced the view. Benches are interesting. Maybe one day I'll own one of my own. Until then, I'll snap more pictures of them.

I've taken many shots of benches over the course of this years photo adventure. I still don't feel like I've captured the perfect bench but hey, there's still 6 weeks left so who knows...

Weeds are generally not particularly photogenic. However, backlight the crap out of them with some sweet golden rays and "Voila!"

A short distance along the seawall I found a gaggle of Canadian Geese pecking away at the grass.

I love this shot for all kinds of reasons.

This one too turned out great. I suppose it should be titled "Waddling Into The Sunset".

Right beside the geese was... Yup! You guessed it! Another one of Vancouver's fascinating and bizarre sculptures. I'm told this one is supposed to represent two wedding rings but when it first went up my interpretation of it was a symbolic representation of The Greenhouse Effect...

The shot above was pretty much straight out of the camera or SOC as the camera folks say with no PP (Post-Processing). To complete the geeky side of things, all of these photos for this week were taken with what is still one of my favourite lenses in my arsenal, the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5. It's a lens that has a natural warmth to the glass. This, combined with the "Cloudy" colour style exposure setting, a low-ish ISO and with the aperture closed down to expose for the brighter areas of the sky, is what made this sunset pictures work so well.

At least, in my humble opinion... Art is as they say "in the eye of the beholder".

Here's a "Thermo-Nuclear" take on the shot above with heavy cross-processing.

I took a picture of this tree with my iPhone just a few months ago and it was a giant mass of green.

That's it for this week (ahem... last week). I'll hopefully catch up again and end this epic photo adventure with a bang AND on schedule!

With only a few weeks left in 2011, I'd love it if you could take a quick scroll through all the many pictures I've taken over the course of the year and let me know in the comment section which ones were your favourites. Otherwise I'll be forced to do my own Top 10 Photos and you know what that'll mean... A whole bunch of birds and weird sculptures!

Until next time...

2011 WEEK 46: November Sunset

2011-11-23T22:13:00.001-08:00

I'll skip the usual "I'm behind/I've been busy" malarkey and excuses for being late with the blog... But I did take the following photos last week so technically they are still "WEEK 46"!

I'm trying to get into the habit of taking my camera wherever I go. You know, just in case. On this particular occasion I had some banking to do and took a quick half hour diversion along the seawall - and I'm glad I did because it was a quite lovely winter sunset.

I wish I'd been framed just an inch higher so as not to crop the tip of the seagull's wing. I still have the bad habit of framing through the viewfinder instead of playing it safe and using a slight crop in post-processing to make the photo sing. I've lost count of how many times I've wished I was just a hair wider!

The above picture is right out of the camera. No cropping. No post processing whatsoever. Sometimes it just works :)

The seagull in the first picture was on his way over to these folks...

I love the blackbird flying in on an attack run in the lower right corner.

It was very cold on this day and the windchill made it colder. There was barely a soul on the beach. This guy was perhaps searching for another person who also "loves walks on the beach..."

Lots of washed up driftwood was littering the beach from the storm several days previous.

Winter light is very different to summer light and at sunset you can point your camera in two different directions and its almost like they were taken on different days. Towards the sun...

Away from the sun...

I know I've included a shot of the Inukshuk at English Bay before but these felt different enough to the one taken way back in WEEK 5.

And just for fun, here's a totally over the top, post-processed (and heavily cross-processed) "Thermo-nuclear" view! Where's the bomb shelter when you need one?

Considering I was only out for half an hour, I'm very happy with the shots I managed to grab before my fingers froze up.

I still have a few more to share so check back tomorrow.

Until next time folks, thanks for stopping by!

2011 WEEK 45: Cold November Night

2011-11-15T16:05:00.001-08:00

EEK I've gotten behind... Work commitments not to mention a run of cold, wet and windy Vancouver weather has made it tough to get pictures the last week. But I finally found a spare hour (as well as a hat, scarf and gloves!) to get out and snap some new tasty long exposure night shots for you to all feast your eyes upon!

This is the apartment building around the corner from where I live at Davie & Jervis - the building got a facelift this summer which until I took this picture, I discovered included colored illumination on some of the balconies.

Half a block down the street is St. Paul's Anglican Church. There were some beautifully haunting choral chants floating out as I took this picture.

No, the architects in Vancouver have not been at the rum (well, maybe...!) the buildings curving into the frame on each side are as a result of the super wide end of my Sigma 10-20mm lens. There is software out there that corrects the "fisheye" effect but a) I don't have it and b) I kinda like the warped perspective! This next one put a really nice curve to the church doors - I like the fairytale/Hobbiton nature of this one.

Cold empty streets... Well, almost... Spot the girl texting? The streak of light is a passing car.

While I was taking this one (shoulder-checking for approaching motorists with road or photographer rage) a guy walked past then halted at the curb to ask, "What are you doing?" He asked it as though I was murdering someone's pet in the middle of the street. I looked from the camera and no doubt sounded a little confused and maybe even defensive when I replied, "Um... Taking a picture..." then as if to clarify, "It's a long exposure..." He scowled then went on his way. Weird.

You may have noticed by now that as well as photos of birds, I seem drawn to fire escapes... This apartment building (once a hotel) has some awesome fire escapes!

Taken in Nelson Park, these next two are of what I think must be the least fun playground in the world.

I mean look at that thing?! How is that supposed to be fun for a kid? It's pretentious. It's uncool. It's completely impractical. It doesn't even have a proper slide for God's sake!

Perhaps the "ghosts" I caught in this one the lost souls of playgrounds past...

Thankfully, though I got a few odd looks ("Why is he taking a picture at night with no flash?") nobody passing by was as disgruntled as my previous encounter.

Its hard to tell if this is a brown paper bag (nope) or a large leaf (yup!) but I still like this one.

This looks lik something out of Tron.

Something new... and something old...

I did a fair amount of post-processing on the above image, tweaking exposure, colour temperature, contrast and definition but I like the way it turned out. Long exposure photography sure yields surprising results sometimes. Through the lens when I took the picture, all I could see was the door and the light above it - After a 2 second exposure its amazing how much detail was able to be captured.

The Hyrdo building in all its night time long exposure glory!

This was my last picture of the night. Mostly because I was freezing my ass off but also because snowflakes were beginning to drift down from that cloud overhead.

I have to say I'm really enjoying the long exposure adventures. Especially when combined with a super-wide angle lens. All of these pictures were captured with a shutter speed of between 1 and 2 seconds. Hope you enjoyed them!

Until next time...

2011 WEEK 44: Gastown

2011-11-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

I found myself walking across town to a meeting on Alexander Street this week and so brought my camera along with me.

Beginning on the East side of Gastown and running one block north alongside Hastings Street, Alexander Street is in one of the oldest areas of Vancouver. Did you know the term "Skid Row" originated in Vancouver in this part of town? The name comes from the roads made of logs which were used to "skid" timber from the nearby forests. Over time the term was used to describe the logging camps and mills along the Pacific Coast and then as a derogatory term for the low income neighborhoods that built up around these areas.

My meeting was at 611 Alexander Street - an awesome space filled with design studios, new media offices and agencies. Kicking myself now because I neglected to take a picture of it! 611 Alexander was once the American Can Company. For more about the history of the area check out this blog by local Historian James Johnstone.

I have a lot of memories of Alexander Street since it was one of the locations used in my first short film The Fare. The Ironworks building at the corner of Main Street and Alexander is now an art studio and the rear parking lot beneath the overpass functioned as the lot for the fictional taxi cab company in the film. Now it's an urban garden... Weird.

From atop the overpass at the end of Main Street there are some great views of the city.

These aren't the views of the city we usually see on postcards but I kind of like it better - old and new cramming together for space.

Focus on foreground... Too abstract?

Focus on background... Better?

On my way back I stopped briefly by Blood Alley and Gaelor's Mews (love those names). This is such a great area but with the rain starting I wasn't able to take many pictures. This ended up being my favourite...

There are so many things to snap pictures of in this part of town you could literally spend a day within a 3 block radius and still barely scratch the surface.

No visit to Gastown would be complete without an image of the world famous steam clock. I wonder how many millions of photos have been taken of this tourist hot spot?

On a completely unrelated note, I had to share one last picture with you. The below creature (I think it's a hornet) has been perched on the back of a chair, freezing his socks off in our backyard for the last 3 days. It's still alive but is not moving very much. Maybe hibernating? Either way, I'm glad he's no longer flying around since he's close to an inch long...

Until next time folks.

2011 WEEK 43: Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:20:00.001-07:00

Every year for a couple of weeks at the end of October, the PNE opens its gates to thousands of thrill seekers, ghoul hunters and those willing to have the crap scared out of them at "Fright Nights".

There are a number of Haunted Houses set up, each with their own spine chilling theme and almost all of the rides are open for business. Bright lights, fast moving objects, smoke in the air and macabre creatures wandering through the crowds... I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for some pictures but for the most part, it ended up being an exercise in disappointment.

I was hoping to get some cool streaking light effects but it was not to be. In hindsight, I should have brought along a tripod or at least a monopod to try some long exposure shots and avoid blur.

The greatest challenge were the extremes of exposure. The light was constantly changing and wherever one looked there was a random, bright, flashing light somewhere. Expose for the bright light and everything else in the frame was banished to a dark, shadowy void - Expose for the less bright subject matter and the bright spots burned out like supernovas. There really was no middle ground of exposure.

With each swing of the ride above there was a loud rising and falling scream! I like the atmosphere of a fair ground but have never been a fan of spinning rides. Add to that the fact that I'm 6'4" and many rides end up crushing my spine and I'm pretty much left with the Ferris Wheel...

If there's one thing I hate, its evil clowns so we stayed away from this doorway to doom.

No scraps for this guy at the Mini-Donut concession...

This is what fate befalls those customers who don't pay...

Nothing says Parental Guidance required like a demon baby eating human organs...

The below pictures were all part of an exhibit titled Hell's Kitchen. The consistency of lighting and the fact that the subjects weren't spinning around at a dizzying speed helped make these my favourites of the night.

Mmm... Fresh meat! Apparently it tastes like chicken...

Love this one. So much going on in this little scene. I especially like the foreground amputated leg hanging from the chain...

Happy Halloween folks!

Until next time...

2011 WEEK 42: Gourd Help Us!

2011-10-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Before I get to the fate of our pumpkins from the Westham Island Herb Farm pumpkin patch, here are a few more pictures I snagged on the way back from Westham Island.

Access to the island is over a rickety old wooden swing bridge that is only one lane wide - Vehicles take turns crossing it in each direction. In all the times I've visited the island over the years I've never had to stop while the bridge was opened for a boat.

On one side of the bridge there are a number of floating homes.

The following pictures were taken further down the river. Wonderful dramatic Fall skies. It reminds me a little of Alberta.

Arriving home we got to our pumpkin carving and here are the results... First up, Mel's:

And here's mine. "These aren't the Gourds you're looking for"...

Until next time folks!

2011 WEEK 42: Oh My Gourd!

2011-10-24T12:38:00.001-07:00

On Sunday we were determined to get out and make the most of the gorgeous weather so we hopped in the car and headed South down Hwy 99 to Ladner. We made a quick stop for brunch where these guys watched over us...

...Before continuing on to Westham Island. This is the same place I went to way back in WEEK 10 when I blogged on the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. This time we had an entirely different agenda.

Pumpkins!

This is the Westham Island Herb Farm. It's much less commercial (not to mention less crowded) than the more well-known Richmond Country Farms pumpkin patch. It's also very photogenic with all kinds of old farm equipment lying around.

