The Best of 2011 Part III

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!

2011 WEEK 41: 99% vs 1%

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.