Braving the mud and numerous scarecrows, we marched off towards the pumpkin patch.

Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!

THE GEEKY STUFF: Given the muck and farm yard dirt everywhere I chose to forego changing lenses during our pumpkin patch foray. All of this week's photos were captured with the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, at ISO 160 with f-stop ranging from f/5.6 to f/9 and shutter speed between 160 and 350.

There's something sad about a pumpkin patch... Many don't make it. Many fall victim to the elements and to clumsy feet. Many will never have the opportunity to fulfill their destiny as Halloween sentinels.

But there were still plenty to choose from. Mel was delighted with her choice...

Soon enough I found what I was looking for. OMG! ("Oh My Gourd!") what an awesome specimen!

To find out what we did with our pumpkins, come back tomorrow. HINT: I took the geek approach.

Until next time folks, happy pumpkin picking!

2011 WEEK 41: 99% vs 1%

2011-10-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

Got stuck behind the 8-ball of work deadlines this week but I was able to nip out for an hour and a half and catch a few snaps of the "Occupy Vancouver" protest in the park outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Apparently there were more than 4,000 people in attendance.

Yes, placement of "The Dark Tower of Sauron" in the frame aka the TD Bank building was entirely intentional! Call it subtle (AHEM!) commentary.

And there was a whole lot of commentary to be seen amongst the crowds with people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds making a statement in support of their various causes.

There were almost as many cameras in attendance as there were signs and placards. The media circus was in full swing with professionals, semi-pros and hobbyists all grabbing footage and photos from every angle.

Despite the presence of so many cameras, I still found myself feeling self conscious every time I took a picture. It still seems rude to capture someones image without asking especially given the possibility of sharing it with the world on this blog. This is something I'm trying to get over.

This was my most brazen of pictures. I walked right by him moments later and was half expecting to be thrown down to the ground and have my camera confiscated but I got a nod and a smile instead.

In light of the horrible events that transpired a few months ago following the Vancouver Canucks' loss in the Stanley Cup final, not to mention certain past incidents involving large crowds and local law enforcement, it was nice to see everyone getting along on Saturday. "Peaceful Protest" was very much the order of the day and though there were significant numbers of Police around (including several undercover guys tucked away up high on the surrounding buildings) everyone seemed to be in good spirits all things considered.

I'm very curious to see how this worldwide movement advances and grows over the coming month. Hopefully the protests will at least inspire intelligent debate. Even better how significant positive change? Regardless of the outcome, I hope they remain peaceful.

There are far too many in this world who are suffering needlessly. There are also too many in this world who are unaware of just how lucky they are. For more on "The Power of Privilege" take a read of THIS BLOG by a very special friend of mine.

Until next time folks, peace and love.

2011 WEEK 40: Grey, Grey Days

2011-10-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

The weather was exceptionally uncooperative for photo-taking this past week. I was hoping to get some shots of the full moon (did you know last Saturday was worldwide "Lunar Day"?) but the clouds, cold and rain moved in. Just as well you were all spoiled with last week's 3 part series of photos to make up for the slim pickings this week!

A typical view across Coal Harbor (minus the rain). We'd all best get used to these grey, cloudy conditions. According to the Weather Network we're in for a chilly winter here in Western Canada this year.

So make the most of any colours you can find...

Surprisingly there are still some flowers around.

The above image was taken at Prospect Point on the edge of Stanley Park. I was hoping for some interesting wide angle opportunities of Lions Gate bridge and the mountains but everything was grey and hazy. Even this guy below has his cold, impassive winter face on...

I was also hoping for some long exposure dusk shots of rush hour across the bridge but I only managed a couple of shots before the rain kicked in and it wasn't nearly dark enough for it to really work. Still, good to know the idea is sound in principle.

The large white and red blur in the right side lane is a bus. Hopefully as the days draw shorter and darkness comes earlier, I can get better results next time.

Until then, I hope all of you in Canada had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for some pumpkin and Halloween craziness coming soon!

2011 WEEK 39 Pt. 3: Third Period

2011-10-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

With the zambonis finished their work, the nets back in place and fresh ice awaiting, the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers hit the ice for the third period.

I snapped this one of Oiler team Captain, Shawn Horcoff, as he circled the net and psyched himself up for the final twenty minutes.

Every goaltender has their routine between plays. For Khabibulin its taking a swig from his bottle then skating off to the right of his net to adjust his mask until the play is ready to start. As soon as the players prepare for the face-off, he jams his stick into his blocker glove with determination then hustles back to his net and hunches down.

After his time in the sin-bin from the 2nd Period fight, Theo Peckham was put to the test by Henrik Sedin. Andy Sutton takes a different approach, not worrying about Henrik but instead keeping his eye on the puck.

Seconds later, Henrik had to slam on the brakes before slamming into the boards.

Five minutes and thirty-six seconds into the period, Jannik Hansen put the Canucks up by a goal. The Oilers came close to tying it several times. Jeff Petry tried an up-ice pass but Vancouver's defence quickly turned it back.

Both Henrik and Daniel Sedin looked to be in fine form again. Seeing their puck-handling skills up close really makes you appreciate their talent. They didn't make it on to the scoreboard on Saturday night but they certainly created lots of opportunities.

Every time they were on the ice their line mate Alex Burrows was causing all kinds of problems in the crease for Khabibulin as he circled the net.

Ultimately it was the combination of the hard work of the 2nd and 3rd scoring lines that made the difference in the third period.

With under one minute to go, Mikael Samuelsson wristed a shot into the back of the net off of a point shot from defenseman Dan Hamhuis. Both of whom I caught in this final shot a few seconds earlier.

That's Samuelsson leaning back to avoid the puck flying by. Oiler #93 is 18 year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the 2011 number one Draft Pick. I'm not sure what he was doing there but it looks like the puck might have clipped him. Either way, he has no idea where the puck is.

With seconds to go on the clock, that same puck was in the back of the Oiler net again care of Cody Hodgson for a 4-1 Vancouver win.

I'd love to shoot some sport action again - it's a huge challenge. Anyone got a spare ticket to a Lions game or a Vancouver Whitecaps game???

Thank you to everyone who's come to check out my blog this week especially to the many folks who came here from Canuck Nation. Thanks to you this weeks entries have been the most popular yet. I hope you come and visit again or I'll be "forced" to go to another game and capture some more action!

Until next time folks...

2011 WEEK 39 Pt. 2: Second Period

2011-10-03T11:15:00.001-07:00

I received more visits to the blog after Part 1 of this weeks blog than ever before! So it's just as well I have more pictures to share from the Canucks vs Oilers pre-season game I attended on Saturday night.

At the beginning of the 2nd Period the score was 1-0 Canucks. Roberto Luongo looked calm, cool and collected in net.

And it was just as well since he was certainly challenged by the Oilers, facing several Edmonton powerplays and several breakaways.

Here's a nice blocker save... See that black thing sticking out of Lou's blocker? Yes, that's the puck. I got lucky on that one...

WARNING: CAMERA GEEK STUFF TO FOLLOW!

This was my first time shooting a professional sport close-up. There are a number of challenges too. Firstly, many sports arenas have strict policies when it comes to non-pros bringing their semi-pro gear into the building. In the case of Rogers Arena DSLR cameras are allowed providing the lens on the camera is less than 6" in length and/or the focal length of the lens is less than 70mm. All of these pictures in this weeks entries were captured with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 a.k.a. "The Nifty Fifty".

And it needed to be pretty nifty. Shooting a fast moving sport like hockey means a fast shutter speed otherwise movements are blurred. This then means a wider aperture causing less depth-of-field. It also meant a higher ISO to give me a fighting chance of getting any kind of an exposure and some room to work with focusing.

Auto-Focus was not an option with any of these pictures since the glass kept confusing it so every single one of these pictures was taken completely manual. I found I got better (i.e. more usable pictures!) the longer the game went on.

All of these pictures were captured with a shutter speed of 1000 and with ISO set to either 640 or 800. Aperture was set to f/2.8 throughout.

In my opinion, some of the best pictures in this series are those that freeze dynamic action but even these pictures end up lacking when there is no sign of the puck. The picture feels like it's missing a certain amount of context.

Which is why this next one works on multiple levels - It showcases dynamic movement, the crush of bodies in the crease that is so much a part of the game, the goaltender fighting to keep sight of the puck and... making the big save when it counts...

This next one shows great movement but sadly no puck. Maybe I should have cheated and photoshopped it in flying towards the lens. I love the expressions and degree of effort on the players' faces.

Something the Canucks have been criticized for in the past is a supposed "lack of grit". This years' team sees the addition of a couple of new players who look like they'll be bringing some great muscle to the fourth line alongside Maxim Lapierre who was once again mixing it up at Saturday nights game.

This scrum resulted from a hit that Edmonton took issue to. I love how everyone is just standing casually watching as Lapierre slams a fist into Theo Peckham's chin amid a mess of thrown down sticks and gloves!

Thanks Maxim for dragging the fight a little closer to where I was seated so I could get a close-up.

Just another day at the rink. "So how's the wife?"

Off to the sin-bin for Lapierre.

Despite Luongo making some great saves, the score was tied at the end of the 2nd.

Final round of pictures from the 3rd Period tomorrow. Until then, thanks for visiting!

2011 WEEK 39: Canucks vs Oilers

2011-10-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Where has this year gone? It seems like just yesterday that the city was in the midst of play-off fever (and I was blogging about it here). It seems like only yesterday that thousands were crowding the streets, waving flags, cheering, yelling, looting, lighting fires- No, let's not go there. There's been more than enough debate on that subject!

What better symbol of hope and determination than these new sculptures of Terry Fox?

So here we are again. A new season of hockey. New hopes. New dreams of going all the way to the end and hoisting the cup. This past Saturday night was the final game of Pre-Season with the Vancouver Canucks taking on the Edmonton Oilers.

Pre-Season is all about experimenting for the team. New players. New line combinations and a testing ground for discovering new chemistry between players. For the first time fans got a close look at what will in all likelihood be the opening night roster on October 6th when the new season officially kicks off against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

For me, I got an extra special close look because thanks to the awesomeness of eBay I scored a ticket for Row 2 for less than the price of dinner and a movie!

No, not a home goal just the pre-game warm-up...

Warm-up over, it was time to get patriotic and sing "Oh Canada".

Experiencing the game this close is entirely different than sitting anywhere else in the stadium and a world away from watching it on TV.

One gains a whole new appreciation for the game and the talent of the players. It's fast, really fast. The players are a lot, lot bigger and every time the puck slams into the glass with a deafening CRACK! it's hard not to flinch.

Someone who rarely flinches is Kevin Bieksa (known as "Juice") seen above talking smack to Oilers goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin after receiving a whack to the legs from a goalie stick.

Khabibulin was a large factor in the Canucks loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in their 2009 Stanley Cup campaign where he earned the moniker of "The Bulin Wall".

Thankfully the Canucks found holes in the wall on Saturday night. The above image was snapped as the Canucks scored their first goal off of a point shot from Dan Hamuis that was tipped in by Cody Hodgson. A millisecond earlier and I would have caught the puck flying through the air - you can see from the expressions on the players faces that they're all still looking to see where the puck is.

I'll talk more about the shooting of these pictures, the challenges involved and what I learned from it over the coming days. Overall I'm really surprised and happy with what I captured especially since I was shooting through the glass the entire time.

Here's new Canuck addition Marco Sturm battling hard.

The enemy gathers to plan their next attack...

Here's one of my favorites from the First Period...

I'm not sure why team Captain, Henrik Sedin, was grimacing like this but it would make a great picture for a caption contest. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comment box!

Lots more hockey action to come over the next few days so come back soon.

Until then, I hope you've enjoyed the First Period!

WEEK 38: Something Is Better Than Nothing

2011-09-24T17:56:00.001-07:00

Not much of an offering this week I'm afraid. I've been battling a monster of a cold, sinuses etc. most of the week but I was determined to put up something!

Since the new Lensbaby was still on the camera from last week's entry I figured I'd put it through its paces again, this time around the house.

This is Medusa from the original Clash of the Titans movie, a favourite of mine when I was a kid. Of all of Ray Harryhausen's wonderful designs and stop motion sequences, his design for Medusa is the best in my opinion. Here she is in all her cross-processing glory.

In these photos the Lensbaby and its natural way of throwing the focus off actually makes these figures look more realistic. All of these models are only 6" in size but you'd never know it from the pictures.

Do not let this next guy near water. Keep out of direct sunlight... And never, ever feed after midnight!

Since the Cybermen made their debut in Doctor Who way back on October 8, 1966 there have been many different designs. This one is the 80s version and is my favourite.

In honour of this weeks Blu Ray release of the complete Star Wars saga, here's Darth Tater.

Sometimes its really frustrating when a picture doesn't quite turn out. Actually, its always frustrating when a picture doesn't turn out - especially when one can see the potential...

Damn you focusing! So close and yet so far... Imagine my surprise when this next attempt turned out to be in focus... I think this is Blog history round these parts - my first self portrait!

This is how I usually look when I'm out gathering content for these pages...

Backwards Canon logo care of a mirror not some wonky parallel universe I've been visiting... although there have been times this week where I didn't feel quite "here" on this world.

Hopefully next week I'll be 100% again. *sniff-sniff*...*cough-cough*

Until next time folks. Stay healthy.

2011 WEEK 37: Hey baby, check out my Lensbaby!

2011-09-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

What, you ask, is a "lensbaby"?

It's my latest toy (and a cheap one thanks to Craigslist). As for what the purpose of it is, well, it's what the pros call a "selective focus" device. The principle is very simple - basically it's a stand alone lens with a focal length of around 50mm that is attached to a bellows which connects to the camera. The bellows allows the user to bend the lens (and thus the light passing through it) changing the focal plane with it.

"Focal what?" This is the area where the light hits the sensor of the camera and normally it is parallel with the subject - focus at 8' and everything on that axis in the range of 8' (depending on f-stop, depth of field etc. but that's a different subject!) will be in focus.

The Lensbaby allows the user to shift the plane of focus into different angles for various creative effects.

This is what it looks like:

And this is my first photo taken with it:

Pretty funky huh?! These are the stairs at the longest renovation/upgrade site in Vancouver - I swear they've been replacing shrubs, re-doing concrete etc. here for YEARS.

The Lensbaby is a tricky little thing to get the hang of. It's extremely sensitive and the first challenge is how to hold it and be able to move it while still being able to take the picture - Move it a millimeter too far in one direction and everything is out of focus. The fact that the bellows is free-moving and can be twisted into pretty much any direction and you can see where the challenge lies. This is one of those gadgets where one has to take many more pictures than normal just to get one that turns out.

Ah... Fall is definitely here. I love the colours in this one. It also gave me a false sense of confidence because I got this picture in just two attempts. Not so the rest... In two hours I took over 300 pictures and ended up with only 20 or so keepers.

A photo walk downtown wouldn't be complete without another entry in the "Vancouver's Weird & Wonderful Scupltures" series. Nor would it be complete without our infamous bike lanes...

This next one is one that only kind of works... I wish I'd been able to nail the focus on the flowers not the leaves.

I took many, many pictures of the fountains around the Art Gallery and this was the only one that had anything in focus.

This next one was snapped in colour but as soon as I saw it I just knew it would be more effective with some high contrast black and white post-processing treatment. It has that dreamy New York period feel.

I don't know why Nelson Street is an enemy of God... Or is this a Simpsons reference?

The Lensbaby really focuses one's attention on the subject of the photo - It's a creative form of tunnel vision. Again, I took a lot of photos to get this one. I also got a lot of strange looks: "What the hell has that guy got on his camera?!"

Depending on where the light is and how it is hitting the Lensbaby, weird things happen. I brought out the funky in this next one with some post-processing warming and with the addition of a vignette.

No effect needed on this next one. Straight out of the camera as it was captured:

The same goes for this one too...

Something about this next one makes it my favourite. I love the colours and the dreamy softness.

All in all, for my first fumbling attempts, I think I achieved some moderate success. I'm looking forward to experimenting a lot more with my new "baby".

FOR THE GEEKS: The Lensbaby product line has a whole bunch of different versions. I have the Lensbaby 2.0 which comes with an aperture adjustment kit and aperture tool (that's the odd looking gadget beside the lens in the top picture. The higher-end Lensbaby products come with Macro lenses, different shaped aperture kits and versions that allow the user to lock the focus in place which given my struggles I can imagine would be a very useful feature.

Until next time folks.

2011 WEEK 36: Davie Days

2011-09-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday marked the annual "Davie Days" event where the street we live on, Davie Street, is shut down to traffic for the day and is filled with sunny faces, local merchants and all the many aspects of our vibrant community.

It's not everyday one sees a Blacksmith across from one's apartment building.

Yes, that's smoke coming from the horses hoof... The horse didn't seem to mind so either he doesn't feel anything in his hooves or he was on a heavy dose of tranquilizers for the day.

Maybe it was tranquilizers... He was quite taken with this lady:

There were some scary characters walking the streets, such as these Morris dancers - where I come from Morris Men, decked out in white with straw hats and skipping gayly around the Maypole, aren't at all terrifying (unless you've seen The Wicker Man).

You know what else is creepy? CLOWNS! I was glad I had a long lens to keep him at a safe distance.

Another entry into the horror show... Cursed tribal masks!

Watched by the usual horror film cliche... "The Laughing Hippie" - okay, so maybe that one's a bit of a stretch...).

This lady was taking a break from serving Jamaican Patties - No doubt they too were cursed with some kind of voodoo shenanigans.

Here we have The Wicked Witch of the West stealing away poor little Toto...

Dog massage or an attempt at canine exorcism? You decide!

The famous Davie Street Daredevils and their levitating bikes were in attendance...

As was Spiderman's less famous nephew keeping the crowd at bay with the largest Hula-Hoop I've ever seen.

And throughout this deceptively hedonistic display of community revelry, the band played on, lulling the crowd into submission with their soft, hypnotic, Jazz stylings... Notice the semi-naked tattooed man behind pretending not to listen... By the time the sun set our community was changed forever...

Until next time folks!

2011 WEEK 35: Sea and Sky

2011-09-06T18:47:00.002-07:00

Time sure is flying by fast lately.

After far too many days working in a row I finally took a couple of days off this past long weekend. I even took time off from taking photos! Nothing as impressive as last week's Vancouver at Night series unfortunately but there's a couple here that I don't despise...

We began our day with the vain hope of having a picnic at Whytecliff Park but long weekend crowds kept us from finding a parking spot. In fact, it was pretty much like that everywhere but we did manage to find a tucked away little beach at Lion's Bay. The view was beautiful but unfortunately turned out to be remarkably non-photogenic. Blue sea, blue sky, distant hazy mountains... You get the picture! I was craving some cloud to break up the sky but it was not meant to be so my only option was to switch to a long lens and go for a couple of close-ups such as the above image (cross-processed to boot!) and this next one:

Of course, a couple of seconds AFTER I took this picture, the subject fell into the water - Based on his surprisingly high-pitched screams I'm guessing it was pretty cold.

Departing Lion's Bay we headed back along the Sea to Sky Highway and up to Cypress Mountain. This is where moguls champion, Alexandre Bilodeau, won Canada its first gold medal in the 2010 Olympics.

Last time we saw this ski hill it was packed with thousands of cheering fans and was covered in snow - albeit snow that was helicoptered in because Vancouver suffered a warm spell slap bang in the middle of its Winter Olympics...

Alpine meadows. No sign of Julie Andrews singing "The hills are alive... with the sound of music..."

Given all the ridiculous crowds everywhere else on the long weekend, it was great to find somewhere so peaceful.

These final pictures were disappointing but I still appreciated the view from the top of the mountain. The light wasn't right and there was just too much haze to really capture any depth. This first one is only close to being ok because of the harsh backlight.

One of these days I'd love to return to the below spot to do some night timelapse shooting.

That's it for now. I have lots of things I still want to try out as part of the year-long camera adventure and I'm dying to try out my new flash on some portraiture. So if you're game for a free modeling session, need some headshots or just feel like helping me amasse content for this here blog, let me know!

Until next time folks.

2011 WEEK 34 Pt. III: Olympic Village

2011-08-30T23:27:00.000-07:00

Today I have for you the final part of my "Vancouver at night" series.

I ended my photographic adventure heading further East along False Creek to Olympic Village. Say what you will about the various screw-ups associated with this development in terms of politics, construction, ownership and financing, but I think they did a wonderful job of the waterfront area - and I'm not just saying that because I had so much success with my picture taking!

Here's a view looking towards the still under renovation Science World.

The forward leaning aspect of these apartments in this next one are really accentuated by the distortion of my trusty Sigma 10-20mm. One of these days I hope to get my hands on an 8mm Fisheye, then we'll really have some fun!

All of these photos really highlight how the intensity and the colour temperature of the light can change the environment. The violet strip across the apartments on the left cast far more light in this picture than was viewable with the naked eye. The same goes for the eerie green hue of the building to the right.

Here's another entry in Vancouver's ever-growing list of bizarre sculptures... This time we have giant birds! I'd love to go back to this spot with a live model or two and do some forced perspective magic. Think of it as Attack of the Killer Sparrows!

Perhaps some enterprising catering students should construct the world's largest loaf of bread for these guys to feast on? Together with (a couple of hours later) the world's largest bird poop...

This art piece is a lot more traditional...

In the photo below. the bridge caused me no end of troubles when I took the photo and later when I came to do post-processing. Believe me when I say the photo IS level! I leveled the tripod and I tweaked the finished image some more in the computer and yet the damn thing still looks crooked to me... So either I'm crazy or its an optical illusion caused by the smooth curved lines of the girders.

These final 5 pictures are my favourites, perhaps of the entire night of shooting if not my entire 34 Week photo adventure to date.

The railing at the bottom of the above picture was an accident. It was so dark I couldn't even see it in the frame until after the 20 second exposure was completed - and yet it works! I like how it feels like one is looking out from the prow of a boat.

Now, in some of the above pictures you can see a glimpse of the highly controversial (and expensive to tax payers...) new roof of B.C. Place Stadium that is nearing completion. I've been fascinated by the enormity of the construction. The new roof is engineering marvel, so much so it was featured in a great episode of Discovery Channel's Daily Planet show - watch the video here. Despite this, from a purely aesthetic point of view, I haven't been much of a fan.

Until now.

I think the lights inside and out of the structure have only recently been turned on and as you can see in these pictures, on a clear, calm night it is a beautiful thing to behold.

In these pictures you can really see how the new stadium is well on its way to becoming an iconic feature of the Vancouver skyline. Compared to the old roof- the giant inflatable marshmallow- I think its actually a huge improvement.

All in all, I am super proud of the images I managed to capture during my 3 hr. nighttime photo adventure. I hope you've enjoyed seeing a side of the city that only long exposure photography can capture.

I've set the bar a little higher for myself now... Hopefully it won't be too long before I have success again!

Until next time folks...

2011 WEEK 34 Pt. II: False Creek

2011-08-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

Motivated by my success at Vanier Park and despite it being long past Midnight, I headed East along False Creek to Sutcliffe Park.

Here's a wonderful view across False Creek towards Yaletown.

Other than a very subtle tweak of the contrast settings the above is as it was straight out of the camera. Here's the same view but favoring a much bluer temperature setting. Personally I like both of them.

As noted in Part I, there's a wonderful sense of suspense and surprise shooting long exposure night photography. The world of the city at night is a magical place - shadows, colours, textures exist that are not present at any other time. There are also unexpected moments around every corner where one never knows how an image will turn out.

Take these next photos for example...

It's like a scene from a film noir! Now, you might be wondering how I got mist highlighted by the cone of light on such a clear summer night... Well, it is water vapour, but it is not fog. Here's another view:

Throughout this particular area of the park sprinklers were quietly watering the grass. Their proximity was just close enough to the edge of the seawall as to cast clouds of moisture drifting by. The streaks seen in the left side of the cone of light are the water droplets raining down and captured by the long exposure time.

Night photography really makes one aware of how wide a colour spectrum we have in our cities. With a few tweaks of exposure and some nifty post-processing, it's possible to capture surreal images like this one:

Night photography can also play havoc in terms of lens flares, especially when shooting with such a wide lens (the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5). In the photo above, I was forced to stand right on the edge of frame with the remote switch fully extended so I could use myself as a human flag and protect the lens from flaring.

Urban spaces at night have a wonderful atmosphere to them. I love finding places usually bubbling with activity and capturing them in peaceful sleep.

These final two photos really highlight the happy accidents of being in the right place at the right time...

Uh-oh... Someone call the fire department!

Don't worry... No property was damaged here as it is in fact a combination of elements highlighted (literally!) by the long exposure time. What looks like a building on fire is actually the sodium lights of the sports field's dressing room facilities twisted and distorted by yet more sprinklers!

Risking a total wet-down of myself and camera, here's another view.

The above shot really captures the effect of mixed lighting sources, from the orange sodium lights to the much cooler, whiter halogens at the edge of the sports field which brought out the green of the grass. There's something surreal and other-worldly about this photo that I love.

Stay tuned for Part III tomorrow and some awesome pictures around Olympic Village!

2011 WEEK 34 Pt. I: Vanier Park

2011-08-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

Finally! A step in the right direction with the photos this week! It sure is good to be back and I have lots of pretty images to share with you all.

I had "a night out on the town" this past weekend with the camera and what a night it was. Clear skies. Barely a breath of wind and perfectly warm. I started the night at Vanier Park and this was the first picture out of the camera:

I over-exposed Burrard Street Bridge a little but I think it works as it draws one eye across the picture.

Shooting at night is a spectacular challenge. Firstly one needs solid support i.e. a decent tripod and a remote switch to minimize movement. Secondly, one needs to experiment and try multiple exposures and settings and thirdly, one needs patience... Lots of it! Most of these pictures were obtained using a 20 to 30 second exposure - Clicking the remote switch is like rolling the dice. There's this terrific moment of suspense as the shutter finally clicks closed again and one has no idea just what the camera might have captured until it pops up on the LCD screen. Take for example the photo below:

You see all those stars? I couldn't even see those with my naked eye due to the lights from The Bard on the Beach performance and yet there they were!

With the awesome sounds of Shakespeare's Richard III floating on the air I continued on around the park making my way to the GMS Observatory where there was also lots going on albeit in a much more hushed and reverent tone than "winter's of discontent"... Telescopes pointing skyward and volunteer experts on hand to answer questions, the facility is open to the public Friday's and Saturday's and is by donation so go check it out sometime.

On guard! The famous Planetarium crab... What this fellow has to do with space I've no idea but I suppose he'd make an awesome monster in a robot-crab Sci-Fi "B" movie!

Behind the observatory and HR MacMillan Space Center I found this beautiful little pond reflecting the city beyond.

And nearby I came across a few more examples of Vancouver's bizarre street sculptures... Backlit by the lights of the planetarium I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get much of an exposure and so on a whim I shone my little mag-light, waving it back and forth for the duration of the 30 second exposure.

Et voila!

I think the reflective paint on the signs really helped my cause. Using a light to highlight an element within the frame during long exposures is known as Light Painting and its an incredibly cool technique that has been on my list of things to try for a long time. As a first exercise I'm really happy with how well it turned out.

These next few images also used light painting. What the hell is this thing?! Maybe a cousin of The Terminator's T-1000?

Whatever it is, it made for a fantastic subject that's for sure.

Here is the entire sculpture in all its nighttime glory.

I post-processed the picture above to make it more like moonlight and accentuate the silver of the art piece. This next one I went in the opposite direction favouring the orange sodium lights of the West End in the distance. I would have liked a little more contrast between the sculpture and the sky but I love that I managed to get The Big Dipper in there!

Given how much illumination the city kicks off it was amazing to me that I was still able to capture some stars in the sky. One of these days I'm hoping to get out into the middle of nowhere on a clear night and see what else I can see twinkling in the heavens.

Do come back and visit again in the next few days as I have lots more Vancouver at night images to share. Oh, and do let me know what you think of the pictures, if you have advice or if any suggestions of what else I might photograph.

Thanks for reading and see you soon.

2011 WEEK 33: Coal Harbour

2011-08-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to think I should take pictures of me working since another week has come and gone and I have very little to offer here in terms of camera adventures.

Feeling like this is another lackluster offering but have no fear, I remain committed and passionate! "Normal Service Will Resume Shortly"...

In the meantime, here's some pictures from Coal Harbour.

Until next time folks!

2011 WEEK 32: Where's my Unicorn?!

2011-08-14T00:49:00.000-07:00

The problem with being lucky enough to get lots of good pictures is that one often forgets the "luck" side of it. At least I do. After getting so many great pictures from the visit to the zoo the other week, my enthusiasm was high as was my confidence in my growing photographic abilities.

This week, not so much...

This week I feel like I suck. One would think a trip to Lynn Canyon would provide lots of inspiration - and it did while I was happily clicking away. How could one not be inspired by a suspension bridge strung across a dramatic canyon with waterfalls and rapids far below and thick forest clinging to the steep mountains on every side?

Maybe it was my hiking buddies distracting me. Or our general lack of direction.

Or maybe it was just a case of sometimes, despite our best efforts, good pictures are hard to come by. This is why I am still very much a hobbyist at this. Over the years I've taken many pictures of waterfalls and never been able to capture their power and scale. I've always blamed it on the camera in my hand but this week was no different. All together I took 150+ pictures and I don't have a single one of the waterfalls, the rapids, the mountains... Well I do but they're all completely average to awful.

Waterfalls are tough. With no point of reference its had to tell the difference between a sixty foot drop-off and a four feet drop-off. But hey, check out these trees!

Forests are tough to capture too. A lot of my pictures were flat and well... just a bunch of green. The pictures included here are the best of the day and none of them are really representative of how I was hoping they would turn out. Mmm GREEEEEN...!

What's lacking for me is the quality of light and the atmosphere. Forest pictures need beams of light cutting between the branches and something to give depth and contrast. Even better, they need something in the air to give texture beyond the leaves and bark be it dust particles, pollen and spores floating on the wind or mist drifting between the trunks. Perhaps that's why Ridley Scott built a forest in a studio for the movie Legend. Unicorns and Tom Cruise probably helped too...

Where's my unicorn damn it?!

Let's face it, even Bigfoot couldn't save these pictures. Ah well. Fingers crossed that next week either my luck will return or I'll get better at this. As we hit Week 32 of this photo project Week 52 is feeling like its a long, long way off...

2011 WEEK 30 & 31: On Safari Part III

2011-08-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

During our safari adventure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, there was one animal that stood head and shoulders above all the others - for more than one reason. He was so curious, so comical and so good at modeling for the camera, I felt he deserved to be the star of this final selection of pictures.

Look at those legs! They'd make a super model jealous!

This female ostrich did not appreciate her male companion so she turned her back on him... but he just laughed. How rude.

Shunned, he came to investigate us. "I'm ready for my close-up!"

Sometimes weird coincidences occur when one's finger presses the shutter release button on the camera. Sometimes one doesn't realize what we've got until we get home and see the photo in a larger format. Case in point, this next picture...

"Look out for that bug!"

Of all the birds I've had the pleasure to photograph during the course of my 2011 photographic adventure, I think this Ostrich is my new favourite model. Admittedly, he's odd and fascinating in all kinds of ways but my goodness, he has SO much personality! Looking at him straight on, he reminds me of a Wallace & Gromit character with the classic over-bite.

He doesn't have a single bad angle...

This final picture is slightly cropped to really bring out the close details. There's something about this guy that is so totally awesome and Punk-Rock. If he listened to music, The Sex Pistols would be most played on his iPod. His favourite movies would be Repo Man, Hard Core Logo and Tank Girl!

I hope you've enjoyed this week's wildlife adventure!

Until next time folks.

WEEK 30 & 31: On Safari! Part II

2011-08-02T17:18:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Part II of the July long weekend safari adventure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.

Not far from the Giraffe paddock something very large was picking its way through the grass. There was a Blue Heron nearby that was dwarfed by this creature and as it came closer, we wondered if it had had an accident of some kind. For all intents and purposes, this bird looked like it had been torched and was in serious need of some cosmetic surgery.

This is a Marabou Stork and, contrary to his appearance, he is totally fine. They all have this bare, scarred look. It's hard to tell from the above photo but this bird was HUGE. According to wikipedia they grow up to 150cm in height, weigh 10-18 lbs and have a wingspan of at least 3.5m!

Guess who?

This an African White Rhino and there are two subspecies, the Northern and the Southern. Given that there are only known to be seven Northern White Rhinos in existence, all of whom are in captivity, I'm guessing this one is a Southern White Rhino. At 40yrs old he is the oldest inhabitant of the Vancouver Zoo.

From the same continent are these African Buffalo which, due to their unpredictable nature, have yet to be domesticated. In fact they're so aggressive they've been known to take on lions as seen in this youtube video that to date has garnered a staggering 62 million views!

Just as aggressive, although you'd never think it from the below picture, is the Hippo. Two fascinating facts: 1) Despite weighing between one and half to 3 tonnes, they can easily outrun a human and over short distances can hit a speed of 30 km/hr. 2) Hippos' closest living relatives are Cetaceans - i.e. Whales.

Speaking of animals that can outrun humans...

This little guy will grow up to be one of the fastest Equines (70 km/hr) on the planet. The Kulan originates in Asia and following a successful conservation effort were recovering well until a few years ago when poaching made an aggressive return. Kulan are now on the critically endangered species list with less than a thousand left in the wild.

In an even worse situation is the Scimitar Horned Oryx. Hunted for its horns, the Oryx once occupied the whole of the Sahara and are considered extinct in the wild. There has not been a confirmed sighting of one in the wild in over 15yrs... There are believed to be over 2,000 Oryx in captivity.

This Arctic Wolf must be one of the few Vancouverites who actually doesn't mind the cooler summer temperatures this year.

This crazy looking ball of fun didn't seem to have an identification sign beside his enclosure. Is it a Hyena perhaps? Bragging rights for anyone who can identify it!

Contrary to popular belief, Camels store neither water nor beer in their humps. It's actually a fat reserve. Capable of surviving without water for months, when Camels eventually stop for a drink they can consume a staggering 57 liters in one sitting!

This Black Burro was one of the most laid back animals of the day. Whereas this Emu...

Is a perfect set-up for Part III. Coming soon...!

Until next time folks.

2011 WEEK 30 & 31: On Safari! Part I

2011-08-01T19:11:00.003-07:00

Gosh its been a busy couple of weeks. Plans were made to get out and snap some awesome pictures and at every turn those plans were scuppered by work commitments, unexpected turns and miserable Vancouver weather. Thankfully the July long weekend finally cooperated and I got a chance to take lots and lots of pictures on a mini safari adventure to the Greater Vancouver Zoo. So many pictures in fact, I'm going to make up for lost time and post at least a couple of entries in the coming days - so come back again soon.

Growing up in Jersey in the Channel Islands, I was spoiled when it came to viewing endangered species thanks to Gerald Durrell's Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now known as Durrell). I'd only visited the Vancouver Zoo once before many years ago and remember being underwhelmed by the experience. The bad publicity the Vancouver Zoo received a few years back kept me from ever giving the place a second chance.

Until now.

And what an awesome day it turned out to be!

Located minutes off of Highway 1, the Greater Vancouver Zoo is about an hour drive outside of the city and for $25 it's comparable with many other local attractions. Though there are the usual over-priced concessions etc. ($18/hour for a quad bike rental!) there are many picnic areas throughout the well-maintained park. Bring a packed lunch and you're good to go.

But enough about the facilities. How about the wildlife?

When you first enter the park there's a nice little petting zoo with rabbits, chickens, goats etc. Not exactly an endangered species but this next fellow might be come Thanksgiving...

Looking as unattractive as possible obviously wasn't an adaptation that deterred predators for the poor turkey... Higher up the food chain, this Lynx didn't seem to have a care in the world... When you've got an old cardboard box to sleep in, why worry about a thing?

I am an unashamedly proud cat person. Cats have always been a part of my life and so it was fascinating to see habits that I've seen many, many times before be played out by other species of cat far wilder and bigger than the kind I'm used to. This lioness didn't have a box big enough to sleep in but she had grass to lie amid...

Plenty of time for a good yawn...

A friend to share some love with...

...And clearly not a care in the world!

This is one super relaxed cat...

Getting pictures of wildlife is challenging at the best of times. Movement is unpredictable and often fast, many animals being, well- WILD in nature, don't want to be close to humans (can't say I blame them) and even in a wildlife park, there are protective fences etc. to contend with. You'll notice a lot of these photos have blurry/softish lines through them - that's the chain link fence. The trick is to use a long lens and a steady hand and hope you're lucky enough that the wildlife is in a good enough mood to spoil you with a close up. I'd say I got really lucky...

This next picture is a Peregrine Falcon. I would not want to try snapping his picture while in flight... He's the fastest member of the animal kingdom clocking in at a staggering 325 km/hr. when in a hunting dive!

This next fellow isn't nearly as speedy but has a certain gangly grace unmatched by any other species. There's something about his perpetual sardonic expression that I love.

There's a beauty to every species. With some its easy to see. Others require the best angle. Take for example the Baboon. With their bulbous, bright red, almost painful-looking behinds, they can definitely be off-putting. Several of the photos I took of them were far too gross to show here but thankfully this one showed me his best side.

I have many, many more images to share so check back again over the next few days!

Until then... Happy July long weekend!

2011 WEEK 29: Birthday Girls

2011-07-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, from July 15th to July 17th was a triple-whammy of family birthdays covering three generations. To celebrate, we had a wonderful picnic at Trout Lake.

These are the birthday girls, from left to right, my cousin Andrea, her daughter Lucy (celebrating her first birthday) and my aunt, Sylvia.

It was a refreshing change to be photographing people but with the exception of the posed photo above I tried as much as possible to capture natural moments from afar using a long lens. It was a terrific challenge (especially keeping the fast-moving children in focus!) so I started off with a couple of easier subjects to get me warmed up.

These homemade cupcakes from my cousin in-law Lori went down a treat.

Especially with birthday girl Lucy

Apparently the bread was a hit too

As were the party hats

This is my cousin Ian and cupcake maker extraordinaire Lori

And these are their two children Olivia...

...And Nathan showing off his reclining skills.

Lucy looked to be fading after all that cupcake eating

Until mom came bearing gifts

This is Lucy's new best friend

I think this little man might be jealous...

A protective Lucy keeps watch - nobody gets to play with the bear on her birthday

All in all, it was a great day that miraculously, the rain managed to stay away from. Huge thanks to my cousin Andrea and her husband Nick as well as my aunty Sylvia and Lori for the amazing spread.

Happy birthday ladies!

Until next time folks.

2011 WEEK 28: Hidden Treasures

2011-07-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

Way back when, around the time that I became a proud iPhone owner, I downloaded a bunch of Apps with the intention of being more productive, more technologically in-touch and more adventurous. Of course, half of these Apps have been gathering digital dust ever since. But this week we took one of those forgotten relics for a test-run. The App is Geocaching!

For those of you unfamiliar, Geocaching uses the GPS technology of your handheld device to lead you to hidden caches of treasure left by other users. On booting up the App all you need to do is click on "Find Nearby Caches" and a list pops up detailing caches in your area together with how far away they are, a GPS Google map locator and a description of the hide. Each hide is categorized by level of difficulty and type of cache with some being puzzles that have to be solved in order to unlock the GPS coordinates and others being a series of caches linked together to form an entire treasure hunting adventure.

Being total newbies, Mel and I decided to go for individual caches all of which were ranked at pretty much the lowest level of difficulty and were all within walking distance of our home.

Finding the genreral location of our first cache in the West End of Vancouver was easy. Finding the specific spot where the cache was hidden wasn't so easy... We spent a few minutes shuffling around, our eyes gazing at the iPhone before a nearby "uniformed stranger" pointed us in the right direction (any more detail of this stranger's identity and it would give away the hide!).

Somewhere in here there be hidden treasure mateys!

Not exactly "pieces of eight" or "a king's ransom" for us to retire on but this is what we found:

We added a lollipop to the treasure trove and headed off on our merry way in search of cache #2 mysteriously known as "***** House Blues"... It was somewhere near this heritage home:

Nestled in the shadows of this noble turreted dwelling...

Again, despite the difficulty level of only "1" we still spent a few minutes wandering up and down searching bushes, looking underneath benches, etc. until we found this little package hanging from a hook:

This is what we found inside:

Inside most caches is a tiny little log for treasure seekers to record the date of their discovery.

Mel added an entry for our treasure find and then we were off in search of cache #3 with the intriguing title of "Cache De Vine".

I immediately knew where the general location of the cache was hidden based purely on the use of the word "Vine" in the title. Finding the actual hiding spot was... well difficult to say the least! We spent a good 20 minutes drifting around a street corner like a couple of idiots. The GPS tracking is good but its not THAT good. In other words, it gives you a location within fifty to one hundred feet but it doesn't pinpoint the exact spot. Further confounding us was the cache description which referred to the hide as a "magnetic micro". We weren't exactly sure what that meant other than it was probably small and it was more than likely stuck to something metallic.

Underlining just how popular Geocaching has become, another stranger passing by pointed us in the right direction. Based on the grin on his face, I'd say he's seen many a fool shuffling back and forth, iPhone or Blackberry in hand, who needed guidance.

This is what a "magnetic micro" looks like and this is what was hidden inside...

If you have a thirst for mystery and uncovering hidden secrets or you're looking for a new way to explore your city then I highly recommend Geocaching. The App only costs $9.99 in the AppStore.

DISCLAIMER: Vignetting and cropping used in all these photos to help preserve the mystery!

Until next time folks...

2011 WEEK 27: Vancouver Aquarium

2011-07-08T10:48:00.001-07:00

I've been wanting to visit the aquarium for a photographic adventure for awhile but in hindsight going there with my niece and nephew on the July 1st long weekend probably wasn't such a great idea...

It's not easy getting properly exposed images that are in focus when being jostled by thousands of people. In many cases I couldn't even get close to the fish tanks the throngs were so deep. As well as the pushing and shoving, I was also on the receiving end of a kick in the legs from an unruly toddler and the pulling of my hair by another toddler who was perched on the top of his father's shoulders... Yeah it was a bit of a rough day.

On a positive note, my niece and nephew had a fun time and were the best behaved kids there and despite the challenges I still came home with a few ok pictures.

This sea snake was a curious fellow...

Out of the many tanks full of exotic tropical fish, sharks, manta rays and other critters this was the only passable picture I was able to get.

This crocodile gave me the creeps. I swear no matter where I was standing his cold dark eyes were on me. A few seconds after I took this picture a faux thunderstorm erupted including strobes simulating lightening, rumbling thunder over the hissing speaker system and a fine spray of rain - and when the storm passed? He was in the exact same position. Creepy.

I like the water droplets on the petals of this flower.

I wish I could say what kind of bird this next one is but there were far too many people around the display board for me to read it. Still, "beautiful plumage!"

Outside, this sea otter was completely unperturbed by the large crowds gawking at him. I guess when the sun is shining on your private pool and you have your very own frisbee it's easy to not have a care in the world!

Synchronized swimmers...

Throughout the summer, the aquarium is running a special program called "Birds of Prey" where visitors can get an up close look at a number of awesome birds. Once again I was foiled by the large crowds but I managed to get to a vantage point in the arena where I literally caught "the tail-end" of the show:

This is probably the closest I've gotten to a bald eagle. Before flying back to his trainer, he was kind enough to turn around for me and give me this awesome close-up and what I think turned out to be the best picture of the day.

Next week I'm hoping to take the camera where there are far fewer people bumping me, kicking me and pulling my hair!

2011 WEEK 26: Halfway there!

2011-07-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

When I began this weekly exercise of taking pictures and/or video with my new camera and blogging about it I went into it with the best intentions. To be honest, I didn't expect to make it this far...

But here we are! Week 26! Halfway there folks! Phew...

Some weeks it's been a real challenge to find the time between work, life and ok, procrastination but know that I am still 100% committed to making it all the way to Week 52. Failure is not an option!

This week is more than a little sparse I'm afraid. I only managed to take ONE picture all week. Writing commitments on a feature screenplay and story consulting commitments on another feature screenplay pretty much filled the last seven days as did... a new website!

As of yesterday, I now have a dedicated web portal for all things relating to my writing, directing and story consulting work.

The above is my single picture for the week and is a picture I needed for the section on screenwriting. In case you're wondering, it's page one of a feature script I wrote some years ago called "The Cleansing". It's a horror story set in Bosnia during the Balkan conflict, very H.P. Lovecraft in tone. It's currently available for option if you feel like seeing that movie and I can make myself available to direct it if Spielberg or Uwe Boll are too busy :)

Next week I should be back on track with the photo project. In the meantime, do check out my website and let me know your thoughts.

The below photo was taken several months ago but seemed appropriate to all my Canadian friends enjoying the July 1st long weekend. Happy Canada Day eh!

2011 WEEK 25: False Creek Timelapse

2011-06-27T11:35:00.001-07:00

Late posting this week. Apologies!

I've been wanting to experiment with some timelapse for awhile now but a) it requires certain conditions (I'm looking at you stubborn Vancouver weather) and b) time (duh!) and c) Technical know-how. This last element is pretty much trial and error so far...

My first timelapse experiment was ice melting in a glass and it was kinda cool but hopelessly inept. It only lasted about 5 seconds, was underexposed and contained a lot of flicker. I tried again when I was in Powell River and attempted a night sky timelapse but again underexposed resulting in a lot of grain/noise - but it was fun to see the Earth's orbit as the stars circled through the frame.

So, third time lucky? I don't know... You be the judge:

False Creek Timelapse from Neil Every on Vimeo.

This was our view on a (rare) sunny Sunday afternoon. Lots of boats coming and going and lots of people. As a single wide shot it's kind of "meh" in my opinion. The clouds weren't ideal being high altitude and undefined - I would have preferred more billowy, cotton wool type clouds which look so much more dramatic in timelapse.

I find it's best to watch it more than once and on each viewing focus on one group of people - it really shows a lot of human behavior!

THE GEEKY: This was shot using the super cheap, piece of garbage 18-55mm. Why choose such a crappy lens? Because to shoot a timelapse and have smooth movement and minimal flicker you need to shoot with long exposure times and to compensate for the overexposure you need to use an ND filter. The Fader ND filter I have doesn't fit my better lenses.

Here's a couple of other pictures I took after the timelapse was done.

For the record, this next one is NOT my foot!

I'm really happy with how this next one turned out. I love the different tones to the background which in reality was the in shadow edge of the sidewalk.

Oh, and for those of you who are curious, the timelapse was taken in an interval of 1 photo every 4 seconds for around an hour and a half. Total number of photos used in the final video...?

One thousand, Two Hundred and Ninety-Four!

Until next time.

2011 WEEK 24: Under The Spreading Chestnut Tree

2011-06-20T11:35:00.001-07:00

What a tumultuous week its been here in Vancouver. If you were hoping to see a bunch of pictures here this week of Canuck hockey jersey clad yahoos smashing windows, looting and setting on fire cars etc. a) I think there are more than enough pictures of that already out there and b) I stayed away from it all and haven't regretted it once.

I have my opinions about the events of the last week. Opinions I've since discovered, with a significant degree of sadness, are not held by the (anti) social media majority. If you'd like to know why or if you'd like to discuss it, I'd be more than happy to do so in person. Alternately, I recommend you research the longterm psychological effects of shame and humiliation (particularly on teenagers) and the psychology of group dynamics. You might also want to read George Orwell's 1984 or Nigel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Pictures really do tell a thousand words even if many of them may not necessarily be true and just.

In the meantime, here's some pictures I took of an angry mob of seagulls eating starfish alive.

Not a single starfish was going to escape. Not even this little guy who was just unlucky enough to get caught up in the craziness at the wrong time.

GULP! Yeah! That seagull sure showed him! If you ask me, those starfish got what they deserved.

These pictures were all taken on the Northern side of Stanley Park near Siwash Rock. This Blue Heron came right by me but I never felt in any danger - that's what a camera does, it makes you an impassive observer free of any normal responsibilities or moral standards.

There's some dark storm clouds over Vancouver.

Hopefully they'll blow over soon. Until then, for those of you that still believe in compassion and empathy here's some pictures of some goslings.

Pretty darn cute.

Until next time folks, may common sense prevail.

2011 WEEK 23: Burrard Bridge At Sunset

2011-06-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

After a disappointing evening watching the Vancouver Canucks implode in Game 3, all it took was a walk home across the Burrard Street Bridge to lift my spirits again. Although I couldn't resist snapping a picture of the curvy monstrosity at the foot of the bridge.

This building has always struck me as odd and creepy. Also known as 1450 Chestnut Street or Parkview Towers, I've no idea what it's like inside or what it's like living there so apologies if you're a tenant and are offended by this! From the outside at least, it looks like the kind of place where bad things might happen... a place where people, whether voluntarily or not, get lost inside their homes. Hmm... Maybe it would make a great location for a dark and gritty urban webseries...

Burrard Street Bridge was opened July 1st, 1932 and was designed by architect George Lister Thornton Sharp - That's a name as grand as the bridge towers!

Random fact: Each of the two towers features the prow of a ship with a different figurehead. One of the figurehead busts is of Sir Henry Burrard-Neale (above) and the other is of Captain George Vancouver. The busts are identified by a "B" and a "V" beneath them.

A great evening for a ride across False Creek on one of the little ferries zipping back and forth.

Or just a great evening to enjoy the view - And don't worry, this lady was quite happy with the sunset and was not contemplating jumping after the Game 3 loss!

Very little post-processing was done on these images except a slight tweak of contrast and vibrancy in Aperture 3. Other than that it was all done in-camera by adjusting the f-stop, shutter speed and ISO.

The shot above and the next two are my favourites.

THE GEEKY: All of these photos were taken with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 - It's usually my go-to lens for shooting low-light portraiture so it was particularly challenging taking landscape pictures with it. - I really wish I'd had my wide angle lens with me. Ah well, hopefully by the end of the year I can save up the money to get that decent walk-around zoom lens with a low f-stop and a good range of focal length. Feel free to donate to "The Broke Photographer's Fund"! Which reminds me, if you have any old lenses or camera gear that is just gathering dust, send it my way, I'll gladly take it for a spin.

Until next time folks...

2011 WEEK 22: Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe

2011-06-02T10:17:00.001-07:00

If I was just a little bit crazier, if I didn't have great people around me keeping me on the straight and narrow and if I lived in a larger house, I could feasibly end up as the kind of person featured on A&E's "Hoarders".

What can I say, I like things. All kinds of things. And if there's any thought buzzing around in my head that I may one day need a certain thing then I have a hard time throwing it away. Some things I keep around because they are just bizarre. Other things I keep around because they are mementos of significant periods of my life - inanimate symbols representing who I was, where I come from and who I am today.

I didn't think too much about my choices of subject matter until after I took the picture and to capture a little nostalgia I took all of these pictures with my favorite nostalgic lens, the 1967 Pentax Asahi Takumar 50mm. I did a little cross-processing in Aperture to add to the vintage look.

This little guy is probably the oldest thing I own that has been with me as long as I can remember. Before me, it was my brother's teddy bear and it was given to me when I was around 4yrs old. Teddy's cardigan was knitted by my mum and his scarf was knitted by my brother when he was around 8 or 9 (luckily his knitting days were short-lived). I vividly remember how teddy got the scar on his right foot - my brother went to the foot doctor to get a corn removed and, wanting to be included, I told the doctor my teddy needed some attention too. The doctor gave me a bandaid for teddy and I nursed him back to health for a couple of months before finally ripping it off... scarring poor teddy for life.

This was the result of a high school art project when I was 16 years old. We had a still life exercise to complete and I randomly chose a runner from my gym class bag. A couple of months later we had another exercise where we had to transform one of our previous painting or sketch projects into a piece of pottery so I returned to my beaten up old runner. The fragile laces are broken off but amazingly this didn't happen in taking it home at the end of the school semester, when I moved house or even when I moved all the way to Canada - it happened one week after it was completed thanks to the person from the examining board fumbling it... To add insult to injury, he bestowed on me a measly 'C' Grade for my efforts!

The BBC series Doctor Who will always occupy a very special place in my heart. Like many British kids, every Saturday night I tuned in to watch and quite often I watched in terror from behind the sofa. Unlike now when its actually COOL to be a fan of Doctor Who, I was a fan at a time when reading the novelizations, comics and magazines was decidedly uncool and the show itself was, well... not that great. But despite the periodic ridicule I suffered, the show is the originator of my geek side and is in large part responsible for how I ended up with a career in film and tv. Reading copious articles on the making of the show (and even attending a couple of conventions where I met the makers of the show) ignited in me the desire to one day be a filmmaker. For the curious, the TARDIS in the picture is a Dinky Toy from the 1950s and pre-dates Doctor Who (which began airing the day after JFK was assassinated on November 23rd, 1963).

Some people have gnomes in their yard. I have a pig. I woke up one morning and there it was! My roommate at the time was out partying the night before and being a true original, instead of coming home with a cliched traffic cone, he swiped this pig from someones garden... If you recognize it, I'd be happy to return it and can only say, "Sorry". Know that we've taken good care of him over the years!

Some people ask, "Why do you have a jar of sand and shells?" To which I reply, "It's not just sand and shells, it's sand and shells from one of my favorite places on Earth!" Namely, St. Ouen's beach on the island of Jersey (original Jersey not New Jersey) where I spent much of my childhood.

This little guy is known as Canadian Citizen-Chip. He's part of a range of "amusing and ironic decorative chipmunks"... In case you're wondering, no I did not purchase this nor do I own any others. Citizen-Chip was sent as a gift from my mum and dad when I got the news that Canada was allowing me to stay and continue pursuing my dreams. All things considered, that was a monumental day in my life - I can't imagine where I'd be today if I hadn't been able to stay here. Maybe eking out a living making candle holders out of small jars filled with sand and watching re-runs of Doctor Who while I wondered where the hell my life went.

Okay, time to get some street-cred back...

This fine fellow is a 1:1 scale replica of the Chatterer from Clive Barker's Hellraiser movies. It's one of only 250 worldwide, it was sculpted from the original mould and signed by FX artist Gary Tunnicliffe. It was an impulse ebay buy that has since tripled in value and I frikkin' love it. The same goes for these guys... No explanation required other than, "Hey, I'm a geek. Get over it!"

Here's an interesting family portrait.

From right to left: My very first camera, a Pentax P30n SLR which I've had since I was 16; A Canon 514XL-S Super 8 camera that I found in almost mint condition (still in the box!) at a garage sale; The Canon Optura digital Hi-8 - I shot 7 short films on this little guy which was the first video camera to take the SLR style camera shape and form.

Taking these pictures was extremely challenging not due to lighting or technical difficulties but because of sabotage from this guy....

Some people have no respect for nostalgia! Until next time folks...

2011 WEEK 21: Mother Nature says, "Hang in there!"

2011-05-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

Spring is acting like a teenager this year...

Temperamental. Moody. Excitable. Indifferent. Selfish. Or maybe we didn't get a Spring this year and this is all Winter's doing. Talk about over-staying your welcome.

But you know what Spring or Winter or whatever the hell season you're pretending to be? If it takes a few more weeks of weird rain and freakish chills, so be it. You are dead to me - let's just skip right to Summer and get on with it.

Mother Nature agrees and in the brief periods between cloud and dampness, there are signs everywhere that life is determined to go on.

Oh-oh! Almost took another bird picture... Thankfully he saw Winter breathing down his neck again so he quickly took flight. Meanwhile this raccoon is distinctly mis-trustful of seasonal variances.

I spotted him at eye level in a tree but he soon climbed down when a lady came by with a bag of peanuts. In fact several raccoons appeared. I don't understand why people take the risk of feeding these creatures. Sure they're fluffy, they're cute and kind of comical but, they can also be downright vicious. It's not good for us or for the raccoon population of Stanley Park to be so comfortable around each other.

That said, combined with my 55-250mm lens, it sure gave me a great photo op...

And from about eight feet away...

Around Lost Lagoon this is a great time of year to see wildlife. Little ducklings and goslings are hatching and the swans are nesting. When they're not nesting they're doing a whole lot of grooming.

After watching this one swan for twenty minutes as she groomed her wings, I had a feeling it was just a matter of time before she stretched her wings. I'm glad I was patient.

"Mmm, I love turtles!" These two guys look like a couple of castaways.

In Vancouver there's always somewhere where one can take the load off and watch the world go by.

The lady below agrees.

This lady also confuses me. I found her sleeping in a flowery grove on the edge of Stanley Park. She was surrounded by bags, very much a gypsy... Now the big question for me is, "What's with the blonde wig, lady?"

Until next time folks, rain or shine, get out there and explore.

2011 WEEK 20: Believe In Blue!

2011-05-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

What a great year it is to be a Canucks fan!

On Wednesday of this week I was lucky enough to attend Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals which saw the Vancouver Canucks show the San Jose Sharks a lesson or two about hockey. Though I was 99% engrossed in the amazing game, I did snap a few pictures together with some video. The following is a Photo & Video montage of some classic Canucks moments together with moments from Wednesday's game.

Believe In Blue from Neil Every on Vimeo.

Hockey is the only sport I follow and I am proud to say I am a die hard Canucks fan. No bandwagon jumping here! I hope, not just for the loyal Canuck fans, that this team takes it all the way and this city finally gets to party. Methinks it could be even more intense than post-gold medal Olympic hockey game...!

Huge thanks to my buddy Dan for asking me if I wanted to attend the game.

Go Canucks! Go!

2011 WEEK 19: Green

2011-05-17T08:05:00.001-07:00

Phew! What a month it's been!

Slim pickings this week from me as far as photos go but I'll be resuming normal service this week. As I write, there's a blue sky outside my window... I hope it lasts and this miserable, grey, wet period is finally skulking away - it sure has out-stayed its welcome this year.

Green has been on my mind a lot of late. Particularly given the eco-themed webseries shoot of "Libelle" that we wrapped on Sunday. In addition to telling a good story and entertaining it's audience with every episode, the series is rooted in environmental science and ecology. When episodes begin rolling out on the web in the Fall, there will also be documentary content expanding on the ideas presented in the show as well as behind-the-scenes material highlighting how every aspect of our shoot was environmentally focused.

I don't think I've ever been on such a green shoot. Normally, when one says "green" in relation to a film production, it's a thinly veiled insult regarding the experience level of those involved, but that was far, far from the case on "Libelle". In addition to a wonderful cast and crew, we had a very small footprint wherever we filmed - no convoy of large movie trucks, no gasoline burning generators, no nasty styrofoam cups, plates etc. filling up a multitude of garbage bags. There was nary a plastic water bottle in sight. All drinking water was served in sturdy, good for the environment, mason jars and all food was organic.

Of all the shoots I've been on, and that includes many large budget productions, this was easily in the top three in terms of tasty lunches. Low budget to no-budget, bulk-prepared catering, delivered to locations not necessarily served directly from an on-set kitchen, does not necessarily mean bland, greasy, unappetizing or unhealthy. Kudos to the producers for providing us with such wonderful and varied organic and wholesome lunches and despite varying dietary needs, ensuring there was something for everyone. A well-fed crew is a happy crew.

Huge thanks to all the many cast, crew, sponsors and supporters who so generously donated their creativity, time and energy in such positive fashion for the duration of the shoot. As director it made my job so much easier and made for an incredibly rewarding experience. Hopefully we will get the opportunity to work together again soon.

These week's pictures were taken with a beautiful beast of a lens, the 1965 Super Takumar 300mm f/4.

2011 WEEK 18: "Libelle" The Webseries

2011-05-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

A few days late this weeks post. Apologies but getting 24 frames shot per second took priority. It's been awhile since I directed anything with a crew, a script, actors etc. and phew... It's a lot of work. So much work I haven't had much opportunity to snap many pictures.

"Libelle" (German for "Dragonfly" is an eco-thriller webseries created by Dr. Julia Dordel. The episodes I'm currently shooting will be parts 1 - 5 setting up material shot some months ago in B.C. forests and in northern Germany.

Our first day of shooting was at Thunderbird Stadium and involved two of the main characters hunting down a mysterious package.

Thankfully the rain held off for us most of the day. Below, Director of Photography Guido Tolke sets up a shot with actors Eric Breker and Anita Reimer.

Day 2 took us to the labs in the Forest Sciences building at the University of British Columbia. It was a huge day with a lot of elements that had to be captured. This is what a real lab looks like (as opposed to the shadowy nightclub-like interiors we're used to seeing in C.S.I. Here "Libelle" creator and producer Julia Dordel who plays the character of Sonia, prepares her many props for a big science content scene.

The webseries is being shot on the Canon 7D which is the older brother of my Canon 60D. This is what a DSLR camera looks like rigged up for movie-making.

Day 3 moved us up one floor in the Forest Sciences building to shoot scenes involving the show's antagonist. Those are some impressive timbers...!

With a smaller camera, one doesn't need large dolly's etc. to move it. This is what's known as a "slider". An awesome piece of gear and super versatile. It's particularly useful for shooting over-the-shoulder shots where minute adjustments often need to be made during the shot.

Douglas Roy Dack plays McIntyre, the evil corporate logging man and shady businessman who causes our heroes many a problem.

3 more days of shooting then we're done. The time has flown by and though the work has been challenging, it's been made easier by a terrific group of talented people both behind and in front of the camera.

Until next time.

2011 WEEK 17: Family Easter

2011-04-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

I'm deeply embedded in pre-production on the web series pilot "Libelle" which we begin shooting on Friday May 6th. Although I was working for a good chunk of the Easter long weekend, my wife and I managed to escape for a few days to visit family in Powell River.

A big thank you to the family for being such great hosts. It seems like forever ago that I began this photo blog in Week 1 of 2011 with a picture of "Lucy the ancient" but she's still very much alive and kicking!

Max, my mother-in-law's Golden Doodle, is not only the coolest dog I've ever met, but he's also very respectful and gentle with Lucy despite her deafness and old cat breath...

I've never owned a dog, only cats. I'd say I'm not really a dog person. Max however, makes a good argument for owning a dog someday. He has an amazingly goofy personality that's impossible to resist and from a photographic standpoint he's incredibly expressive.

Just look at that. How could anyone say no to that face?! Here, have a treat...

For Easter dinner we visited my sister-in-law's family. Thank you Christal for putting on an amazing spread. We were graced by the presence of nephew Elijah's friend, the Dark Knight himself.

Batman kept a watchful eye on the wine consumption and guarded Christal's home made bread as though it were Gotham City Hall.

Piper-Dove, my niece, calls me "Uncle Meal" and is a natural in front of the camera. Not only does she win the award for taking the cutest pictures she also wins the award for her subtle eye-rolling at "Uncle Meal" when she's decided he's taken enough pictures and should be more social.

Despite a healthy amount of chocolates delivered by the Easter Bunny, even Piper had her fill of turkey and began to fade.

Monday was a long day of travelling. Lots of driving down the peninsula of the Sunshine Coast and two ferry rides before we finally made it home.

Sitting for hours waiting in the car in a line-up for the ferry takes its toll... You know when you start taking pictures of the details inside your Toyota Matrix (care of Modo Vancouver's awesome car co-op) that it's time to get home and face reality again!

Until next time.

2011 WEEK 16: Ghosts

2011-04-23T16:56:00.001-07:00

I've been crazy busy this past week so I'm kind of cheating here... This week's shots from a couple of weeks ago when my lady and I took a stroll in the park on a cold grey day.

I think this bee was in half a mind to go back to sleep and wait for normal spring temperatures to resume.

Looking up into a magnolia tree...

Here's a close-up view of one of these flowers. This shot is probably one of my favorites of the day. I love the different textures and shades.

I've no idea who this is but thank you for giving a vibrant splash of colour and a focal point in the frame!

Now this next one is a little funky... See if you can figure out what's going on with these two ghostly figures then scroll down for the truth behind the image!

My original picture was going to be trees reflected in the lake... Then as I took the picture two people strolled by on the path above. So the truth behind this image is that it's a cropped photo with 95% of it being reflection and with the whole picture flipped upside down. If you're viewing this on a laptop, flip it around or if you're feeling really ambitious, try standing on your head and looking at it!

Here's another ghostly figure... I think she just walked out of the movie, "The Ring"! There's some serious darkness in those eyes. Don't stare at her for too long or she'll get inside your head!

I had grand plans for this next shot but it just didn't work. At least it didn't work when I took the photo. Thankfully some tweaking in Aperture 3 brought it closer to how I envisioned it. Not quite how I was hoping but I still like the atmosphere.

THE GEEKY STUFF: This series was shot with the Canon EF-S 55-250mm and the Sigma 10-20mm.

Over the coming weeks I will be sharing some behind-the-scenes pictures (and maybe even some video) of the webseries "Libelle" that I've just come onboard to direct. I'm very much looking forward to the adventure since it's an interesting project, has terrific people attached and will be shot on my little Canon 60D's older brother, the Canon 7D. I'm hoping to learn a lot about the video side of shooting with DSLRs on a professional film set.

Stay tuned and happy Easter to you all.

2011 WEEK 15: Waterfront

2011-04-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

Finally a little sunshine around here this week! It sure makes a difference for taking photos.

I decided to head down to Canada Place/Waterfront area and after an hour of wondering around, snapping away and feeling completely average in terms of my results I eventually found my stride.

The above and below pictures were both taken from the end of the pier at Canada Place.

I was just about to head back towards downtown when out the corner of my eye I saw a large shape gliding through the air. A shape much too large to be a seagull. He touched down on the light fixture at the very end of the Canada Place cruise ship dock.

It sure seemed like he was looking right at me. In fact, every time I re-adjusted focus and my camera bleeped he turned and stared me down. I ended up spending a good half hour watching him in the hope I could nail a shot of him taking to the skies again but he wasn't budging. Perhaps he was enjoying the attention too much. When he first landed it was just me and a dude in a baseball cap (who seemed completely indifferent to the eagle in front of him) but by the time I left there were almost 2 dozen people lined up along the railing snapping pictures on a multitude of devices. A news crew covering a business function at the convention center even stopped by to grab some "b-roll".

I ended up snapping a lot of pictures but I think this is my favorite.

These next two are inside the station at Waterfront. I've always loved this space, probably because there aren't a ton of historic buildings like this in Vancouver that remind me of home.

I like the abstract nature of the next few. See if you can guess where they were taken.

I ended my day at the Burrard Street Skytrain station which must surely be one of the most colorful places in the city right now with all the cherry blossom in full bloom. I couldn't believe how many people were here snapping pictures.

I can't wait for Summer to finally arrive!

THE GEEKY STUFF: All of this weeks images were captured with the cheapo Canon EF-S 55-250mm kit lens and the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5. Some post-processing was performed in Aperture 3.

Until next time folks, thanks for stopping by.

2011 WEEK 14: "Painted"

2011-04-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

Time to switch things up around here...

What does that mean? Well, for one thing, no photos of birds, flowers or random things within walking distance of my home! I wish I could say it meant I've been able to go on an amazing vacation somewhere exotic but- no... not this week I'm afraid.

Although some might say the subject and the talent featured in this week's entry IS exotic!

The following is what happens on a typical rainy Sunday afternoon around here. The results may be varied but we sure had fun doing it.

Painted from Neil Every on Vimeo.

This video features my second attempt at timelapse. The first pre-dated this blog and was just too bad to even bother sharing. This sequence was made using a $20 ebay bought intervalometer allowing me to snap 1 frame every 6 seconds for 45 minutes approximately. In hindsight, I would have gotten much smoother movement with a shorter interval such as every 2 seconds. Had I done this, the cats wouldn't have disappeared and reappeared in the blink of an eye! Hopefully I'll have more success next time - the more I experiment, the more improvement I should see. As for Mel and her painting skills, I think she's improving too, don't you?

If you have any words of advice or tips on our crazy creative exploits, do comment.

Until next time...

2011 WEEK 13 Pt. II: 50 x 50

2011-04-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

In addition to collecting up the "odds 'n ends" of my last post, I managed a very quick challenge this week. These were the particulars:

1) 50 pictures
2) 50 minutes of picture taking
3) 50mm lens only
4) 100 ISO only and 100 shutter speed only
5) All pictures taken within a 5 block radius of my home
6) All pictures taken in black & white

It was a challenging exercise but well worth it. The black and white aspect meant that I needed to find subject matter with elements of contrast and/or texture. The low shutter speed meant I had to focus on non-moving subject matter. The 50mm (my old fav the Pentax Asahi SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4) though giving some nice out of focus detail (bokeh-riffic baby!) made for some challenges in composition - there was no shortage of subject matter but quite often 50mm was too wide for real close-up work and too tight for decent architectural work.

Still, I did manage 50+ pictures in 50 minutes and these are some of my favorites...

Hopefully sometime soon the sun will coincide with my spare time and I can capture the Vancouver cherry blossom in full colour.

This "Gnome Door" is on the corner of Nelson and Jervis. There are all sorts of creative additions to the neighborhood made by residents of the West End.

Here's another "resident addition". There are a surprising number of shoes hanging off of wires in my neck of the woods and yet I've never seen anyone strolling around barefoot...

This one is my favourites of the bunch. Just the right combination of contrast, texture, depth and distance to subject matter to make it all work together.

One of the last photos taken, this is in my apartment building which is a bizarrely designed structure of long, mysteriously high corridors intersecting in an equally strangely designed courtyard. Many a pizza delivery guy has been lost within these shadowy hallways never to be seen again. On certain days, when the wind is in the right direction, you can hear their moans echoing amid the vague scent of mozzarella...

2011 WEEK 13 pt1: ODDS 'n ENDS

2011-03-28T17:59:00.001-07:00

With spring comes the big clean! I have so many bits of different things all over the place... Time to sort things out, put things in their correct place (and that includes the trash) and get ready for new growth and wonderful summer opportunities.

I barely feel like I've scratched the surface of the clean-up pile but in terms of photo and video files I did find a whole bunch of random pictures, that although not part of a particular project or challenge I set for myself, are nonetheless worth sharing. Or maybe not... You tell me.

This first one was on a memory card I thought I had lost/erased long ago. This little fur ball is known around these parts as "Rambo". Taken with the Canon EF 50-255mm @ f/5.6 ISO 3200. I really like the soft filtered light coming in through my office window that you can see reflected in his eyes.

Also on the found memory card, were a whole bunch of pictures I took of my cousin Andrea's beautiful baby, Lucy. This photo was taken just before Christmas and she's grown a LOT since then.

While we're on the subject of "bundles of joy" and just so Rambo's turn in the spotlight doesn't go to his head, here's one of our other resident fur ball, Warhammer. Both this one and the shot of Lucy above were taken with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4

These next few were captured on Saturday night between courses of a delicious meal at Tramonto at the River Rock Casino in Richmond.

Even though I waited with my camera raised for ten minutes while a really tasty smelling appetizer plate went cold, I still feel I really got lucky on this next one. I may have to go back to this area again sometime soon and do an aviation-themed photo challenge.

The wine was excellent... So good I managed to make it last a little longer by exposing it for 3 seconds after spinning it around!

A mysterious lady waited in the shadows while the lights of the big city beckoned from afar...

Bokeh-riffic baby, bokeh-riffic! Shot taken with the ever-reliable Pentax Asahi SMC Takumar.

Part II to come in a couple of days. Two posts in one week? I know! Crazy!

2011 WEEK 12: Super Moon!

2011-03-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

And wasn't it just?

Despite planning ahead and deciding to hit the Coal Harbour side of Stanley Park for the big moonrise I made a huge error and learned an important lesson...

Always, I repeat, ALWAYS check and double check what you have in your kit bag and don't assume that your memory regarding what was is in it the last time you used it is correct in terms of what's in it now.

It was quite a walk to the area on the seawall where I decided to set-up, especially lugging my camera bag and my tripod. My spirits were buoyed when I saw many, many more photogs set-up along the path, all their cameras trained towards the sails of Canada Place. "Ah-ha!" I thought, "My guess of this being a good vantage point was obviously spot-on given how many pros and ernest-looking hobbyists there are!"

So imagine my crushing disappointment when I cracked open my kit bag and found that sometime in the last 48hrs I had removed my 250mm lens... The longest lens I had with me was a piddly little 50mm (albeit, the awesome Pentax Takumar 50mm). Oh well... Lesson learned. I'd just have to make the most of a bad situation.

This was my view across Coal Harbour at around 7.45pm. Shot with the Sigma 10-20mm at f/4, ISO 400 with a long exposure.

As 8pm came and went and everyone was looking from watches to camera to Canada Place the frowns began appearing at the lack of moon. I was furthest along the line towards the eastern point of the park and glancing further around the seawall through the trees lining Park Drive I suddenly noticed a peculiar orange glow steadily increasing behind Burnaby Mountain. Nobody else seemed to have noticed it. Nor did they notice when I picked up my gear and hurried around the corner for a better view.

The rise of the super moon was spectacular as it rose up through the low cloud over the distant mountains. In fact it looked less like the moon and more like a bright orange planet. This was my best shot using the Takumar 50mm at f/4, ISO 400

It's very, very challenging shooting the moon even when armed with the right lenses because it's so damn bright - to expose the moon correctly you then underexpose everything else in the frame.

Since this was my first time out at night with the camera, tripod and remote switch, I took full advantage of it and got a few other long exposure shots as I made my way home. The famous Stanley Park totem poles look far more interesting at night.

This is what those better prepared than me looked like as they gazed skyward.

This next one is I think my favourite of the whole night. Taken with my trusty Sigma 30mm.

I love the starry lens flare from the light atop the skyscraper under construction in this next one.

This is what happens when you take a picture with the shutter open for 2 seconds... In fact it was so dark it took 8 attempts because I couldn't actually see the tree through the camera in order to frame it right! Check out the Tron-like light streams in the background from the traffic heading towards Lions Gate Bridge. I've always wanted to try this and now that I know I can, I think I'll make a future blog just on long exposure night movement. Oh, and those white specs? Not dirt or grain but STARS!

Given how many lights are on in these apartments I'm guessing Earth Hour had passed by the time I took this picture.

Last but not least, when I got home I grabbed the 55-250mm and took this from the alley behind my building. Thanks Super Moon, see you again in 2029.

2011 WEEK 11: Bloedel Observatory

2011-03-17T11:55:00.039-07:00

I don't know about you but I've definitely been feeling the effects of a bad case of the "grey glooms". So when the opportunity arose this week to join my awesome brother-in-law, Joel and his amazing lady, Jen on a trip to The Bloedel Conservatory, I jumped at the chance.

Opened in 1969 the Conservatory was made possible thanks to a donation by Prentice Bloedel, a pioneer in the logging industry who was one of the first people to champion forest conservation and the practice of reforestation. The Conservatory has faced tough times in the last few years thanks to the recession and drastically reduced visitor traffic from the Skytrain Canada Line construction along Cambie Street. In 2010 the city announced that the facility would be forced to close due to a budget shortfall and a desperate need for maintenance. Thanks to the Friends of the Bloedel Association in conjunction with the Van Dusen Gardens, money was raised and a development plan was unanimously approved by the city in September 2010.

Outside things were pretty gloomy, cold and wet, but inside we were greeted by warmth and best of all, colour!

Dotted throughout the conservatory are many, many species of orchid.

And of course there are several feathered folk living amongst the fauna... I tried really hard to not take their photos and even harder to resist posting them here but, they're just too beautiful to not share with you!

This guy was completely preoccupied with nibbling away the edge of a plastic plant pot while the one below was enjoying an afternoon nap.

Not a Norwegian Blue but "beautiful plumage!" A prize goes to the first person to comment with what that references. :)

Speaking of beautiful plumage, this very proud Golden Pheasant was well aware of her beauty and strutted around like she was on a catwalk in Milan.

Huge thanks to Jen and Joel for inviting me along on their adventure. Safe travels Jen and hopefully we'll see you sooner rather than later.

THE GEEKY STUFF: All of these pictures were taken using the Canon 60D. Lenses used were the Sigma 10-20 f/3.5, Canon EF-S 55-250mm and Pentax Asahi Super Takumar 135mm f/3.5. Post-processing was done in Aperture 3.

2011 WEEK 10: Reifel Bird Sanctuary

2011-03-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

I know, I know... More birds! It wasn't intentional and no, you do not need to launch an intervention regarding what probably looks like an obsession. At least, not yet...

This week I found myself on Westham Island which is an awesome place to visit. Located on the outskirts of Ladner in Delta, B.C., Westham Island is accesible by a single lane bridge. If you follow the road to its natural end you will pass by miles and miles of farmland and some farmhouses that have wonderful character. In the summer months there are numerous fruit stands along the way and in the Fall there are pumpkins in many of these fields.

Eventually you'll arrive at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Named after real estate and brewery tycoon George C. Reifel, the land was bought in 1927 when it was isolated from the rest of Westham Island by Ewen, Robertson and Fuller sloughs, natural river channels that dissected the island. Barging in equipment and building materials, by 1929 a large recreational family retreat had been constructed along with numerous dykes and causeways to create waterfowl habitats.

In the 1960's George's son, (also named George) granted a lease to the British Columbia Waterfowl Association and by 1972 the Reifel family transferred the sanctuary and surrounding land to the people of Canada on the condition it be managed in perpetuity for the benefit of waterfowl. It soon became a Ramsar site, designating it as an area of international significance.

Visit the sanctuary between October and April and you'll see thousands of Snow Geese. I got some pictures but none of them turned out as well as I'd hoped. But there were plenty of other things to see.

Duck! Duck! Duck! Duck! Goose! Well, almost.

This amazingly colored fella is a Wood Duck. Normally they're quite shy and keep their distance but this one was having far too much fun hanging out in a bird house filled with tasty bird feed.

Further down the trail we found a small cluster of people armed with iphones, point and shoots and some serious high-end gear (yes, I suffered a little lens envy). All of them were gazing in wide-eyed awe into the branches of a tree where this little bundle of feathered fun was napping.

This is a Northern Saw-Whet owl and he was so small (about 6" in diameter) and well hidden I would never have seen him had it not been for the bird-watching experts present. One would think owls would be high up in a tree but this Saw-Whet (as well as three others we saw during the afternoon) was nestled in the branches just a couple of feet above our heads.

On the northern edge of the Sanctuary there are wetlands as far as the eye can see and dotted along the outer-most trail there are a several bird hides. This one had a terrific atmosphere as the sun rays found their way in through the cracks in the dusty planking.

A short distance from the bird hide we came across this Blue Heron. I wonder if he's a chum of the fine feathered friend who let me take his picture a few weeks ago? I love the reflection in the water and the foreground bullrushes.

Sometimes the camera captures actions and poses we wouldn't ordinarily see.

I love the colors of this Red-winged Blackbird. Quite the fashion statement!

Driving out of the bird sanctuary I glimpsed a large shape perched atop a roadside tree... Needless to say I just had to pull over and snap a few pictures. So regal and wise looking.

Whether you're a photography enthusiast, bird-watcher, nature lover or just enjoy a nice stroll, I highly recommend a visit to Westham Island. Even just driving around there are lots of unique sights to take in and there really isn't anywhere else in the Lower Mainland quite like it.

On a related note, Casa Mia, the luxury Spanish-style villa built by the Reifel family in 1932 and located on Southwest Marine Drive is back up for sale again... Clocking in at a meagre 20,782 square feet it'll only set you back a cool $10.5 million to make it your new home!